Pedigree dog for brand new dog owners

[TheBermudaTriangle]

Hi all - firstly, thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice.

My DH and I would love to have a dog, but have always put this dream on the back burner. My question is - would a reputable dog breeder "allow" us to have a dog from their litter?

Neither my DH nor I have had a dog before. I grew up with cats, and my DH had no pets (we currently have a (rescue) cat). It makes me a little worried because I suppose we would be deemed 'higher risk' as we have no prior experience of dog ownership etc.

Would this be a problem, particularly for medium or large breed dogs?

Depending on the type of dog it shouldn’t be a problem - you sound conscientious and like you’d do all the necessary research and puppy training etc, so I don’t think being a first time dog owner should be an issue - everyone has to start somewhere!

What breeds are you looking at?

Thanks @TashieWoo . Yes, much like having a child, we do think having any pet is a selfish choice really, so we need to be 100% committed to putting the animal first (even if it means not having a dog).

We have our hearts set on a rather strange variety of breeds I think - basset hound (pure fantasy probably, given that they can be so stubborn to train), Clumber spaniel or Great Dane.

We also do love greyhounds, if a rescue dog is genuinely better for a novice dog owner.

To be honest I don’t know much about any of the breeds on your first list (I’m a small dog person!) but I do know that retired greyhounds are lovely and gentle, I’d have one tomorrow. I would gently caution against Great Danes as they are just a bit too big and can get associated health problems - I know someone who had two and they both died young (under 10) of a horrible condition called bloat, which is more common in large dogs with comparatively big chests compared to their stomachs.

Hopefully someone will be along with some more information on those breeds. A good place to start research would be the Kennel Club, then look for breeders and go on their website, and also look into the breed clubs too. Any good breeder will be willing to have a chat with you and answer your questions.

Have you thought about standard poodles? Very intelligent, loyal and trainable. They are great family dogs too.

Thanks @TashieWoo - really useful. We have some direct experience of retired greyhounds as a friend has one - the loveliest, most gentle and dopiest dog!

I personally wouldn’t get a greyhound with a cat - chasing is in their nature and even though I know lots manage just fine I couldn’t risk my lovely cat.

Climber spaniel sounds like a nice if unusual choice!

Is there any particular reason why you want a pure breed ?
It would be worth you looking for that breeds dedicated rescue group .
I agree with PP, normaly I would advocate a greyhound but perhaps not with a cat in the house or if you live in a area with lots of squirrels.

Oh interesting @Haus1234 - yes, our darling cat (my baby) does come first.

Clumbers are the most beautiful dogs, and their good nature/ability to happily get on with children should we have them in the future is so appealing. I'm also willing to live with a drooler (had enough practice with my DH...).

Thanks @ElfCalavicci and no, not especially. I have always had rescue and mixed breed moggies, so I'm open. I guess it's because I started researching dogs based on their 'typical' characteristics.

I don't think lack of experience would necessarily be an issue but I certainly wouldn't get a sight hound with a cat - the the risk for me would be to great.

We'd never had a dog before we got our beagle and our breeder was interested in things like:

• work set up. How many hours we worked, how long the dog would be left, whether we could use a walker/daycare and whether we'd looked into the cost of those things too.
• garden and whether it was an okay size and secure (as beagles are notorious escape artists)
• what we had in place to separate the puppy from our resident cats if necessary
• our opinions on neutering/spaying, what training ideas we followed etc.

So I would ask yourselves about those things and whether your work set-up is one that fits with having a puppy as they're bloody hard work at first and you'll need to take some time off to settle him/her into your home too.

Are you sure about living with a drooler?
Drooling dogs turns my stomach more than anything, and it doesn’t just go on the floor -think flicked up the walls, on your clothes, your furniture....

Nobody has experience when they get their first dog and frankly it’s not rocket science most of it’s common sense . Of the 3 you’ve mentioned I’d go for a Clumber , mainly because I’d love one myself .

Have a look at trailhounds- they are trained not to chase small furry things so excellent with cats

Easy to train, gentle, quiet and food motivated!

Thank you - really good advice (and quite comforting!).

Any decent breeder will give you as much support as you need if they know you're willing to do everything you can to properly care for a dog.

We ended up getting a puppy but as part of our research we did volunteer dog walking at our local rescue.
We had to do a Sat morning training, and then could turn up whenever.
I learnt more about diff breeds, but when it came to getting a dog couldn't find a suitable rescue for a house with cat and children.

Interesting to see a previous poster counsel against Great Danes with particular reference to bloat, then recommend Greyhounds which are also very susceptible to it.

What do you want from a dog, OP? All the breeds you've mentioned are quite 'specialist', and all do have some signficant health issues.

I do have extensive knowledge of Great Danes - wonderful dogs in huge houses, when bought very carefully from breeders who prioritise health. Don't underestimate the impact of their size on your living conditions, car requirements, vet bills, food bills etc. They may also look low maintenance for the short coat, but believe me you'll be picking it out of everything forever more, including your skin and your car roof! Also take account of the slobber, and not being able to have anything at surfaces that are within their tail range (and oh, the blood on your ceiling when they split their tails too!).

Clumbers historically had very poor hip scores and were very prone to entropion (ulceration of eyes where skin turns in) - don't know if this has improved.

Bassets very stubborn as you say, suspect also prone to the construction issues and entropion, and issues with keeping skin folds clean when they are excessive.

Not knocking you at all, you are stopping and asking the right questions - but don't be drawn in to a breed because of how it looks. Work our your realistic exercise abilities, grooming tolerance, mess tolerance etc. and then find the dogs that fit you ... then go and meet them, talk to good breeders etc. and check that all still fits.

Then ... find a good breeder, who does appropriate health tests, and wait until a pup comes available.

I took on a giant breed as my first dog. It’s not easy. You need to plan your life, car/van and even the floor coverings round them (they mustn’t slip).
I did a lot of research and worked with a great trainer.
Start with what you can offer a dog. Exercise, training, time and grooming.
Then decide what you can and can’t deal with. Barking? Difficult to housetrain? Uncertain of strangers? Look at what the worst traits and health issues are of the breed you’re interested in.
Crufts is a good chance to meet dogs and owners and ask questions.
Once you’ve picked a breed go through the breed club. Check parents have had all specialist health tests before breeding. Eye? Hip? Heart!

Thank you all. Really sound advice and all these practical things on dog ownership are so useful to add into the mix.

Can I make an educated guess as to your choice of giant breed @Wolfiefan ?

@Whitney168 would you counsel against a Great Dane as a first breed for a novice dog owner? Thankfully we have the house space and a very secure large garden backing into fields, though interestingly I have read that they cope well in small apartments, which never made complete sense to me given their scale!

I must be honest and say that I do not find small breeds very appealing (a legacy of my Granny's badly behaved and very spoiled dachshunds and Yorkies), so will explore other medium and larger breeds again, with the advice in mind.

Echo PPs. Shelve looks first.

How much will you be around for the dog
How much exercise will you give the dog
(Honestly) how likely are you to take it to puppy classes/agility classes/ activities for dogs.
How often are you prepared to groom the dog and are you willing to pay for regular appointments.
How much space do you have in your home.
Any children to consider? Your own or regular visitors?
Can you deal with a “vocal” dog.

A Labrador or Golden Retriever might work for you.

They settle nicely after the initial puppy mayhem months and are not too barky.

Also, everybody was a first time dog owner at some stage, that's nothing to worry about.

Well I definitely don't think they'd be the easiest first breed, but not unmanageable to a sensible owner. You would need to be very careful about your breeder, ensure you follow feeding and exercise advice very closely (rearing so important with giant breeds for a healthy life). A good temperament Dane is trainable and amenable, but obviously very clumsy and hefty.

Tell us a bit more about your set-up, and people may have great suggestions that you've not thought of, or even heard of.

What is the minimum exercise can you realistically give, day in day out, rain or shine, once the dog is adult? Do you also want to be able to exceed this regularly, i.e. 20 mile hikes at weekends, when the dog is mature? Does someone regularly run and want a running partner?

How much are you prepared to groom? You seem to prefer smooth/shorter coated dogs, but as I said in earlier post you'll want to do a good degree of grooming with the likes of a Dane to control where those needle hairs end up.

Do you fancy having a go at obedience/agility (you should definitely plan to do early training classes)?

Who is in your household or visits regularly, and what is their level of dog experience?

Our first dog (apart from one I had as a child) was/is a greyhound and it’s been a very easy experience. Some rehoming kennels do cat testing so don’t rule them out completely.

@TheBermudaTriangle yep wolfhounds.
Re apartment. Giants shouldn’t do lots of stairs as a puppy. And a bouncy giant puppy will soon break lots in a tiny apartment!!
I agree with Whitney. You must think about what you have to offer.
Also worth managing to visit someone with the breed you want. It’s very different seeing a giant dog out walking to having one in your house!!

Thanks @Whitney168.

So our current set up is just the two of us plus a long-haired cat. We have a fairly large house and secure garden, surrounded by fields. We also have budget for "doggy day care" and have a good existing relationship with a pet minder.

Happy to take on grooming daily or weekly (we currently groom the cat daily, clean ears regularly etc so it's part of our routine).

With regard to exercise, neither my DH nor I are runners but we do walk quite a bit. Since earlier this year, we go on daily walks morning and night in all weathers of about 30mins each, longer at weekends (part of this was to prove to ourselves that we would be motivated enough to do so with a dog!).

Agility classes do not appeal to either of us, but we are committed to obedience classes / training as an essential.

I would be very happy to have an "affectionate" dog if possible (years of aloof, older rescue cats has led me to this!). I say this as our neighbour's Akita is very standoffish and does not seem to enjoy pats or cuddles really.

In terms of visitors, there are none who are fearful of or dislike dogs, nor any allergies. There are no young children in our circle. Part of me would like to future-proof a little with dogs that could get on well with children, in case we/my siblings has children in the future.

Thanks for the recommendations of other breeds to consider. Labs, retrievers (and Newfoundlands) are also gorgeous dogs which I would love to consider, with wonderful personalities I understand.

My first dog was a chocolate lab.

The sweetest personality.