Totally novice owner to be

[teachingbean]

Hi!

This has probably been asked a thousand times but - here goes.

We are a family of 4 (smallest is 5) with a large house based in New Forest.

We have never had a dog before.

Looking for a medium size which doesn't smell too much (don't hate me!).

So far have considered:

• miniature schnauzer

-cockapoo

• Cavapoochon

Any advice? Thoughts?

Thanks ever so

Our cockapoo is a lovely dog. The training we did with him as a puppy has really paid off. He is so chilled. We walk him for around 1.5hrs per day no matter what the weather is like. He doesn’t smell unless he decides to roll in something unpleasant. You can’t guarantee that a dog won’t smell though.

Border Collies, German Shepherd's (depending on your experience of training dogs), cocker spaniels, springer spaniels and cockapoos are all amazing dogs.

I don’t get the love for labradors. They are not the most intelligent of breeds tbh. Labradors have been the bane of my fostering career. Thick as 💩 and extremely frustrating for owner and other dog walkers. Labrador owners won’t appreciate other dog owners hate for them though.

The only dogs I will not accept are labradors, retrievers and any of the bully breeds. That’s after experiencing them. Staffy owners insist they are the best and insist they known as “nanny dogs” and will look after human babies. I wouldn’t trust them with a stuffed toy let alone a child! I’ve met some happy Staffys, on my daily walks. I’ve fostered some real nutters that I would not let off lead around other people/dogs.

For some reason Labrador owners are happy for their dogs to cause chaos, whilst they catch up with SM on their phones. Because Labradors dont intimate other dogs or jump all over other owners right? No. Wrong! An unwatched, untrained labrador is a bloody nuisance - as all unsupervised, untrained dogs are 🤬

Labs are working dogs. And they shed like anything and are smelly.

I know a GORGEOUS cockapoo. He's exactly what everyone wants from the cross. Happy go lucky, easy going chilled and utterly adorable. Equally I know some who have eaten walls, resource guarded like a devil and been neurotic, wired etc

I think a lot revolves around you working out what you can give in terms of time and training. Both of us WFH and our kids are older so we can do longer walks and the kids can understand and follow advice on how their behaviour affects dogs etc.

I'd start from there and see what fits into who you are as a family.

The big issue with poodle and other crosses is they don’t have the regulation that pedigree KC pups have (compulsory health testing, max number of litters etc) so they’re prime puppy mill fodder.

so many kennels with one poodle stud and lots of different breed bitches churning out doodledoos and other fashionable crosses.

o/p is a novice. It is very hard to spot a backyard breeder or a puppy mill if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

o/p you can get good cross breeders, but they are very hard to find amongst the hundreds of dodgy ones. As a general rule of thumb a good cross breeder should have a long waitlist- i know one and she only puts her dog to stud when she has a waitlist of about 10-12, so all puppies have guaranteed homes. Currently it is about 2 year wait for a pup from her, which is standard for good breeders.

Oh and I second cairn terriers. Lovely little dogs.

As opposed to KC registered breeders of difficult to breathe, flat nosed pugs, French bulldogs etc??

Give me a healthy cross breed, or mixed breed, than a KC registered unhealthy, snorting, unable to breathe, walk or run breed any day!

If you’re a novice I wouldn’t go anywhere near a spaniel. I have one and I’m an experienced dog owner and he’s the hardest dog I’ve ever had. Incredibly loving and amazing with people and dogs but requires so much stimulation and training. He’s basically a full-time job. I knew what I was getting into but even so, it’s hard.

If you don’t have cats, I would look at whippets or border terriers. Easygoing happy breeds, good with children and easy to train.

Agree nope to cocker spaniel or a cross with a cocker. Far too much work for a novice dog owner.

Many here are saying labs, now labs/ retrievers that are trained are smashing dogs but they are incredibly hard work for the first 2 years. Then all the hard work pays off! But they are not for novice owners.

Personally, I would recommend border terrier, Cairn terrier, westies. Not sure about the borders but cairns and westies don't shed and from my experience with them, they have lovely temperaments. The Bedlington whippet is a lovely cross! One I am keeping my eye on for my next dog!

My dog is a hound, would not recommend any hound for a novice owner! Far too challenging to train despite been very food motivated!

Am gonna say it again but: cavapoo! Ideal poodle cross. No crazy spaniel involved. Lovely, calm dogs who will love you forever.

Well it’s fairly obvious brachycephalics aren’t going to be healthy- if you notice no one’s recommended any.

you can’t guarantee a cross will be healthy either, as chances are they won’t have been genetic tested, and if you aren’t careful will come from a puppy farm with hundreds of dogs kept in outdoor sheds.

at least with KC you know they’ve had their genetic tests done, and the bitches won’t be stuck in whelping sheds churning out puppies for 💰💰💰

just keep away from the obvious breeds (bracycephalics, dachshunds and the like) that’ll keep you at the vets.

Cavapoo - No crazy spaniel involved you say?? Where do you think the “Cava” comes from? 🤔🫣

at least with KC you know they’ve had their genetic tests done, and the bitches won’t be stuck in whelping sheds churning out puppies for 💰💰💰

😂 Really!???

I’ve had many KC registered dogs that have been dumped in shelters because they have cost their owners too much money in vets fees and then dumped - because they are not healthy…. Or meet Crufts requirements for “perfect” height or breed.

KC registered means zilch! Don’t be so naive! 🙄

@ShonaShoop a cavalier spaniel is totally different to a cocker. So your can't lump them all together as spaniels with a neon warning sign. A cavalier is a companion dog and really quite ideal for a novice owner. They have much lower energy levels but probably need more grooming. A cocker is very energetic, working gun dog, prone to resource guarding and separation anxiety. Don't lump all spaniels together as one, just like you can't for terriers or cross breeds.

@ShonaShoop it comes from the Cavalier - nice, calm dogs. I was referring to crazy cocker spaniels.

My first dog when I was a child was a cairn, he was perfect.

I doubt the OP is any the wiser after reading this thread!
A puppy will develop it's own personality and what's considered typical for a breed might not apply to the actual dog it grows into.

I am/was a novice owner, I have a Golden Cocker, cocker spaniel x golden retriever. He is great, very obedient and great with ds. He is sociable too. Having the golden in him makes training very easy because he is food driven. He is 11 months old now and I work from home mostly, he will relax during those hours. He has 2 to 3 walks a day and that seems to be enough.

That's great when the mix comes out right but it's a gamble. You could have had a pup that grew to golden retriever size and needed cocker spaniel amounts of exercise.

I live in the forest too and have whippets (and two cats, despite all the "no cats with a whippet" comments).

Assuming the majority of walks are going to be in the forest you're going to need something f with a great recall, due to the cows, ponies, riders, cyclists etc wandering around constantly.

My lot have a reliable recall and, thankfully, no longer show any interest in the ponies. Whips are very very affectionate, really very good with children, not known for any breed specific health issues and lazy buggers happy with one walk a day (zero if it's raining). They are also destructive horrors when puppies, but did teach my children to put their stuff away, feel the cold and there's no way on earth you're going to keep them off the couch.

If they aren't your thing, I'd probably suggest a GSD. I grew up with them and, with training (like all breeds) are great family pets and should be good in the forest as they're usually more focused on their owners than anything else.

I'd avoid any -poo breeds or spaniels, both bonkers. Not keen on terriers, as I've always found them to be snappy when stressed. A staff may be an idea too, I've never came across a horrible one and they ate very affectionate too.

Look forward to seeing what you go for.

@TiTiddlySquats that is with any breed or cross breed though. You have to train from the start. My golden cocker is closer to the retriever in size but has the shorter hair of the cocker. He can walk for miles but also shorter walks are enough.

Cavapoos are calm?! No they aren’t! We have plenty of them in our regional doodle group, they’re as lively as any other doodle mix.

I would look at a standard poodle, I think they are underrated.

I have to say the most chilled dogs I see out and about are golden retrievers! Not sure if they smell or not. While my cocker is running rings round the field, the retrievers are always strolling around looking v calm!

@ShonaShoop apologies, that should have been for @Floofydawg - DH was chuntering away as I was typing and I was half listening to him so quoted the wrong post

This is true. Whatever breed you choose make sure you get to choose the pup right for you from the litter. A good breeder can often tell the temperament of puppies quite early on and I would say with a 5 yr old in the family a calm temperament would be preferable to a more adventurous pup!

Hahah. I am
Non the wiser but appreciate everyone's time and effort to help xx