What breed?

[lionsleeptonight]

What dog breed do you think might be most suitable for myself and my DH? We have a quiet, calm home with 50sqm garden. No kids.

We hike 3 hours twice a week and I run 5k twice a week. I walk into town most days (5 mile round trip) so I need an active adult dog. The rest of the time I'm home on the computer working or writing. Looking to get a campervan so a dog that can come with us for trips would be fantastic.

The dog must be good off lead (recall vital) and medium size (no bigger, I've been pulled over by a greyhound before!).

Happy to put time into training of course. Must be a calm type of temperament.

Ruled out sighthounds (inc. lurchers) because of recall and size.

Any suggestions at all?

Until I got to your line about being pulled over I was going to suggest a greyhound, they will be a active as you need them to be while happily sleeping all day.
I've heard Dalmatians are quite good for high exercise levels and are good on recall etc, so could be a possibility? Not sure what they are like as a sitting around dog though, I guess the amount of exercise you give them will cause a lazy pup for being in the house?

The first breed that popped into my head from your description is a Vizla - they are generally more slight than pointers etc but still high energy.

If that's too big, then a spaniel is generally a good choice.
Dalmatians are quite big dogs.

A bit more exotic but a nova scotia duck tolling retriever is a smaller, high energy, very clever breed that I've only heard positive things about.

nova scotia duck tolling retriever

Vizlas and Dalmations absolutely gorgeous but too big sadly.

Would a Spaniel be relaxed enough in the house?

With the amount of exercise you could offer, a spaniel should be fine. Working line cocker spaniels are more energetic than show lines but look beautiful and are very easy to train.
Springer spaniels are bigger obviously.

Border collie? :)

NOT a Jack Russell!!! Love ours to bits, wouldn't recommend.

@joystir59 oh no! Why do you say that?

Because they are not calm. Our one isn't remotely calm! Gets tons of exercise and stimulation, sleeps like a log until a leaf three counties away falls from a tree.

noted!

I’m looking for a similar dog. We have a Campervan and I walk a lot. We have looked at rescuing a cross breed, lurcher types are good as they like to walk but also like to sleep. Spaniels are great but some are pretty high energy and want a lot of walking (they don’t sleep that much when they are young), maybe a cocker spaniel?

my jack russell is not that way at all, he has his walk in the morning and then we have to remind him to go out for a wee in the afternoon, he loves his bed.
We go on hikes and runs which he is happy with and then settles well afterwards
Maybe i have the exception to the rule then??

Border terriers also enjoy long walks if you want something smaller?

I have a collie x flat coat retriever who could walk and walk, only problem was he would never settle for long when at home and would be ready to go again after a 20 minute rest.

Border collie
Smooth collie
Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Kooikerhondje
Norwegian buhund
Brittany
Working type cocker spaniel
Working type springer spaniel
Finnish spitz
Poodle (mini size)

@Lovemusic33 a whippet? They fold up small and are very calm in the hosue, but equally will go on endless walks/runs. Short coat, low shedding and can be taught a reliable recall.

Cocker spaniel! Up until her last few months (aged 14) my cocker just kept going. She'd come running with me, go on long all day walks no issue. She would happily scale up/scale down energy as activities changed so weekends much longer walks than week days and sometime morning walk + evening run. She thought nothing of tackling longer hikes even if we'd not been out on that sort of thing in months. When we weren't out she was curled up asleep most of the time.
Honestly can't believe that she did all that right up to her last 3/4 months and with a heart murmur from age 5! So imagine a healthy one!!
She was an english show cocker rather than working.
Our next dog will be a lab because DP isn't keen on cockers (And it'll seem less like a betrayal to me) and they can be similar in temperament and energy (slightly less more often than not). Personally I'd always stick to working breeds, particularly shooting types because their temperament and trainability tend to suit my lifestyle.

I’m not a fan of whippets (they are the opposite of my old dog).

We are looking at a young rescue dog tomorrow, she’s lab x German Shepard but mainly lab (lad face and body, GSD colour).

Miniature poodle
Border terrier
Cocker spaniel

We have a Spanish water dog. Best dog we have had. Very biddable (though we do put on a lot of time training). Medium sized, non shedding, very active and pretty smart too.

Irish or wheaten terrier would fit the bill. I have three who lounge around till I say ‘walk’ when they start wagging and fetching their harnesses. They are calm in town and cafes and love off lead romps round the fields and woods. Two of mine don’t travel very well in the car for some reason. They just seem to stress after an hour or so.
They all, contrary to popular belief, have great recall and they do not pull on the lead. I did work on these things a lot.
They are rare so be prepared to be asked about them all the time and finding an adult will take time. They do come up for regime every now and then so it is worth contacting the Irish Terrier association.

Maybe instead of looking for a specific breed you could just speak to some rescues about your requirements and you will likely find one that suits? As you have no kids and a calm home seems like you'd be in the place to take in a rescue.

A collie. They are super easy off lead, love running, and at home just curl up and sleep, you won't even realise we have a dog because he's so quiet at home. They do need walking but are quite content with a lead walk some days

Agree with the rescue suggestion, that to so much easier than getting a puppy and you get an idea of their temperament when visiting them in their foster home. Some cross breeds are much better and healthier than KC reg dogs and they tend to live longer.