Recommend me a breed?

[Blueskiesunshine]

We lost our beloved dog a few weeks ago, we miss him terribly. I'm retired so at home all the time, the house feels so empty and silent without him!

This morning I asked my husband if he thought he would be ready for another dog any time soon. I was a bit shocked when he said he might never be ready for another dog, as he has developed mobility problems recently and would struggle to walk a dog.

I have no problem walking a dog but I do have arthritis and sciatica which combined mean that I can't do the very long walks I used to.

So my question is, can anyone recommend a smallish dog (we live in a semi-detached house with a fairly big garden) who wouldn't need a lot of walking, please? I've seen greyhounds recommended before but they're not a breed that appeals to me.

What about a staffy? Happy with shorter walks, and great with grandchildren.

Ah I can understand you being put off a greyhound!!!! How horrible!!! But a dog like my lurcher would really fit your bill. I agree with pp's to approach a good rescue and see if they can match by personality rather than breed. Good luck!

Clicked the wrong pic so here's another 😉

I would go to rescue centres and ask about older dogs. My dog was already about 7 or 8 when i got her and very chilled. She doesnt need long walks

none of the breeds I listed require tons of exercise though Confused Two short walks a day is plenty for them, especially if they'll company during the day

What is ‘tons’ of exercise though?

I think people massively underestimate the amount of exercise smaller dogs should get.
If you look on the Kennel Club website for example, pretty much all the toy breeds are listed as needing one 30 minutes walk a day or less.

But most of the small breeds I know are very active little dogs.
They could quite happily walk/play for hours.
Whereas a lot of the big breeds are genuinely happy with one short walk a day and much calmer overall.

I just think small breeds when it comes to exercise get a rough deal quite honestly.

Labrador or working type cocker spaniel. Both beautiful company and will give you what you give them

A working spaniel for someone who can't do long walks - are you joking? I can't think of any worse breed match tbh.

Rescue centres near me are full of cocker spaniels because people want a small cute lapdog and totally disregard that they're a high energy breed that needs a tonne of exercise.

What is ‘tons’ of exercise though?

Well, for me, any dog should be getting an absolute minimum of an hour a day, unless very young/old or because of medical issues.

I don't know any toy/small breed of dog that wouldn't be absolutely fine on two decent half an hour walks per day, as long as they also had plenty of company and mental stimulation at home on top of that.

I own a beagle and he's fine on an hour as long as it's good quality exercise. I don't see any reason why a smaller companion breed would need anymore than that.

That's not to say they won't walk for hours, of course, but it's certainly not necessary.

The smaller dogs I've had have all required more exercise. What about an old rescue dog? A puppy would be risky you wouldn't know what personality you were getting.

Rescue greyhound would be good. Don't know where you are but Greyhound Gap are always looking for adopters.

Sorry, just read your update about greyhounds.

St Bernard. Plods along 20 to 30 minutes walk twice daily. Not energetic dogs

This, it's not a breed you want but any dog with the right personality to fit in with you.

Lhasa Apso, gorgeous little dogs, loyal great watch dogs. If I ever got another dog, it would be one of these.

For Christ’s sake don’t get a working spaniel if you can’t walk far and have two people with mobility issues. Mine spends half his life out for walks and the other half under my feet tripping me up.
Whippets are pretty low energy but might be too greyhound-like though half the size of one. Dachshund? Needs walked but not for miles and miles. Miniature schnauzer? The ones I’ve known are quite chilled and not very terrier-ish (I like terriers but terrier traits might be tricky to handle!).

There are many quizzes online to identify your perfect dog breed. We used one after our last boxer died. It suggested that our perfect breed would be a Lowchen, [little lion dog]. We got one and she's lovely, but very idle and she can't wag her tail as its quite tightly curled over her back. She is very sweet natured, though, but prone to weight gain. To liven her up a bit, we got a cavapoo- a crossbreed between a cavalier King charles spaniel and a poodle. His tail wags non stop, he goads Pip into playing, so she's more active, and he's the brightest and most affectionate dog we've ever had. He's just passed his silver certificate in the Canine Good Citizen award scheme, and already able to do all the gold exercises. Everybody loves him.

Consider you may need a dog walker, take that expense into account in case you are unable to provide the exercise required.

I’d go for an older mixed breed rescue, rather than a 15 plus year commitment personally and I’m only 44.

Are you prepared for the house training, early mornings, sleepless nights, a puppy is basically like having a baby for the first few months. You’ll be up and down, in and out, it’ll be tiring.

Be wary of how big the breed is, in case you need to pick them up/carry them when older.

It suggested that our perfect breed would be a Lowchen, [little lion dog]. We got one and she's lovely, but very idle and she can't wag her tail as its quite tightly curled over her back.

Blimey, my Lowchen never sits still long, and her tail wags constantly. Divine little monkey.