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?

A smooth coat bitch will be less drooly than a rough coat male.

Also less likely to be overweight. These are more like the original St Bernard (Mountain Mastiff)

Sorry Shanith, I will not take on an adult dog with children. Period.

I want to meet the parents, i want proof of health testing, I want to know their pedigree, the rate of inbreeding and I want to be damn sure that the puppy I pick has been properly socialised both by the breeder and myself.
I want an assurance from the breeder that if it doesn’t work out I can return the dog at any point and I want an assurance that I can get help/advice if necessary.
I can’t do any of that with a rescue.

I get that greyhounds are treated appallingly and in need of homes.
I understand that they are generally speaking placid, gentle souls.
But they are not for me and nothing will convince me otherwise.

They are useless in the heat though so hot summers days are out and I don’t walk them at all if it’s warmer than average
We have something in common in then 🤣
I can’t stand the heat and don’t tend to walk current dog if it’s 26c or so or above

Ignore my post, am now catching up and can see Leon's have been discussed

How about a Leonberger
Very much a possibility.

A smooth coat bitch will be less drooly than a rough coat male
Also less likely to be overweight. These are more like the original St Bernard (Mountain Mastiff)
Mm, current dog is female so we are looking for a male.
We also much prefer long haired dogs.
Our current dog is a breed that also comes in a short coat but we are suckers for a lush, thick coat.
Definitely won’t be overweight, I can’t stand fat dogs!
I think you know what you mean though, that they tend to be less heavily set?
I do like more athletic looking dogs.
Love Borzois and deerhounds which are both lovely and athletic and elegant.
Scrawny and scruffy according to DH...
We have very different tastes in dogs!

The more you post op, the more it sounds like a giant breed is not for you.

Afghan or Saluki?

If you like athletic dogs, and your dh likes scrawny how the hell have you arrived at a st bernard!?

Our saluki cross is quite aloof.. She likes attention every morning and then isn't that interested the rest of the day unless food is involved...

If you like athletic dogs, and your dh likes scrawny how the hell have you arrived at a st bernard!?
No, you’ve misunderstood.
I like athletic dogs and he likes heavy set dogs.
I love Borzois and Deerhounds but DH doesn’t like them, he thinks they are ‘scrawny’ looking.

We used to have two rescue dogs, so probably not purebred, but one looked like a Bernese Mountain Dog and the other like a Great Swiss Mountain Dog. They were the sweetest, most gentle dogs I’ve ever had, and both had lovely temperaments. They’re not giant dogs but quite large. I would definitely recommend them as family dogs.

Have you considered these?

Ours in deerhound /saluki... She is very boney!!

DHs perfect dog:

• Giant
• Long haired
• Heavy set
• Self assured/does what it pleases
• Placid and lazy

My perfect dog:

• Small to medium
• long haired
• Athletic
• keen to please/highly biddable
• Energetic/lots of stamina

You see the problem here?

does what it pleases

It there a reason your DH wants a dog with that trait? Its usually considered a flaw unless you need a working dog which thinks for itself, and even then its not an easy trait to work with.
Its like living with your obnoxious know it all colleague 24/7

Compromise is needed unless he is going to do ALL the walking and training!!

How about supporting the vulnerable native British breeds? Otter hound??

Leo owner here. Mine is male and he is 75kg at 3.5yrs. Had him from 8weeks. Very easy puppy but they are as stubborn as fuck in general. And the whingeing! OMG! give me a toddler any day. I call mine Hokey Cokey as he is ‘in out, in out’ every single day. I walk him for about 6k in the mornings so that he’s out for the count for the rest of the day to manage the ‘I wanna be in and now I wanna be outside’ situation 🤣 they love being cold. So I Agree with the sentiments of both @PoleToPole and @Leonberger. The mess is extraordinary - like a giant Velcro. Consider the grooming costs as they really smell if you see not on top of the cost. And yes 9 out of 10 dogs have a pop at him. Every. Single. Day. One day he will probably react (a good friend of ours had one that did this aged 8) so I am always cautious. I did wear a waist lead but now just use a leather slip lead. Leo’s don’t drool but mine is not food motivated at all which makes recall a challenge. Like pp’s I’ve put in 000’s of hours of training to make him manageable but the reality of owning an intact male is that if the decide they want something ‘better’ than you are offering then that training is for the birds 🤣 food wise, mine is raw fed human grade food (makes sharing a fridge and freeezer easier) also makes poo less smelly and much smaller 😉. Things I love about them - not needy, not that bothered about going for a walk, not greedy and they are just magnificent to look at. despite all of the above, I love mine and he was definitely the right breed for our family.

It there a reason your DH wants a dog with that trait? Its usually considered a flaw unless you need a working dog which thinks for itself, and even then its not an easy trait to work with
Its like living with your obnoxious know it all colleague 24/7
I agree.
He finds dogs like our current one (highly biddable breed) a little bit needy and a bit stupid/mindless in that they give you unquestioning obedience.

He prefers dogs that make you earn their respect and don’t mindlessly do things just because you told them to.

It’s funny because both his brothers also chose breeds known to be stubborn 🤷‍♀️

*coat not cost

Another thing, how would your DH cope/feel about it if your second dog flat out refused to listen to him at all, or follow any of his commands other than on very infrequent occasions and then made it clear it was done begrudgingly?

Many of the giants are one person dogs, and in my experience it is very, very rare that person is the DH, much more usually the wife. A friend`s DH has found it very frustrating and it has made for a very tense atmosphere in their house.

I currently have a large dog and she's so gentle an soft but she's big enough for me to control too
She's a shar pei and she's beautiful and fluffy and a big clumsy donkey !! Such brilliant dogs. Genuinely think it's how their brought up tho .

Oh has just got a sausage dog ???? Never had a small dog before only shar pei and staffys . We've 3 young. Boisterous kids also !!! I'm not impressed....

Good luck x

May I add. Iv grew up with Staffies. It's the softest breed you'll ever get unless you come across some idiot who teaches it otherwise (Iv seen this)
My mums is my baby. My kids get in his bed with him. He's so gentle and kind. They are known as nanny dogs. Their in the top 10 list for family dogs to !

• Giant

• Long haired
• Heavy set
• Self assured/does what it pleases
• Placid and lazy

*

Are you quite sure that DH doesn't actually want a Maine Coon cat?

@umpteennamechanges very valid point!!!

@RandomMess it is an interesting discussion that compromises on an Otterhound Totally agree though

Another thing, how would your DH cope/feel about it if your second dog flat out refused to listen to him at all, or follow any of his commands other than on very infrequent occasions and then made it clear it was done begrudgingly?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’m not sure but when I said about current dog giving unquestioning obedience, she does, to me!
She does respond to him too, but not as well as me.
I think that as current dog was my choice and responds better to me I think he is wanting his ‘own’ dog.