What breed do we need?

[Version4needsabitofwork]

We’re a family of four, two hybrid working adults (so someone is usually home most days) and two teens. We’ve got a decent sized garden and access to lots to of open space. We like walking, but like most people, we’re time poor. Could manage two half hour walks every day plus a couple of extra 2 hour walks in the week and at weekends. We go away a lot (mostly camping so not a problem) and will hire good doggy daycare if necessary.

We have a cat and we’re after a breed that can be pretty low maintenance. I’ve grown up with springer spaniels and jack Russell Terriers, gorgous dogs but I think we’re probably after something more chilled.

Is there a breed that might suit us? I think we could offer the right dog lots of love and country walks, but they need to be able to relax and not chase the cat.

What would you suggest?

I agreed with the comments about chilled dogs. To use an old saying, GIGO (showing my age). Ie, if you don’t put the training and commitment in, you won’t get the desired results.

With teenagers you shouldn’t have an issue rescuing so your best bet is to contact some rescues tell them what you can offer and see what they can match you with . Time poor and puppy don’t mix .

Italian Greyhound, cat tested Greyhound, Whippet or lurcher, Chihuahua or any of the other companion/lapdog breeds. An older staffie would be a good fit too.

If you are looking to get a rescue contact a few local rescues and ask them what they have which would suit you. It's rare, but you do get dogs who buck the trend eg lazy labs or high-energy lurchers, so if your needs are rigid an adult rescue whose personality is known is always your best bet.

Thanks everyone. This has been really heartening - lots to think about. To answer a couple of points upthread:

Get a cat - yes! Last time we went through this thought process we drafted a list of exactly what we needed from a breed and came to the same conclusion. Don't regret that decision at all, our cat is our leader. Things have changed a bit for us though, ten years on and we're in our early 50s, we're outdoors a lot more and have more time on our hands.

Training - totally agree. Where we live there are so many dogs, the majority of whom are poorly trained. We're fully prepared to put serious time into this - we've both grown up with dogs, me from puppies and DH all rescues, so we understand the importance of getting the right breed then putting the work in.

Walks - I think I undersold our position probably. We live on the edge of a massive park with woodland perfect for off-lead romping. I walk there every day myself, so adding in a bit more time and doing it twice a day is no problem. I'm more concerned with finding a breed that's happy with a couple of daily romps PLUS can handle the odd 10miler at weekends. I met a fell runner a few years ago who had a toy dog - he said it was perfect, they'd just chuck him in rucksack when he got tired. Maybe this is a thing?

Labs - love them and seriously considered a pup about 5 years ago, which is where we heard about being careful with their hips. I didn't realise that applied to all other breeds though... I don't know anyone who's followed that rule. Poor pups :(

Breeds - gah! I love all these suggestions. Greyhounds are gorgous (if a little snoozy, but maybe that's right for us) and the schnausers and show cockers are where we landed last time. Having met a lovely staffy recently, I'd consider one of those as a rescue too. I quite like the idea of having a different sort of dog - we're in an well to do area with mostly labs, viszlers and cockerpoos... I think phoning round rescues is a great idea, we'll try that before investigating breeders.

Thanks again all of you for taking the time to reply - if we go for it next year I'll post a picture and you can see what we went for!

Oh and thank you to everyone who suggested lurchers - I've always liked the look of those. I supposed they wouldn't work with cats, so I'm very happy that's not necessarily the case!

I met a fell runner a few years ago who had a toy dog - he said it was perfect, they'd just chuck him in a rucksack when he got tired. Maybe this is a thing?

We have 2 Chihuahuas. One begs to be in her bag after 15 minutes of walking and she is compact enough to fit easily into one and not too heavy to carry. The other would happily walk all day long if we let him. Embarrassingly, we (by we I mean DD whom the chihuahuas belong to) have a doggy pram. This is the oldest Chi's idea of heaven. She can be outside, nosing at things, but also not have to soil her precious paws by putting them on the dirty ground .

Most chis are more like our second one and will happily walk all day if given the opportunity but it is handy being able to fit them into a bag. It means we can bring them with us even when it is too hot for other dogs as we can carry them when they start getting too hot and/or when the ground is too hot for their paws.

DD is the reason our first Chi demands to be carried after 15 minutes. If you treat them like dogs from day one they're pretty much just a tiny terrier, smart and very active but with the bonus of being able to meet their physical exercise needs just by running around the house or garden for 15 minutes.

You are "time poor" (daft expression) and have got a cat. The best dog for you would be a stuffed one.

I agree with PP who said chilled dogs are usually chilled because they are getting their needs met. If you are time poor it’s a hard fix, the working breeds will be a bad shout of course, but companion breeds can be very clingy and don’t take well to being ignored/left for huge swathes.

If you can find a cat tested greyhound I’d suggest that, or look at the Edward foundation for a bulldog maybe? Not everyone’s cup of tea but I think they are thorough in their assessment and realistic in how people live when it comes to homing dogs

Clumber spaniel. Show type less driven. All the best bits of a spaniel with a bit less madness.
Bedlington terrier X whippet

If the cat has been living in a dog-free house, it may well have difficulty in adjusting to the arrival of a dog. My parents had a cat for years and then acquired a dog, who managed to make the poor cat’s final months a misery.

Whippets are very low maintenance, need little exercise and generally very healthy. We had one as the family pet growing up and he was an excellent dog.

Labradors are the Jekyl and Hyde of the dog world. Enthusiastically energetic outdoors and will plod for miles. But total couch potatoes indoors. They are very goid company and just love to be in your company. Useless guards dogs because barking is not really their thing but if they don’t like the look or sound of someone they can summon up their inner hound of the Baskervilles and you would think they are the size of a Rottweiler.
Our first lab was an ex working lab ( my BIL is a gamekeeper and retires his grogs at 5-6 so they can have a life outside of shooting) she took a short while to learn indoor rules but then was the most wonderful family dog for 6/7yrs. DS grew up with our second lab who died when he was 7. Then we had a break until he was 11 and our current lab was his dog. She was his constant companion through the pandemic lockdowns and his shadow.
There are a number of lab rescue charities and also you can sign up with working lab organisations to adopt a dog that hasn’t quite made the cut, such as guide dogs, assistance dogs or police dogs. There is usually nothing wrong with the dog but it just may lack the reliability they need or may have a health problem that excludes it from working.
A fully trained dog is a dream and they take very little settling in. My family have had a few of my BIL ex working dogs and they have all been great. I would imagine guide dogs and assistance dogs would be the same.

If you’re thinking rescue... honestly, I’d cross breed off your list of what matters.

Cat friendly and lower on activity levels are already narrowing down your options a lot - cat friendly dogs are fairly rare in rescue because they don’t gamble with it, so they’ll only say they’re cat friendly if they know they’ve lived with a cat fine and they get more applicants because there are less of them.

With a puppy all you’ve got to base a decision on is breed traits, because it’s a puppy, with an older rescue dog, it’s already an adult so it doesn’t really matter so much, you do get less energetic individuals of usually active breeds.

So I’d be looking at any cat friendly dog tbh and seeing what they say about it no matter what breed it is.

But, I’d also give serious thought about whether your cat is going to cope - it’s a huge adjustment fir a cat that age that’s never lived with dogs.

Have a look at local rescue centres when you are ready.Giving a dog a loving home is a wonderful thing to do. One of the best things I've ever done. They love you back so much x

Join the FB groups of all the breeds you are tempted by, hear what people say about them then remove any you don't like the sound of and see what you end up with. Labradoodles are great too.

As others have said - greyhound!!!

Lurchers and whippets have higher energy needs.

Greyhounds are the kings of laziness. 2 x 20 min walks a day will do them. Entirely possible to get a cat-tested one.

The rescues are absolutely overflowing with them, OP. You’ll have a great choice. They are also completely free due to the greyhound rehoming scheme - ours came with his lead and collar and a bag of food to start us off :)

Bernese Mountain Dog.
Familt friendly, beautiful and not overly needy with exercise.
They do need company though and have an all to short lifespan

The only problem with whippets (and possibly greyhounds but they may differ) is your plan for long country walks and camping trips - our whippet was very chilled and he and the cat loved one another. But he balked at going out in the rain and wasn’t keen on camping - despite us bringing beds, dog fleeces etc. He was a freezer and liked it best when we lit the fire. Also, sitting outside in cafes and pubs. If we didn’t have his bed, he wouldn’t be comfortable sitting or laying on the floor, he would stand and shiver and look mournfully and accusingly at you. 😂😂 just something to be aware of.

I disagree with sone of above posters about an hour exercise a day bring too little. Most people I know walk their dogs a couple half hour walks a day - not a gentle stroll but a brisk walk with stops for sniffing, and if that includes off lead running that's plenty except for very very active breeds.
And I hit my last two as puppies and it wasn't that big of a deal in terms of effort!

I don't think you can get a dog with a better temperament than a lab, but I'm biased! I wouldn't rule one out if you're willing to get a dog walker a couple of times a week so they can have some proper long runs, in addition to weekend walks. If they've had proper exercise during the day, they can be soooo chilled out at home. And they love everyone and everything, so no need to worry about the cat really, as long as the cat's not too much of a wuss. If you've got a nervy cat no dog will be good around them, as the cat will just choose to stay well out of the way. That's fine if you don't need them to mix in the same part of the house, but if you have a reason why that's essential, I'd think twice about getting a dog if you already have adult cats that aren't used to them. As much as you can train dogs (certain breeds anyway), to be OK around cats, you can't train a cat to be OK with a dog.

As you've previously had a Jack Russell, have a think about the smaller (but not toy) terriers at the less obstinate end of terrier temperament. They'll need careful training round a cat (but so will every breed, tbh) but it should be do-able

If you can find one, then a Norfolk (watch list) or their cousins the (vulnerable) Norwich - very good natured dogs in general, tough enough to go all day but also happy on shorter walks. Only really produced by breed enthusiasts, so few worries about puppy farmers. Otherwise, there's the Cairns or the Border terrier

Oh I've just read your update and that you can do more exercise. If you can push one of those off lead walks to around an hour you'd be fine with a lab. Just research the breeders well so you can get one with a good hip score. Then you'd have your chilled dog at home that you can do 10 mile walks with too. The cat is less easily solved, you might have to give up on the idea of a dog and cat mixing.

A rescue dog.

Bichon frise would be ok with shorter walks. Mine gets an hour a day and would freak out if I tried to walk her again, sometimes I’ve been going out and dragged her out and she is hard to shift off the sofa! She’s cat friendly. She will do longer walks and certainly when she was younger has done a lot of the Wainwrights in the Lake District.

She slowed down with mountain walks when she hit 7yo and would be ok for the odd day of long walking but we had to stop taking her away for a whole week of daily hill walking!

I agree with the poster who basically said that chilled dogs are those who have their needs met. Any breed can become destructive and "naughty" if they're not being given what they need.

You need to figure out the minimum you can provide for a dog on a daily basis and then pick a breed who would be happy receiving that everyday, if that makes sense. Most dogs can cope with two hours of exercise but the important thing is that they also need to cope with two half hours of exercise the majority of the time. Or you could consider paying for a dog walker several days a week to take the pressure off, which could open up your options considerably.

If you have a cat then I would steer clear of any working terriers or sight-hounds. You'll get posters saying their Patterdale or Greyhound lives harmoniously with their five cats but honestly, I believe in setting yourself up for success, not unnecessary hard work and training.

I'd also avoid any working breeds or strains - by nature they need more exercise and more mental stimulation, and will (generally speaking) be utterly miserable on two short walks a day, even if they are off the lead.

I would look at breeds like mini poodles, Bedlingtons (yes, they're terriers but very chilled in comparison to most), Bichons or Bolognese.