Going round and round trying to figure out best breed for us (family dog)...

[CityDweller]

... and I'm hoping for some advice!

We're hoping to get a dog in the next year. Family of four. DC currently 7 & 5. Live semi-rurally. Plenty of space indoor and out. Someone at home nearly all the time. First-time dog-owners. We also have chickens. DC would also like guinea pigs in the near future.

Every time I think I've found 'the right' breed, I then read something that puts me off or we meet a dog that makes me re-think.

Requirements are:

• loving, gentle and friendly
• will bond with all of us (i.e. not a 'one-person dog),
• not prone to jumping up (or can easily be trained out of it as a pup)
• not too 'mad' or zoomy around the house (beyond the puppy phase)
• characterful and a properly 'doggy' dog (i.e. not a greyhound!)
• medium/large in size
• ideally not too smelly/ sheddy (although will compromise on this if dog fits the bill in all other ways)

These are the breeds on my short list, but they all seem to have various drawbacks that are making me pause:
Irish terrier
Irish setter
Golden retriever
Cocker or Springer spaniel (working)
Standard poodle

I also really love the look and sound of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (Tollers), but they seem impossible to find...

Any input on whether any of these breeds might suit us, or others worth considering, would be much appreciated!

Rough collies are still collies - bred to work all day long and need lots of exercise and grooming. If you wouldn't get a border collie, don't get a rough.

Have lived with lots of Roughs over 30+ years, and this is absolutely not true. They are a very chilled household companion, and while they will take as much exercise as you want to give them (when old enough for it), they will also be perfectly happy with the couple of decent walks a day that every dog should have.

Coat is not too troublesome - but I would NOT neuter any double coated breed if you don't have to, it can make the coat very difficult and you won't know whether it will apply to yours until it's too late.

If the coat seems over-facing, have you looked at the Smooth Collie? They will still moult (like buggery at certain times of the year!) but obviously a lot less coat care required and another great family breed.

To those suggesting leonbergers - how are they on the drool front? I’d take shedding over drool!

And yes to the golden retriever. They are lovely dogs and certainly tick the ‘friendly’ box. In fact we were relatively set on that breed and then I read so many posts on here about them having issues with resource guarding. So that sent me back to the drawing board.

I hadn’t considered pointers. Will do some research on them, thanks.

schnauzer. We had a mini, though was on the large size. Brilliant family dog

Old English sheepdog 🥰 the best breed ever I say!

I have a Toller and she is amazing but does still jump up when out, which we are working on. She is absolutely lovely and fits the bill in every other way. Very intelligent and needs lots of mental and physical exercise but is a pleasure to have and definitely has an off switch. I would have another in a heartbeat. We love her to bits.
What part of the country are you in?

@CityDweller no drool. They are supposed to be closed lipped and none of mine drool at all. They do make a mess at the water bowl but it’s easily solved with a mat underneath.

I would say they are similar to retrievers in terms of that happy personality but much more calm. They will happily greet someone with a quiet wag and a sniff but aren’t the type to jump around getting excited.
They were originally bred as companion dogs and so don’t really have that drive that some of the working breeds have to be doing things, they just want to be with you and they are happy. Saying that, mine are also independent enough that they would go to a cooler room to sleep or potter round the garden alone which is something my GSD would never do!
Mine don’t guard anything, far too much effort. They also are very foody and will swap anything for a hotdog.

Mine never bark at all. Visitors get greeted with the lift of a head and a wag of the tail but nothing more. Burglars would be welcomed in

They are big but are mostly found lying down and so I spend a lot of time jumping over them

I don’t find the hair any worse than my German shepherd but they do require regular brushing of the bloomers at the back or they will mat. Regular grooming keeps the shedding in check but I wouldn’t say they are for the house proud!

There are negatives though. They are more expensive to feed and keep than a standard dog. People can be standoffish at such a big dog as can smaller dogs. They attract a lot of attention, for example I can be stopped 10-15 times on an hour walk and more if I’m somewhere public. If you just want to walk in peace I probably would take them off the list!

PollyRoulson not always. A local puppy I went to visit and her owners (who had previously had a St Bernard who lived to 12 years old) said it is nothing like this at all. The couple love the breed. Apparently they don't slobber as much as people assume they do. Another myth busted, but of course there are always exceptions....

@blowinahoolie I think it is relative - the ones I fostered drooled everywhere in comparison to any other dog I had.

It was the happy head shake drool that got me. You could see in their eyes they were happy and about to shake their head from side to side just for pure joy and it was like slow motion nothing you could do to stop the slopper from hitting the walls We would duck to stop it hitting us.

However they went to a couple who owned St Bernards before and they were so happy that they did not slobber like their other dog had

I think also the age thing would be hard. The St Bernards and Leonbergers have such a short life

Thankfully I am not houseproud, but would be the same with any breed and expect lots of mess 😂I understand some do drool more than others, but the ones I met recently it doesn't really happen unless they are eating and drinking like most other breeds. Same with the breeders and their dogs I met.

Yep, I appreciate lifespan isn't as long as other breeds, but I think it's the quality of the time they are on this earth is really what counts. It all depends on how you look at things in life🙂

What about a Portuguese Water Dog? They gave such lovely temperaments and they tick all your boxes!

I think a spaniel would fit your bill nicely however neighbours have an Irish terrier puppy (9 months now) and she's amazing. She's my jack Russell puppy's best friend. Her nature is amazing and although boundy and exuberant my 7 year old controls her beautiful on the lead (she's very confident she does a better job than the owners tbh) she seems very trainable in the right hands. I know some older ones in the area who are very sensible and obedient dogs. They definitely more than fit your bill too. Her prey drive isn't ridiculous (tbh even my jrt I've managed to easily stop her chasing cats, any pets that are there first shouldn't be an issue with the right intros and housing )

The average lifespan of a leonberger is around 10 which is not too dissimilar to say a flatcoat or German shepherd.

I have a strange view of it though having lost my past 3 dogs (not leonbergers) very young at ages 2 and 3 I don’t really factor a long life into anything anymore.

@DramaAlpaca

Staffies are always being warmly recommended on here. Personally I just couldn't. I know they are said to be gentle but I can't get past that strong jaw and the fact that if they wanted to hurt you they could really hurt you. I couldn't ever have one with children. I know you can't trust any dog 100 per cent, but with children I wouldn't go near a staffie.

The thing is though if you wouldn’t have a staffy with children you shouldn’t have anything staffy sized or larger.

Our neighbours growing up had a labrador, he was very ‘grumpy’ he attacked his owners son to the extent that he needed plastic surgery on his face. He was in secondary school when it happened, so not a small child.

Gosh @SimonJT a grumpy labrador is an unusual beast. What a horrible thing to happen, poor lad.

We've always had springers which are about the size of a staffie but not as strong. I've known loads of springers through family and friends and never, ever met a grumpy one but I realise there are always exceptions.

We had a Gordon Setter rather than an Irish setter. Lovely family dog. Slightly less loopy than the Irish. We had chickens and guinnea pigs with no problems. We had young dc when we got her and a baby who arrived shortly after. She was soft as muck. Not the cleanest dog though, nor the cleverest.

We now have a pointer. She's still little but I think it was a great choice. Like a setter but cleverer and with less hair.

@DramaAlpaca

Gosh *@SimonJT* a grumpy labrador is an unusual beast. What a horrible thing to happen, poor lad.

We've always had springers which are about the size of a staffie but not as strong. I've known loads of springers through family and friends and never, ever met a grumpy one but I realise there are always exceptions.

Not that unusual, most dog bites in the UK are caused by labs.

We have two golden retrievers and I love them completely. That said, they smell and they shed constantly. I’ve got used to it, but they definitely aren’t for the house proud.
Also, they calm down so much once they are fully grown but that takes a long time. Mine were puppies until 12 months, then teenagers until 18 months. But once they hit 2-3 years they became super calm and gentle. Our oldest is trained to be a visiting pets as therapy dog, and he sits completely still while children poke him and jump around him (don’t worry, we’re always there).

Would you consider an English setter? All the good points of an Irish setter but a tad smaller and (in my experience) less crazy. Beautiful dogs, gentle, loyal and amazing with the kids.

Hmm, is that because labs are probably the most popular dogs in the UK or because labs have a tendency to be grumpy?

I don't know, I'm not familiar with labs. I don't want an argument, just musing, btw

@DramaAlpaca I work with dogs and a lot more labradors show aggressive tendencies than people would believe

@mintich

German Shepherd. Not bouncy, protective, easily trained and great with other animals. Will like to herd everyone, including the chickens but I always found that useful!

My parents' GS is scared of their chickens.

I would love a Leonberger. We have a Newfie right now and she is just the best, so loving and becoming calm (she's just about through adolescence). She can walk for ages, but is also happy with 30 minutes a day and free roaming of the garden. Great with children (though my 6-year-old DD has had to be trained harder than our other two to give the dog space).

So I'd recommend a Newf, despite the shedding. Some are very drooly; our girl is not that bad. When she shakes her head it just wraps around her nose instead of going everywhere.

My friend has a toller. She really wishes they had got a lab instead. Tollers seem to be really difficult from what I've seen and what she has said.

I should have said that two of the big reasons re the Toller are the jumping and lack of recall. It may just be theirs but he is very determined.