What breeds do Shelties get along with?

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Becky1

Forums Regular
We have a gorgeous 8-month old Sheltie named Howard and really want to get a 2nd puppy (and eventually a third!) We live in New Zealand and will have lots of space for dogs when we finally buy a house.

Obviously an entire pack of Shelties would be awesome :biggrin2: As much as we LOVE Shelties since getting Howard we're also drawn to other breeds - and my partner has always wanted a German Shepherd.

Is this a good idea? I notice that German Shepherds can get very big and are also quite rough in their play and could hurt little Howard. That would be really awful. I'm also very keen on Golden Retrievers, I saw a local breeder who has lots of Shelties and Retrievers so I'm assuming they must get along well?

As you can see we are looking for a slightly larger breed, although I appreciate you can have big and small variations. We asked the Sheltie breeder that gave us Howard and they recommended to avoid dominant or aggressive dogs as they would push him aside. Even small breeds can be very snappy, they said, and to avoid terriers.

I notice various collie breeds get along with him very well... this is definitely a possibility. However my partner feels the bigger the better.... eeeps!

We'll get our next dog as a puppy to grow up respecting Howard as the alpha, but I'm sure at some point it would outgrow him and take charge? Would getting a female would solve this?

Anyway my long-winded question is this.... Has anyone had experience of owning both Shelties and larger breeds and how did they get along? Howard is so very submissive we don't want him pushed aside! Neither do we want him getting hurt when play gets rough. Whatever dog we get next will be in Howard's best interests... we'd just like to know what our options are!!

Thanks so much for your ideas
 
I have a sheltie and an Inuit dog who is a little smaller than a GSD and they got on brilliantly

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1723/8342838/15558242/322216088.jpg

http://pic60.picturetrail.com/VOL1723/8342838/21701703/362471211.jpg

As you can see quite a size difference especially as a pup, but Dante is a big softy and wouldnt hurt a fly which really helped. They do play as well but he is very gentle with Jake, chase me chase you is the favourite and no one gets hurt :lol:

Through ringcraft Jake has been socialised with all sorts of breeds, even a St Bernard doesnt phase him :)
 
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Aww what a gorgeous pair! Thanks for sharing, that has given me a lot more confidence about the right "bigger" dog...! :biggrin2:
 
My concern with a German Shepherd would not be size - but temperment. These are dominant, very intelligent dogs. They do take advantage of dogs that are not dominant. Some people do amazingly well with them - but they are not for a real "easy-going" family that is not going to enforce rules.

A large dog with a generally sweet nature (like a Golden Retriever) is less likely to try to run the house, but would have enough energy to keep up with a sheltie.

Lots and lots of people own collie/sheltie pairs - which works very well. Collies are more laid back, and less quirky than a sheltie. I went to a collie rescue recently, and there were several collies, but the sheltie was obviously running the show :lol:

Australian Shepherds are nice middle sized dogs, but they also can be a little "intense" (although not so much as a border collie) so you have to know what you are getting into.
 
Aztec said:
My concern with a German Shepherd would not be size - but temperment. These are dominant, very intelligent dogs. They do take advantage of dogs that are not dominant. Some people do amazingly well with them - but they are not for a real "easy-going" family that is not going to enforce rules.

A large dog with a generally sweet nature (like a Golden Retriever) is less likely to try to run the house, but would have enough energy to keep up with a sheltie.

Lots and lots of people own collie/sheltie pairs - which works very well. Collies are more laid back, and less quirky than a sheltie. I went to a collie rescue recently, and there were several collies, but the sheltie was obviously running the show :lol:

Australian Shepherds are nice middle sized dogs, but they also can be a little "intense" (although not so much as a border collie) so you have to know what you are getting into.
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Max's best buddy is Murphy, a Golden Retriever that lives across the street. They play so hard together without getting too rough. He also loved a Harliquin Great Dane we used to live by, but you might as well get a small pony if you want a Dane. :lol:
 
My parents have lab-mix who is twice the size and three times the weight of my Shelties.

He is no match for my boys!

I concur with most that a gentler breed is what is required here....although even a retriever or lab pup would squash your Sheltie by the time he's 12 weeks old.

Have you considered a Standard poodle? (not the frou-frou kind, with the lion clip). They are amazingly smart dogs and from I know, excellent temperment. Check out Marco's photo's with his brown poodle friends.
Bacca's dam's breeder has also introduced a standard poodle into her mix. Worth looking at.
 
BarbV said:
Have you considered a Standard poodle? (not the frou-frou kind, with the lion clip). They are amazingly smart dogs and from I know, excellent temperment. Check out Marco's photo's with his brown poodle friends.
Bacca's dam's breeder has also introduced a standard poodle into her mix. Worth looking at.
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I ditto the rest. My dogs have many poodle friends - all the way up to standard. They are a gentle breed but still quite playful (and smart) so its a good combination with shelties. Mine also adore rough collies. All the medium herding breeds are good - except perhaps cattle dogs. They also have several German Shephard friends but I wouldn't let a young GSD off lead around a sheltie - they can be prey driven and shelties can look like bunnies. Absolutely no to huskies and similar.

Better to steer away from retrievers (goldies and labs) they are too heavy and tend to be over exhuberant when young. My vet even warned me to keep Tully away from these breeds as he has seen a number of small dogs squashed - and even killed - by them by accident. They do weigh 5x more than a sheltie.

If you want a big dog look out for a gentle breed that is not prey driven.
 
I have seen many Golden Retriever/Sheltie combined households. My grandma had one of each when I was little and they were great together. I think that if you are going to go with a larger breed, I would consider a Golden but you will have to do a lot of training to prevent injuries as mentioned by others. Good luck with your search!
 
Another option may be a Belgian Shepherd. I believe they are kinder, gentler versions of their German cousins!

There is a family in our neighbourhood that has a Belgian and a Sheltie. We often visit while dog walking. One of my employees has two Belgians, and they too, seem quite gentle.

Plus they are lovely looking dogs!
 
My vote goes to a Golden Retriever too. Lil' Lady and Max the Golden toss lots of kisses back and forth through my fence to Max's yard. They are the sweetest, and easy to handle. One of the family just bought a 12 week old Golden.

They got to see everyone except the sire. She had the great grandma, grandma, brothers, cousins, and of course mom. The sire was from another state.
 
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