family dog

[promiseacres]

I apologize for spewing font on your thread @promiseacres and hope whatever you choose is the absolute best for you and your family. Decisions involving lots of $$ are never easy and you have to take many things into consideration. No matter what you do, I'm sure your kid(s) will be thrilled with a new puppy or dog. Looking forward to pics down the road.

no worries, hard to not say anything when someone can't see the other side of the coin. It will not hurt my feelings if the comments are turned off on this thread. Or I may just delete it

 

[Goat Whisperer]

no worries, hard to not say anything when someone can't see the other side of the coin. It will not hurt my feelings if the comments are turned off on this thread. Or I may just delete it

This is a good thread, several members shared great info. If you feel the need, you can request that the thread be “locked” instead of deleting it. This lets others read the thread but not post. I’ve done this in the past.

Who knows, there could be others in your same situation reading this thread

 

[Beekissed]

So...maybe a Border Collie pup? Would be super smart, great for agility trials, and could also double as a working dog for the family.

 

[Simpleterrier]

Let's just sum it up. You won't know what the dog or puppy will be like till u get it and have it for a while. So choose what ever u think will work for you. And try your hardest. And no one can read the mind of the dog

 

[babsbag]

I loved doing agility with my dogs. My one big wish was that I was younger. I messed up my only half good knee and decided to quit and hopefully delay another surgery. I had a blast though and my dogs were so happy to play. I only did fun runs so no ribbons and titles but they lived up to their name...FUN.

My dogs would be so excited waiting their turn to run, they would be barking and watching and just happy. Well one very advanced handler had a dog that would obey her commands so well that she would simply go to the middle of the course and give commands and her dog would follow them. Right...left...slow...wait...come...all of them, it was amazing. But one day she had to ask me to keep my dogs from barking so her dogs could hear her commands. That same dog would also work for kids that were in wheelchairs or had braces, etc. and couldn't run with their dogs. It brought tears to my eyes to watch these children, the dog just knew what to do and she did it well. She would always come up to the child at the end of the run for some lovin' . Very sweet.

Your son would probably really enjoy agility.

 

[promiseacres]

I loved doing agility with my dogs. My one big wish was that I was younger. I messed up my only half good knee and decided to quit and hopefully delay another surgery. I had a blast though and my dogs were so happy to play. I only did fun runs so no ribbons and titles but they lived up to their name...FUN.

My dogs would be so excited waiting their turn to run, they would be barking and watching and just happy. Well one very advanced handler had a dog that would obey her commands so well that she would simply go to the middle of the course and give commands and her dog would follow them. Right...left...slow...wait...come...all of them, it was amazing. But one day she had to ask me to keep my dogs from barking so her dogs could hear her commands. That same dog would also work for kids that were in wheelchairs or had braces, etc. and couldn't run with their dogs. It brought tears to my eyes to watch these children, the dog just knew what to do and she did it well. She would always come up to the child at the end of the run for some lovin' . Very sweet.

Your son would probably really enjoy agility.

Yes, can't wait for agility!

 

[GitaBooks]

Purebred dogs are great, since you know what you are getting and you are getting a puppy so you can raise them in your environment and to know the rules of the house. If you feel called to get a purebred puppy then go for it.
However, I did want to say that since I work at a rescue and volunteer at a shelter I have a soft spot for it. We work hours and hours for no pay just to see wonderful dogs, abandoned and over-looked, find the homes they need. We see purebred dogs, puppies, seniors, even dogs with papers come in for reasons such as moving, the people being tired of them, so often it is not the dogs fault. Adoption prices vary, but their purpose is to cover boarding, feeding, spay/neuter, vaccinations, deworming, flea medication, any treatment for health issues, and microchipping, so it is actually a bargin.
I would suggest you go for what you feel called towards. But I can tell you this, rescuing a dog is one of the most wonderful experiences out there. And mutts are always one of a kind. : )
Their are breed specific rescues if you want a purebred. Our shelter recently even had a corgi!!
Also, while rescues don't often know the background of a dog, they do behavior testing and since adult dogs are already mature and showing their mature behaviors, you actually have a good idea of what you are getting. I've seen some of the sweetest, best behaved dogs at the shelter. Border Collie mixes are common around where we are, and they are extremely intelligent and gorgeous too!

Good luck!

 

[babsbag]

Yes, can't wait for agility!

Find a good instructor. While I adore the first one I had if my second instructor had been my first I wouldn't have had to undo some bad habits. It was very hard to re-teach some things we had been doing wrong for years.

 

[Duck lover88]

So this is kinda late but oh well but if you don't know already there are lots of great herding dogs in shelters but like always there is always a small risk when you adopt. also don't forget that each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats). Soo ur perfect pup may be out in a shelter!! but if you don't want to take the small risk and just go with the corgi thats OK to.

Here is one of our dogs we got at the shelter, he also herds our goats and sheep well...

And here is another dog we got from the shelter and he is insanely good with chickens/livestock... and FYI he is duckling sitting in this pic and that is duck feed on the rag.

Soo my point here, if you want to you could maybe just vist ur county shelter and see what they have there and don't forget that that they get new dogs almost every week.
And if you would rather just get the corgi that is alright to.

 

[Mike CHS]

Those are cute pictures