Considering a Leonberger or Irish Wolfhound

[AllHailKingLouis]

I currently have a Dobermann and she has been ridiculously hard work from day one. I’m not an inexperienced dog owner either, I’ve had big dogs all my life but this one has almost made me never want a dog again. You just can’t tire her out! I get up at 6:30 and she’s flying around the house instantly, throwing cushions around, barking at us, whining, doing laps around the room … I take her for a walk before work and she’s bouncing off the walls when we get back. I come home from work 4 hours later and then it all starts again. Barking, bouncing, screaming, laps around the house … she’s been trained to KC citizenship gold level. But I just can’t tire her out and she’s tiring ME out to the point where it’s making me almost depressed. Yes we have a trainer.

I just can’t do ridiculously high energy again. I simply couldn’t cope.

Next time I’m thinking Leonberger or Irish Wolfhound. I want a dog I can walk and do training with etc and then it will settle. With a Leonberger I would also take part in water sports as well as hiking and forest walks etc, preferably off lead when trained. I realise I couldn’t do this with a wolfhound but the low energy of the wolfhound is appealing to me!!

can anyone tell me the realities of these two breeds? I’m not bothered about hair or slobber.

Super right doesn’t mean super trainable😂

How about a golden retriever? All if the really big dogs have v short life spans.

I am tempted with a goldie. I just worry they have too high energy - plus hubby thinks they’re boring 😂

Thank you ☺️ I think the health concerns and lifespan might be a deal breaker 😞

@Netaporter ours do the night time thing too! My big lad goes and lies in the garden religiously at about 6pm and takes a lot of effort to get back in 😄 He does not care if it’s raining, snowing, freezing…he would sleep there for hours!
Mine have 0 prey drive, they live with cats and don’t care about the wild rabbits etc that live in our garden. They also don’t care about livestock but my friends leo will chase anything. The only issue I have is with one of my big males taking a dislike to some other bigger male dogs, although that’s probably a male dog rather than a leonberger thing.

With regards to lifespan, they don’t just drop dead or become suddenly old at 6 like some people think. It’s also the first thing people tend to mention!
There are many double figure Leo’s but the breed average I think is about 8-9, brought down by the ones that still sadly die young. Cancer is common as are GDVs and heart disease.
It do wish they lived forever obviously but I decided a long time ago not to live life worrying about tomorrow and just enjoy every day we have with them!

We lost a GSD at 3 to epilepsy followed by a 2 year old collie 6 months later to a random rare neurological disease, after that I realised how little lifespan actually means 🙁

I wouldn’t have anything else either now.

We have a deerhound

nice large dog, NOT boring, nowhere near as many health issues as wolfhounds but quite similar in all the good ways (that fab big dog personality)

still quite a lot of work, but he is 1 now and 2 walks a day and a bit of play in the garden is all he needs in terms of exercise

Wolfhounds and Deerhounds are the coolest dogs imo, and not boring indeed (preydrive and hole digging are challenges though) and ohhh they love their humans ❤️

To go back to OP's dobe, as @ThisisMax suggested, would something like scentwork occupy that busy brain and calm things down a bit? Basic obedience soon gets very dull to a clever dog. Agility might be a good outlet too. I'm just thinking about making your life easier and your dog happier...

No experience with the giant breeds, other than knowing they have short lifespans, and that Bernese don't seem very bright (benign and good tempered, though).

@EdithStourton I agree Bernese aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. I much prefer a Greater Swiss Mountain dog. They are far more engaging with less hair and a bit bigger.

Sorry. I’ve been at a dog show all day! Mine go off lead. They keep me in sight and recall is good. They are sighthounds so it does need working on. My older girl’s mum recently died. Over 9. They don’t live for 15 years. Decent breeders heart test and aim for longevity. But bone cancer, heart issues etc are a concern. But I adore my girls. And they give me so much.

Yeah OP that is the sensible answer but before you know it it’s very easily to have a lib human sized lump on the sofa and they are special.