2025 is our year for getting a dog. But what breed and from where?

[LarryUnderwood]

After lots of thought and discussion we've decided we will get a dog this year. DS1 is 13, DS2 almost 12. We live in a London suburb in a 4 bed terrace with a private small-medium garden. We have 3 chickens kept in a large fox proof enclosure. They free range in the garden at specific times and are otherwise enclosed so can be easliy kept separate. South London with lots of parks and recreation grounds in easy walking distance. I WFH full time, with 1-2 days in office per month. DH is in office 3 days per week so easy to coordinate days at home. Kids out of house 8-3. Neither of us have owned a dog before but I grew up with dogs in my extended family (all my grandparents, aunts, cousins etc, mainly yorkshire terriers, cockers and goldens). Relaxed about shedding and fur, we're reasonably active but not out hiking every weekend. 1.5-2 hours of walking plus time doing bits of training during the day on weekdays is feasible and I'd expect to take dog on all errands so be out and about in our local area a lot in addition. Weekends we'd be happy to do more. Keen to have a dog which is loving, trainable and friendly, not too barky and ideally will have calm moments as well as zoomies. We aren't experienced dog owners so trainable but not a working line, for example a border collie or GSD would run rings round us and we wouldn't be able to meet its needs. Basically a dog that is happy to be a family pet, not a dog that needs a job to do all day.
Breed discussions are around golden retriever, Staffordshire bull terrier, old english sheepdog, bernedoodle or goldendoodle. I'd also consider a Havanese as the small dog alternative. DH is the doodle fan - he wants a fluffball. My preference is for a Staffy, I like their hardiness, affection and that they're smallish but strong and with lots of personality. Overall though my preference is for a dog we can get from a good breeder, and that's what worries me about doodles, I'm not.convinced doodle breeders are going to be so ethical or concerned with breed standards and health. But do know some really lovely doodles. I would prefer a medium or large dog, I want something I will feel confident walking in the dark at night and I just like larger dogs. Any owners of any of these breeds have any recommendations or warnings for us? I've heard that goldens are nightmare adolescents then great from about 2, Staffys are fab as long as socialised well and given plenty to chew. Don't know so much about old english sheepdogs except my cousin has one and he's brilliant. I love cockers but having known many in my family they are too nervy and hyperactive for me. Thoughts from any passionate golden/doodle/staffy/OES/havanese owners? Or any other breeds which would better fit the bill?

I love that description of them.
I have a friend who tells me they're not proper spaniels, but she has working cockers 😁

They do compliment one another well. I have one English and two Welsh

We're in the same boat - just our DC are younger but 2025 is our year to finally get a dog. We are leaning heavily towards a Golden Retriever but also considering a poodle cross like a cockerpoo or maltipoo.

Labrador?

Ours is a working black lab who is now 4 years old. She's a dream. Slept through the night from 16 weeks, 2 pee accidents and zero poo accidents in the house total.

Perfect dog.

@LarryUnderwood Overall though my preference is for a dog we can get from a good breeder, and that's what worries me about doodles, I'm not.convinced doodle breeders are going to be so ethical or concerned with breed standards and health. But do know some really lovely doodles. I would prefer a medium or large dog, I want something I will feel confident walking in the dark at night and I just like larger dogs.

I wouldn't get a large dog as a first dog, when you've no experience of dogs. Dogs need to be trained. Big dogs can be dangerous and without training it could attack you. Sign up for dog training/education before getting a big dog. I'm not even a dog owner and I know this (I just have a cat).

A neighbour (tenant not owner-occupier) two years ago got a labradoodle. Completely untrained, would howl and bark in the garden constantly, and thick as shit. Chased after my cat constantly. A boring noisy brainless dog, - I was so happy when they moved [when she got pregnant; bet the baby substitute dog was rehomed].

Edited to clarify garbled last paragraph: I mean when the neighbour got pregnant and I mean the doodle was a substitute for the not-yet-baby.

@wereongunoil oh gosh they sound lovely. To be honest my only experience of spaniels is cockers, my uncle had the most fabulous working line who was out and about with him all day every day and was a joy. Then my cousins and friends and brother in law have beautiful but bonkers, hyper nervy, rather over indulged cockers which whilst friendly and fun are all just so badly behaved. So are springers a bit steadier?

I'm surprised no one has come out swinging for Staffys but that is probably just my own heart calling out for one! DH and DS1 are keen on a retriever and DS2 just wants us to crack on with finding a dog. And I now have so many more breeds and rescues to consider!!!

We got our rescue puppy from an English lady in Cyprus, she’d been abandoned in a field!

They do all the home welfare suitability checks & vaccinations, pet passport etc & you pick them up from Heathrow 😀

She is 3 now.

I have a Saint, she weighs around 60kgs but is very gentle with small children and my teenagers both walk her without any trouble. She just plods along. Sleeps most of the day.

There are not many around. Constantly stopped when out walking. Very loving and gentle giants.

Good luck in your quest for the perfect puppy.

So the problem we have here is I now love all the dogs that you have all posted abput and shown photos of. So how do I decide?!

Go to a rescue centre and fall in love.

Spoke to DH about it and he definitely doesn't want a rescue unfortunately. He really wants to get a puppy. He's much less likely to do a lot of research and much more likely to fall in love with the first dog he sees so I want to narrow it down to a couple of breeds and breeders before he gets his head turned by soulful eyes and soft fur.

Labrador is the easy decision - calm, sensible and easy to train. They need lots of exercise and can be a bit food obsessed but that makes them easy to train. In shooting circles, the saying is “Labradors are born half trained and spaniels die half trained!” The worse that will happen with the chickens is they might retrieve one for you!

Spaniels are idiots and very high energy.

OES are beautiful but very large and strong and I wouldn’t allow children to walk them until it is fully trained and then I would still be concerned.

A very good friend of mine has Staffies and we regularly dog sit them. They are dead easy, easy to train, need walking but not loads, don’t shed and full of personality. I personally think they are incredibly ugly but each to their own!

In your position, I’d go Labrador (especially red ones) or Staffie.

Soulful eyes - Labrador every time!

Labradors are lovely. And all the staffys I know ard just such poppets.

My first dog was a Cavapoo and his temperament was so lovely and great with my son who was only little at the time. So would recommend.

I personally wouldn’t have a rescue dog with kids (as much as I feel for them and know they need loving homes)

Slightly off topic, and by the sound of it not something you are likely to do, but in your shoes I would NOT get a dog from working lines.

A few years ago I was able to do a direct comparison between the puppy behaviour of my own field-line puppy (from one of the hunt-point-retrieve breeds) and a friend's show-line golden retriever.

While the golden would toddle over, play for two minutes, climb into your lap and fall asleep, our puppy would bound across, play intensely for as long as you had the patience, then climb into your lap, climb up you, and then attempt to circumnavigate your neck whilst trying to eat your hair. Once she'd fallen off, or been peeled off, she'd want to play again. She had to be put to bed quite often; if she ever fell asleep by herself, no matter how inconvenient the location we all carefully left her to it, lest the whirlwind reawaken and recommence the chaos.

She was our fourth working-line puppy, so we did know what we were doing, and she has matured into quite a nice dog. But she needs a lot of training time as well as exercise. The older of our two dogs (also a field-line HPR) needs an outlet for her genetic drives or she becomes a bloody nightmare.

Also, there is a sad procession across this board of people with working-line spaniels who have been driven to distraction by them: for every 10 or 12 working line spaniels who do okay in a pet home, there seems to be at least one who ends up an anxious and frustrated, or who resource guards to the max.

So, um, yeah: steer clear of working lines unless you are very sure that you are up for it.

Yes I think I have learned this from watching my family with their spaniels. The only one I've seen that was calm and happy was my uncle's, and he accompanied him on his physical job, they lived in the countryside, and did loads of training and scent work. All the others I know are just really nervy and you can see that they aren't really made for just 2 simple walks a day and a bit of fetch.

@LarryUnderwood there's no way I'd get a working cocker for all the reasons you've said. The Welsh Springer (not English Springer) are much calmer. No where near as high drive as the cocker or English Springer.

I debated getting a Clumber before I got my youngest but decided there wasn't enough personality about them.

I'd opt for a smaller dog if I were you, choose one that genuinely doesn't need as much walking, finding 90 minutes everyday when you work full time is hard and your children really shouldn't be counted on to help, experience tells me they loose interest fast.

Staffies are a possibility but they need a lot of training to ensure they learn to suppress their terrier traits. My ex fil has very well behaved ones but I've seen out of control ones too, not all will be chicken compatible.

My border collie loved chickens but you need to know what you are doing, seems you know your limits

As a first time dog owner in the last few years I’d say go for a smaller, more placid breed. Easier to take everywhere and to find people to help out with walks in an emergency.

Adopt a dog from a shelter. You will have plenty of lovely puppies to choose from by about the end of February when idiots get tired of the poor little pets they bought for Christmas.

What smaller placid breeds would you recommend?

Hmmm, but they will be poorly socialised from the owners who didn't give it enough thought. I'd rather get a puppy and make our own mistakes first off🤣🤣🤣.

I joke...I have spent the last few months researching dog trainers and reading some dog training books, we will of course be signing up for training classes as soon as pupster can set paws to the floor 😀

I have a labradoodle he is coming up to 2 and it can’t come fast enough. He is a lovely boy though. He is completely hypoallergenic and very bright.

Just out of interest why are Goldador's never mentioned on these type of threads?