Which breed is for me?

[SunflowerT]

Hi everyone

I don't own a dog yet but I am currently deciding on what breed would suit me but getting nowhere as I love all dogs but I know I'm not right for all dogs and hoping you could all help put me on the right path before I go to crafts in a few weeks time to discover dogs.

I have never owned a dog myself however I have a little experience as I look after my sister's Golden retriever all day 4 times a week while she's at work. And Bruno has given me a good idea of what I want and what I can offer a dog.

My living situation is I live alone and I am lucky to work from home now after working in a pre school for yeats and can spend as much time as I like with my new puppy.

• From looking after Bruno I know I can't handle a large dog as walking him was fine until he looses himself when he sees a squirrel and I learned I'm not as strong as I thought I held on to him but he was way stronger than I'd like to deal with. So I would like a small breed.

• I know this will be more down to individual but I know some breeds are more vocal than others , I'd like a breed who is known to be more quiet when it comes to barking and only barks for a reason and soon stops. I suffer from hyperacusis (pain in my ears with loud noises) Bruno I'm fine with because he rarely barks but Goldens tend to not be a happy breed so I'm looking for a quieter breed.

• I need a breed where there is no same sex aggression since look after Bruno who is intact as my sister shows him , my sisters neighbour has an Alaskan Malamute who hates Bruno and poor Bruno just wants to be friends but he hates all males not just Bruno.

• I'm pretty active and enjoy walking Bruno except when he sees a squirrel as I mentioned above other than that he's extremely well trained and I enjoy our walks especially when my sister is with us at the weekend and she's holding him. It would be nice to have my own dog on our weekend country walks who I can 100% hold on to. So I could definitely do at least 2hrs of country walking a day when I'm working at home and more at weekends.

• I don't need a superstar when it comes to training unlike my sister who loves doing training with Bruno and he's the star in his class listening to my sister every time I just want a dog I can teach good doggy manners too and who knows what's allowed and not allowed but I don't need a highly trainable superstar dog like Bruno.

• I don't plan on having any kids and no other pets besides Bruno of course

• shedding doesn't bother me neither does grooming as a friend is a groomer and is happy to show me how to look after the coat of which ever breed I buy and I'm happy to spend hours grooming if that's what the dog needs as getting the right breed is more important than coat or shedding to me.

• I also don't want a working breed who needs a job as all I can provide is brain toys and stimulation play ect at home. I have no interest in agility for example.

I hope this helps you ask below if there's anything you need to know?

I love Staffies but they’re high energy puppies and need a lot of very consistent training. My sister has a Staffie pup that’s a month or two younger than my cockerpoo, the difference in them couldn’t be more stark. Both are high energy on walks but her is still very high energy at home where my boy finds a cosy spot for a sleep.

So in my experience..

Whippets-amazing dogs.
Staffies-awesome but don't tend to like other dogs and are strong.
Cavaliers-probably the easiest first time dog, so loving, like everybody and everything. MUST come from health tested parents. We have one and she doesn't have a squashed face and can run for miles.
Border terrier-fab dogs, often don't like other dogs.
Jack Russell, so determined, often don't like other dogs.
Spaniels-don't get a working line one, go for show instead, prepare for a crazy thing living with you for a good few years. Happy, nice natures dogs.
Greyhound-amazing, don't do well off lead as have a strong prey drive.
Pugs, so funny. Would suit a first time owner but can be barky and have many health conditions.

Newuser75 · Today 08:50

So in my experience..
Whippets-amazing dogs.
Staffies-awesome but don't tend to like other dogs and are strong.
Cavaliers-probably the easiest first time dog, so loving, like everybody and everything. MUST come from health tested parents. We have one and she doesn't have a squashed face and can run for miles.
Border terrier-fab dogs, often don't like other dogs.
Jack Russell, so determined, often don't like other dogs.
Spaniels-don't get a working line one, go for show instead, prepare for a crazy thing living with you for a good few years. Happy, nice natures dogs.
Greyhound-amazing, don't do well off lead as have a strong prey drive.
Pugs, so funny. Would suit a first time owner but can be barky and have many health conditions.

This appears to be the only reply on this thread written by someone with comparable knowledge of the breeds mentioned.
People here are trying to be helpful, which is kind, but are simply enthusing about their own breeds. You will also get an element of this at Crufts, whereby breeders can't see beyond their own adoration of their own breed.

I feel qualified to comment as I have worked in welfare/rescue myself and the poster above clearly knows her stuff.

All I'd add to the above post, is

Pug will likely have many, many health conditions and possibly not manage 2 hours a day walking when older/very prone to heatstroke as can't cool down like other dogs due to bracycepahallic (flat faced) issues. (French Bulldogs suffer similarly).

Beagle - known as being vocal and baying, and chasing a scent is in their DNA. Pack animals so again, can be excessively vocal and prone to separation anxiety.

Rescues - depends where from. A larger organisation like Dogs Trust or Battersea are very experienced in matching dogs to their new owners' requirements, the smaller rescues, not so much or not at all. Foreign rescues - definitely not for first time dog owners as most have behaviour issues which often includes resource guarding - not an easy problem to resolve if it can be resolved at all.

Puppies: Of course there are exceptions to all breed traits, but it is impossible to know what you are picking from a litter. No puppy will allow you to work peacefully from home. You will have at least a year of constant interruptions needing to nurture, train, and correct the puppy. If your job can withstand that - great. Then your life has to revolve around the dog for up to 15 years.

Mixed dog households:
This is the most neglected sector within dog training and behaviour. It's difficult to find advice on this topic and it is very important when introducing two dogs who may have to reside together. Susan Garratt does touch on it. A GR like your sisters, is likely to accept most other dogs, and a puppy will likely fit into the pack more keenly than an older dog.

I'm also glad that @Newuser75 has pointed out the differnce in a working breed/bloodline compared to a show line. The difference is MASSIVE. Will Atherton, a well known dog behaviourist on social media, has recently posted that behaviourists are seeing a huge upsurge in behaviour problems/reactivity/aggression with Cocker spaniels. This is because people have blindly bought working lines and they have the DNA to literally bounce off the walls even after a 2 hour walk, morning and night.

Good luck.

@abracadabra1980 Thanks! Sounds like we have similar backgrounds.

Yes I think we do! I'm enjoying my own dogs at the moment as welfare work literally took over my life. I currently own a Newfoundland (tick box dream for me), an elderly Pug and the working strain teenage Labrador, which resembles having a cross between a Duracell bunny and Tigger I wanted to learn how to do some scent work and we have been man trailing since she was 6 months old. That nose still blows my mind-utterly amazing-I'm thinking search and rescue is possibly her destiny.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on all the info out there now-there's so many 'dog trainers' out there on social media, some better than others. I feel this has filtered down to the general public where I live and has made everyone an opinionated dog owner, most of whom have no real life experience of behaviour issues but are indoctrinated with dog training 'influencers' who are just totally misleading them in my humble opinion. Also, many are American. Owning a dog in the States is likely a very different experience to owning one here. They tend to have much bigger homes and 'yards', just space in general, than we have here, and of course they aren't allowed let dogs off leash unless they are in the dreaded 'dog park'.
I feel the whole dynamic changes depending with dog ownership, depending upon where you live. I live near the coast and a couple of the beaches here are what I call 'doggy Blackpool' - lovely if you have a confident, sociable dog, but a nightmare if you don't. Overrun with Cockapoos at the moment which started in lockdown, -it's quite interesting to watch the breed 'fashions' that change over the years. I've noticed a few larger breeds emerging in recent years and I love that. Setters, Flat Coat Retrievers, oh and Vizlas, who are definitely having a moment - that kind of thing.
Move up the coast where I am, to more rural and farming areas, and the whole dynamic changes again; folk who are gamekeepers, people who go hare coursing etc.. none of this 'your dog came near my dog so it's out of control' SM stuff.... anyway, I'm going off on a tangent here but I love threads like this, as hopefully someone gets educated and a happy decade or so out of a new family member! Feel free to DM me if you wish to chat re breeds and behaviour - I could write essays 😄

Cockers are also high energy and scent mad

I think if you adopt from abroad you need to be very careful.
A lot of overseas rescues really don't do their due diligence. I've known a lot of 'project dogs' come from overseas, and people misled about the eventual size of the young dog they were getting. Also a lot of these dogs are working lines which as @Newuser75 pointed out, are a different ballgame from show.

Some working lines dogs settle in a pet home without any extra input, but many don't. They tend to be prey driven, active and clever. A working line golden retriever is a different sort of dog from the show-line. Working lines are not ideal for a first time owner unless you're willing to put in a lot of effort and learn what you need to do.

@abracadabra1980 that's really interesting and I'd have to agree. I've been out of the dog world for a good few years now but still have my own and still is a big interest of mine.

I'd agree about the cockerpoos being everywhere. Where I walk our dogs every second dog is a cockerpoo and to be honest I'd say a big majority of dogs are reactive towards other dogs. I have noticed this much more since getting our newest dog as a puppy as we have always had rescue dogs in the past (perks of the job and all that 😂) who were reactive towards other dogs or people so we tended to walk in much quieter places.

The busy places seem to be all /most dogs on lead, hardly any opportunity for socialisation and loads of reactive dogs.

The quieter, more rural places tend to be as you describe, people are a bit more laid back about things and a bit more pragmatic.

My thoughts on this are that nowadays everyone is so frightened of repercussions if their dog steps a toe out of line (obviously I think dogs should be under control ).

People a lot of the time don't have as much time for their dogs due to work, kids etc.

Lockdown obviously had a big impact and people went crazy buying dogs that perhaps they weren't suited to and couldn't train/walk so much once lockdown was over.

I also agree with you about trainers. I guess there is a saying, "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". I have learnt to take things with a pinch of salt when advice/opinions are offered to me when I'm walking my dog. Smile and nod.

Dog ownership has definitely changed and I'm not sure for the better.

Currently getting at least 1 hour in the morning (half hour is off lead) and then 30 minutes in the evening. He could just run and run all day, he's very sporty and high energy.

How old is yours?