# What Temperament/Appearance Do You Choose for Dog Sports/Working?



## WRayet (May 6, 2014)

I was looking through this section of the forum and found it interesting this thread doesn't already exist. 
Essentially, while solely pet dog temperaments really depend on what the owner likes and conformation doesn't really matter, for those engaged in sports or are getting a dog for working purposes (eg, livestock guarding, service dog, therapy dog, etc), there are specific things that each person looks for. I think it would be interesting to see the differences in each sport and working field when it comes to owners choosing temperament and appearance. 
Just as examples, it would be interesting to me to see the differences in temperament or appearance that people may choose between two fairly similar activities like competitive Obedience and working as a Service Dog (I say "similar" as both require the dog to be focused on the handler and have high levels of obedience).
Another thing to bring up: aside from temperament/appearance, do you look for anything in particular from your performance/working dogs (eg, working lines, specific health tests that are either normally not mandatory or specific health issues that you would like breeders extend their normal health warranty for)?

Personally, I would like to get involved in agility, and while I haven't done an overwhelming amount of research as to the best temperamental traits for an agility dog since I am roughly 3 years away from actually being open to getting a puppy, I do know that I want to build/have: reasonable level of confidence, ability to focus, not noise sensitive, desire to please me, toy/food motivated, drive, has fun on the course. I am a bit concerned about informing potential breeders that I want to get into agility because as far as I've read, it seems that a lot of people confuse it with wanting a hyperactive dog without an off switch that is constantly bouncing off the walls. Because I am concerned about that, I don't know whether I should look into getting a puppy from specific lines known to do well in agility.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Hmmmm sort of a loaded question/thread isnt it?
Cause it depends on your level of experience as a dog owner- I can say I now know what I am looking for, 18 years into this...

when we got our LGD I looked specifically for something low key not too dominant (middle pup in the litter dominance)... with a good Off switch... our boy fits that bill and even better he turns On at night to guard the homestead, where the other 2 dogs get their sleep in.. (if he barks too alarmingly though then they will rouse and join him)...


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Well I do agility but have never picked a dog for agility. Funnily enough the breed types I grew up with and have loved are typically 'agility breeds'. We had a BC mix, shelties, and papillons. All 'agility breeds' to an extent. And my last sheltie was actually bred for agility primarily.

I am a big fan of getting a dog breed you love the temperament of instead of going for 'the best'. Because you have to live with that dog outside of agility. Even this week when we did a lot of agility, we still had far more hours of just hanging out and being pets. That said, people who get bit by the bug do tend to start putting agility higher up on the list and that is okay too. If I am being honest with myself ability to play in agility for a long and moderately competitive to competitive career is one of the top considerations on my next dog. Because I love it and want to continue it for a long time. But don't fall into the trap that you must get a border collie or a sheltie to do that... I see all sorts of dogs doing agility very well- shelties and BCs yes but also labs, goldens, even some rocking bullmastiffs here! 

One of my friends is looking at getting her first dog with agility in mind (she does it already with her mix) and she loves retrievers so is looking for a lab. Personally, I love herders so I'm going to go that way. Retriever is right for her, herder is right for me and you can find great agility dogs in either group. I want a dog I could MACH... so we need a dog that can hopefully play a long time and put in fastish times (you don't have to be super competitive but you can't be too pokey either). I like a dog with drive who will play ball all day long, who is up and happy when working and fast moving. I like handler focus and biddability but also a bit of independence to problem solve too. I like fluffy too and colors other than solid colors, but that has zero to do with agility. I also want a dog that is lightweight for its height and athletic and small to medium in size. I also like a dog with a lot of confidence that just goes in like a natural and doesn't let things worry them at all. I'm learning that as much as I love Mia, I love having a social dog (maybe not SO social as Summer haha) But that's what I like in a pet dog. Luckily it translates well into agility.

As far as going with 'working lines' at this point I am probably going to go with a line I have seen in real life in agility and liked a lot. The breeder shows and does light agility but I have seen some of these dogs run in real life and liked them a lot both on and off the course. I am going to go meet more in the next few weeks. It also helps to have an available local mentor who is very competitive and can point me in a good direction.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

This thread didn't address the topic?
http://www.dogforums.com/dog-sports-show-forum/287786-sports-people-choosing-your.html

As for talking to breeders contact breeders that show in your sport and go watch their dogs working and talk to their owners. Any given litter of pups is going to have some variation in temperament so if you are brand new to dogs the breeder might choose a more laid back but well built for sport dog for you. You really need to see the dogs doing agility. I see a lot of dogs looking more like they are heeling over obstacles than working the course as breeders are now working for versatility as well as type in breeding programs. Good and all but not the sort of rush one gets working at a distance with a fast dog that knows the game.

I never heard of agility when I got my first dog but knew I wanted a smaller medium sized dog that was lightly built without a short nose so he/she could work in warm weather and be a great hiking companion. Now I am trying to learn about conformation to get a dog that is built for efficient moving. I only plan to get dogs from a local shelter. We humans are the most important part of the team, most any dog can have a lot success in agility so getting a dog especially picked and raised from a pup likely would just frustrate me. I am the problem, not the dog. I have seen this with many friends who get a sport bred pup after getting addicted to the sport with a random pet dog.

Messed up with Sassy, took ages to be a team with her, but with Max and Ginger there was a connection right away. They paid attention to ME, chased toys and were distracted from things quite a bit easier than Sassy. I figured out in the end how to train Sassy to leave really great stuff like gophers and treed squirrels but it wasn't as easy as with the others. My dogs don't much care for repetition and since the human half of the agility team needs a lot of practice I really would like a dog that had fun working longer sessions than I am able to with my dogs.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I wanted a good all around dog that I could train for obedience/rally/agility and whatever else came up. I wanted a dog who was medium sized with moderate conformation, and who was athletic and medium-high energy. I wanted a dog who was fairly handler focused and biddable, and medium-highish drive for food and toys. I also wanted a dog who was confident.

If I were a serious competitor I would probably look for a dog/breed that was even more biddable and handler focused, and higher drive. Personally, I don't need or want a dog who is off the wall high drive.

If you want a dog for agility, meet the parents and relatives and watch them compete. If they are crazy and bouncing off the walls at all times, then go to a different breeder. There are also plenty of breeds that can do agility well other than the top few everyone thinks of. I would recommend getting a breed you like and who will be easy to live with and not just looking for the next agility superstar, especially if you have never trained a dog for agility or competed in it before. Most people don't last in the sport beyond a couple years, so don't focus too much on agility breeding.


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## WRayet (May 6, 2014)

Kathy, most of that discussion ended up being on whether or not one would give up a dog that didn't do well in a sport or a job. I was more curious which traits are different in each sport/job and which are the same.

Laurelin, Elrohwen, I'm definitely not TOO concerned with getting The Next Best Thing in terms of an agility dog. I would like to get into agility, but the dog will definitely be a pet first. The only trait I don't already prefer in the list of traits I had at the top is the lack of noise sensitivity. That's the only really agility focused trait I've been thinking about. The main reason I've been looking into ideal agility temperaments to see if there's anything I _wouldn't_ like in a pet that I would need to inform the breeder of. The hyperactivity being one, but that seems to be something only breeders who don't actually engage in agility have a problem with.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I think hyperactivity is in the eye of the beholder LOL. I'm pretty sure most my classmates would call my dog hyper. She's really barky and likes to spin and cannot settle down between turns. At home she's a lazy bum and a doll. Still kind of excitable but super easy for me to live with. But she loves work so much that she can be wild at agility and nosework. She kind of cracks me up but I think she annoys some people.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Laurelin said:


> I think hyperactivity is in the eye of the beholder LOL. I'm pretty sure most my classmates would call my dog hyper. She's really barky and likes to spin and cannot settle down between turns. At home she's a lazy bum and a doll. Still kind of excitable but super easy for me to live with. But she loves work so much that she can be wild at agility and nosework. She kind of cracks me up but I think she annoys some people.


I think really hyper-activity for me means more than active. It means the dog can't focus/settle/perform, because it's all over the place. Kylie is more ACTIVE than Thud, by a lot. Thud, however, is the dog who gets distracted, zooms off to do something else, or is investigating everything. It's a good point to clarify the point there, though, because they are different things.

If I was looking for a sportdog today, honestly all I'd want is a breed I like, from structually sound parents, who exhibited toy drive, interest in people, and reasonable degrees of biddability. I'm not looking for a high level dog, though, and I don't think that's going to change.


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## WRayet (May 6, 2014)

I like medium/high energy dogs, and "gogogogo" is fun to have when you're jogging/biking, playing, or just letting them do their own thing in a fenced area, but I like my dogs to have good off switches as well. I love seeing dogs having fun, but it's not so nice when you're at home at 3am and your dog has been having zoomies for over an hour.  I have a neighbor with a mix bred dog. Pomeranian x Poodle is the guess. But she bought him from guy in a park who was selling "curly coated pomeranians" and he said that this particular pup was "very calm". She takes him for her daily 6 mile jogs + dog park on the weekends and he is just always going. I've doggy sat him before and he is the kind of dog who will gogogogo until he's so tired that he flops over and doesn't move for about 40 minutes-hour, and then he's back to acting as if no-one has taken him for a walk in months. I've never met any other dog like him.


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