anyone got a pointer or a hungarian vizsla? anyone want to recommend another dog that's not a lab?

[hatwoman]

been looking into dog breeds for months. I was brought up with a cavalier king charles, and then a cocker, plus my dad (who I didn;t live with) had labs. dh brought up with labs. so i know a lab ticks all the right boxes...but I find them a bit, erm, bland. they just lack a bit of omph. the only downside I can see with pointers and vizslas is that I;ve read they don;t like being left alone. now I have been brought up with dogs and I'm not going into this dog lark with my eyes half shut, but I would like a dog that could cope with a couple of days a week where she/he could be alone - with a dog walker coming in - maybe twice. at the moment it won't be necessary - I'm self-emplyed and work from home, but it might be at some stage in the future.

Erm... OMG, can't remember the name now. Long haired something (normally used for shooting) long haired/coated retriever!! lol

My tiad has one and LOVES to just lounge in front of the fire. Although he does take her for a walk morning and evening. Only quick 1/2 hr ones tho.

Sorry should read Taid tiad

hmm still don;t know what a Taid is! we've ruled out retrievers on the grounds of long smelly coats. they are indeed lovely but do tend to be a bit pongy. I'm sure you can groom them enough not to be, but I'm doubtful I could trust myself to do that...(on top of the 2 hours a day walking that I am prepared to do. well go 50/50 with dh on)

Taid is welsh for grandfather.

What about a mongrel? Just go to RSPCA etc and see what they've got? We had 2 mongrels who lazed about all day.

If you want specific breeds. Someone told me greyhounds are really laid back.

My sister has two vizzies and they are lovely but they don;t liek being alone for very long periods (at least her's don;t) and they need a LOT of walking (far more than a lab). She walked them brickly for an hour a day.

Weimaraners are lovely family dogs, need lots of walking though.

I would guess that most hunting dogs don;t like to be on their own (but only a guess) as they are bred to work with people and to do stuff. Sitting around at home doing nothing tends to send them a bit mad - barking mad you could say

I thought vizslas needed more like 2 hours tbh! I run quite a lot so I'm planning on combining exercising teh dog with exercising myself. you could be right about the working/not liking being alone thing. gun dogs in general are so great though - intelligent, trainable, good with kids/people/other dogs

We have decided on a Border terrier, we really wanted a Border collie (as both myself and DH were brought up with them) but sadly we don't have a farm.

Flat-coated retrievers are wonderful - perhaps they're what LuckySalem was thinking of. They're not as hairy and fluffy as Goldens, and are racier and leaner in build than labs. They do love company, lots of exercise, and a firm hand in terms of training but are the most placid, friendly and amazing dogs. Ours is now 11 months old and I can't imagine life without him. We have a 2 year old who bosses him around and they're the best of friends. He's left for up to 5 hours at a time (I'm self employed too) perhaps twice a week, but as long as you train that from the word go and leave them "things to do", they should be fine. I have to say he does like to wallow in puddles on a hot day... but we have tiled floors and it just sweeps up when the mud dries!

Labradoodle!!!! My parents have two. They are great. All the good point of the Lab but a bit more interesting .

I have a vizsla - what would you like to know?

my labs are not bland
I love them

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ooo lots of posts to respond to

oh sorry lilymolly! I do find it hard to put my finger on...I think it's having been exposed to the utter adoration and wiggly gorgeousness you get from a cocker...they're like puppies all their life. but I guess that probably amounts to not much more than my own bias!

my brother has a springer, chequers. He's a lovely dog - but, for me personally, all that spaniel wiggliness and adoration starts to loose its charm when they get above knee height! also - I have been wondering about the 2 dogs thing...what's it like having 2? I would guess it's not really much more work than the one?

and Flier - how much exercise do you give him/her? and does he/she tolerate being alone at all?

MG and VP you're not the first to make those suggestions. they're definitely on my list.

We have a 9yr old Dalmatian and a 6mth old Weimararner, they are both fab with the DDs (3 who are 6 and under). We think they are fab, but we do have to walk them for a good hour off the lead with them running the whole time. The puppy has been tricky to train as she is so wilfull, but very affectionate, as is the Dally.

A friend has a labradoodle, and she loves it, she aleays used to have labs and she thinks he is a lot more fun.

Rhodesian Ridgeback (ours in on my profile_)

They are adorable, great house dogs, don't need too much exercise.

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hatwoman - our vizsla doesn't get as much exercise as they say they should have, but he is a happy dog and we have had no problems with him at all. He gets walked 3 times a day, for about 20 to 30 mins max. He has his own room off the kitchen at the back of the house so doesn't really get that much company.
He is absolutely fantastic with the dcs, very very calm and patient, which was one of the main reasons why we chose the breed.

Have you thought about a curly coated retriever?

I know you said about grooming and smelly coats etc, but these don't need grooming nor do they smell. They are a lovely breed and i can give you all the info you need as i am the very proud owner of one who is 8 months old and is just fab, he is ok to be left for a few hours at a time (we have left ours up to 5 hours very ocassionally) and we do have a dog walker.

The other bonus is they rarely bark or make any noise.

They are alos on the native breeds endagered list, so we need to boost numbers!!!

chequers - db's springer has this incredible "trick" (I use the inverted commas because it's not a good trick) where he gets food off the kitchen side by doing a sort of fosbory (sp?) flop. he jumps up with his back to the side and lolls his head onto the edge to get whatever it is. we think he thinks it's more discrete and he might get away with it. very entertaining (when it's someone's else's dog/food/house )

my friend has a Swedish Vallhund and she is the loveliest dog ever !

swedish vallhunds

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Curly coated retriever would definately tick all your boxes and they aren't very common or have a look at the Large Munsterlander (looks like a large black 'n white springer spaniel but a lot more sensible)Also second the suggestion of a labradoodle or how about a standard (big) poodle...fabulous working dog, looks perfectly macho in a pet clip and no shedding!