Recommend us a dog, and some human training!

[Hearmeroar2]

Hi all, looking for some advice. We're a family with tweenagers looking to get our first dog, and super excited. We're really into the outdoors and being active, but do also have work and sport commitments, so pup would get at minimum 1 hour walk a day, and when ready be left for up to 5 hours (usually less) once a week. We've got a largish house and garden which is fully fenced. One of us has a dog hair sensitivity so would preferably be a low allergen dog. I really don't like yappy dogs, and do some longer distance hiking (think 3 days of 15-20 miles a day) so bonus if it could manage that as an adult dog. I work in mental health, so could consider training it as a therapy dog, which as a bonus would mean it could come to work with me. I'd been thinking of something down the Doodle line for its allergen properties, but there are of course various kinds and I'm getting confused what might be happiest with us. Lastly, and kinda most importantly, where can this human find some solid advice about puppy care and training? Any books or websites that you think are worth their weight in gold? Thanks everyone for your kind advice.

Really recommend the Facebook group "Dog Training Advice and support". I have a labradoodle who is wonderful. Be warned anything doodle and poo gets a bad rap sometimes on here. Do your research very carefully into breeders as there are too many puppy farms for doodles. We got ours from a wonderful breeder in Hampshire who offers lifetime support and cares so much for the puppies

Irish water spaniel!

The other breed we looked at was the Tibetan terrier who are supposed to be lovely breeds too

Greyhound

If low shedding is important - don’t get a doodle, poodles are low shedding, crossing them with something that sheds normally just increases the chances of getting one that sheds.

You’ll also want to spend time with the breed/s you pick beforehand because realistically, anti allergenic dogs don’t actually exist.

Anything in the small to large range, so not tiny and not giant without extreme features like squashed faces or tiny legs should be capable of doing 15-20 miles as a healthy adult... though some breeds are more likely to not really want to.

You won’t be able to leave a puppy for 5 hours and it might even be too long for an adult - 4 hours is the longest recommended time, some dogs will cope with a 5 hour day, some won’t, you’ll want to have a back up plan if yours can’t.

id probably be thinking standard poodle tbh.

I don't think I know a single greyhound who would be happy to go for a 20 mile walk

If size isn't an issue I would look at standard poodles.

Another one advocating for a poodle.

If you definitely want the non shedding then go Poodle not a cross. However poodles can be jumpy (as in highly strung) and yappy. You'll need to encourage them out of this as puppies. Please join the Facebook group as already mentioned. It will tell you everything you need to know.

We didn't leave our dog alone for a year. You don't know what you're going to get in terms of feeling confident enough to be alone (and it's not about 'getting them used to it' by just leaving them alone for 20 minutes a day from day one. That makes it worse). Really think about what you'll do if you get one like that! And as PP said - 5 hours is too long. Dogs are sociable animals - it's why they are such good pets. It's not fair to deny them that natural instinct to be with others.

We've got a Tibetan Terrier and he's absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful temperament. Need to be prepared for regular grooming though.

A friend's doodle sheds as much as my Labrador and also has an incredibly high maintenance coat. You can't make any assumptions about what the coat of a cross is going to be like so if low shedding is really important avoid.

I'd get a rescue, 2-3 years old. Skip the puppy stage which is brutal and you will have some understanding of their coat and preferred activity levels.

One of us has a dog hair sensitivity so would preferably be a low allergen dog.

Please do not get a poodle cross. There is absolutely no guarantee it will be hypoallergenic. My best friend got one and she lasted two years in agony with her allergies before she had to give the dog up (thankfully it now lives with her parents so she still gets to see it...but it was heartbreaking for her and the dog). There have been a few dogs on Spaniel Aid recently that are cockerpoos etc - given up because they are not hypoallergenic. It's really not worth the risk to you or the dog. And you can't just get rid of it and replace it with another if it turns out 6-12 months into owning it that it's not hypoallergenic.

Poodles/doodles have really high coat maintenance. They need grooming daily and they need fortnightly/monthly trips to the groomers. They are constantly misunderstood as being low-maintenance dogs and they are really not.

Finally, as with any mongrel. You risk getting the worst of both breeds. You could end up with something yappy, that's ridiculously high energy and isn't hypoallergenic.

so pup would get at minimum 1 hour walk a day, and when ready be left for up to 5 hours (usually less) once a week.

When would puppy begin to be left alone for five hours at a time? If it's anywhere before the first eight months, I'd seriously consider not getting a dog - even if you're just doing it one day a week. Puppies get into all sorts of mischief and you cannot just crate it when you're out for five hours (even one day a week) and expect that to be okay.

Allergies are important, there’s no such thing as a hypo allergic dog.

This is the answer. Puppies are awful 😂

In fairness, she doesn't say allergies.

True apologies for short response. I’ve volunteered with a charity involved in rescue of poodle crosses. Most come in with guarding , reactivity, behavioural problems but we do have dogs needing adoption because of allergies in the original family
ive lived with two doodles of my own, a few Foster’s. All lovely digs but all needing good routines, exercise and training. I don’t mean “puppy socialisation” I mean commitment to good training groups over a longer term. My labradoodle taught me more about high prey urge/excellent recall than any dog I ever shared my life with. Fabulous companion

For your training needs I recommend the good citizen dog scheme.

Also join your local dog training club, usually everyone is welcome (mutts, X breed and pedigree) unless they say they are breed specific.

They run puppy classes and are usually cheaper than 1:1 or private training.

You'll meet other people and their puppies who go through the same ups and downs of dog ownership.

https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/find-a-club/

Don’t get a doodle. Generally very unethically bred.

Id get a normal standard poodle.

A staffie.

My DIL has a dog hair allergy but she and DS have a staffie pup and she's fine. She was also fine with my old staff and her DM has one too, and she's okay.

Soppy, loveable animals. Eager to please. Easy to train.

Thanks everyone for the great answers! I'd be absolutely up for an adult dog, I guess I just worry that they may have some behaviour/socialising issues, and the boat to train them has gone, so to speak? But I guess you don't know what you're getting with a puppy in terms of temperament either though. What's a good place to look for adult dogs looking to be removed? Nowhere near getting one but would be just to look.
Good to know nost dogs could accompany me hiking, and though we wouldn't leave a puppy alone, I didn't realise an adult dog couldn't manage 5 hours? What do folk who work or need to be out do to manage that? Thanks everyone, really appreciate the supportive answers.

I don’t agree with the puppies are awful comment. Find a the right breed and good pedigree. Some breeds naturally have more enthusiastic pups but not all. Currently have 18 month old rescue lab and 15 week old lab puppy on holiday with us and they have been absolute dreams. Smart cookies and fast to learn. Pup is fully house trained, walking to heel, recall is great. Any negative behaviour (biting for example) is usually a sign of tiredness and so it’s important that pups are given a chance to sleep, and also understand what boundaries are.

It’s been such a rewarding process for my DC to play a part in his training. They’ve learnt a lot.

When I have to be out the house for more than 4 hours at once I do one of the following depending on time of day/ day of the week-

Send to doggy daycare (always do one day a week to keep the place but vary the day)
Pay to stay overnight at doggy daycare (basically the owners home that he loves)
Get friend/ family to look after him for the full duration
Get friend or neighbour to pop in and give him some company for an hour half way through the day.

Always friend and family first but they're not always available so having a space at the daycare really helps so we have paid and unpaid options.

If you know weekly you're going to be out I'd look to be getting some paid help.

I've always had mini poodles and disagree that they need hours of grooming. Our current girl has a 'doodle' style short cut and she's brushed about once a week, washed every 10 days or so and we send her for a full groom every 8-10 weeks.

She'll happily do a good 10-15k walk with us and never seems too tired but we haven't tested her on 20k to be honest. I've noticed people recently breeding 'moyen' poodles which are between a mini and a standard if you want something collie type sized.

We both work FT and have 2 dogs.
However DH works shifts and quite close to our home so he can pop home and let them out. Realistically they are never left for more than 4 hours without a toilet break.

I give them a good walk in the morning and again when I get in from work at around 5pm ... they also go agility training twice a week.
(Just be aware of those wet, cold and dark mornings- they can be a killer!!)

As for their breed, I have a Tibetan Terrier and a cookerpoo. But have to admit, it's because of the cookerpoo energy levels that I have started with the agility - much more manageable since having a job .
My Tibetan is more relaxed, but won't say no to a lovely long walk.

I work evenings and weekends, my DP works 9-5ish and my DS works 7-4... there’s about an hour a week where there’s no people in the house.

There was a period when the DC were younger the dog we had had died and it looked like I’d be doing a daytime job, I got cats instead.

But dog sitters, doggy daycare, friends and family are all options.

I’m a short hair dog person, but groomers often say poodle coats are much easier to maintain than doodle coats - they don’t mat the same because they’re a different texture 🤷‍♀️