Tell me what dog to get!

[CabbageLooking]

Hello - I am an aspiring dog-owner. We are about to move into a dog friendly house (good sized garden, floorboards rather than carpets, lots of great walks nearby) and I am at home all day and myself DH and DS really want to add a dog to the family. Before you ask: yes, we can afford it; yes, we are willing and able to give it the time and attention it needs and no, we haven't had a dog before.

It's not going to happen immediately, we need to work out what we want, research it and get the house ready before we do but, on the basis of the following, what would you recommend?

1. We are new to dog ownership.
2. We want something soft and gentle rather than barky and/or aggressive (I realise that some of this may come from nuture rather than nature).
3. We want something from puppy rather than kennel (we're not experienced - we need to know where it comes from, we wouldn't know what to do with a dog that had a difficult background).
4. It may need to be left for around an hour each day (for a walking school-run, I might be able to take it with me but I can't be sure).
5. Dh and DS both have a tendency towards allergies - neither have been noticeably allergic to dogs but ones which are heavy shedders might not be ideal.
6. I am fond of: golden retrievers, old english sheepdogs, springer spaniels and west-highland terriers. This is not an exclusive list. I don't like muscle dogs (I know, I know, they're misunderstood. I still don't want want one).

Go on wise MNers - tell me what you recommend.

CabbageLooking- generally, my answer is why not?
Key is to do a thorough research into the breed. Make sure size and temperament is what you want. Be prepared to take your dog to training classes for the next 12-18 months (so well past the 10-12 week puppy course). They are lively, clown like dogs that demand attention! They don't like being left behind, so being left has to be learned. They are clever and can be easily trained as long as you are kind and gentle.
Luckily not a popular breed and quite healthy, but be aware of health problems and only buy from fully health tested parents.
Exercise wise, my adults take what is on offer, 5 hours up a mountain or 2min around the block. What matters most, is being with their human.

Lastly, there is a thread about Tibetans further down the line here in the doghouse. Worth a look.

I love that you've managed to make your (very beautiful) retriever look positively terrifying. grin
haha - she's got her eye on the biscuit I am using to bribe her to pose!!
Yes, the black one is flatcoated retriever.

OP , I'm just delighted to see people actually putting some thought into it, rather than buying a cute puppy off Gumtree and not realizing Akitas are actually quite big....

Definitely choose a dog in what it was bred to do, rather than its looks! Retired greyhounds and lurchers, although they can run fast and look big, are actually pretty lazy and easygoing dogs, who are happy with a quiet life.

Go to a dog show, see what appeals. Talk to (proper) breeders who will be honest if they don't think the breed is for you. Good breeders will grill you before even considering you for a puppy. They will let you see mum (and possibly dad) and will have a contract which states they do not give permission to breed the dog without their say-so and that if there is ever a reason you cannot keep the dog it goes back to them.

user loving your corgi! I accidentally ended up with a corgi for a few years and he was amazing! Id love another! Such a personality and so funny. He made up his own rules (no cats in the garden other than ours, children to be kept in sight at all times, other dog not allowed to talk to other dogs without his approval first). I am working on DH to let us have another corgi (they are an endangered breed, so another good reason)

The main downsides are the kleptomania (never known a whippet who wasn't a dreadful thief) and the fact they're addictive. I don't know many people who only have one and three is pretty modest by a fair few whippet owner's standards

I used to know someone who had 7! She maintained that whippet puppies suck out a bit of your brain and so you get more and more forgetful and can't remember why you weren't going to get another whippet puppy...

She also had a deerhound, and sent me my favourite ever dog picture: a close up of the deerhound doing the most enormous yawn, while a tiny blue whippet pup peered down the deerhound's throat.

I almost didn't post cos you can really overthink it...but of the three dogs I have had a Labrador is the most forgiving of training mistakes and a great family dog. However, OP seems willing to do research and training so a number of breeds would be suitable, but then cuddly and less allergic...I am amazed nobody has popped up with pedigree poodle, bright, cuddly, non shedding, be careful to introduce being left gradually. Our poodle cross is great, we knew the breeders who did it deliberately, one off with lovely crossbreed mum and pedigree poodle dad and no , she cost much less than designer doodles. But still needs regular grooming and bi monthly clipping. At the end of the day a dog depends on you for their quality of life...walks, training, stimulation, rest and love. Quality of life can vary widely, I know dogs who only walk on lead, the same route daily and are left for hours on end...they survive, other dogs get a lot of company but live in an over stimulating environment with little training and are reactive. I would say for a first time owner do your research on breed characteristics but also on training and how much effort you are prepared to put in to the first year before you commit to any breed.

TBH: having a dog is about improving OUR quality of life by forcing us to walk more, take more time to just BE without gadgets, telly, whatever. And to give DS a friend (that's actually really important - he won't have a sibling so we'd like to give him something).

Going to shows and chatting to owners/breeders and meeting loads of dogs really is a great way to

I'd recommend either the big championship shows or any show entirely dedicated to a breed you're interested in. Dog Show Central is good for finding shows. If you're anywhere near Yorkshire I'd highly recommend Leeds Championship show which is on in a couple of weeks at Harewood House, it's a fab day out if you're interested in dogs!!

Discover Dogs (either at its own event in London in October or at Crufts in March) is amazing if you can get to it. I went at Crufts this year and being able to chat with breed enthusiasts was so much more useful than all the reading and research I'd been doing online.

If you like the schnauzer maybe look at Lhasa Apsos, they're non shedding and pretty lazy, though you need to work at recall in my limited experience of them.

I found a website called your pure bred puppy. No idea how good it is but interestingly it lists good and bad points for each breed. Disclaimer. Of course all dogs are different.
Would a tendency to barking or separation anxiety or being aloof or slow to toilet train put you off? Worth a look and asking questions.
Hoping to maybe be at Crufts next year if anyone wants a wolfie cuddle. Dog. Not me!

Retriever or a Labrador. A bitch is usually calmer and easier to train.
A Labrador isn't so hairy but we loved our retriever. She was an angel.

Same reason we got our pup cabbage he is very much a family dog. Here he is running in the fields with my DD

We have a flatcoated retriever x golden retriever. He is fantastic with our children, and friendly to other people/children without being overbearing. He is laid back and soppy but also fun to train and quick to learn. He has been easy to integrate with our other pets, and is generally no trouble. He's only 15 months but as long as he's had enough walks and training he is very calm at home. Downsides are he is a big dog, so there's lots of hair and mud and he likes to steal things (which I understand is a flatcoat trait!).

I just met a Tibetan Terrier on my walk! Mad as a box of frogs! But a beautiful baby.

I have just found some TT puppies for sale in Wales. They are ridiculously adorable.

Got a link?

Most responsible breeders have buyers lined up for a litter before they breed one.

how many other breeds do they have for sale?

Do bear in mind that decent breeders have waiting lists for their pups, often filled before they're even born, and don't tend to be selling pups already on the ground.

You really want to be looking for a breeder, who is aiming to produce the sort of puppies you want, rather than looking for puppies you can buy immediately.

Whereabouts are you Cabbage? The Tibetan Terrier association have a breed show on the 5th of August near Coventry. There are also loads of championship shows over summer which are a great way to meet breeders.

BTW: can anyone recommend a book - Dog Ownership for Dummies or some such? There are lots of daft things I don't know like when you should begin training, how much to feed them, etc.

www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/116818637/tibetan-terrier-teddy-bears.html?link=%2Fclassifieds%2Fpets%2Fdogs%2Fall%2Fuk%2Ftibetan%2Bterriers

NB: I'm not anywhere near ready to actually buy, I'm just looking.

I'm in Wiltshire - thanks for the links to the shows, I'll have a look.

Have you considered applying to rehome a withdrawn or retired Guide Dog? Perfect temperament and fully trained. There are a lot of applicants but I was successful. Some of them may be as young as two, if they have been withdrawn from training. You won't be considered if you are not prepared to accept one with behavioural or health issues, but these are normally very minor.
They are mostly either labs, golden retrievers or a cross of the two.
Look on the website, guidedogs.org.uk

Here is my lovely boy, he was just 5 when I adopted him last year.

Have you considered a working cocker spaniel? They are a lovely size - tend to be smaller than a springer - and their good nature is second-to-none. They're not as crazy as springers either (in my opinion) and they're so biddable and easy to train. My children all treat our cocker like another sibling and include him in their games, which he loves!

Oh what a beautiful boy! That's a good thought although the behavourial issues bit makes me a bit nervous.

The behavioural issues are minor, mine was he would engage in play-chase, which is actually rather endearing. It could be something like not liking the sound of motorbikes etc. Not wanting to wear the harness. Really minor to a pet owner but problematical to a blind owner.

I do like a spaniel ClamClam but don't they need a LOT of exercise?

Health test wise for TTs you should be looking for hip scores (lower than the breed average which is 12) and a current annual BVA eye test for both parents. Both parents should also have been DNA tested for (with at least one of them testing clear of) two types of Progressive Retinal Atrophy (rcd4-PRA and PRA3), Primary Lens Luxation and Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis. In the case of the DNA tests it's acceptable for them to be skipped providing there is proof (i.e. official DNA test results) that both parents of that dog were clear of the condition as that means it's impossible for that dog to be anything else. This is known as being "clear by parentage" or "hereditary clear".

Another thing that's important with pedigrees is inbreeding coefficients. This article explains it really well. A good breeder should be striving to produce puppies with as low a coefficient of inbreeding as possible in order to help safeguard to future health and genetic diversity of the breed as much as possible, as well as improving the chances of a healthy life for the individual pups.

You can check both health test results and the inbreeding coefficient of mating using the KC's Mate Select tools.

The KC's Assured Breeder Scheme is very flawed but TTs are one breed where it would be a very worthwhile starting point as all the currently available health tests for TTs are required to be done by breeders who are members of the scheme. The results still need checking (as the scheme has no rules on the actual outcome of tests, just they need to have been done) but that's easy enough as the results will be on the KC site.

There's quite a list of assured breeders of TTs, though remember that it's not an absolute guarantee that they're reputable.

Finally you want to make sure the breeder is doing everything they can to raise the puppies to be well adjusted, confident individuals rather than just letting mum get on with raising them on her own. This site has some good information of the minimum a breeder should be doing during the various developmental stages of the puppies (as well as covering what the new owners should be doing as well) but the absolute gold standard of puppy raising is Puppy Culture. It's worth searching for PC stuff on YouTube, there's lots of videos showing the extents the breeders using the protocols will go to in oder to set their puppies up for life in their new homes.

That's a good thought although the behavourial issues bit makes me a bit nervous.

In terms of withdrawn guide dogs "behavioural issues" can be something as minor as just being a bit too friendly or maybe a bit too daft to be reliable around roads. It doesn't necessarily mean they have really major issues so it is worth investigating.