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The doghouse

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Original poster

What dog should we get?

75 replies

Amielondon23 · 03/03/2021 13:14

Ok so I’m a fairly experienced dog owner. I need help deciding on a breed that will fit our lifestyle. I keep finding a breed I love them find something that puts me off - usually health wise.
We have a 6 year old and a cat.
We are always home (even pre lockdown)
If we pop out it’s only for a couple of hours.
We want a friendly happy dog that gets on with people, dogs and cats.
We have a large house but small garden.
We can walk 1 hour sometimes 2 hours a day.
I don’t want a barky dog.
I don’t want any dog with a flat face that can’t breathe!
Something fairly healthy (obvs I know all breeds have something health wise bad going on)

I love retrievers! But worried 1 hour walk a day won’t be enough
Also love all spaniels but again worried 1 hour walk isn’t enough .

Any recommendations?

OP posts:

Thread gallery

Leonberger · 03/03/2021 19:34

Personally I would avoid spaniels, they need a job IMO and often they can be quite highly strung. I’ve also met many many grumpy ones!
I would try and avoid the more serious working dogs if I were you just because they don’t fit your criteria.

Thatsmycupoftea · 03/03/2021 19:46

My best friend has a springer and it's constant energy, its bouncy and rarely calm. It needs lots of off lead exercise and I know my friend has struggled with this. Its soft though and great with her cats and kids. It's the only dog my ddog has ever had a problem with as its just too boisterous for her and they have had a few grumble and snaps at each other

Boboparadise · 03/03/2021 19:51

@Lovemusic33

I vote for a Staffie, people seem to forget them because of their bad press, they are great with kids, often great with cats (my old girl used to be best friends with the cat), they like long walks but can also cope with a shorter walk and a smaller garden. If your getting the dog as a pup then the cat shouldn’t be a huge issue as the cat will be bigger than the pup and will soon put it in its place, obviously some breeds are more likely to chase cats (lurchers). Cocker spaniels are also nice dogs, not too big and love long walks.

My vote also

sunflowersandbuttercups · 03/03/2021 19:51

@Amielondon23

Anyone with any experience with springier spaniels?

I would avoid, to be honest.

They're working dogs and need a lot of exercise and stimulation. I have never met a calm one under the age of about 10! They're constantly running about, diving into bogs and hedges - they generally have great temperaments but they're a LOT of work.

My cousins had one and it didn't calm down until about a year before it died. It genuinely never stopped

longcoffeebreak · 03/03/2021 20:01

I always come on these threads to bat for poodles 😀

Ylvamoon · 03/03/2021 20:01

Tibetan Terrier? Lovely, fun loving dogs. Adults are fine with whatever you can give them for walks. They have a low prey drive, can be a bit stubborn and thrive on your company!

longcoffeebreak · 03/03/2021 20:05

My Miniature poodle without the usual poodle haircut. Family friendly, loving, clever, trainable, non shedding, not smelly. Don't like being on their own for long periods though and do need two half hour walks a day really or one longer one. Not overly Barky.

blowinahoolie · 03/03/2021 20:22

"Weimaraners are really not easy dogs. They need a LOT of exercise and training, are known to be highly-strung and do not cope with being left alone at all."

DB has a friend who had to re-home his for all these reasons. Life became very stressful for him and also for the dog so it was better, he felt, that she went to a home better suited to her needs sunflowersandbuttercups.

blowinahoolie · 03/03/2021 20:27

"My best friend has a springer and it's constant energy, its bouncy and rarely calm."

Need a lie down already after reading this 🤣

sunflowersandbuttercups · 03/03/2021 20:34

@blowinahoolie

"Weimaraners are really not easy dogs. They need a LOT of exercise and training, are known to be highly-strung and do not cope with being left alone at all."

I think it can be quite problematic when working dogs start becoming popular pets, tbh. It happened with huskies a few years back.

People like the look of these dogs but don't do their research, and the dogs suffer for it. Most working dogs do not cope in the average family home, and I say that as someone who owns a beagle

However, I'm home with him all the time - I'm a dog walker so he comes to work with me everyday, and he gets plenty of exercise, company and stimulation. Not many working families can provide the level of stimulation these breeds need, but because they're cute or nice looking or low-shedding, they get them anyway.

chiangmai · 03/03/2021 20:39

my sister has two cockers...there great dogs, but she exercises them alot, where i live folks with labradors pay for dog walkers as they need exercise, cockapoos are loving and friendly but a little nuts, terriers can be barky and aggressive and subject to allergies...i have one and its tough going. to be honest you just need to research the breed and work out which one may suit you

Chickoletta · 03/03/2021 20:41

My family breed golden retrievers and I’ve had them for 30 years. Currently have 2 aged 13 and 8 with 2 kids, 3 cats, poultry etc. One hour long walk would be ok for a golden. Mine have this every day but we live on a small holding so they can potter about a lot too. When we had a smaller garden we used to take them out for 10 mins around the block too.

Temperament should be ideal for what you want and they would love having lots of company.

Go for a KC accredited breeder for whatever you choose - they will have the appropriate health checks. For goldens, this will be hips, eyes and elbows.

Colourmylife1 · 03/03/2021 21:17

I have a 5 month Springer boy and he is absolutely perfect as are all the Springers I know. They are loyal, loving, cuddly, very easy to train, super-smart, desperate to please and very quirky. They have a reputation as being hyper or needing lots of exercise but basically they will fit into your lifestyle. The perfect family dog in my view.

TwatWaffleTwinkleToes · 04/03/2021 08:45

Lots of working breeds have show and field strains - some more clearly seperated than others. Worht keeping in mind as people may be speaking from experience with one, not the other.

Pros and cons between them, but often quite different energy levels.

Colourmylife1 · 04/03/2021 11:21

@TwatWaffleTwinkleToes
Good point. My Springer is working strain. The best tip the breeder gave was not to try to tire him out - you just end up with a fitter dog!
Brain work and sniffing is just as important as exercise.

freckles20 · 04/03/2021 11:49

My labrador is a working type. It's my preference as I feel the lighter frame is better for joint health. He's as relaxed as can be. I'm a dog Walker so some days he gets hours of exercise and other days only 30
Minutes and he's very content.

When we had to isolate for two weeks I was amazed to find him chilled and relaxed despite only garden fun and brain games!

He's only 3 and has been like this since he was 14 months. Some of this is pure luck!

Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady · 04/03/2021 11:54

I am on my third golden, fourth retriver (also had a flat coat)

An hours exercise a day is fine. Ours sometimes gets longer at the weekends but an hour as standard. He's happy and in very good condition.

Very loyal, loves cuddles great with kids and only 1 of the 3 has ever barked!

Best family dogs in my opinion (as long as you don't mind mud and hair!)

Garden size not an issue as long as they have somewhere to wee/poo

FeistySheep · 04/03/2021 12:10

Would you consider a mongrelly retriever type? In general mongrels can be more balanced and chilled out than a purebred? It is more of a risk though I guess. That said, my friend has a pedigree lab and got it because she wanted a nice lazy pet, hour walk a day... but the dog is a machine - a muscle-strapped endlessly-excited exercise lover! The last dog they had was more chilled out and was a lab cross/mongrel. Maybe they were just unlucky though!

You don't say if you live in a city, whether the walks are on lead on a pavement, in a park, or up a mountain. A huge amount of difference in an hour's exercise in those three scenarios. Also do you have a big garden? And how much non-walking entertainment will you give it? A hour garden play? An hour training/agility? Mental exercise is possibly even more important than physical.

I have a border collie who gets an hour a day walk, plus extra at weekends, but her walks are up mountains off lead. She runs like the wind for an hour. Then she also gets lots of mental entertainment and has a big garden. Very different to an hour prowling the streets of Glasgow on a lead. (I'm not recommending a collie by the way!)

Spaniels seem very friendly to dogs and people, I've never met a nasty spaniel (yet)! No idea how they are with cats though!

Original poster

Amielondon23 · 04/03/2021 18:05

We live in a town but it’s semi rural.
We have lots of farm land to walk in.
Also have a lovely park with a river which lots of doggies swim in.
On weekends we would drive further a field as we love woodland walks.
Mud and hair doesn’t bother me- happy to vacuum several times a day.
Mud can always be cleaned with a wash down or a bath. I used to work in a dog grooming parlour so used to washing dogs.

I feel getting a dog a nearly as big a commitment as having a baby! Just want to get it right as it’s my daughters first dog so want it to be such a positive experience for her!

OP posts:

Ken1976 · 04/03/2021 18:15

We had a bichon frise. He was the most loving calm dog ever . We now have a 10 month old cockapoo. She too is very loving . Follows my AD everywhere, even the bathroom . Can be walked without a lead and stays to heel the whole way

RoyalDaff · 04/03/2021 19:09

I would also get a cockapoo in your shoes

We have a working cocker and I love him so much but he was hard work as a puppy and I think we would have struggled with young children and his enthusiasm!

He has a lot of dog friends who are cockapoos and they are lovely dogs. Would be great for young dc too. He has a friend cockapoo who have an 8 yr old and a 4 yr old in the family and they adore him!

freckles20 · 04/03/2021 22:03

As a dog Walker I find it really hard to generalise about cockapoos. Some are fab, some are very highly strung, some are easy going, others seem to develop separation anxiety very easily, some enjoy other dogs, others have been very reactive.

I'd say with most pure breed dogs the breed characteristics are correct 75-85% of the time. I guess it's to do with the fact that they are a cross breed, and also sadly so popular that the risk of bad breeding and a poor early start is relatively high.

MyDucksArentInARow · 04/03/2021 22:11

I would get a lab or a retriever. If you train and play with them inline with their instincts you can pack a lot in to tire them out in a short time. We have a lab and use a ball to do steadiness, searching and retrieving (she's young so no fetch for her hips sake) 30 minutes and she's asking to go back home. Hour to hour and a half walks on weekends. Mental stimulation works wonders. She's surviving her first season (No walks) with indoor games and training.

Puddymuddle · 04/03/2021 22:21

What about a beagle? They’re really good with kids and cats.

AtticusF1nch · 04/03/2021 23:40

If you want something fun, friendly, cheeky and perfect with children, you need to look at the cairn terrier - or cairn terrorist as I call the one I dog sit for

They're nice little dogs, love humans and are a good fit for a family. We look after one who is 15 and still going strong. They have no real health issues and they don't particularly shed

They DO think they're a big dog in a little body though so they can be quite stubborn but they're very funny and loyal and I think they might be a good fit for what you're looking for

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