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Original poster

Which breeds would you not have again

131 replies

Bergerdog · 14/10/2020 07:54

Following on from the which pet wouldn’t you have again...

Which breed wouldn’t you have again and why?

I’ll start with GSD. I love them, I’ve had them all my life and I am on GSD 10 of various rescues and bought from reputable breeder dogs. After my last I decided not to get another due to the fact it’s very difficult to find a non neurotic/nervous/overly sensitive one despite me viewing multiple breeders at the time.

I really feel like backyard breeders have ruined the majority of them and I work with dogs and find GSD a bit of a nightmare to deal with Blush

When I got my current dog of a different breed lots and lots of the owners have moved on from GSD due to the same reason. I think they will always by my favourite but they are hard to live with at times Grin

So are there any other breeds that people have had that they think never again?

OP posts:
PencilFace · 14/10/2020 13:57

Whippet. Very sweet but very very high prey drive, strong desire to chase and pounce on other dogs, completely untrainable, zero recall, extremely high energy out of the house, can't go off lead as he just buggers off after anything he can chase, constant worry he is going to kill the neighbours cats, goes mental barking on his lead and nearly dragging me over when a cat or squirrel is spotted.

I doubt I will get another dog but if I did I would never go for a dog known to have a strong prey drive again.

NotYourDawg · 14/10/2020 15:58

@CarolVordermansBum (lol at your username BTW!)

poor dog but at least if the ex still has him it's a good sign i suppose.

I hate when a certain breed becomes the must-have dog. Huskies seem to be calming down judging by how many I see when out walking. It's the French Bulldogs and pugs that are everywhere and they generally seem sweet natured but they're so prone to breathing problems I believe.

Ylvamoon · 14/10/2020 16:00

Chinese Crested Powdet Puff.
Don't get me wrong, they are actually cracking little dogs (I had 2).
But they are too small, stubborn, slightly dumb and not loyal at all! They just went with anyone... no bribery required!

Anything with a high prey drive... grew up with 3 whippets they did catch & kill the odd animal- gross!

TibetanTerriers, I currently have 3, the brushing is a nightmare! Yes, I can get them clipped but I love the look of a long flowing coat. Then add the fact that they are described as lively and needing a fair bit of exercise. Wrong! All TT's I have ever met have been the laziest dogs ever! It's literally me dragging 3 dogs for a walk.

(The worst thing happened the other day, went to the lake district for some hill walking... up the hill dog lagging behind slowing everyone down and as soon as we turn round, dog runs ahead to the car! Shock)

SprogletsMum · 14/10/2020 16:02

Cavalier King Charles spaniel. He is the loveliest, cuddliest dog ever.
But he pees all over his legs EVERY time he wees. I have to wait to wipe him down after every time he's been out. And after 2 or 3 days wipes aren't enough and he stinks of wee. I love him to bits but never, ever again.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 14/10/2020 16:04

ended up euthanising him at 6 years old when we’d all had enough

@Scweltish could you not have found another home for him?

samandcj · 14/10/2020 16:11

No more flat coated retrievers for us (we've had 4). Beautiful dogs: fabulous temperament, easy to train, great with children, other dogs etc etc
They are very susceptible to cancers - after we lost the last one aged 8 we said no more.

CarolVordermansBum · 14/10/2020 16:14

@NotYourDawg i agree, I remember reading something about people getting huskies and malamutes due to seeing them on game of thrones and thinking they were cute. There seems to be so many poodle crosses where I live at the moment, cockerpoos, labradoodles etc, I think they are one of the 'in' breeds at the moment.

LaurieFairyCake · 14/10/2020 16:23

Springer

We adored him but all the money in the world couldn't cure him of his separation anxiety - so we didn't go anywhere for 14 years

GrouchyKiwi · 14/10/2020 16:42

Border Collie. We have neither the energy or the space to give them the life they deserve. They need to be busy. They're beautiful, wonderful dogs.

I had one when I was younger. I was not a good dog owner then.

ReeseWitherfork · 14/10/2020 16:45

@SprogletsMum if it helps to know, my cav doesn’t have this problem at all! So it may be down to the individual dog?

S111n20 · 14/10/2020 16:47

Me personally British bulldog. However have a friend who has one who is now 9 and never had any problems.

m0use · 14/10/2020 16:49

German pointer. She had so many lovely traits, but severe separation anxiety (hurled herself through a window to get out and find us), terrible constant ear infections, and she was generally a smelly dog.

I might be brave - or rather stupid - enough to try one day, but for now I couldnt face it

MadisonMontgomery · 14/10/2020 16:51

Pug, or any other flat faced breed. I love my little boy so much, he has a fab temperament but it kills me watching him struggle in warm weather.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 14/10/2020 16:53

@Scweltish Flowers
I'm assuming that you mean the dog had had enough as well. Grim for you all.

I'm another who'd foster but DH won't hear of it. He knows what would happen.

moosemama · 14/10/2020 17:05

Our first dog was a rescue GSD. She was about 7 years old when we got her and had been badly abused (we found her under a hedge at death’s door after she was dumped) yet despite that, was the calmest, most steady, reliable dog, with the sweetest nature. She was protective if needed (protected me from being mugged twice) but soft and gentle the rest of the time and an incredibly good judge of character - if she didn’t trust someone, we knew we’d better be cautious of them ourselves - and she was never proved wrong. We could take her anywhere with us - in fact she lived in a student flat on campus at my dh’s uni for a year without anyone realising, because she was so well behaved. She was also really sturdy and healthy right up until we lost her at around 14 years old.

If I could have another like her I would in a heartbeat, but I haven’t seen one that even looks similar in type to her for decades now and would second the reasons given by PPs about why we would never have another.

Since we took on our GSD 30+ years ago, we have had lots of different rescue crossbreeds and one pedigree. For the last 15 years we’ve had sighthounds/Lurchers and I always thought we would stick with them in future, but we’re actually going a different way for our next dog, as it’s too painful right now to think about having another dog similar to the one we lost recently. I am pretty sure that when things settle, we will go back to having sighthound rescues though.

tabulahrasa · 14/10/2020 17:10

Rottweiler - I actually love them, they’re great, suit me absolutely down to the ground in terms of personality, but having owned one with major health issues and fostered one with very similar health issues...

It’s just put me right off owning them.

shinynewapple2020 · 14/10/2020 17:54

@EmmaGrundyForPM

ended up euthanising him at 6 years old when we’d all had enough

@Scweltish could you not have found another home for him?

I think she meant because the dog was in such poor health . Poor dog and sad for everyone.

AriesTheRam · 14/10/2020 17:59

Chihuahua.I adore my boy but couldn't have another.I never have the same type of dog twice as another just wouldn't compare iykwim

Paranoidmarvin · 14/10/2020 17:59

Springer. And that pains me to say that as they are my favourite breed. But. He was nervous and that nervousness turned to aggression. And no matter how much help I got i couldn’t help him. After he went for my sons neck I had to do something.

I’m sure it’s the ears that get me every time. Long and flappy in the wind and when they run. Just wonderful. But would never have another one. Was tempted by a cocker spaniel but it’s still a spaniel.
When I can next have a dog I will get a golden retriever.

vanillandhoney · 14/10/2020 18:20

Based on my experiences as a dog walker, I'd never get a collie of any kind. They're far too intense for my liking and can easily become very fixated on things. I find them very hard work although they're lovely to take out at work as they tend to have good recall and aren't bothered by other dogs! I wouldn't want one full-time, though.

On a health note, I'd never get a pug or any other brachycephalic breed - I've seen too many that are clearly so unhappy and struggling to breathe - it seems so cruel to me that people are allowed to breed them the way they are at the moment.

Husky. I LOVE them and they're gorgeous dogs but the level of work required to keep them is just insane to me. My SIL has one and she runs it for 5-10 miles every morning and it gets another two walks minimum in top of that. There is just no way on earth I have that much time or energy to dedicate to a dog Grin

Samster1815 · 14/10/2020 18:20

My first springer was gorgeous; nice natured and very easily trained. She was the type of dog where I didn’t need a lead to walk her if I didn’t want to, as she would stay to heel no matter what. She had multiple complex commands and we used to do flyball and agility together. I got her when I was 16 and she was “my” first dog, rather than just the family’s dog so we spent loads of time touring the U.K., camping, swimming (she would find water in a desert) and holidaying together.
However, She had recurring ear infections and needed multiple operations, no matter what advice we followed to keep them clean. She also had multiple lipomas throughout her life, some exceptionally large. She also had two operations after jumping in to save my mums dog (chihuahua) from attacking dogs (I think they see a small dog and see rabbit sometimes)
Had she not stepped in he surely would have died.

My second springer, we got a year after my first passed away aged 14. I missed her so much.
Now the second one doesn’t have the health issues but is so much harder work. She’s “my” second dog but my family have had multiple dogs since before I was born and having trained my first and doing agility with her I feel I know the basics of dog training . She chooses what to listen to and barks at the fence (my first never barked ever).
We had a private trainer come in and say that she’s as stubborn as a mule. We have started on agility to help her focus, but she is now lead walked only due to her choosing when to listen to her recall. She also hates water and will happily skirt round all the puddles and won’t go in the sea at all (complete opposite of the first)

What it’s taught me is that it’s not necessarily the breed or the owner, sometimes you just end up with “that” dog.
I love both of my springers but had I had the second one first, I doubt I would have had any more. I got lulled into a false sense of security by how amazing my first springer was.

Hm2020 · 14/10/2020 18:34

I’d never have a another Pomeranian we had 2 first was 20 years ago from a puppy farm broken leg when we got him at 8 weeks old covered in tick and the vet said he wouldn’t last 24 hours he lived 16 years but my god wAs he hard but so regal and beautiful at the same time you couldn’t walk down the street with out people stopping you but so neurotic, reactive and yappy second one extremely well bred 5 generation pedigree met both parents and met her many times before we took her home had her in puppy training classes from extremely young she was more neurotic then the first one Hmm no where near having any sort of recall yappy didn’t even come close and her behaviour on a lead was no less then just embarrassing oh and the hair from double coat everywhere plus she died very young 9 maybe of breast cancer so although I love them I just wouldn’t but I may have been unlucky but I follow lots of things online on pomeranians and recognise a lot of the behaviours I don’t see in other breeds have a very small (runt) Yorkshire terrier now even though she’s quite old now and has chronic heart failure she has the best temperament of any dog I hAve ever known loyal and amazing with children actually loves children but I think when she’s gone I’ll have a rest from dogs for a bit

StormBaby · 14/10/2020 18:44

Terriers in general. We had a Fox Terrier and he was so aggressive from literally 8 weeks old that he ended up on Prozac. Four years in, after we’d all been savaged at some point, he was put to sleep. We even rehomed him at one point and she turned up with him at midnight and walked away. He was awful. I now have hounds and would never deviate.

sarge89 · 14/10/2020 18:57

@m0use We have a GSP with SA too. Had to get another dog to keep her company 😁 It's frustrating but she's so loyal and receptive that I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Our other is a Bracco and her recall isn't great, but she's so loving it makes up for the occasional disappearing act!

vanillandhoney · 14/10/2020 19:03

I would also add Jack Russells to my list.

The vast majority I meet are aggressive, reactive and snappy. In fact, I've only met one pleasant one and she belongs to a lovely retired lady who has all day to dedicate to giving the dog exercise and attention! My dog has been bitten three times - all by Jack Russells which admittedly puts me off massively.

Our neighbour has one and it's snappy, aggressive and just generally unpleasant. It also never shuts up and yaps at everything!