Not sure what larger dog breed would suit our family

[Ihavepixies]

We are looking for the right breed of dog to replace our whippet who passed away recently, she was a very old girl and the children are heartbroken.

I am toying with the idea of a bigger dog this time, partly because I usually walk the dog alone in remote areas with youngish children and have had one or two worrying instances that have ruined my enjoyment as I am always on my guard. I am thinking that a larger dog (provided it isn't a labrador or other obviously incredibly friendly breed) may make a potential threat look for an easier target. Perhaps a dog that doesn't instantly greet strangers or could be trained to give a warning growl or a friendly dog that looks a little bit more intimidating than a whippet (same with a labrador/springer which would otherwise be perfect). However I am also worried a larger dog could potentially harm one of the children? I think a small dog can do damage with a bite but typically less so because of the size and bite strength being less. My children are excellent with dogs, very gentle, but you never know.
I'm also keen on a dog that is fairly obedient and easy to train as my whippet had a tendency to forget everything including her name when she caught a scent. My eldest is also keen to train the dog to do agility or similar.

And a dog that would happily go for a fairly long jog a few times a week.

Ideally we want a dog that is affectionate, not aloof with its family. One that is not too much of a one person dog and has love for everyone.

Also not a shy and retiring breed of dog that is going to be stressed out by our noisy house. Children can make lots of noise. We'd like a dog that wants to join in and play and fetch a ball.

I just wondered if anyone could advise on a breed or a cross between breeds that might fit some of these.

A friend suggested a poodle cross rottweiler but I think they were joking!!

We thought some of these might be possibilities:
Weimaraner (a one person dog?)
German shepherd (a one person dog and not very cuddly/affectionate?)
Hungarian viszla
Standard poodle
Dalmation
Border Collie
Rhodesian ridgeback (apparantly hard to train and potentially aggressive? Same thought with dobermans etc! Plus my children's friends may be scared to come round!)

Any advice appreciated!

Korean Jindo?

Bull mastiffs are really friendly with kids but look intimidating x

Sorry to hear about your Whippet, it’s heartbreaking losing them isn’t it. We lost one last March and one the March the year before

I’d say Staffie would be a good choice for you. We had an American bulldog who was a gentle giant. I only ever saw him be aggressive twice in the 5 years we had him (sadly lost him in March). Both times when a dodgy person was hanging around. He got in between us, hackles up and really deep
Growl. As soon as they ran, he relaxed and went back to being soppy. As with any dog, consistent positive training, a lot of love and enough exercise is the key. Good luck

Another vote for greyhound here. They are gentle giants- our rescue boy has been with us for 7 years now and he's so gentle with our now 3 year old son. Very laid back breed and don't need hours of exercise a day.

Standard poodle.

We have a female Doberman, soppy as anything (thinks she is a lap dog), she is liver and tan not Black and Tan, some people do avoid her because of her breed. We walk her with no issues as she was very well socialised as a pup, happily goes on a 2 hour walk of a morning and another walk in the evening although as she is getting older she is happy with out the second walk too. She is great with kids (my teen was scared of dogs till we met her and I also have a newborn and the Doberman is not interested in her at all).

Pointer, lurcher or Saluki

@StillMedusa

If you want aloof with strangers and can sound intimidating but is soppy as hell with family... you just described my Eurasier. The boys are bigger than the girls (I'd say mine was medium large.. she's 23k tho looks bigger because she's all hair, boys can be quite a lot larger)

Very easy to train as intelligent, ditto toilet training, very chilled in the house but loves a mad off lead dash. Gets mistaken for a GSD/husky cross.
If she is uneasy about someone she does bark.. and sounds scary , but is in reality very gentle. They are a 'reserved' breed so just want their family (tho whole family)
So many kids have said 'is that a wolf?!' :D

What a beautiful dog!

If you don't mind a big, big dog .. Great Danes are amazing pets, gentle but would protect you where necessary.

@Ihavepixies
I have a couple of female friends that walk dogs alone in rural or remote areas with their children. One of them has a gorgeous young female GSD and the whole family love her. She is certainly enough to intimidate any stranger that would upset or threaten any of her family especially if the children or their mother are on their own but remarkably gentle and loving at home.

Sorry for the loss of your dog. They are wonderful companions and such a big sort of the family I know

Standard poodle. I have one the next size down and am a total convert. I think you would love a standard poodle - and they tick all of your boxes.

Don't know about the protection aspect but poodles make amazing pets.

Standard poodle with normal trim...

I’ve had 2 GSD. Both excellent temperaments. Excellent with the kids, affectionate and loyal.

I did feel safe walking them. They do look the part. Neither of my dogs were aggressive or particularly interested in other dogs. Would chase a ball for as long as you would throw it.
Great guard dogs and have an impressive bark.

We've always had big dogs. Rotties, gsd, mastiffs and ridgeback. Best bed for family by far is rotty females. We got a total beauty 15 years ago cashed tinkerbell. Excellent pedigree and so health issues. She does a few years ago and we now have her great great great great great grand niece, Gaia. She is from Coltrana and they also breed new Foundlands which are excellent too if you can stand the fluff.

Rotties are fiercely loyal to their family, protect the home like their life depends on it and would defend you without question if they had to. Our old girl tinks dragged a preschooler away from our pond by their dungaree straps after they managed to get over our fence from next door. They also stink to high heaven when they fart but everybody has their down sides 😂

The photo is Gaia right now. Curled up on the end of my bed with a croc that she sleeps with every night. We also have a chihuahua and two hairless dogs. Gaia is ace though. She is walked every day by my teens and I can honestly say I'm not the slightest bit worried about them going out with her. The bed can be head strong but with a firm hand even children can easily train them to respond.

Deerhound x Lurcher. Lovely temperament, loves playing ball endlessly and running but inside quite lazy indoors and loves cuddles. Quite protective of his family and our space but not in an aggressive way but at 26kg and not forthcoming to strangers people tend to ask before approaching 😂

Better pic

My husband had a half staff half lab as a child. He was soft as shit, but bullies would cross the street to avoid them.

Staffy for sure. Amazing with children, tough looking, but complete softies.

Mine loves everyone (she loves me the most though), but she doesn't tend to greet strangers unless I talk to them first. She has barked angrily a couple of times at men who came up behind us in the dark. I walk her alone very early in the morning and people out jogging can be a bit scary when you don't hear them coming.

I would say boxers are very good with kids, and protective. But they are so needy! We have had 2 in my family, and our old girl is still loving and wonderful with the kids. And they have a deep and loud bark.

We have leonberger and they are fantastic. If you get one from a good breeder they are specifically bred for a good temperament and shouldn’t have a bit of aggression in there. Mine will go anywhere, meet allsorts of people and animals and not bat an eyelid. They are also incredibly gentle for the size.

The only thing is they aren’t really that energetic, a short jog is possible but they aren’t fast. Mine have done agility but again they aren’t going to beat a collie speed wise!
They will happily walk with the family but won’t be running off or flying around the place, they tend to plod along beside quite happily. They are a nightmare to walk through as people stop you every 3 steps to ask what they are

I’ve also owned GSD all of my life and again they are also fantastic. Our children have been adored by the GSD and I’ve never had an issue. They are trainable and intelligent however are much much higher drive than the leonberger. My leonbergers spend the whole day sleeping where the GSD spend the day with half an eye open making sure we aren’t going to be eaten by monsters, depends which you prefer I suppose.

My mums standard poodle competes in agility, she is in a full show coat but shes shown occasionally and sister is a dog groomer so to be expected really. Our SP we had as kids was in a normal pet clip though once retired and most people dont even realise theyre poodles then. Both were/ are very good at barking when needed and its quite a deep bark. Lovely temperament. Mum also has a Chuandong Hound, a rare breed in this country but she is fabulous. Extremely smart, not too big and would protect them. She was 4mo when my DD was born and very quickly realised she had to be careful. Took a week for her to know to leave DD alone and wont touch her without being told its okay.

I wouldn't assume all labs are friendly tbh.

My girl is an anti-social bugger - not aggressive but avoids contact with all strange humans or dogs - and my boy, while friendly, is a barky fucker (with a big booming bark) and is build like a brick shit house (no fat, solid muscle) so scares the crap out of folk.

Another vote for standard poodle here - our friends have a larger than average black standard girl and she's enormous! Really friendly but looks quite intimidating on walks and people don't tend to approach to ask to stroke her (unless they love poodles, like we do!). She'd definitely protect her family against anyone she thought was a threat and is very good at picking up 'anxious' vibes from her owners, in terms of encountering anyone who looks a bit odd.
My other suggestion is a Gordon setter - a friend has one and they are huge, black, lollopy things. A bit dotty but not as much so as Irish setters, love their families and are really affectionate with them, very gentle and soft-natured with children, but quite aloof with people they don't know. My friend's dog has known me for ages and can just about be bothered to come and say hello in the park, as he's just really not interested in anyone outside his own family - unless you have food!! I've seen children run away from him, and adults look slightly nervous, due to his size and colour, but he's very mild-mannered.

I have a lab who does not see everyone as a friend is protective without being aggressive.Mostly aloof to strangers but a real softy with family and people he knows . But once or twice he has made it clear that they should not get any nearer