I’m just size-ist when it comes to dogs! So many of the smaller breeds seem to have so much more energy and exercise requirements.
Can’t cope with drool either, much as I blooming love Newfies etc. And, much as I love the look of them, I don’t see a Great Dane as being an easy breed.
Leonberger - all day, every day, for me. My absolute heart dog (RIP). She seriously took up less “space” than the cats. They very rarely bark (let alone whine or bug you for attention). The VERY odd occasion she barked (at a stretch, I’d say 3 times in 9 years out in public) it actually made me jump (not a good look when walking a giant breed!).
Either side of my house, various smaller dogs who constantly bark. Not moaning about that, it’s a trade off I accept re the rest of semi-rural life is ok here. But my girl, mooching about the garden, wasn’t bothered by the fairly constant barking either side.
Am only posting this as I think that, sometimes, people think that smaller is easier re dogs. It’s not!
The most important thing is to understand what your preferred breed has been bred for. Two of my favourites are border collies and greyhounds. I wouldn’t ever get a BC because I know there is no way I could accommodate it’s needs. And I wouldn’t get a greyhound because I love my cats.
13 weeks is a difficult point. You’re kind of over the euphoria of ‘new puppy” and dragging your way through toilet training, teething, biting etc. It’s perfectly normal to be thinking “wtf have I done”. The best thing you can do is to keep things as routine as possible. Which can be hard if you have multiple people in your house. You all need to agree to rules (eg, no point one of you not letting dog on sofa when everyone else lets it happen). Dogs like consistency. So, all agree on your commands (sit, stay, down etc). Do t have one family member saying “sit down” as that’s confusing!
Regular loo breaks - after eating, after exciting play,, after walking. Don’t just open the door and let them out. Go out with them, have a “command’ (mine was “be quick”) and reward them with treats.
It’s mostly about building up a routine. After a whi,e, it becomes so ingrained that neither you nor the dog need to think about it. But it’s all down to positive repetition. Which will take time and patience more on your part than for the dog!
IIt does pay off, but it’s often hard to do when you have the normal everyday rubbish that you have to deal with in life.
One great thing to do, even for just the basics (sit, down, stay, leave) is to introduce hand signals. Once your dog has the verbal commands down pat, pick a hand signal for each of those commands. Start to use that signal each time you say the word - they will soon pick it up (reward them the whole time they’re learning these).
Even if you only learn hand signals for those commands it will be a big help, especially if all family members use the same signals. Dogs respond (and react) to tones. If you, your husband,or kids have had a bad day - your tone of vocal commands will differ. A hand signal is constant - it doesn’t reflect whether you’ve had a good day or are at the end of your tether (in relation to your dog, not if you’ve been cut up on the motorway!)
I obviously had a Leo - I knew from the beginning that she’d be big! I wanted her to have good manners. Having hand signals helped as it’s better than yelling in public spaces. To the point that a few people over the years asked if my dog was deaf - no, it was just easier for her and me that she understood a hand signal rather than me yelling across a field “down”!