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.

what's with the lab-bashing...

my lab is a nut job and I so wish she was bland!
I second curly coated retriever, I want one

I've so been here before. The more I think about it the more I know that I want a lovely soft ready-to-play wiggly melty-eyed cocker. I've been searching for alternatives because I think dh wants a lab (dog preferences run in families, don't you think?) and my natural (female?) instinct is to try to find a compromise rather than impose my will...but I think I should supress this instinct (for once!)

Message withdrawn

I'm not a lab basher, honest! I know they are wonderful dogs. It's just that when you;ve narrowed it down to about 5 wonderful amazing types of dog and you need to get down to one, you start being picky...

chequers - your profile isn;t public at the moment

Message withdrawn

Get a Welsh Terrier! Curly coated gorgeousness, and not bland at all! Or a Border Terrier, as someone said earlier.

Wirey coated gorgeousness, should be!

what a sweetie. reminds me of our cocker. he was nearly all white - black ears and a black bum. nice wedding photos too!

Message withdrawn

If you are looking for a compromise between a cocker and a lab then definately look at the large munsterlander. Look atwww.dogbreedinfo.com/largemunsterlander.htm .

flat coat retriever? Less nutty than a pointer or visla but still full of life like a lab.

flat coat retriever? Less nutty than a pointer or visla but still full of life like a lab.

yes, yes, get a flatcoat. They're amazing!

I have a pointer and they are fantastic dogs ,we walk with a vizsla and he is the sweetest dog ,although i would second what someone else said about not liking being left, but if you were going down the puppy route you couldnt leave it for very long anyway . Flat coats are lovely too though ,oooh choices ,choices !

The musterlander is absolutely gorgeous ,there are 2 around these parts and if i had my pick of another dog ,this would definately top the list for looks ,joint top would be a italien spinone

hi justwater. oh if I were only choosing on looks I;d be spoint for choice. I bought myself dd a great dog book and I've spent days pouring over it (hat resists temptation to make awful pun). I agree Italian Spinone's are gorgeous. Other ones that are up there for me on looks alone are (here we go) wire-hired pointing griffon; czesky fousek, brittany, lakeland terrier, basset fauve de bretagne (can you imagine trotting that out when someone asks you what type it is ) and (possibly the winner for me) the basset griffon vendeen (grand or petit). oh and italian greyhounds.

how could anyone resist this?

doh. it linked to the same picture, scan through them to no. 2. I want to bring him home. now.

wire-hired pointing griffon - just in case you come back justwater - if you like spinones you'll like these too.

this is getting embarassing. do I get a prize for most posts to myself. try again

We have 2 Setters, one Irish (red) and one Gordon (black and tan). They are lovely friendly dogs, if a bit bouncy during the puppy stage! We have 3 DCs including a 20month old DS, and our dogs are 2.5yrs and 9 months, and they've both been great with DS and older DDs.

I also work from home quite a lot and they sleep a fair amount, and play together. They get a walk of at least an hour a day, plus run around in the garden.

The Gordons are quite rare, and I did see them on a list of "at risk" breeds.

We havev a bullmastiff, he is fab, totally chilled out and great with the boys x

Why don't you just adopta dog? There is no need to buy a particular breed unless you want to get into showing really.

there are lots of reasons for getting a particular breed. it's the best way of matching a dog to your lifestyle - in terms of amount of exercise, compatibility with children/other animals, periods left alone, amount of attention needed and lots of other things. and getting a dog well-matched to your needs is very important. it's very often when people don;t do this that they decide after 2 years that they don;t want a dog after all . By adopting a dog I guess you mean getting one from a shelter - and to some extent you can predict temperament etc but, ime, not all that well. one friend of mine was told a bunch of porkies about the dog she took on. another issue with rescued dogs is the higher probability of behavioural problems - and if, like me, you're not committed to/don't have the time to sort those isues out it's not the responsible way to go. so, we will be going for a particular breed - because I think it's the most responsible way, for us, of getting a dog