what breed for dp 2?

[hatwoman]

dear pup, that is. (or should that be pupply?).

we have a wonderful nearly 2-year old lab. he was the perfect pup - arrived virtually house trained, all other aspects of training went well. soft as they come.

if we get another what breed should we go for? top candidates are another lab (reliable, familiar), a labradoodle from a bitch we know well (couldn't ask for a lovelier dog - she's dp's best friend) or something smaller - a cocker perhaps. I had a cocker as a child and they melt me, iykwim. I also have a yen for a teeny dog having fallen in love with what i think was an italian greyhound/chi-wa-wa (not even going to try to spell it properly) cross (I know that's not a very good reason though). dpup loves a rough and tumble - so perhaps we should go for something of similar size. bt cockers are so wonderful. and having been reasonably syccesful with training I feel confident enough to handle a different breed.

Cocker it is then!

V different to a lab, as you know - much more going on up top, but am sure you can handle it. Am also living my dog life vicariously through you as I'd secretly like a cocker one day.

All the best

I am very unlikely to ever get a different breed, but if I did, cockers are on my list. They are fab dogs and not that disimilar to Goldens.

Of course, you could consider a Golden. They are not especially a like to labs, but are more hairy, so you'd have to not mind that.

I wouldn't go for a labradoodle personally, s although I like them, not many are responsibly bred and most people breeding them are in it for the money sadly, which I wouldn't want to encourage. Also, they are still usually cross bred and like all other crossbreeds, you don't really ever know what you're getting or what characteristics they will inherit from each parent.

midori -i'd onkly go for a labradoodle if it was from my friend's bitch. would totally tryust her to do everything by the book and choose a mate v. carefully. and I know she'd be douing it for fun/love not money. hers is a second gen and, as an inhdividual dog, is quite possibly the third nicest dog I've ever known (after the two I've owned!)- I see her most days, walk with her, dog sit her - so know her well. still no guarantee of couurse -but probably as much as getting a cokcer or lab from a good breeder.

back again - whenyou ay you're unikelt ti get a different bredd - different from what?

goldie's I love temperament-wsie but the hair bothers me. I lot of grooming if you don't want them to smell.

Different from Goldies, sorry.

Mine don't smell. I think a lot of dogs smell due to what they are fed, tbh. Mine are in the sea everyday and any sort of minging, filthy water they can find. I just leave them to dry off in the kitchen, then sweep the mud/sand off the floor. I do keep them trimmed as I show them, but I only give them a good brush once or twice a week and their coat are in good condition.

They are very hairy and their hair does get everywhere, but it kind of floats about and is easy to clean up.

They are just SUCH easy dogs. So easy to train, so intelligent and biddable. They treat everyone they meet like they are a long lost best friend and I really wouldn't want to be without one.

has to be said the most astounding dog trick i've ever known someone teach a dog was with a golden. my friend used to be ble to lift his golden's lip up, squirt squirty cream into her mouth and she wouldn't eat it til told.

she was a beautiful, adorable dog...but smelly!

the lab needs virtually no grooming at all. though I'm jealous of your kitchen - I used to do what you do - the muck is easier to get off the floor than the dog imo - but since moving our downstrairs is open plan so I've nowehere with a hard floor to confine him.

LOl. My friend's individual cockers smell worse than all three of mine put together. I really think it is down to management and not breed.

I have quite bad morning sickness at the moment and have become extremely sensitive to smells. My friends Golden and Cocker stank so much when I was there the other day I had to sit away from them, but my girls really don't smell at all, thank goodness.

However, they will find a wet ptach in a drought, so if you haven't somewhere to confine a wet, muddy dog, then they probably aren't for you, it wouldn't be right to make them stay clean and dry...

I'd go for another lab - you can't beat having two

I will give you a bit of advice though - make sure you get one that's a different colour! I thought I would never get our two black labs confused ("how could you say that, I love my dogs and could tell them apart in the dark", she says!). But now the puppy has grown up a bit, they're almost the same size (puppy now a bit bigger), both completely black, and pretty much impossible to tell apart unless you see them face-on (even then it has to be good light!).

I mean, come on, how are you supposed to contend with this?!

I love my blacks, but with hindsight a yellow one would have been a better choice

But apart from the colour issue, I love having two. You know they're equally as robust and have the same amount of energy, and I really think it helps the second puppy having a new 'mummy' of the same breed. Ours came straight from her mum, who looks identical to our older dog, and didn't bat an eyelid at the strange new environment we'd dumped her in, she was too busy playing with her new friend!

I don't have anything to contribute directly to this thread.......just wanted to say:

MrsL123 - how CUUUTE are your dogs??

Absolutely adorable.

A black lab was my initial choice but DH wasn't keen because he thinks they are dopey!! WHich to me seems something of an advantage

We decided on a vizsla. Absolutely smitten with the breed. Lovely temperament but do need a job to do (we will be taking ours on agility training as soon as she is old enough). We have come across so many of this particular breed where we live and we have heard nothing but positive things (well, its positive if you want a velcro dog who will be totally absorbed in your family life )

Oh I can do cuter than that Tulpe!

The pup at about 4 months (yes that is tippex on her leg!)

Another one from about the same time (who knew sand didn't taste nice?!)

And our older dog last year (aged 2) when we had some professional photos done of her.

oh no......extreme lab envy !!

Those photos are fab. I must say, your girls have very beautiful and noble looking heads. All the choc labs I've seen recently (not many black or yellows in village) have much more "boxy" and solid looking heads. Much prefer that more refined look of your girls

The pup did go through a bit of a 'fat head' phase for a while where her head was all wrinkly, but it seems to have disappeared now! It's funny looking at pictures of when she was small, she's bigger than our older dog now!

See hatwoman, get another lab - they're so cute when they're ickle!

Gorgeous lab photos. I have a handsome yellow lab of 8 and would love a second dog but work part time so not feasible. I have had a springer and a lab together and that was a great mix though the springer didn't have an off switch like the lab and could be a bit "wearing" around the house as he followed me everywhere and moved whenever I did!

at the springer not having an off switch. db has a springer - and it's so true.

mrs L123 - you have two very handsome labs there. they look similar in build to ours (also handsome, obviously). are they working strain?

Hatwoman yes they're both from working stock, so they're very compact. Everyone is always jealous of our dinky labs! We thought the puppy was going to be huge (this was her at 3 months!) but she seems to have slowed down a bit now, and is only about a bum inch higher than the oldest.

MrsL - if you sat my boy in that picture (obviously just looking at their faces), you would find it difficult to tell them apart - he looks just like them - same build and everything!

To answer the OP, I would probably go for another lab (but maybe I am biased ).

Awww, love labradors - brill photos L123!

we have a cocker who's 3. she is adorable (though not when she eat my husbands new shirt/football boots/shoes/shinpads/toys......). she does smell when she's wet though urgh. she adores other dogs and anyone who will stroke her