Ahhh, I'd better cross dalmations off my list then. Thanks for letting me know . . . Better to know now than after I've got one! What about border collies? Do you think it would be enough exercise for one of them?
Edit: I've been researching and there is NO WAY I could provide enough exercise for a border collie. Ebony was part border collie (she would do "the stare" when playing), but her lab side must have mellowed her a lot.
I like collies, but the rough collies take a lot of grooming, don't they? How common/rare are smooth-coated collies?
Prin, I am a huge fan of lab-mixes!
And of course there are always tons at the local animal shelters. (I've already started checking Petfinder, LOL!) I love black dogs, I have NEVER understood why they're passed over so much at shelters.
But I am hesitant to get a dog that looks too much like Ebony did (she was a lab mix) because I don't want to feel like I'm just "replacing" her and also I'm worried that I would compare the new dog with her too much. She was an incredibly sweet, easy to train, obedient dog; she never had an accident after four months old, she loved all people and animals (well, except squirrels
), and you could leave food on the coffee table or end table and she wouldn't touch it, even though it was at head-level of her. I don't want to get a similar looking dog and always be haranguing, "Why aren't you housetrained as fast as Ebony was? Why don't you learn to sit as quickly as Ebony did? Argh, you chewed up the couch, Ebony never did that!" That just wouldn't be fair to the new dog. So I only want a lab mix that isn't pure black like Ebo was (like, one that has shepherd markings or a white foot or something) or that's significantly different in size and build.
I just thought of another factor . . . I'd love to be able to do agility with my dog! I actually wanted to do it with Ebony, even started training her, but somehow I got the impression only purebreds were allowed to compete and I gave it up. But I was browsing around an Agility Dog page just now and it seems that it's just at
AKC events that only purebred dogs are allowed, while other events allowed mixed breeds.
I know exactly what you mean about the animal choosing you . . . When I was at the shelter choosing kitties, my little tabby Remy walked right over to the bars of the cage and waved his paw through them to get my attention. And he's usually such a shy little fellow!
