Like most dogs, Wally is most active in the mornings which is when we’ll go for our backpack walk. It’s safe to say that they need at least one hour of physical exercise per day, but two are better. That being said, the individual exercise requirements will depend from one Feist dog to the other, also depending on their age and body condition. Click Here How much exercise does a Feist dog need? *Enjoying this article? Get realistic dog training tips emailed once a week. If they only stuck him into a yard, never took him for structured walks and didn’t mentally challenge him with food puzzles or games, I can imagine that he must have been very annoying! Well, I have the feeling that whoever adopted him was overwhelmed with his working breed genes. He’ll usually curl up for a nap right after, which goes to show that a tired Feist is a good Feist!īy the way, remember when I mentioned that Wally had been to several homes within his first 12 months? The backpack makes him focus on the weight he’s carrying on his back, and the bike rides next to me require him to pay attention to the bike and myself.īesides that, both obviously also exercise him physically.īoth activities are highly mentally stimulating and will tire him out after we’ve had a few sessions of each. Wally’s jobs consist of daily backpack walks and several weekly bike rides. You can find more job ideas for your active pup in the article I co-wrote with Lindsay from That Mutt – 20 Jobs for My Dog. There are a bunch of different jobs that Feist dogs can perform, such as: It just needs to be an activity that engages them on different levels and that drains them of their energy, again both physical AND mental energy. Of course it doesn’t necessarily have to be squirrel hunting or any hunting at all for that matter. That means they need a job in order to be fulfilled and not display problem behaviors. Maybe he’s even a full-fledged DenMark Feist – more on that later! Do Feist dogs make good pets?įeist dogs make great pets as long as their physical and mental exercise needs are met. For the moment, I’m perfectly content knowing that Wally is a Feist mix. However, I have yet to order one of those doggie DNA tests, and I’m not sure that I will. She said he might have some Shiba Inu doggie genes besides the Feist ones. I suggested getting in touch with the software maker to add the Feist dog breed, and she said she would!įunny enough, the only one who’s ever taken a stab at guessing what else he might be is our vet. She ended up categorizing him as a boxer because his size and coat length is similar to that breed. She needed that information for her pricing software which would determine the price of his grooming session.įeist wasn’t a breed option within that software, and she had the hardest time finding a category for him. When I took Wally to get a bath and a nail trim at a local pet retail store, the lady who checked us in asked what breed he was. Except for one person, no one’s ever heard of the Feist dog breed and interestingly enough, no one ever has any suggestions as to what he might be!

Whenever I’m out and about with Wally and someone talks to us, they inevitably ask what breed he is. He’s been a fun addition to my life and keeps me on my toes, but he’s also a great cuddle buddy, awesome co-pilot whenever we’re in the car, and he’s always up for a new adventure! Do people guess that he’s some other breed when they see him? Wally certainly checked those boxes off!Īlthough I felt I wasn’t completely ready for a new dog yet, I’m glad I went ahead and stepped outside of my comfort zone when I adopted Wally regardless of that feeling.

However, I knew that I’d eventually want to bring home another somewhat active dog who could come along on daily walks, occasional hikes and road trips.

Missy left a huge hole in my life, and for some reason I assumed I’d be adopting another Boxer (mix), and not a breed I hadn’t even heard of! That’s although I didn’t feel 100% ready for a new dog in my life quite yet.

However, since he had already been to several homes in his short life, I didn’t feel that it was fair to uproot him yet another time and decided to adopt him myself. My original plan was to foster him for the rescue group I mentioned before until they found a new home for him. When I adopted Wally in early 2019, he was about one year old. Click Here Why I adopted my Feist dog Wally More on that in the section later, “Are there different kinds of Feists?” In general, Feists are small to medium size dogs who weigh somewhere between 10-35 lb and come in 6 different color variations:Īs I found out, the size, coat as well as head shape depend on the respective Feist variety. His body is mostly red, but he has white markings on his chest and neck, all four paws, and on his tail end.

Dog breed info feist