In a nutshell: Dals are
not pets! They are companions, peers, friends.
Also
known as: Dals, Fire dogs
Description:
Long, lean, lanky, able to stop on a dime and able to jump the moon!
Temperament:
Very sweet, friendly, inquisitive, intelligent, very fast learner, independent,
self-assured but stubborn. Dals are very sociable and play very well with other dogs.
Advantages as an agility dog:
Disadvantages
as an agility dog:
-
Feel their course makes more sense
than yours!
-
Can be too independent. These dogs
were bred to run alongside a horse-drawn carriage, go ahead as scouts, guide the horses and guard the
coach. One can't expect such an intelligent dog, bred to be a decision-maker, to suddenly
live unquestioningly with some stupid idea a human has cooked up!
Rating
out of 10 and why: Mid-scale, maybe 5/10. Could be in the
top 10 based on physical attributes, but that stubborn independence and single-minded
determination can get in the way of good team work.
Examples
of dogs that have done well in agility: Manuela Buerge in
Switzerland has done very well with hers.
What's it like
to live with as a pet: Dals are not pets! They are companions,
peers, friends. They will watch while you do almost everything else: cook, garden,
do housework
etc. Sometimes it's as if they are taking mental notes and will try these activities on
their own sometime. Also they are unbelievably quick and determined learners.
Source: Leslie Rush
