Giant dogs

[Seekingasaintmaybe]

Could I please get some thorough advice from any giant breed owners please?

There is some conflict between DH and I.
Eventually, after all this covid horror, we want another dog.

I would ideally prefer a smaller breed this time.
DH wants to go the other way, he wants a giant breed.
There is a Saint Bernard breeder near us (though she hasn’t a litter for a while now) and he is hinting at a Bernard.

The thing is though, I know they drool a lot and I HATE drooly dogs.
I don’t mind the hair though.

I don’t find them attractive to look at compared to other breeds, they are too heavy set and clunky for my liking (or are their owners just keeping them fat..?)
I have seen some old photographs of beautiful Saint Bernards (muscular and strong but slim) but none of the real life Bernard’s I’ve seen look like that.

I’m also a little scared about my ability to control it and if it goes ‘bad’/develops aggression problems.
There is a Saint Bernard locally that is quite badly behaved, fortunately i haven’t seen it in ages.
It plonks itself down and refuses to move for its owner whenever it fancies and it doesn’t like my dog and lunges when it sees her which is frankly terrifying.

I’m worried incase we get this dog and it turns out to have issues and i can’t control it.
Our current dog is mildly dog reactive/dog selective but she is perfectly capable of making friends (hence wanting another dog) but I don’t typically let her interact with dogs we don’t know.
She’s fairly small and easily controlled but a giant wouldn’t be...

So I’d really appreciate some advice from giant breed owners.
Good and bad.
Are problem behaviours like dog aggression, resource guarding and the like a known problem as with some other breeds?

Dont get a big dog if you dont think you can control it. Personally I think big dogs should not be allowed as pets. People are not allowed Lions, Tigers or Wolves.

Sorry @Seekingasaintmaybe they are amazing dogs but they are such a handful and responsibility .
I could walk PoleDog through Central Park at the busiest time and even if other dogs barked at us he would be silent, calm and chilled by my side on a slack lead, with a bored, aloof look on his face.

Add PolePup into that equation and the second another dog so much as barked at us then and he would be a completely different dog.

PoleDog is hilarious though, and has such a sense of humour, he looks so smug and pleased with himself when he does what DH asks when he knows I can hear, and when I raise an eyebrow at him in a "you don`t fool me" look, he looks very sheepish and amused.

We've had two danes. Absolutely beautiful animals temperament-wise, real lap-sitters where possible, gentle as anything, carried our cat's kittens to sit with her and no drool.

But, we lost both of ours early. It was heart- breaking. One with bloat despite following all guidelines re: raised food, smaller meals etc, I opened the door to let her in from the garden and it was already too late. One died from a heart attack. 5 and 7. Not going through that again. But they are gorgeous, gorgeous animals. When one lifted her head she discovered she could sweep the work surface and ingest anything in the way, including 1lb of butter. 😅 They were a dream to walk, and no aggression in either. Just too sad.

What about a standard poodle? Could be a compromise, they are quite big and fluffy but not drooly

As a PP suggested, Leonbergers are giant but absolutely lovely, gentle, friendly dogs, I have fostered three before, but @Leonberger has them and would know more than me (hope they don`t mind me tagging them). The drool is pretty significant though.

To be completely honest I would seriously question whether getting another dog is a good idea when you already have a reactive dog, its is not something I would ever voluntarily want
She’s not horrendously reactive.
She just likes her own space.
I can walk her past another dog with no reaction but if I was to stop she’d growl.
She ignores other dogs generally.
Maybe I’m minimising/not taking it seriously enough 🤔

You would be hard pushed to find any other dog who will not side with your dog and kick off too when you do eventually walk them together, no matter how much you socialise the pup
Oh jeez, don’t say that to me!

You would be hard pushed to find any other dog who will not side with your dog and kick off too when you do eventually walk them together, no matter how much you socialise the pup.

Yes, I have to agree with this.

My own dog is prone to leash reactivity after being attacked on lead - he's fine with dogs he knows, but he will bark if strange dogs invade his space. I walk him most days with a cairn terrier who is never reactive on her own, but when I walk them together, if he barks, she joins in!

What about a standard poodle? Could be a compromise, they are quite big and fluffy but not
Absolutely not!
I knew an extremely aggressive one years ago who terrified me and there are two local to me who are both mental!
So, so much energy!
One of them jumps like it’s on springs.

We've got a Leonberger. She isn't the brightest dog in the world but she is very loving. Our previous dog was a newfoundland. We chose a Leo this time as we wanted something more lively with less drool. She doesn't drool but she isn't the liveliest dog around... We have to drag her out for her daily trudge and she certainly isn't difficult to control as she just wants to go home and lie down. But you do have to train quite intensively when they are puppies as once they are fully grown they are strong. It's worth it though. We've been lucky and not had health problems yet (she's 5) but I know from my newfie that once they get older the joints go and you start spending a lot more time and the vets. We do however spend time cleaning her ears and eyes etc and she has a very expensive groom every six months which removes some of the hair. I suspect you'd need to do this with a St Bernard as well.

We also have a miniature poodle who we had first. They tolerate each other. My Leo loves the poodle but the love is not returned. We tend to walk them separately as my poodle wants a lot more exercise than the Leo.

We had 2 Danes too (1 pure, 1 cross breed). My sister is on her third (she lives on a farm).

I really wanted another but dp wanted a smaller breed this time so we have a working cocker (dp's choice).

The Danes were easier to train, much less energy than the cocker and lovely pets. But they don't live that long as @housemdwaswrong says. If you are considering it, there are a number of Great Dane crosses now that apparently do live longer. You do also have to think about your car set up etc. with a large breed.

I think people with large breeds tend to train their dogs well because you can't get away with it if you haven't. Whereas I can see already there are things the cocker is getting away with because he's so much smaller!

@Seekingasaintmaybe sorry, its not easy is it? We got PolePup as PoleDog is very much my dog, and doesnt like to play, so we wanted a more playful dog for the DC, (and DH!).

We very carefully selected pup though, as we needed pup to see the world in a similar way as PoleDog, so we needed a pup who was likely to be aloof and disinterested in strangers and other dogs, but bold and confident at the same time, would listen to DH and the DC, great with cats and small animals, sheep etc. PoleDog and PolePup have been best of friends from the word go fortunately, and our cats adore pup too.

Any reactivity at all, however minimal in your older dog is not going to be helped by getting a pup, at best it will stay the same, it may very well get worse, especially if your older dog decides to be protective of the pup, which most do. There are not many dogs who will placidly ignore another dog kicking off at one of their family members.

In turn pups will learn from your older dog, even the bad habits sadly

I'd also recommend a Bernese. Not quite a giant and more of a family dog. The other breeds, Pyrs and other livestock guardians I don't think are suited for the UK, they're working dogs, they need at least a large garden and unless you live rurally, your neighbours might complain when they start to guard.
Great Danes can also be aggressive and they live for a very short time that just goes too quickly.

Swissy! She's a giant breed but not on the bigger end of giant and she's reasonably easy to train. She's only 6 months old but been super easy. No drool either!

The other breeds, Pyrs and other livestock guardians I don't think are suited for the UK

Yes definitely, Im not in the UK, I wouldnt have them if I was.

I have a Newfoundland and unless you really dont mind slobber, I recommend not getting one. I thought I wouldn't mind but I really do, theres so much cleaning (I do probably an hours worth everyday just caused by the dog and it still never looks clean, it grates on me). You also need a good space as many giant breeds are clumsy and have no awareness of how big they are so tend to knock things over.
Positives are they are great family dogs, truly gentle giants and they'll always come for a cuddle! Not aggressive in the slightest but be prepared that almost all other dogs will bark and big dogs tend to not make 'friends' with other dogs easily because they look intimidating.

Sibling had a Dogue de Bordeaux who was lovely, and very friendly. Although not the brightest button in the box. Got on really well with other dogs both within the family and unknowns on walks. Downside included car transportation, drool, cost of food, a rather hefty vet bill where they removed 2x stones, and a pair of boxer shorts from his stomach. There was also horrible incident where a man with a reactive Japanese akita wouldn't call it away, and it ended up like clash of the titans. When a giant goes it'll go and there's nothing that'll stop them. And this was a dog that lived very happily with a miniature breed and frequently got stuck under furniture thinking it was the same size, and would still try to get on laps (crush you into the sofa 😂).

I think the main issue with giants is that however well trained and socialised that they're still a dog with natural instincts, and you've no chance of containing them physically unlike a small/mid sized dog. I'll also add that my staffy bitch would frequently kick his legs out and 'pin' him by the throat when they ran together. But that's only because it was playing and he was prepared to 'play the game'.

Hmm.
This really hasn’t gone the way I thought it would and very much giving me doubts about the whole thing.

I’m unsure whether to try and convince DH to go for a little one and probably look very unreasonable and a bit controlling as a result demanding only breeds I like or whether to tell DH actually, I think this is a bad idea and we should forget the whole thing 😖

Or maybe try and convince DH for a little one on the understanding we can get a giant in the future when reactive dog passes and we have more experience under our belt.

St Bernard owner here... absolutely stunning dogs, beautiful temperaments. Go and check out as many breeders as you can. We are at the beginning of our giant breed journey but went to see the adult dogs belonging to breeders before meeting any puppies. You need to experience the big dogs first to really appreciate this breed.

When I win the lottery and have a huge estate I will get a couple of Maremas (sp?) . They are like my Goldie but bigger.

Some St Bernard dogs will drool, but many don't. Both breeders I met last year said there own dogs don't drool. Also met a family with a pup who said that their recently deceased Saint wasn't drooly, neither was their new puppy.

Yes we have leonberger

-They don’t drool. Mine have never drooled. They do make mess at the water bowl though and can’t drink without slopping a trail through the kitchen.
-Exercise wise they aren’t the most energetic. They will do as little or as much as you want really. Mine are happy to walk but equally happy to potter around a village for a coffee or something along those lines. I usually do an hour a day off lead.
-Ive never seen aggression from any of them. Good breeders are very strict on temperament. It’s very very unusual to find a reactive leonberger although I have heard of a couple. They tend to brush off most things and are very food motivated so they aren’t as likely to become reactive as a more intelligent or sensitive breed.
-I wouldn’t say they are the most intelligent but not stupid either. Mine have completed obedience courses but don’t have the drive to do high level stuff. They will quite happily sit, stay etc but don’t see the point in twirling around or anything like that. They always recall and do what you ask in their own time but it’s never fast hence competitive obedience was not their forte.
-They are needy. They want to be with you as much as possible. They huff if they don’t get enough cuddles. They aren’t destructive but do get sad left too long.
-Don’t underestimate the mess. Take the mess of a normal dog and times it by 100 and then some. They sleep upside down against the wall and leave muddy marks everywhere. The mud reaches new heights and they are heavy so expect wear and tear. They are not for the houseproud.
-They are astronomically expensive for a dog. Insurance can be £100 a month easily. God knows how much to feed I never count it.

• Dogs don’t like them. They are usually aggressive to them. I’m not sure if it’s the size, the black mask, who knows but 9-10 dogs will have a pop. I now don’t really let them meet other dogs to protect them more than anything, mine have never ever retaliated even when a JRT was hanging around ones neck, not even so much as a grumble.
• You will get stopped all the time. You wont be able to go anywhere. My big male is 70ish Kgs and I can not walk 3 steps without someone wanting to talk to him. People make their way over to him in crowds and I need to allow extra time to go to somewhere like the beach as he’s so popular Would your other dog be okay with so many people approaching?

Overall though they are fantastic dogs. So sweet and gentle despite the size. I walk 3 dogs at once (on headcollars just incase) and could hold the Leo’s with one finger. Obviously they could pull me over, any dog could but I have spent so many hours in training that it’s unlikely. They also don’t copy the behaviour of my mildly reactive rescue german shepherd either, more roll their eyes at her and keep bumbling on. I always train them separately though and walk them individually a few times a week. They aren’t a breed you can do one class with and call it done, they need regular work until they grow out of the awful teenage stage and get their brains back again.

I love giant dogs! We have giant hounds at the moment but DH wants a Dane in the future.
I would highly recommend a Leonburger, lovely temperament and less drooly. Bernese and Pyrenees are also very nice.

Maremmas bark constantly to whoever mentioned them upthread. We had a farmer friend who got two to work as livestock guards But the barking was incessant and made them mad. They went back to the breeder eventually. They really aren't a good choice for a pet.

One thing I will say is that breeders need to know you both will work as a team and be both be just as enthusiastic about this breed. If one of you just isn't into drool, it isn't going to work out. I'm sorry.

I have four sons, used to my house being messy, stuff covered in dirt, have never been house proud so a St Bernard was a perfect fit in our family circumstances. I can't get worked up over any future drool if she does suddenly drool. But so far have been told it's nothing like Beethoven the movie. We don't mind either way.

Lots of pros and cons to any breed. You just have to weigh it all up against your lifestyle.