Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

 Quote:

I am wanting to train a dog in obedience and tracking, but it will also be a house dog that needs to be manageable indoors. If anyone else has information or an opinion feel free to post.

Show line's are great dogs if you are looking for a dog with a lack of drive, lack of will to please, and lack of attention span and focus. With some (a lot of) luck the dog will be trainable without making you go too crazy, but when you get his hip x-rays back you'll probably cry.

Go find a nice working line litter, there's plenty that'd fit the bill.

Mike,
We're all tired of you stepping so softly around the subject and being too PC - C'mon, tell us how you really feel!

Would a belgian malinois be a dog to consider also? I have heard they can be very hard to handle.

On the contrary. Mals can be higher energy, and often "worse" in the house, but often more handler-soft. There are exceptions to everything, of course, but this is what I've noticed.

Mals learn quick and they remember everything. If you are a good handler this means you have a dog you train very quickly. If you are new and make mistakes, this means you have a dog that remembers everything you screwed up and you spend a lot of time redoing things trying to un-teach bad habits.

There's a ton of threads on Mal's for Beginners on this forum, search around for em.

You should also have high ceilings.

somebody around here has been crossing Malinois and working line GSDs. They are calling them MalaGeSdid, Pronounced "Maladjusted"

 Quote: dennis jones

somebody around here has been crossing Malinois and working line GSDs. They are calling them MalaGeSdid, Pronounced "Maladjusted"

Thanks for the chuckle... it was just what I needed!

 Quote: Loren Severs

Thank you that is very helpful information. I am just kind of on the fence between the two lines. I am wanting to train a dog in obedience and tracking, but it will also be a house dog that needs to be manageable indoors. If anyone else has information or an opinion feel free to post.

Tell your breeder what you are looking for. When I bought Hans the breeder had two working line GSD puppies available from the same litter. He asked us if we wanted a pet. We said yes. I had originally gone to look at his little female. He directed us towards Hans. Then we looked at the female. Hans was much more mellow than the female, she was a real wild woman. We took Hans home with us.

Hans has plenty of drive, for us, but I don't think he is the kind of dog that Will or Mike would consider a top working prospect. He'll chase a ball until we are tired and lights up whenever anyone comes to the door. He learns quick (we're amazed at how well he can focus when he is motivated), is a real family dog, and is well behaved enough in the house now that we haven't crated him at night or when we leave home for nearly a year (he's 3). He will counter surf if we leave food out, so we don't leave food out.

So I would say you can find a working line dog that will meet your criteria and that will settle well in the house and be manageable indoors. Jut make sure you explain to the breeder what you are looking for.

And really, working line or show line, they are going to shed like there is no tomorrow and you'll be vacuuming up dog hair all the time all year round but especially when the weather changes with the seasons. And anything you have that moves air, like the fan in your computer, is going to attract a lot of dog hair.

Mike,

At this very moment, all over the entire world, show line breeders and owners are crossing your name off their Christmas lists