hi all, we have a year old (as of yesterday) male Maremma Sheepdog (Camlann) and are thinking of getting a female dog - maybe in 3 to 6 months - after the Maremma has grown up a little.

We've drawn up a list of criteria as to what we want in the dog. I'd be interested to know what breeds you all think would be a good idea.

1) Health and long life. One of the main reasons we picked the Maremma. 12 years is not uncommon and I know of no major health problems in the breed.

2) Reasonable size. Camlann is quite big and boistrous. Would be a bit unfair to expect a Cocker to charge around with him!

3) Not too friendly with strangers. Maremma's are naturally fairly suspicious of strangers (although he have done lots of socialisation with Camlann he is still cautious until he decides they are OK). I can imagine a bad situation if the female goes running up to a stranger to say hello and the maremma gets protective of her.

4) Not an escape artist. We have a good sized house with a good garden bordering open fields. I sometimes think the maremma would "guard his bounderies" if the fence was 1 foot high!

5) Exercise requirement. Would like something that needs a similar amount of exercise to a maremma. Currently he goes 3/4 - 1 hour most days. Off lead running for most of it.

6) Quite in the house. The maremma has always been as good as gold providing he has been played with/exercised enough.

7) Not too much grooming. A couple of times a week. No problem. 1/2 an hour every day (my parents had beardies is too much!

8) Ease of training. Maremmas are wonderful dogs but wow are they hard work training! If we got a female maremma I can imagine trying to take both of them for a walk at the same time would be hard work!

Are we picky or what?!? I think far too many people get dogs without realising what work they are. I want to make sure we get the right sort

For the record, there is just myself and my girlfriend. As I said before. A good sized house with a big garden (1/3 acre) off the main road with lots of good walks etc. I work at home a lot and my GF works shifts so they will rarely be left alone for more than an hour or 2.

One breed we are thinking about is the Hovawart. Anyone has any experience with them? Do they fit the criteria above? Any thoughts of what other breeds fit those criteria?

And if anyone cares.

There is Camlann. Ignore the ugly bloke sitting next to him
http://www.manutdportal.co.uk/pics/TonyCamlann.jpg

Welcome to the forum Tony. Nice Dawg

Have a look at the Hovawart Club of GB site. Maybe you can pick up some more information there.

Leigh

I've just looked and the website is offline - there's a great picci though.

Try emailing them on hovawartclubofgreatbritain@btinternet.com

Hiya,

I've just looked at the picture and he's gorgeous, good luck in your search for a friend for him.

Fiona

Try reading 'dogs today magazine' they often have 'puppy finder' guides with a supplement showing hundreds of breeds with guides as to most of the criteria you are looking for along with potential health problems etc. I know that I've found it helpful in the past! good luck anyway!
emily

Well, without knowing you and what you tend to go for, I would say that a well bred Belgian Tervueren would fulfil most of the criterita, with one possible exception which is that they may not be as quiet in the house.

HOwever if they are stimulated and kept busy they learn very well, and tend to bark "at" something showing their guarding tendency rather than at nothing. If well brought up and socialised they are slightly reserved with other people but will also accept people happily when introduced.

They are very active and thoroughly enjoy reward-based training and can go all day.

I am not suggesting that this is the perfect breed for your needs, but perhaps one to think about.

There is occasional epilepsy in the breed and some tend towards shyness, but generally they are healthy, my girl lived to nearly 16 with only a couple of vet visits in her life, my boy lived to nearly 11 but was pts due to kidney failure.

A good Belgian from a good breeder is a hard dog to beat IMHO but then of course I am verh biased LOL!!!

Good luck in your search. From what little i have heard of the Hovawart that would be a sensible choice also.