What breed for us?

[OofyProsser2]

A couple about to take early retirement, mid 50s. Children around but grown up.

We walk at least 2 hours a day and also do walking holidays (6+ hours a day walking) so would like a dog who would enjoy that. Live near the sea so plenty of beach walks and swimming.

Happy with any size, some shedding is fine. Would prefer a dog that is not very vocal. Calm in the house ideally.

What breed would you go for? .

@BristolDolly22 a retired greyhound does not require much exercise and would not be suitable for the ops lifestyle.

I would always say to consider a rescue as well.
Given you don’t have young kids and have time to spare and experience it would be a gift to any rescue.

There are a lot of collies in rescue and that might be because of being a poor fit to an inactive household rather than anything inherently wrong with the dog itself. There are lab crosses in rescue too. You would just need to be careful of health and joint issues. There’s a lady on my local dog group looking to rehome a 3 year old lab because they can’t give him what he needs due to their work. Very sad but could be really positive for the dog if the right person comes forward.

@OofyProsser2have you heard of a kelpie ? I have one that’s crossed with a lab ( as was my last dog ) . Very clever so easy to train ,doesn’t chew anything she shouldn’t , will walk for miles and miles then sleep when gets back , doesn’t bark when there is a knock on the door . She just looks like a small lab.

Border terrier.

A kelpie might work but some need to do their herding and can go totally weird if they can’t. Just something to be aware of. But, yes, can take a long day out.

Can you get Muster Dogs on YouTube for kelpie stuff?

A staffie is always the answer to this question!

Collies can be very sensitive, even the nice ones I've known have had to have specialist collie training to work through issues. Labs are much more bomb proof generally.

If you're going down the rescue route with labs I'd just caution that the labs that end up in rescue are generally not the well-bred ones with good hip and elbow scores so if lots of walking is your thing you need to be mindful of ending up with a dog that can't manage it. (A risk with any dog to be fair, but you can stack the odds in your favour)

That's a great suggestion. They're usually lovely dogs, social, with pleasant temperaments, active without the bouncing-off-the-walls tendencies of some of the gundog breeds. Not too wildly prey driven so easier to manage when out walking.

Border collie - that is what we have. We live rurally and he gets lots of different walks and goes running with DH. They don’t tend to love water as a breed but ours will happily go in for a swim if it’s to fetch a toy. Loves the beach especially when we take his ball launcher.
Shorter haired types shed less and don’t need much grooming.
Hardly ever barks and as long as he’s had enough exercise he’s great in the house - just chills in the evenings after his walk. Very intelligent so easy to train and they are naturally good at recall so can be off lead a lot. You would obviously have to be careful around sheep as they have a natural hearding instinct, but they are not an aggressive breed.

They like a lot of attention and will want to be sat right next to you or on your feet most of the time.
Main Negative point apart from high energy is anxiety- so ours doesn’t like loud noises like motorbikes when out walking so had to do a bit of training around that when he was a puppy. Doesn’t like the hoover, lawnmower, hairdryer etc. Also get weird little habits like ours is scared of bins and doesn’t want to get too close to them outdoors (I think one with a metal flap scared him once), and he is also a bit scared of paper (?!).

Border Collie, I have a border collie and don't think I have ever recommended anyone to get one as a pet but with that amount of exercise and time you have to offer and no young children I think you would be the perfect border collie owners.
I'd also vote Springer Spaniel

Well you seem ideal for any sort of active dog really. I would go around a few dog shows this summer in local parks and see what dogs you like. We happened to see a dog in a random clip on you tube and fell in love with the breed, did some research and got one in the end. I had never even heard of it before. Good luck