Best breed of dog for first time owner

[puppyplans]

I'm finally going to be in a position to have a dog next year! I haven't had a dog before so concerned that a rescue would be too much.
I also have cats so no terriers or sighthounds.
I was thinking of a small poodle - are they a good first dog or would you recommend a different breed?

Busier not bushier!

This is such an important point that a lot of people seem to miss - dogs are all different and even two puppies from the same litter can have completely opposing personalities and traits.

Lots of people think that buying a certain breed guarantees X, Y and Z behaviours and it's simply not true. How you raise them and how much training and input they get also plays a vital role in how they turn out as adults.

I do sympathise with you though, I think more people end up in your shoes than not!

One very important point is to find yourself a good training school. Ask around for accredited schools that use rewards based training. Expect to be part of the training school for a long time. Working your dog is tremendous fun, it’s a hobby and a terrific bonding experience. My trainer does obedience, agility and scent work. She is the most experienced and intelligent dog trainer I’ve ever met in my life. It’s been such fun working my boy, he’s so happy when he’s working and he’s now a beauty trained, well behaved dog that I can take absolutely anywhere.

I know it's a typo, but I love the idea of 'he’s now a beauty trained dog'.

'Hi, I'm Bob, I fetch, I'm great at scent work, and I can do you a lovely set of gel nails.'

How about a lhasa apso? Lovely little dogs. A bit stubborn but thats all part of the character!

@coffeesaveslives @Killingoffmyflowersonebyone

I wish it was more well known. I honestly thought that the breed of a dog determined its personality! If I had known that, I would have gone for an older dog whose personality was clear.
My partner's parents have a young Labrador and he is lazy and calm and doesn't require half the work you'd think based on what the internet said. Apparently all labradors are energetic and crazy!

Breed traits are more of a bell curve than set in stone. Most dogs of a breed will fall into the middle somewhere, but there will be ones out in the fringes.

IME a lot of show-line Labradors and golden retrievers are very, very easy dogs. They don't demand hours of exercise, they are very biddable, they chill out easily at home, they are highly social to dogs and people. Now and then you get one that is hyper, or a bit of an arse, but most of them, no.

I actually think you should entertain a rescue. They are not all abandoned unloved dogs with behaviour issues, they come from varied backgrounds.

If you only have 1 hour a day to walk a dog you don't really have time for a dog and certainly not a puppy.

A rescue can tell you about the background, behaviour etc. A dog that has been a companion to an older person who has passed away sounds to me would work well, particularly if they have previously lived with a cat or two

Something else to consider is a 'failed' guide dog. Not all guide dogs complete their training but they are generally well behaved and trained.

I would suggest a cocker spaniel - with the crucial point of a show type, not a working type.
They are real ‘people’ dogs - very happy to just be around their humans, easy going, eager to make you happy - so relatively easy to train. The show types don’t have the working drive in them so they’re just not hyped up and constantly on the go like their working counterparts. Playful but not crazy!
Really lovely dogs and great for a less experienced owner.
There is a very rare syndrome called ‘cocker rage’ but this only affects solid coloured cockers. It’s so so rare but thought worth mentioning.

Best dog breeds we have had 1. Samoyed - our current 2.5 year old dog. Bags of personality, trainable, such fun, talkative ;loads of woo-wooing and aawwwoooo ing, but NOTHING like a husky.
Downsides are they can be barky and need grooming, but like poodles they're hypoallergenic. They need attention, couple of walks a day, ours comes with us most places like school drop off and pick up as they need social time and love being adored - our dog is always being stopped for adoration 🤣

1. Toy poodle- really clever, great personality, could also be a bit barky. Not as fun as our Samoyed but a great dog
2. Yorkshire, west highland and Scottish terriers - not great with cats, snappy at times. Had some really lovely ones but on the whole I'd avoid personally

Good luck

I haven't read the full thread so forgive me if this has been mentioned but is there an oversight here- I think your first thought should be your cats!

From prior experience, introducing a dog into a home with well established cats may not go well. It could very well distress them.

My neighbour did this and rehomed her cat when she got a puppy as the cat basically said sod this, stopped going home and voted to be a stray.

Sausage dog?

I’ve had a Labrador and have a small poodle mix now, my lab was easy to train, an absolute dream but they need exercise! Mine had at least 3 hours per day and I would brush him outside daily as he shed lots of hair. I couldn’t get another lab after he died because he was so special.
I got a Lhasa who is quite placid but bossy and very vocal, you need to make sure you brush him daily even if they are cut short. He mixes well with most dogs but god forbid they pick on him because he will put them in there place! A loose husky tried to grab him by the neck to shake him and husky cowered after he wriggled free! He loves other people and will bark at them to get petted and adored.

My husband when I met him had a big French bulldog who I likened to a clown, he needed lots of exercise but I found him untrainable and my god the drool! Up the walls and I was forever cleaning it up, vomited up quite often and his nares narrowed as he aged so was hard to hear the tv when he was in the room. He would play with other dogs but his idea of play was to flatten dogs and pump away at them, my Lhasa wasn’t impressed and would get drooled on frequently. When he died I stopped having issues with my shoulder and arm as he would pull me on a walk and if he annoyed other dogs when playing I would put the lead on but would keep lunging and nearly pull my arm out of its socket!

I’ve got a lovely Shih tzu poodle mix, she like the Lhasa needs brushing daily and grooming every six weeks, I taught myself how to groom them as she gets bad anxiety going to a groomer. She is very loving and my lazy Lhasa is much more active since we got her. My husband who couldn’t understand why anyone would get a companion dog who doesn’t understand personal space even when your on the toilet has completely fell under her spell as he had always had large breeds. She is his little darling and always on his lap or by his side, she sits on the window sill waiting for him to get back from work and has to bark at anyone who has the audacity to walk past our house 🤣. The Lhasa and poodle mix get on very well, eat out of each other’s bowls but she is the boss inside and when on walks, stays by his side for protection as she gets scared easily.

"Show cocker... they’re just not hyped up and constantly on the go like their working counterparts. Playful but not crazy!"

I don't think mine got that memo.

😂 Uh oh! Mine is fun and playful but is overall super snoozy and chilled.
I know anecdotally there are exceptions but as a breed show types generally don’t have the working/crazy drive is what I meant - certainly not like an actual working cocker.
Aren’t they such absolutely brilliant dogs?! Just love them so much

My show cocker is 11 and needs two hours minimum a day and 'works' in fields with border collies. I've met hundreds that are likewise as high energy.

My own cocker was PTS (after extensive checks by multiple vets, including my DP) for 'cocker rage' (actual diagnosis was 'behavioural issues' as you cannot prove cocker rage). He was a sable.

Spaniel Aid is full of cocker spaniels, and has been for years (I foster for them), which are terribly trained because of novice owners.

Just because 'show' version can be lower energy, it doesn't mean they are - at the end of the day these are working dogs. They were bred for centuries to work and you cannot just override their instincts and make them sofa dogs.

So, let's not generalise and say things 'only affect solids' and 'they're experienced dogs for dog owners' or that 'show counterparts are lower energy.' It's just not true and it's statements like that which convince people to buy dogs they are ill-equipped to handle and why Spaniel Aid have so many cocker spaniels on their books with serious behavioural issues.

‘You learn something new every day’ is the case here, all your info is taken on board!

To be fair, when I got our pup I wanted something a bit livelier than our previous beloved couch potato, and probably forgot I was now (cough) several years older. Be careful what you wish for!

We got our very first dog, he's 3 now.

He's a Lab and he's been a complete dream (so far!).

Easy to train, friendly to humans and other dogs, lives a cuddle on the sofa.

Only tricky bit is that he's a food hoover!

Good luck to you.

I know someone with a show cocker and it's crazy, far too much energy. They walk it off lead for well over an hour every day and it's still mental. Bites a lot as well, resource guards, has a hyper startle reflex and regularly draws blood. Has put me right off cocker spaniels.

I was worried about spaniel resource guarding from the start, but ours is very mellow about people in her space and about giving up things she shouldn't have in her chops -- unless she's under the table in a cafe, when she can get quite angsty. I've had some training advice on that one but it needs more work.

She does mouth sometimes but never draws blood (not once we got past the puppy shark stage anyway). And she needs more than "a walk", it has to include a scent trail or hide and seek or similar. She's a work in progress. But your friend's dog sounds to be on a different level of difficulty.

To be dead honest - if the maximum you’d be walking is an hour and you can’t do a sighhound because of cats you’re realistically wanting one of the small companion breeds.

Definitely. So dogs like bichon, Maltese. I’m slightly put off poodles as they are known for separation anxiety i believe? They’re very intelligent dogs so need to be kept busy I think.

Hounds and terriers are terrible with cats........not.

To be fair, I wouldn't argue with that cat.