'there are easier breeds:' which ones?

[motmot]

On the Labrador retriever thread, quite a few posters have expressed their scepticism about labs being ideal family dogs, due to their high exercise needs, strength etc. Someone said there are easier breeds out there to choose from.

Which ones? What breeds do you think are 'easier,' especially for novice owners? Certainly not my dog (German Wirehaired Pointer), they have a strong desire to hunt and need pretty firm consistent handling and an abundance of exercise (I will not be getting another!)

Obviously all dogs need training and work and there are going to be exceptions within high-maintenance breeds, but can you generalise do you think?

We have a Labrador, and she is honestly such an easy dog. I have heard that lab puppies stay puppy-ish for longer, and so some behaviours like chewing can take longer to grow out of for labs than other dogs - and that was certainly true for ddog1 - but she did grow up, and is now a very amenable dog. We can leave her at home alone if we go out, and she will just sleep until we get home.

If, for some reason, she doesn't get as much walking as is ideal, she is fine with that. As most labs are, she is very food-motivated, and that does make them easy to train - they will do a lot for a sniff of a gravy bone!

Ddog1 is a brown lab, and not the brightest bulb in the box, and I think this means she doesn't get bored easily, and is easily amused. Give her a glove to shred, and she is perfectly happy!

She is a real food thief, though - you really have to make sure all food is well out of reach! She will eat anything she can get hold of - including all sorts of poo, unfortunately. She has stolen anglers' sandwiches, when she got ahead of dh on a walk. He once left eight small steaks on the side, and she stole and ate three. He didn't learn his lesson, and a couple of weeks later, three salmon steaks went the same way! She once got into the cupboard where her big sack of food is kept, and ate 4.5kg before she was caught! She was a brown, furry barrel, and we didn't feed her for at least three days.

She is the most loving, cuddly dog, loves being with her people, and I cannot imagine life without at least one lab now!

They are prone to hip and knee issues - our other dog is a lab cross, and is going into the vet hospital next week for surgery to repair the worst of her knees - she's ruptured both knees' cruciate ligaments. The other will be done in about 6 weeks, and each is costing c£2.5k - so vet insurance is a must. If you get the dog from a breeder, always ask to see hip scores and eye scores (the lower, the better). Some do offer knee scores now too.

I forgot to say - ddog2 is a lab-pointer cross, and is much brighter than ddog1 (not that that's difficult), but also more neurotic, though that may be because of her history - she had a couple of litters, was sold to a family who,lived in a flat and found her quite hard to cope with so gave her to the Dogs' Trust, which is where we adopted her from. I think she is justified in having a few issues!

Beautiful dogs! Our pointer is also justified in having some ishoos but I have to say all the ones I've met have been quite needy/neurotic! I adore labs and I think if they do have lots of exercise and training they're great pets. And you do get great food-thieving stories from them!

What about greyhounds? Aren't they meant to be fabulously lazy round the house- although problematic recall and prone to disappearing after rabbits?

For greyhounds, they can have a strong prey drive, but this could also be related to how racers are trained, and their experiences in racing kennels, rather than the breed themselves.

I have lurchers, and they are a joy and very easy to live with. Ddog has no prey drive, is a bit dim tbh, but recalls beautifully and can manage all basic obediance. Dpuppy is brighter, but both of them sleep a huge amount, and don't need a lot of exercise at all. If its raining ddog will not go out unless forced and will still snore the day away.

I don't think you can geralise, regarding 'easy breeds' because within any breed, there can be anomalies and behavioural issues. Recommending any one breed as 'easy' could be setting someone up for a fall, if they encounter an issue which is less than easy to deal with.

OTOH, there are definitely breeds which can be more difficult and aren't suitable for novice owners, IMO.

My friends have two border terriers and they seem like 'easy' dogs. We looked after one for the day and other than when we took her out for a walk she just slept!!

Cavelier king charles spaniels are one..they have health issues(heart issues being the main one) so choosing a good breeder who health tests is essential but they are on of the few breeds i recommend to people with kids.have one ever met one nasty one out of hundreds ive seen and treared.
Im a vet btw

We have a chihuahua. We read all about the breed before we got him. We understood he was in the top 5 difficult to potty train dogs.

All I can say is he has been a dream. He house trained very quickly. When we walk him in open spaces off lead he always comes back when called. He's AMAZING with out 7 and 3 year old. He's not interested in other people or dogs on walks.

I think chihuahuas get a bad rep because 'typical' people who own them don't treat them like dogs or show then any consistent training. Louie is all dog and a good one at that. Don't be put off. Oh and they are great lap dogs of an evening.

Weren't Cavaliers breeded to basically be walking hot water bottles

I agree, amantes, there are definitely breeds that are more challenging, or have been bred to perform a job -collies spring to mind,and I would never have one unless I had sheep/did agility/flyball etc.

I love the look of large, fluffy lurchers- hounds first rescue have a gorgeous chap called Hagrid at the moment... Not that I'm looking...

Border terriers are just adorable. It must be the fact that they look like teddies.

Aren't cavs and Chihuahuas in the same 'companion' dog group? Bred to be good company and not too do a 'job'

It's amazing how much one species can differ, in looks and temperament. I love coming across a tiny little Yorkshire terrier or similar on a walk and seeing my gwp alongside it

Greyhounds, whippets and lurchers. My greyhound has no prey drive and it's not really a problem if they do, you just have to either keep them on a lead or be aware that they may not return on first call if you do let them off.

Our Springer was dead easy - intelligent, compliant, food obsessed. A decent walk off leash every day and he was grand. I've had labs and think they're the same - dead easy.

My friends retriever is the same, she's a walking cuddle monster.

chihuahuas were not really bred to do anything, they are little mexican pack dogs and they are ALL dog. I love them. I want to shake people when i see them in cutsie little coats and tutus and even worse when people carry them in their bags. They can be snappy and not afraid to defend themselves.

I have two jrts - they are utter bastards but i love them to peices.

I used to have rotweillers and found them very easy, laid back dogs, i had a chihuahua when i lived with my parents, he was a good dog too.

All dogs are individuals i think and tend to fit in wiht the family dynamic. At least that is how i have found it to be.

Dogs i wouldn't consider "easy" Terriers of any description. Border collies, pointers and other hunting breeds, springer spaniels, german shepherds, podengos and generally any working breed of dog, not forgetting huskies which are the current fashion accessory for the hard of thinking. All lovely lovely dogs but they need firm and loving training and need to be occupied. Im not sure id recommend any of those breeds to a first time owner. Labradors i think it very much depends on the line, if its a working line then the dog needs to work imo.

I always tell people to look at what the dog was originally bred to do...ie terriers spend the day ratting(working independently so not nessecarly going to listen to owner comands and may be tireless and preydriven) shooting dogs..depending on wether retrieving or flushing etc(tireless but should be keen to please handler versus gogogo(springers :p)) scent hounds(nose down= heedless on recall a possibility) herding breeds..hughly intelligent and srimulated by movement,may be heel nippers...guarding breeds(can be barkers and possibly issues with terratorialism and kennel gaurding) sled dogs..hugh energy dogs ment for running kms a day with little handler control destructive more than able to escape most normal confines due to athletic nature when bored. Companion dogs often had watchdog capabilities beaware as possibly yappy etc

All dogs are individuals though...but breeds can have a hugh influence

I think greyhounds are easy dogs in general. I know mine is. The prey drive is an issue for some but, as I've said on previous threads, zillions of dogs want to chase a squirrel or rabbit, they just winter have the speed to catch them. If you are sensible with off lead then it's not much more of a risk than any other breed.

*won't have, not winter. Wtf autocorrect?!

Arudonto - apart from the cavalier king charles, what are the rest of the few breeds you would recommend?

Arudonto that's a really good post about looking at the original breeding of dogs. (Speaking as one who is owned by a beagle)

Is it mostly about chase with sighthounds- will they kill their quarry if they do catch it? We had a dog which would chase but only seemed to enjoy that part of the sequence- he always stopped short of biting/catching/killing. Our pointerwill kill, and bring whatever she's got back to you (obviously I prevent this as much as possible, but she does occasionally return with a mouse etc)

It depends on the dog is say motmot, my greyhound just loves to run. He only really chases my whippet x, but she does chase. She's caught one rabbit but mostly gives up quite early. She did bring that to me but dropped it, and wasn't bothered to do so, as soon as I told her to. My friend greyhound x whippet will chase forever as long as he doesn't loose sight and that's the dangerous part of its a deer as he can travel large distances very quickly and has crossed a major road at times too, he's never caught anything though.

We've got a shih tzu poodle cross, I'd say he is a pretty easy dog. He's got a poodle temperament and so he's clever and picks up everything easily, he's pretty bombproof not frightened of anything and pretty independent so no separation anxiety. He loves company and so will happily flop at the side of anyone sat still and he's not yappy unlike most shih tzus I know but he talks a lot with whines, snorts , sneezes and growls and expects you to answer. He'll walk and run for miles if he gets the opportunity but likewise he'll manage with a stroll around the block if we have to.

I have a whippet, lovely temper, non shedding, non smelly....sleeps all day after a short run around, easy to have around the house. But he struggles with recall and is more independent and aloof than I expected him to be.

All the labs I have met have been 'easy' dogs, I think they do deserve their rep as god family pets.
I've got a ridgeback cross, she is the most difficult, obstinate animal I have ever met. I lover her lots though :)

I have a cocker/springer cross who is very demanding. He's clever but neurotic with high energy. Never again will I own a spaniel. I also have a poodle cross (cockapoo dam, poodle sire). Despite everyone telling me that poodles are bright he's charmingly dense. A very easy dog to own, he just wants to be with you. But he's a cross, so no guarantees. That said, every other poodle cross I've met has been playful and affectionate. Some are very high energy, though.