Can you recommend me a dog breed?

[PooSniffer]

I can’t decide what dog to get. I’m moderately active so the dog would get two 1 hour walks a day, longer on weekends (possibly all day trips to the forest etc). I’d like to take part in agility training (for fun, nothing serious) and showing.
it would have to be a medium to large breed. Good with small children (hence why no rescue).

current shortlist:

golden retriever
standard poodle
Leonberger

this is a while into the future though so only light heartedly window shopping at the minute. I’d obviously research thoroughly before the time came.

I want to avoid reactive breeds at all costs.

Bernese Mountain Dog. Agility- maybe not- but so good with children

Reactive depends mainly on proper training and exercise, not breed.

Any dog can be reactive!

You haven't mentioned grooming.

Will you be able to pay to have it regularly done or be able to do it yourself!

Maybe not big enough for you but good with children - Border Terrier. They are slightly smaller dogs who think they are big dogs. ( My Dh came from a family with labs but he loves border terriers )

Boxer, medium size, loves kids. Great family dog. Happy with anything from an hours off lead exercise to all day. Lots of energy, intelligent and one of the few breeds to have something called adaptive intelligence, they learn through experience as well as training.

Boxer. I currently have 3. Females are smaller than the males, absolutely brilliant with children.
Very intelligent too.

Hungarian Viszla! Beautiful dogs. Very intelligent and like the challenge of agility.

Golden retriever. I have one. She's the best.

So easy to train. Incredibly reliable. No trouble at all. Just gorgeous.

Forget about the advertising at the end. But he explains very well- each dog is an individual and there are huge variations within every breed, and even every litter.

We always adopt from a shelter- around 2 years old- so we know the character of the dog and its potential. And for obvious other reasons. But every dog needs exercise and training, and consistency.

Video here

d you live in a house with a safe garden dog can spend time in. 1 hour a day is just not enough for many dog breeds unless they have unlimited access to outdoor space.

I like leonbergers too but they are truly giant. I nuzzled up to one at crufts over the weekend and wow - SO huge and hairy! But ever so lovely.

We are looking at vizslas.

Smooth Collie - vulnerable native breed that needs supporters - very versatile, excel in all sorts of disciplines, great family dog.

Rough Collie worth a look too - if you’d consider a Leonberger then the coat shouldn’t worry you.

Agree with this.

Most aggressive dog I’ve ever met was a Golden Retriever. Totally tormented by the children in the family it was in. Under-exercised. Nervous. Reactive. Resource guarding. Literally every negative behaviour you could want in a dog, it had. It got PTS after it attacked one of the children.

Edit; To be clear - no dog breed is ‘bomb’ proof. Every dog can be aggressive. They’re dogs. Not humans. Just because goldens (as cockers used to) have good reps, doesn’t mean that are appropriate family dogs for the majority of people. You should never buy a dog on the assumption ‘it’s X breed so it will have X characteristics’ - it doesn’t work like that. Dogs will have particular behaviours (collies = hearding, retrievers = mouthing, Terriers = digging) but personality is dependent on factors outside of this and people need to recognise that.

I echo others. All dogs can be reactive, particularly if they have poor breeding, poor experiences, poor training, or a combination of those. I've known reactive retrievers and leonbergers.
Dog on dog reactive doesn't mean they can't be around children, but all dogs need supervision around children regardless.

Standard poodle fantastic dogs, I'm a first time dog owner and loving our Spoo. ( She's 3 now!)

Have a look at the standard poodle pages on fb for more feedback on the breed.

We had a well trained x breed lurcher. She was probably a collie x lurcher. Fab with kids, gentle, clever. Loved hours of running/agility/fun but also happy to sleep. She was THE BEST. I'd clone her if I could.

As others have said, any dog can be reactive, and unfortunately sometimes all it takes is one bad experience with another dog and you have a problem for life.

I'm not saying that to scare you, just to say that breed generally means nothing when it comes to reactivity.

I think golden retriever is a good bet. Poodles can be a bit stand-offish and Leonbergers, while lovely, are absolutely massive and could knock a small child flying.

Have a look at a well bred Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Although dog reactivity is quite common in the breed, and for this reason, generally aren't off lead dogs. But they can be managed, they utterly adore children, very healthy, robust dogs and make excellent family pets. They are very easy to train too if you make it all a game to them. I have two.

Or a rottweiler. Again well bred, good with children, love the outdoors, dog reactivity less than the SBT although not guaranteed, but they can come with dodgy hips, like the Leonberger, Goldens.

I’m really liking the thought of a poodle - it’s just the hair cuts putting me off, is it every 6 weeks?

I saw one in the park last week, so proud and elegant ❤️ I think it was meant to be white but it’s legs were black with mud 😂

Springer cross Lab (also known as a springador) - probably can't show them as a mixed breed (never checked) but the nicest temperament - we always say energy of a springer with the temperament of a lab. Usually size somewhere between the two. Very loyal, love walks and takes really well to agility.

Duck Toller would fit your requirements.

Remember with any breed, especially the medium to larger ones, exercise will be limited when they are younger, especially hour walks and longer at weekends, plus doing agility.

100% golden retriever.
Absolutely amazing temperament, brilliant with kids. Super happy to snuggle with you but equally happy to be left alone to snooze if you need to go out for a while.

They are prone to shedding and are absolute mud larks, mine could find a muddy puddle in a desert so a wash station/hose is a good idea and yes they do need a lot of grooming but a good brush will do the trick

They do need a lot of exercise and they're very playful especially when they're pups but if you put the time in you'll be rewarded 100%

Leonberger owner here. You wouldn’t get 2 x 1hr walks a day from mine. They are really not active dogs although they’ll keep going out of loyalty. Things to consider with a giant breed:

1. your car. They are absolutely massive and need space to turn around in the boot and the ability to stand up. They do not fit in any footwell of any car. Mine does not comfortably fit in a Range Rover sport for example. He does fit in a discovery boot.
2. grooming. Mine is professionally washed and groomed every 3 weeks in winter and 4 weeks in summer. They absolutely stink if you do not keep on top of their coat.
3. Reactive dogs are not born reactive. It is usually because of something they endured. You cannot be in charge of a dog weighing at least 60kgs that you cannot control. Leonbergers available for rescue/rehoming are almost always reactive after owners have given up trying to control them.
4. they are very stubborn. You cannot motivate a leonberger to do anything it doesn’t want to do!
5. The mess. This is the worst time of year for Leo owners with all days being rainy and the ground muddy. Everything is just filthy. The dog, the car, the floors and the walls. They lean on everything.
6. space. Leo’s need loads of space - not just a garden but your house. One turn around in a room with a side table can see that table cleared by one dog’s massive arse.
7. they are pretty much nocturnal. They come alive at night and stand guard. This is not ideal if you are in a high fox area….
8. expense - everything is more expensive - food, drugs, insurance, grooming.

Any breeder worth their salt wouldn’t be queuing up to give you a puppy if you haven’t had giant breed experience. However, for all of the negatives, they are (once trained) really lovely dogs but really, really hard work in the adolescent years. Mind is nearly 7 and still bounds around like a puppy. He is 75kgs. I do absolutely love him but he is a money-eating machine 😩

Ps standard poodles are great (my friend breeds them) but she is constantly bathing hers. The grooming cost for these are also immense. They are also exceptionally clever dogs they seem to have the ability of Houdini (I swear they can pick a lock 😂)