Which breeds would you not have again

[Bergerdog]

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

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

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

My dog has also been attacked three times by Jack Russells. All completely unprovoked each time as my dog really tries to steer clear of this breed.

On the flip side, our JRT (who was put to sleep this afternoon) was the most socially-savvy dog I have ever come across. Not a push over but not one to ever over react or make a tense situation worse.

She was phenomenal at reading another dog and taking exactly the right action to put them at ease without letting them get away with anything.

She was a master at work and I loved watching her.

Oh, I'm so sorry, OneFiveFour. How sad.

Incidentally, I know three lovely Jack Russells too. The three aggressive ones near me are all male and all walked by men who made the light of the fact their dogs were snapping at/ripping fur out of my dog. So quite possibly an owner problem rather than a dog one.

Agree re: JRTs. We've had three and all of them were aggressive, even attacking puppies. You can get lucky - some are lovely - but it's a lottery.

Patterdales are also aggressive and I think a bit boring.

Wire-haired dachshund - we had one and he pissed everywhere. Not much character either. Sausage dogs are in vogue round me and I just don't like them as a breed at all. They're not very friendly to strangers/children - urgh.

Golden Retriever. Absolutely never again.

We had one for eleven years, and there was a year between him passing and us getting our working cocker.

Found the retriever stubborn, wilfull, nigh on impossible to train obedience or recall, over-familiar with other dogs and some people, and generally a pain in the arse. He wanted to please himself the majority of the time, not us. DH has just said he thinks they are boring.
Our cocker OTOH is the most funny, loving, responsive dog in comparison. Easy to train - almost 5 and still able/wanting to learn new things, and crucially likes nothing better than to please us, which makes for an infinitely better relationship. He is Slightly sensitive around other dogs if they ''get in his face'', but thats reasonably easy to rectify. TBH I probably wouldnt have another cocker lol, as he would be extremely hard to top!

Doberman - wouldn't have chose that breed, offered to dog sit for 3 months and had her 3 years. Lovely dog, but very whiney.

Labrador - current dog and mostly perfect but couldn't go through all the hair again.

That's the only two we have had so far.

Oh patterdales...the only dog I’ve ever been bitten by! No warning either.

Controversially spaniels aren’t for me. I like my dogs to walk in a straight line not sniffing zig zagging around like crazy things ignoring me

All breeds have a downfall by the sounds of it but maybe people considering which breed they have should read these type of threads!

Soft coated Wheaton terrier. Ours was the most loving, sweet, loyal family dog, but she was utterly untrainable and extremely dog aggressive. She ran away three times and could never be trusted off leash for a second. Once we found her on a farm 10 miles away. Beautiful dogs but sadly never again.

We had a Patterdale X random farm terrier who was a fab little dog. She never bit anyone (except me, once, when I stopped her telling off our new and aggravating puppy and just got my hand in the way: the second she realised she'd made contact with me, she fell right back; not a bad bite, just a nick). She was amazing with the DC, with visiting DC, with DC out and about. Kept herself to herself around other dogs.

A litttemate, OTOH, was over-indulged (not by us!) owner and an absolute brat.

GSD for all the reasons you states OP.

Dalmatian. I have two and I adore them. The most affectionate dogs but completely neurotic and mental. This wouldn't be enough to put me off but both have terrible health problems. I couldn't take the worry again.

Anything that requires a lot of walking and a job will not be my next dog.

I have a lab is 6 now and and he is fantastic we walk for hours and he and jobs at home to help .But given my age now ,thiking ahead I know after him will not have my current engery and time to devote like I do now .He is the right dog at right time

Next dog less walking
Not so much hair
Maybe less keen on water and dirt
Less live of the rain
Smaller as I get older realise that I won't be as strong physically

My boy learnt to walk on lead well from young age was important to me and never once has he ever used his full strength but right now I know I have the strength if needed it can't guarantee that when older

@LaurieFairyCake

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

That's sad. Our Springer is quite chilled at home on his own.

But he had a tough start with a homeless guy who was sofa surfing for years, and he doesn't like change, so he is very happy in his own space!

Staffie cross, terrible with other animals and children, complete escape artist, was never properly and reliably toilet trained. And we are both experienced owners, had professional behaviourists involved.

Turns out SPCA had rescued her as part of a litter ( mum was PTS) from a gang/ dog fighting house and because she was a puppy ( under 6 months) they felt she could be rehomed... found this out after months of hell and I contacted them for some support/ideas, we were not told this at the initial adoption and home check ( just told she was rescued from a house when owners were arrested). The damage had been done. We persevered for a long time, 3 years ( even walking her in the small hours) and the behaviourist agreed that she was a danger After everything failed ( we loved her a lot) but we couldn’t take the chance around other animals and in particular children so we had her put to sleep. We sobbed in the vets but felt we had no choice.

The whole experience put me off staffies, crossbreeds and the spca. It was heartbreaking for all concerned, took us ages to get over and we went without a dog for three years.

@Wallywobbles

Cocker spaniel. Lovely but cocker rage scared us all.

He was willful, charming, selectively deaf, totally independent and fairly smelly.

He was also an escape artist, a thief and a serious fighter.

Same here! Black male cocker when I was a teen with full on cocker rage. 3 different behavioural specialists gave up on him. My DPs weren't inexperienced dog owners either

My neighbour has a collie. She is the most beautiful, intelligent and affectionate dog imaginable, but I doubt she has spent more than one hour confined to their garden. In spite of the money and time they have spent dog-proofing their place she always escapes. They aren't home in the day and she's obviously bored. She was bred from farm dogs and needs so much more than her owners can offer. Luckily she is so lovely that no one minds looking after her when she turns up for a visit. I'd never own one, unless I alsoalshad had room for a flock of sheep to keep it busy.

Jack Russell, I had to give him to my brother after a year as he bit me then the postman and I couldn't trust him around the kids.
He is much better with my brother I think he was just not a dog to be around kids. He was a rescue so he might have been better if we had him from a pup. Also he doesn't like to be touched too much.
Now have another rescue, a lab cross of some kind and he is lovely, friendly, biddable, very food oriented, soppy and placid. If it wasn't for the hair everywhere absolutely perfect!

@Highfalutinlootin, now my SCWT was one of my best dogs - and my only purebred dog to date. Had her Gold good companion award by 13 months old, could teach her anything, we did heelwork to music a bit of obedience and some agility. She was bags of fun and friendly with all animals and people. What would put me off having another is coat care. I didn’t have dcs when we got her and could spend hours on grooming and she always looked stunning. Once the dcs arrived I had to keep her clipped short all the time.

My dad had a JRT. She was the most fantastic little dog and probably the best dog I’ve ever known, other than my GSD, for dog:dog communication. Knew which dogs to avoid and how to diffuse a situation, even managed to make friends with my massive, fear aggressive Boxer x GSD rescue boy, who hated all other dogs. She lived till she was 19 and was an absolute sweetheart.

There is so much that goes into raising a healthy, well-adjusted dog, so many things at play, genetics, care of the mum during pregnancy, early experiences, socialisation, lifestyle, environment, care and training and of course dogs are all individuals and just because they’re the same breed, doesn’t mean they will have similar personalities. Breed traits are definitely a thing, but in my experience there’s so much more to it and once dog of a particular breed may suit a certain family, but another, even from the same littler may not.

When we were thinking about a dog and I looked at breeds, I was surprised to read that JRT were high energy highly intelligent dogs that need a lot of walking and entertainment. Like a collie.

I see so many people with them because they are 'small dogs' and I am sure many owners don't realise how much they need. Which is why I think you get so many aggressive JRT.

But I agree with moosemama that there are so many factors

@steppemum

When we were thinking about a dog and I looked at breeds, I was surprised to read that JRT were high energy highly intelligent dogs that need a lot of walking and entertainment. Like a collie.

I see so many people with them because they are 'small dogs' and I am sure many owners don't realise how much they need. Which is why I think you get so many aggressive JRT.

But I agree with moosemama that there are so many factors

Yes, I definitely agree that not many people realise how much attention they need. They're working dogs and designed to rat - they're not lap dogs, despite their size!

All the nice ones I know get lots of exercise (often with owners plus a dog walker) and aren't left for too long during the day. The unpleasant one near us just gets about 20 minutes in the morning and that's it - I'm not surprised he's constantly on edge but unfortunately as he's bitten my dog more than once, it really puts me off. He snaps and snarls at everything!

Dad’s JRT was walked miles every day along beaches, through forests and fields. They would often spend half the day walking together, plus Dad often walked other people’s dogs for them, so she’d go out with them as well. I used to joke that her legs were so short because he’d walked them off!

@moosemama

Dad’s JRT was walked miles every day along beaches, through forests and fields. They would often spend half the day walking together, plus Dad often walked other people’s dogs for them, so she’d go out with them as well. I used to joke that her legs were so short because he’d walked them off!

Sounds like she had an awesome life

Generally speaking, happy dogs are those that are well-exercised, fed good quality food, and those who have plenty of company and quality time with their owners.

Too many people leave their dogs alone all day, don't walk them enough and feed them poor diets, plus get them from dodgy places and then wonder why they have issues with their temperaments.

I think certain breeds are more likely to have issues due to overbreeding, or simply because they're small/cute/fluffy and people pick them for their appearance, then don't give them what they need to be happy.

With reference to JRTs etc...
I listened to a podcast a while ago where a bloke was talking about what he called the layered stress model, and how if dogs don't get what they need they become antsy and irritable and more reactive. He said it helps to think of it in terms of health, structure (some dogs need more than others), breed-appropriate activity and ... I think there was something else. Basically, provide the dog with what it needs, and it will be much happier and easier to live with.

I had this demonstrated to me when I had a working-line dog who was lame for about three months. By the end of it, she was an utter pain the arse: recall shot, lead manners going, fretful in the house, bored. It made me realise what she'd have been like in a lap-dog home: destructive, noisy, and terrible to take for a walk.

beagle and springer spaniel. We used to board dogs and beagles were just plain naughty and springers were unaffectionate and very hard to wear out. Absolutely not saying all are this way, but of the breeds we boarded these definitely were the characteristics that we noticed. We have two of our own now a cockerpoo and a frenchie and I would definitely recommend them both as a breed, although frenchies have the most awful smelling wind!!

I had friends with a JRT who was delightful. He was a farm dog and was allowed a ratting session each evening. You could see him get amped up from about 10 minutes before then he’d go do his job and after that he’d be good as gold. He clearly benefited from being able to do the job he was bred for.