big dogs?

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

DH wants a dog, his only spec is large! bigger the better in fact. can anyone recommend a breed from their personal experience to get us started?

we used to have a newfoundland. He was a lot of work as he was always shedding fur and slobbering on everything.

He was happy with 2 shortish walks a day and was fantastic with all 3 of my children. He came before they did and was amazing with them.

We were devastated when he died.

I think that my next dog will either be a golden retriver or an Estrella

OP as far as exercise goes, you should be reckoning on one good long off-lead walk per day, plus another shorter walk.

Different breeds need more or less - not all large breeds are the same. This is also true of the amount of mental stimulation they need - the smarter ones can become destructive if they aren't given enough to do.

Newfies are notoriously lazy

We have a black lab, and i agree he is big enough to deter folf (grown men often cross the stret if i am walking towards them at night), he has an impressive bark, but, in reality he is soft as a brush. He's a tall and rangy one and needs lots of exercise. He gets 1 big off lead walk each day (more if a weekend or school hols) and a few smaller ones each day. We do not have a big garden, just a yard.

He is so tolerant with kids and such a great adittion to our family. We all love him.

folf = folk

That sounds about the exercise i was looking at, DH wants to do a half hour run (jog really bless him) and I'd like to do a more relaxed amble along with the pushchair whilst it runs itself ragged with Ds for an hour!

Bella, I see that alot, the mental stimulation. This is whats putting me off a Giant Schnauzer (which would be my absolute dream.) But what would this mean, a small agility course in the garden? Certain types of toys? Fetch?

I realise these questions make me sound very thick, just want to make the right decision.

Thank you

Awfully sorry, bedlam - can't hear you!

'like many pedigrees does have health issues but a good heart literally'

pedigree dogs are not any more vulnerable to ill health than Heinz 57's. 'hybrid vigour' is a myth. Many cross breeds out there with geneic disease to testify - after all illness doesn't check the documents befre it afflicts the dog. hip dyplasia needs hip scoring of both parents to avoid regardless of breed.

OP - you have a little dog. if that works for you - i would get another small or medium size dog. Men say they like big dogs, then find that when it pulls on the lead / is pushy and difficlt and they don't have the experience to handle it, they hand them in to rescue.

a good breeder of large dogs will generally select puppy buyers with experience of handling larger animals.

I really do prefer bigger dogs to smaller breeds, but reading this I am glad we didn't go for anything bigger than a Lab.

Our dog has hurt the dc's unintentionally when running past them and pushing them over. If you compare the height and weight of a lab compared to say a rottie or dane, I would imagine the dc's would have been injured rather than just a bit bruised.

I should also mention that the lady I know how is getting the danes has had them before. Her last one passed away but before she had something wrong with her brain and during her last few days made her aggressive (where normally she was placid). She bit her owner and actually broke her wrist with the strength. Having dc's you need a dog you know you will be able to control, if your dog did something like this (whether through illness or temperament). would you be strong/confident enough to get a big dog off one of the kids?

We have 3 labradoodles (had 2 then given a 3rd that needed rehoming) they are pretty big (bigger than a lab) but as soft as anything, love you to bits and dont shed. BUT they are very active and need lots of exercise so dont buy one if you are not into walking. They are great family pets, great with the kids, wouldnt hurt a fly but they have a nice big bark when strangers come to the house. They dont like to be left alone as they are very sociable, thats how we got 2. Number 3 arrived mostly by chance as I had her sisters. I would say 3 is probably too many big dogs, but we love them all

One of mine ran into me in the field last week, you should see the bruises

3 labradoodles (had 2 then given a 3rd that needed rehoming) they are pretty big (bigger than a lab) but as soft as anything, love you to bits and dont shed.

some labradoodles do shed - even poodles shed (into their coat) and labs shed like buggery - so the poodle/lab X is hardly not going to shed?

I love gun dogs - we have a weimaraner. Gets on ok with the cats, has been hugely protective of dd since she was born (she is now 4 and loves playing frisbee with him), spends hours staring at the chickens tho (dog, not dd).

They do need lots of exercise (apparently, but ours is pretty lazy!) and they are one of the most intelligent breeds (hunt, point and retrieve so need to be). This can be good (very easy to train ) and bad (ours worked out how to open the microwave ). Also, short haired so not too smelly and doesn't really shed much.

He is a wonderful dog and would highly recommend the breed. Also look at german short haired pointers maybe? Or greyhound? Lots of those need rescuing

Wow, thanks again for all the responses, we have a list of breeds to look for that is as long as my arm at the moment, DH top spot is still going to a huskey, mine is very undecided. My Scottie is only 3 months so wont be actually puppy hunting until next Autum, so resaerch research reseach until then

We have both always had family dogs growing up, and previously to our Scottie we had a Rottie before this. I know they dont match very well, we need to live on a farm for all the animals we'd like to keep!

Oh, me and DH are also of the 'large' variety so think we can manage another larger breed.

Could i ask all those with the larger dogs, how do you ensure they are mentally stimulated at home?

Would you consider a lurcher. They come in all sizes, right up to the deerhound and wolfhound crosses which can be huge.

I have a gorgeous long legged rough coated lurcher boy. He is deerhound/saluki X greyhound/border collie and is the most sweet natured, gentle dog I have ever met.

He's big, but a strong gust of wind would blow him over and he only needs a couple of fast/off lead runs a day for him to be content with snoozing in his basket for the majority of the day.

There are so many different types of lurchers out there and they are very often the last to be homed at rescue centres despite the majority of them being, loving, calm and gentle.

A good lurcher rescue site is Lurcher Link. Just looking through some of the homeless hounds on there tugs at my heartstrings and makes me well up.

We have a labradoodle and he does shed. He is big but really soft and so very tolerant of the kids.

He has a loud enough bark to deter any would be burglar but as others have said would actually probably lick them if they came into the house!

We're really happy with him as a family pet and if we get another dog we'd get a Labradoodle again.

Babydubs ours doesn't need much mental stimulation at home as he is out with dh all day and pretty much sleeps when at home!

There are loads of things you can do if needed, e.g.

• get a Kong toy, smear inside with peanut butter or meat paste. Used to keep ours occupied for hours when he was a puppy.

• lots of training exercises (if done right) can be stimulating in themselves.

• hide treats around the house or garden for searching out.

If you aren't going to be dog hunting until next autumn, have you been to Discover Dogs? Its really useful if you have long list of breeds you like as you can meet and interact with all the different type of dog and chat to owners and breeders about the pros and cons of each breed.

It was going to Discover Dogs that helped us decide on a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. (We have 3 dogs.)

We're going to Discover Dogs tomorrow and I hope it will help us choose a breed, but I actually think it will make it harder.

My Mum also has a Labradoodle and he isn't much smaller than her Leonberger. Plus he sheds loads. Some don't shed that much but it depends.

Naughty, bedlam

On another subject, I'm getting a bit fed up with all this talk of non-shedding dogs tbh. They all shed, to some extent. And if anyone is so worried about having a bit of dog hair around, how will they cope with muddy paws/chewing/weeing/pooing etc? If you can't cope with a bit of mess, don't get a dog. Get one of those robotic ones they sell as toys!

i would like to dispute the comment someone made earlier as cross breeds are less likely to have hereditary diseases as certain breeds are prone ot diseases that other breeds are not. depending on where you get your dog from can make a big difference to whether your pedigree will have such ailments. i got my boxers from family pets (not show) and one had a heart murmer and subsequently died from heart disease whereas the reamining brother has a good heart (not even a murmer) but has nebulas along his gumline which is common in boxers and bulldogs. i was not saying mongrels dont have diseases, in fact did not mention mongrels at all!
sorry for the hijack! >>

Bella apart from the mexican hairless!