Dog breed! Can I ask for suggestions?

[sunshineandstrawberryjam]

I own three cats. Both DH and I work from home full time. Late teenage DC who tend to come and go a lot so there are a variety of people around. We have a medium size garden (half an acre), and access to the countryside.

I'd be looking for a breed with a low ish prey drive (so is ok with the cats), can cope with a reasonable number of people (so not German Shepherd which we've had before as they do not like comings and goings), is going to be comfortable with about 3 walks per day of 30-40 min each (so about 2 hours per day) and maybe obedience training or similar at the weekends, and then happy to chill out in the sitting room or garden while DH and I work.

We've had dogs before but not for a while (due to kids). In the past we have had GSDs and Old English Sheepdogs but I feel like a GSD would not be a good fit for us these days. Am seriously considering an OES again but just wanted to check what else I might be missing.

Thank you in advance!

Another vote for a Goldie, our set up sounds much like yours with younger DC. We are very lucky to have two. The older one patiently tolerates the cat but the cat loves him, the younger one and the cat love each other and they have fantastic games and cuddle up together. Both watch the chickens from afar with interest but no chasing (cat, not so good…)
I also have a soft spot for flatcoated retrievers as I grew up with them. All very sadly died too young (8 or 9) with cancer, it’s very common in the breed and not worth the heartbreak sadly…

'I also have a soft spot for flatcoated retrievers as I grew up with them. All very sadly died too young (8 or 9) with cancer, it’s very common in the breed and not worth the heartbreak sadly…'

Yes it a lottery - interestingly the two liver bitches we had both lived to a grand age - 12 and 14!

Oh wow, I'd never heard of the Nova Scotia retriever but I've just googled and they're beautiful.

Jack Russells

If you’re getting a puppy I wouldn’t worry too much about prey drive as with some training most will get along fine. I’ve had Alaskan Malamutes for years now and they get along amazing with my cats despite being a high prey drive breed. Not sure I would recommend them though unless you’re a bit on the crazy side 😆

I think a Golden Retriever sounds like a good option too. Or perhaps a red setter? Not sure if they would need more exercise though.

Rough Collie - minimal prey drive, gentle. Active on a walk and then happy to doze on the sofa (unlike a border collie). Like to have people around.

I haven't rescued but live in one of those places where every other dog is a BC. Rural so there are lots of working dogs around too. And surplus pups from litters go to pet homes. Probably not ideal, but they are usually healthy and people do know collies can be full on especially as puppies! I know a lot of happy collies but I agree they shouldn't go to pet homes in cities as puppies. Until you know their drive and temperament which may not be clear until 6m+ it's hard to assess if they'll cope. Our girl wd find urban life miserable as she's very movement and noise sensitive. But I know collies who are completely handler focused who would be fine in a city provided their handler is around (and miserable in a rural home if left alone too much). There's a lovely woman called Diane Hart in mid Wales who runs a rescue and rehab center who gave me loads of helpful advice when training mine. May be a worth a call, she sometimes has other breeds. Barbara Sykes runs Freedom of Spirit Trust for BCs in Yorkshire, also worth a try. She has written a couple of books about BVs which I think are helpful. She can seem old fashioned as she is v anti food for reinforcement but she still uses positive methods, no aversives and I have learnt lots from her about how collies think so have a lot of respect for her (though I use treats to train myself!).

My own BC is happy to chill after a walk, although it took time to teach her to settle. My husband and I juggle working from home so there is always someone around. We would get nothing done if she was in our face, but she's not, she's pretty chill between walks.

I don't think you can necessarily rule out any breed if introduced from a pup.
We have a border terrier and a lab, plus a cat AND a rabbit.
The cat tolerates the dogs-lab stands there and let's the cat bite his nose!
The border does his little wiggle and wants to say hello,cat hisses!
Rabbit loves both dogs(tries to hump them!)again lab let's it and the terrier moves away.
On occasion the terrier and rabbit chase round the garden-rabbit will jump forward at the dog,there's no aggression they are playing its funny and nice to watch.
I have a photo of both dogs and the rabbit curled up on the sofa.(rabbit has the run of the garden and comes in and out of the house when the door is open.
Both dogs introduced as little pups to the cat and rabbit.
Again my cat never bothers the rabbit,though I am convinced the bloody rabbit thinks it's a dog!!

I have a small terrier, who's supposed to have a strong prey drive and who shouldn't be let off lead...

Truth is, with force free, positive reinforcement based training, he's the easiest little chap, he's still very young but we start to have very nice walks off lead. And he has a cat-mate in the street, no agression, and no desire to chase her at all.
He's not even that barky, although when he barks I have to admit he doesn't have a nice voice.

This said, a lot of people suggested golden and lab, and I agree, they really are fantastic dogs for beginners. Need exercise but also able to settle from a young age. My terrier didn't know settling was an option before he reached 5 or 6 month old (now he's an expert)

We’ve had Kc registered and well bred labs, dachshunds, spaniels in the past and this time went with an accidental mating of a black gsd/lab cross. Incredibly trainable, chilled, happy with people/dogs/cats/even chickens, happy with life in general actually and apparently relatively healthy as a mix (per a friend who is a vet and has the mix herself). The dog trainer we went to said also said it is a mix they’d look for next time too. Just an idea on the mix side!

@SidekickSylvia yes super little dogs with cheeky characters

Labrador. Everyone should have one!!!

@DrHousecuredme
We tried to get a rescue dog . We have cats.
Out of 270 dogs on one site, just 9 we're ok with cats. ( apparently) this included 3 that on reading their blurb said must be only pet in the house, (?)
3 completely unsocialised collies that needed to live in quiet rural area (we don't)
2 "reactive" Rottweilers that needed owners with experience of large reactive breeds (we haven't) and a three legged 12 year old chiwauwau ( sorry but no)
So we bought a puppy instead.
I think if you have young children it's even harder!
I know they have to be careful but making it so hard to rescue it's not surprising they're all full to bursting 🥲

Australian shepherd, they're mad as pups but wonderful dogs.

Maybe more full on than what you want but worth looking into.

So, you’re looking for a dog that isn’t going to eat your cats (remove fighting dogs, sight hounds and terriers), has a balanced disposition with an off switch (remove working lines) and is ok with comings and goings (remove guarding and herding breeds). I’m going to volunteer a fourth requirement on your behalf: a dog that stands a chance of making it to double digits without a life spent in pain as a result of its deformities.

Everyone will know an exception to the rule: the greyhound that hasn’t killed their cat, the collie that watches the world go by, the GSD that rolls his eyes at the doorbell, or the Frenchie with functional nostrils. But breed traits are known and described for a reason.

Any of the retriever breeds could work. Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers are much brighter and sharper than goldies: if you’ve done well with GSDs before you might like that. With training and patience through adolescence, a GSP might be ok (a viszla, not so much). A well bred poodle is a terrific dog at any size. Wheaten terriers are barely terriers on the inside, so could work.

We found it almost impossible to get a rescue that could live with children. The only ones that we would even be considered for were elderly terriers, which is not what we were looking for at all.

What about a German spitz? They love lots of walks and make a great family pet and have a long life span. We have one and he is super cute! Plus you get them in different sizes! We do get him groomed but here he is with long and short hair! 🥰

It’s not a rescue’s fault a large number of their hand overs have behavioural issues (and that’s the reason for their handover) or have no history at all (strays). Dogs that are happy with other animals and young kids are happy in their families, not being signed over to rescue. When a dog like that IS signed over (such as due to divorce or job loss) they may get up to 100 applications and be rehomed in days.

Rescues are not dog shops. They exist to find the dogs in their care a good home, they do not exist to find people their perfect rescue dog.

As a general rule, dogs who are well-trained, good with children and happy to live with other animals aren't handed over to rescue - or, if they are (because their owners are unwell or have passed away) they're snapped up within minutes and won't even make it onto the website.

Rescues also need to be incredibly careful about re-homing because if they advertise a dog as good with children and that dog goes on to bite a child in their new home, the rescue could (rightly or wrongly) find themselves in hot water for not doing the right checks.

Which is totally fair, but then where does that leave people who want a dog, could offer a dog a great home, but are jumped on for buying a puppy (even if they've done their research and it's a good breeder)?

I was told on MN that I should have just not got a dog at all if rescues wouldn't re-home to me because of our other pets but fortunately I took no notice and now have the most amazing dog, who came from an extremely good and responsible first home and who is utterly adored and very well cared for by us!

IMO there's absolutely nothing wrong with going to a reputable breeder and I'm glad you weren't put off by some of the more...err...evangelical posters on here.

Rescues aren't for everyone and I really wish more people would recognise that. There's absolutely no benefit for a rescue to be re-homed with a family who isn't suitable for it either.

A lot of it is down to patience and more patience. If someone really wants to adopt, they will apply over and over, it can take months to get the right match, visit the centre if they can, get to know the rescue. Volunteer even if they can. There are TONS of puppies ending up in rescue as unsold litters, they do fly out the door, but they are there. Of course you need to be prepared for taking on a dog that hasn’t had all those relevant breed health tests and therefore could be quite expensive down the line. Radio DJ Sara Cox just adopted a puppy a few weeks ago from Dogs Trust.

Adopting a dog shouldn’t be a case of a click of a button and voila, you have a dog. It takes time and effort from both sides.

You do have to be realistic though - most people aren't going to wait years to adopt a dog - especially not when they can get themselves on a waiting list for a reputable breeder and bring a puppy home with much less stress involved.

When we got on our waiting list for a breeder, we waited six months between being approved and bringing our puppy home. That included a phone interview, a home check, meeting the mum and puppies (twice) and finally bringing out puppy home.

Whereas we often never heard back from rescues, or we were automatically rejected as we had cats, or worked more than part-time hours, or didn't have a big enough garden, or lived on a busy road. There's only so many times people are going to go through the application process before they get disheartened and go elsewhere.

I agree it shouldn't be a click-button system though, so I'm not sure what the answer is. I do think it seems easier to adopt in many other countries though.

We weren't expecting to click and collect a dog though. We spent 3 years looking for a rescue dog. We got turned down by over a dozen rescues due to our existing pets or because they didn't like the fact our garden is over the road from our house (it's a cul de sac with only 3 houses on it, so not exactly a busy road!), and ignored by 20+ that I filled in application forms for. I know they're busy, I know they can't reply to everyone, but genuinely good forever homes are being overlooked and it's a real shame.

One of the dogs I was interested in was actually listed as being good with children and cats, but I was completely ignored twice when I contacted them to express interest yet 6 weeks later the rescue were posting sad face emojis next to his pic on Facebook saying how heartbreaking it was that he was still waiting for a home