Which medium to large breed do I go for?!

[teddysitch]

I'm looking for:

Fairly intelligent and good with other dogs and children. A protective dog is ok.

I'm not a fan of lots of hair everywhere either.

Need to be ok being left alone for short periods.

I'd love any suggestions!! Thank you

Hard one as good with other dogs and children isn't necessarily a breed thing as any breed can have a negative experience which means they end up reactive.

Being left for short periods again is as much as personality and getting them used to it.

Sorry not much help as I don't think the things you are looking for are necessarily breed specific in my opinion.

Personally I love pointers. Both English and German short-haired, or wire haired. Lovely dogs, hugely underrated. (I'm a vet nurse and worked with dogs for 25 years and they're one of my favs!)
Also a big fan of setters but they probably don't fall under your 'intelligent' requirements . And flat coat retrievers. They're probably my top 3 but I also have a soft spot for sight hounds.

“Protective” often actually means anxious and reactive especially if guarding instincts aren’t properly managed.
what’s your experience and how much time can you realistically dedicate to training, socialising and exercise

Poodle? Very intelligent breed, friendly and playful, good with kids and families and barely shed at all.

Downsides I suppose are they're super active and need lots of exercise and attention, good solid training because they're so clever, and grooming can be pricey because of the nature of their coats they do need regular grooming.

My mum has always had poodles and if you put the time into them they're absolutely lovely dogs. Don't have to be all fluffy and frou frou either!

Personally, I really wouldn't want a protective dog around children. 'Protective' can very easily cross to 'reactive' if you don't know what you're doing - and you really don't want a dog that's reactive to people when you have children in the house.

Big also means they need a lot of training when they're young as you don't want an adolescent, large breed dog lunging on the end of a lead, or jumping up at people when they come and visit.

All that said, I would maybe have a look at the following breeds:

Foxhound (rare but generally lovely dogs - you need to be careful with recall though as they're very scent driven).
Standard poodles.
Bernese Mountain Dog (but make sure parents are health tested as they can have quite short life expectancies).
Labrador - though they can shed, but their positive attributes massively outweigh that IMO. They're very people-orientated, smart but not too clever, eager to please and generally great family dogs. I'd also suggest Golden Retrievers but if you're really against shedding then maybe not

Intelligent dogs can be hard work, as they need things to do or they go self-employed. If you're up for exercising your dog's brain as well as its body, that's fine.

German pointers, as a PP says, are lovely, but they can be very full on. Ditto similar breeds like Weimaraners and Vizslas. You have to work hard on reining in their prey drive if they're from working stock (and sometimes even if they're not).

Protectiveness is... Um... If the dog is bred for it, you'll need to train and focus it. But a dog not bred for it can be astonishing in a crisis. Or it might just run away.

You've described my jrt ( apart from the hair shedding) , my friends rottweiler and another friends Boston terrier. Agree with pp these traits aren't breed specific.

A rottweiler ticks everything except the hair.

A giant schnauzer would work as would Dobermann, and of course German Shepherd (loads of fur), and a standard poodle.

Basically all the german breeds.

I'd go with either a standard poodle or a bernese mountain dog. Obviously the Bernie will shed much more but the poodle will probably need more exercise so it depends on which factor matters more to you.

Labrador - though they can shed, but their positive attributes massively outweigh that IMO

Agree with this. I'd also add that whilst they do shed, it's not mountains of fluff and their coat is otherwise very easy to care for. Personally I think having to sweep/vacuum more often is far easier than grooming and keeping fluffier dogs mud free.

I have poodles they fit you description but they do need a good deal of exercise and attention.But you get rewarded with a clever, devoted, fun, easy to train, want to please family dog.

I have a Basset Fauve de Bretagne. A medium French hound basically. As a breed they are known to be very good with other dogs and kids and people loving. All that I have met have been. They are not Velcro dogs so pretty independent and intelligent, which means they are ok to be left for short periods.

The flip side is recall. But this is the same for all hounds, and in my experience most terriers. Work hard on it and you will have some but like all dogs never guaranteed. I am lucky my dog is very food motivated so that's my bait!

They also don't shed, which was a big thing for me. They are wonderful, happy dogs. Pretty chilled at home but do become hunters when out. They also hardly have any health problems associated with them which was another important thing for me.

Other breeds. Wheaten Terriers? Airedale Terriers.

Rottweiler! Absolutely fantastic dogs. I’ve had four now, all through my kids growing up. They are great natured, super intelligent, protective when needed and just great fun.

@BreviloquentBastard I think they need re branding!! I love poodles, but even so my instant reaction is <shuffler, no thanks>. Then my brain catches up & re focuses!! My friend has one, he's so tall & jet black. He's hard to walk though! You get stopped approximately every 2 minutes for people to make a fuss of him!!

Poodles are amazing dogs. Just avoid grooming them all fancy and let them be proper dogs! (Just groom on a short cut)

@Orangebadger I love the basset FdB. I'm a spaniel girl through & through, but the Bfdb does tempt me away. Sadly I can't have a dog at the moment so I don't have any difficult decisions to make!

The last 2 breeds were between a BfdB or a cocker spaniel. I love cockers so it was a tough call!

We were having this sort of debate over the last 18-12 months. Previously we had a Westie and a miniature Dachshund, but wanted something a bit different this time. In May last year we got a Bernese Mountain Dog, but the breeder had lied about its raising and he was an absolute stressed out mess, and sadly we had to take him back. I would say if you are looking at working dogs, make sure they are raised in a family environment, not outside in a kennel with much less contact.

Anyway we got ourselves a Beagle. Good with children, other animals, pack dogs, rather than independent so like company. Very friendly, ours is doing very well with training. Short coat so not intensive grooming. I think he is great.

@Orangebadger oh I don't envy you having had to choose!!

@sugarplumfairy28 Sorry to hear about your Bernese! My godson has a Beagle. He's the sweetest, cuddliest thing, no bother at all, but my Godson walks him miles.

My Labradors tick every box

the children play with them, they don’t bark unless someone comes to the door etc

I'm not a dog person but absolutely love my lab. He is a bit sheddy but his coat doesn't need a lot of care. He's absolutely brilliant with DS2 who has ASD and sometimes likes to be close to the dog but not people. Total land shark as a puppy though.

I've got a lab x jack russell (Jackador) who is slightly smaller than a lab but great with kids and full of energy but also love a snooze. She's slightly more fond of chasing squirrels than most full labs we've met but also loves swimming more than some terriers we've met. For us it was a great mix. She does shed a fair bit though!

My pointer sheds like crazy - stiff white hairs all over which don't hoover up!

English setter, I've rescued 2 working ones and they are such adorable dogs. Bigger than a cocker spaniel and love people but not quite as needy, coats are easier to maintain as well. They do have a high prey drive though x

Airedale (bigger) or Irish Terrier, wired hair so don't shed much, excellent personality and very cuddly and funny