Which breed?

[Minihero]

Which breed dog do you have?

We are planning on getting a puppy in Spring and looking at breeds. We love golden retrievers and have the space for a medium-big dog. We also like the idea of cocker spaniels and cockerpoos. There's also a maltipoo in our family that we adore.

We have 2xDC age 8 and 6 and DH works from home every day.

Hey no apology needed! I also love the pastoral breeds, I would know nothing about most of the other breeds mentioned on this thread. I just think it’s sensible to consider what breed traits exist and if they fit a person or family’s lifestyle. Though I think reputable breed rescues can be very good too.

@coffeesaveslives
Haha you've summed it up.
My mum had a BC cross who was such a sweetheart so I have a soft spot I guess.

Just a reminder that a Tibetan Terrier could be a good fit... if you want a dog with a sense of humour, that will make you laugh even when they have just destroyed your favourite slippers. A friendly, chatty and opinionated friend that will only do what they find acceptable. Someone who will follow you like your own shadow even to the bathroom. (So forget playing hide & seek with the kids around the house, the dog will give you away!)
Oh yeah and trump in the soft fluffy and cuddly department!

Not a border collie! They are one of my favourites but they are a lifestyle not a pet. I would only consider one for sport, agility or canicross. I can’t be bothered so I don’t own one any more 😄

From your shortlist BMD every time!

Poodles are lovely but most are very prone to separation anxiety and have very full on personalities. Poodle crosses for me are a no because I hate following fashions which most people who own them seem to have done! I also dislike the poodle need to be clung to you at every opportunity. I’ve met some nice ones but on the whole I find them nervy and of weak temperaments (I do work with dogs so meet a lot of them, 50 a week maybe!)

I've always had Labradors. My latest boy, at nearly three, is coming to the end of a somewhat prolonged adolescence but they are the best. Don't choose one with strong working lines in its pedigree (lots of FTCH) as they can be too 'hot ' for a family pet. Ditto anything bred for trialling, which are like working Labs turned up.

Haha don't get me wrong, they're lovely (I walk about six) but they're not easy - they really do need to be taught how to switch off and you have to be very careful that you don't accidentally teach them the wrong thing.

Only get a border collie if you're prepared for your whole life to revolve around them, basically. They also don't do well in overly urban environments as they will try and herd cars, bikes etc.

Chihuahua.Ddog is my second.I wouldn't go back to any other breed now as their personalities steal your heart.

You are right and I should have thought it through properly before making any suggestions of herding dogs. Mine is a giant pastoral guarding breed and it fits my lifestyle perfectly, although it's probably far too big for most people.

Like @samlovesdilys I have a cockerdor - Lab/Cocker cross. I'm really surprised it's not a more common cross, though perhaps that's because I've been really lucky and he's got most of the best traits from each side and you could end up with most of the worst. He's working lines on both sides (I'm an idiot) which could have gone horribly wrong.

He's like a little shortarsed Lab, with a really soft spaniel coat, apart from a Labrador stripe down his back that's coarser. He's six months old and so far he's not been much of a shedder. Absolutely wonderful with kids, loves everyone - people, dogs - and very happy to go for a long walk or just have a play in the dog park. So far he has impeccable recall.

The only issues I have with him is when his spaniel brain kicks in (you can almost hear it clunk into place) and his nose goes down after a scent, as he has Labrador weight and strength to pull on the lead. He can also be very barky with smaller pups. Spaniels don't mind, as they're barky too, but he once accidentally chased a Belgian Malinois out of the dog park. I have heard that one of his siblings is a bit of a resource guarder but I've not had any problem with that so far.

If you're looking for a giant breed then a cockerdor is no good. But if anyone is thinking of a Lab-like character in a smaller frame you could do a lot worse. Just bear in mind that it's largely a first generation cross-breed as it's not particularly fashionable, so while you get the health benefits, you have no idea what you're actually getting in terms of how Lab or Spaniel it'll be - there's huge variation in size, fluffiness etc. As you can see mine's a keen gardener.

I’ve got a border terrier from traditional working lines. She’s got the most wonderful temperament, will walk all day or snooze all day, lives happily with our cat and is a pleasure to train.

We have put A LOT of work in though and she is trained regularly in classes. She competes in Rally Obedience and is about to start agility competing. She wouldn’t he happy in a walk round the block home. She needs mental stimulation and also quite a lot of interaction. I don’t think she is easy. She’s our second dog and first full terrier. That said she is so funny and so clever and such a huge character it’s impossible not to revolve ourselves around her.

Don’t get a poodle cross. They come from puppy farms and frankly you have no idea what you’re getting.

We have a miniature poodle and she’s been the easiest puppy we’ve ever had. She healthy, intelligent, easy to train, quiet and extremely good natured.

@Minihero you say you want a dog that's "good with kids" but what does that look like to you? How does a dog that's "good with kids" behave?

Bear in mind these threads are always full of people recommending their favourite breeds (eg Chihuahua when you've said nothing tiny FFS 🙄) not necessarily a dog that's suitable for you. If you get a chance to go to Crufts next year it's an ideal place to speak with owners of over 200 breeds. It's what I did when I was researching, and it helped me discard certain breeds as possibles as I found out they really weren't suitable.
https://crufts.org.uk/whats-on/discover-dogs-at-crufts/

We’ve had a golden retriever and they are wonderful dogs. They have their faults though. They tend to be very greedy and ours used to steal food, if she could. They love water, the muddier the better. And yes, they shed fur everywhere. Your clothes will always be covered in fur, as will your home.

Beagle overkill because none of my pictures worked before (and i’ve become a dog obsessed person…)

She honestly is the perfect dog. As I said earlier though you must do your research on breeders. Tbf everyone should research the arse out of every breeder, whether purebred or not, but obviously there are many poor poodle cross breeders. Not necessarily just puppy farms but many novice and naive breeders of their own pets, who may well raise a lovely litter but won't have carried out the necessary tests on the parent dogs.

Omg I've just found her 😍 She is stunning! Thank goodness she has an aversion to mud though 😱🤣

I am filing her away in my "dogs I love to admire from afar" folder though. It's very full 😂 I will admit to being quite a lazy dog owner, so can't own dogs with too many braincells that might require too much work 🫣

She is huge and can be quite a handful to lead walk, but she's a real sweetheart. I am slightly dreading the first big moult though, I must admit 😬

Oh she's really clever this one; nothing ever escapes her notice 🙄I'm glad you like her anyway😊

Not true, although as with buying any dog esp online you need to check where they are coming from. Our poodle cross was from a vet who had two litters to keep her female healthy (apparently pregnancy lowers the risk of ovarian cancer)

Spaying lowers the risk of ovarian cancer to 0. There is no benefit to the bitch to breed a litter. There are many valid reasons to breed but that isn’t one of them. Anyone breeding knows the risk to the bitch is high and must accept that they could loose their dog, the risk during mating, labour and pregnancy is much higher than any hormone influenced cancer.

Also if that was the case why would breeding a crossbreed be beneficial, surely if the bitch (and stud) was assessed to be of good breed standard, temperament tested and health tested for its breed as it should be for breeding it would have made more sense to breed another of the same?

Just going to leave this here for your consideration. 8 weeks old. He’s almost 14 now and the very best boy ❤️

That was what she told me, although maybe I misunderstood. In any case she did only have two litters as my sil bought one of the second litter and then her friend enquired for one of the next litter but by that point the mum had been spayed so it wasn’t an option. She wasn’t creating a cross breed, the mum was an Australian labradoodle and the dad was an Irish doodle so she was creating another generation of doodles.

anyway my point was that the breeder wasn’t a puppy farm (the puppies were all born and raised in her house) and discounting an entire type of dog by saying they all come from puppy farms is a bit much! Any puppy has the potential to come from a puppy farm, regardless of breed

What breed do you have @PyreneanAubrie - Pyrenean mountain dog as your name suggests?

I love a standard poodle! Don't you think the standard poodle cut does them such a great disservice though? Because they actually make great pets for many families but are often overlooked because they look fancy and high maintenance.

We cut our miniature poodle the same all over. She looks like a normal dog. Those poodle cuts are frankly ridiculous and don’t do the breed any favours.

I do, this pup is my eighth PMD. It's not the easiest breed to train, very independent minded and stubborn, recall is non-existent 😨 They're calm and quiet around the house though. The biggest negative is the shedding 🙄