Message Forums

I thought the original question was to which of two breeds would be most suitable

Not lets go to the pound and pick up some unloved "council house"Mongrel

lets get back to the main topic !

Quote: Originally posted by Big Al on 14/1/2013

---

I thought the original question was to which of two breeds would be most suitable

Not lets go to the pound and pick up some unloved "council house"Mongrel

lets get back to the main topic !

---

I went to the 'pound' and picked up a dog that was no longer wanted (at 6 months old) by another family.

He is a pedigree labrador - totally irrelevant to me.

Bang on topic!

Quote: Originally posted by TraceyD on 14/1/2013

---

Quote: Originally posted by Big Al on 14/1/2013

I thought the original question was to which of two breeds would be most suitable

Not lets go to the pound and pick up some unloved "council house"Mongrel

lets get back to the main topic !

---

I went to the 'pound' and picked up a dog that was no longer wanted (at 6 months old) by another family.

He is a pedigree labrador - totally irrelevant to me.

Bang on topic!

---

Quote: Originally posted by murano on 14/1/2013

---

Quote: Originally posted by TraceyD on 14/1/2013

---

Just thought I'd level things up for the labs a bit with some pics of our beautiful boy Bailey

<img style="width: 711px; height: 553px;" aria-busy="false" class="spotlight" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" alt="" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/602520_10151133643362990_881659690_n.jpg" width="800" alt="622">

<img style="width: 920px; height: 553px;" aria-busy="false" class="spotlight" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" alt="" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/376619_10151133638247990_865501731_n.jpg" width="960" alt="577">

<img style="width: 656px; height: 553px;" aria-busy="false" class="spotlight" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" alt="" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/559296_10151133629532990_68901373_n.jpg" width="960" alt="809">

and he was a rescue dog <img align="absmiddle" src="forum_images/smiley4.gif" width="17" alt="17">

---

Your boy looks like our Seymour who we lost last year, bought a tear to my eye, he's beautiful.

---

Quote: Originally posted by Big Al on 14/1/2013

---

I thought the original question was to which of two breeds would be most suitable

Not lets go to the pound and pick up some unloved "council house"Mongrel

lets get back to the main topic !

---

I amthe one who originally brought up a rescue and I can assure you my pure bred border collie certainly isn't a mongrel. Any breed of dog can end up in a rescue centre. Spaniels, Labs and Collies are amongst the most common breeds handed in sue to the amount of exercise and training they need.

The reason I suggested a rescue is that the staff there tend to know the dogs personalities and which will do well indifferent circumstances

Quote: Originally posted by lidds0 on 14/1/2013

---

What you put into the puppy comes out in the adult dog, IMHO, and Labs repay you in spades. They are gentle, trustworthy, loyal and loving companions, funny, intelligent and with huge characters. Treat a Lab right and they'll love you forever. And those eyes..

The only (minor) downside, as has been mentioned, is that they moult, terribly, and this can be a total pain if you are houseproud

---

Based on experiences past and present if I had to make the choice it would be a Lab.

Several years ago I looked after a Springer belonging to a friend of a friend - now I know Springers are supposed to be very intelligent but this was the most stupid, senseless, disobedient creature I've ever come across and I was glad when it finally went back home. Not a fault of the dog by any means, it was the way it had been brought up by its owner, but it really put me right off the breed.

Contrast that with the Lab belonging to the boss at one of the places I now work - he's intelligent, affectionate, accompanies me round the offices while I'm working, waits nicely while I refill his water bowl and is generally a complete delight. His only downside is his moulting, I spend ages hoovering the office carpets to get rid of the hair, but when he looks at me with those eyes......

So - Lab or Springer? The decision is ultimately yours, but I know which one I would go for.

Quote: Originally posted by markh1 on 15/1/2013

---

Always Springers

BUT don't get one, get two, we have a brother and sister from the same litter, having a pair virtually eliminates behavioural problems caused by keeping a pack animal on its own, do go to training classes and you won't have issues with controlling your animal (there are no bad dogs, only bad owners)

Yes they need ton's of exercise, but that's good for the owner too

---

Don't get two dogs from the same litter, rarely does it work, you need to be able to focus on training one dog especially a springer, it needs to bond with you not its sibling, one is doable two is madness.I do agree that they do better in pairs, but get one sorted and then look for another, and where do i get this from, i have 4 springers and a Springer x and i have spent the last 6 years working for springer rescue of which there are several up and down the country, our rescue alone rehomes 2 - 300 a year as do most of the others, there are 100's of springers in rescue from Cornwall to Scotland that have been handed in because the owners can't cope with their energy, they are a very different proposition to a collie, good luck in whatever you decide, and remember, both breeds have show and working strains