Help choosing a small/medium sized breed? Tibetan Terrier? Poodle?

[NellBeau]

Which small to medium sized breed would you choose?

We currently have a gorgeous 2.5 year old cocker spaniel, and I’d love to expand our family. I like larger dogs and my preference would actually be for a retriever type dog or a setter, which I think are stunning dogs.

But everyone else wants a smallish dog no bigger than our cocker spaniel. The children remember how mouthy our cocker spaniel was as a puppy and would like something not so mouthy.

Companionship is the main thing we are looking for. Ideally also intelligent and easy to train. Preferably not too barky. Tibetan Terrier's seem like a great choice, I’m just concerned about the level of grooming required.

Any suggestions?

Poodles are lovely dogs - clever, affectionate, energetic but not too much. I disagree that all puppies are as mouthy as a cocker spaniel - they’re retrieving dogs that like to have something in their mouth, and they’re incredibly energetic, excitable and playful puppies, which adds up to bitey little feckers. Not all dogs are as full on, and not all are as orally fixated! Though mind you I might never be able to get anything else now I’ve got one. I could be seriously tempted by the duck tolling retriever though…

Welsh Terrier? Super little dogs.

I have a nine month old Tibetan terrier and she is exceptionally barky (a very loud bark). They're essentially guard dogs. If you go on the various Facebook forums for TTs they will often mention the barking. Grooming is fine if you get a good groomer. They are very 'human like' with beautiful faces, very clever, cheeky, stubborn. Still mouthy and bites me at nine months. She was easy to socialise and loves other dogs and people.

Apparently they are really tricky puppies but amazing grown ups. I'm still a shadow of my former self so I'm hoping she will settle! 🤣

@ClaireandTed OMG your puppy is ridiculously adorable. Dying!

Aw thanks!! Her nickname is "demon puppy".

Border terrier
Jack Russel

Or my absolute fave a staffie 😍

I have a border terrier, I can confirm they are very definitely terriers and not "big dogs in small dogs bodies" 😂 it's a total myth like Great Danes being "gentle giants" err nope they are mastiffs bred for a job.

Borders are lovely though, sweet and loving and very easy to train. They do yap and bark and howl so might be too noisy for the OP!

Whippet! Smart little sods, love a cuddle and a long nap, easy to train and only nail clip/tooth brushing required on the grooming front.

I have a 12 week old Border Terrier puppy just now, never again…yeah easy to train, star pupil at the puppy class but will only answer to commands when he wants to he is obstinate in a way I didn’t realise was possible in a dog, really mouthy, zoomies are next level, chews and eats anything within reach and can escape from anything - he can undo latches with his paws! Toilet training been pretty good though, we have had maybe 4 or 5 pees and 2 poos inside over the last three weeks which is pretty good going for a puppy!

I'd recommend miniature poodle every time!

I have a 2 year old and he was the best choice I could have made... I've wanted a dog my whole life but never looked at poodles before because of the traditional look of them...

when the time finally came- I was originally looking at border terriers / miniature schnauzers but they just weren't quite the right breeds in the end, and poodle crosses kept coming up. Looked into poodles more then and eventually bumped into one with a more 'normal' clip at the park - fell in love that day.

Ours is amazing. super intelligent and loves to learn (though intelligent enough you need to be careful with how you train or he can train you!)
Completely flexible with walks - I've never had a routine with him as read they can become anxious and routine can make it worse... now he can have anything really in the way of walks, 1 or 2 x 30 mins, an hour, 2/3 hrs at the weekend, whatever - and even miss one if I''m ill / its too hot without him being bothered.

He is such a happy soul and just wants to be with 'his gang' - his gang consists of anyone he has met and spent time with really , when its just me working at home he will be laid in the room with me and snoozing the day away quite happily, but he knows when he thinks I've done enough or need a break!

If he decides he's had enough snoozing on the sofa and it must be bedtime, he'll sit up and just stare at me, if I don't get the hint after a few mins he will huff and lay down again - such a great character and so completely easy going.

We have a lhasapoo. He is very intelligent and friendly. Loves children and dogs. He does bark when he is trying to guard the house but only for a couple of seconds.

OP asked for a breed. Cockerpoos aren't a breed.

And neither is a Lhasapoo. They're crossbreeds.

I'd recommend Miniature Poodle OP

Retired greyhound

Miniature poodles puppies can be quite hard to find from a reputable breeder at the moment, but they fit the bill. Really smart (maybe a bit too much!)

I love a BT. Ours is 6 months now. Only downside is hand stripping if you don’t want them looking wild!

Small dogs have watch dog tendencies so more likely to bark. You can train them to stop on command though (if you have the patience of a saint)

Two pieces of advice. Talk to your vet for suggestions. Be honest with the amount of exercise you can realistically give the dog (taking into account your current cocker, particularly if your cocker is if the shoe type and not working cocker), about the amount of grooming and shedding, behaviour, how trainable is the type of dog.

also read up about the breed of dog in the kennel club website, about the above as well as potential health issues.

m one type of breed may be great for others and their situation, but not be best for you. Educating yourself about the breeds from reputable, non biased resources are the best way to go.

Working cocker. I have seven. Aside from labs, which are obviously bigger than you're looking for, I wouldn't have any other breed.

A relative of mine has had Tibetans for years. Theres two personality types - absolute clowns, or totally neurotic. Or if you're unlucky, both. They are stubborn, barky, wilful, difficult to train, excessive amounts of grooming (but you can keep them trimmed) and not very well bred in this country - they're prone to so many health conditions and all of my relatives ones have died between 9 and 12 years of age. Relatives life seems to be dedicated to managing various eye and skin conditions and they put hours of research whenever they get another puppy yet still end up with one that's got something wrong with it - and they're buying from health tested breeders.
I researched the family tree of some of their dogs - the inbreeding is awful because all the main breeders swap their breeding stock around and there's no fresh blood coming in - the gene pool is getting smaller and it's coming out in poorly dogs. My relative shows them, and their circle of dog showing friends also seem to have sickly, short lived dogs -even the ones that win championships. Cancer is quite common.

I think you have to really "get" TTs to have one. Id never have one myself. I like my dogs to be biddable and willing to please. TTs always ask "what's in it for me?" If whatever you're offering isn't good enough, they won't do it. Like that supermodel who wouldn't get out of bed for less than £10k - that's a TT.

My friend is a groomer and says that out of all the breeds, cockers are the worst for biting with no warning. Iggys and dachshunds are adorable but quite fragile. How would he feel about a little staffie instead?