Hi all,
Looking for some recommendations for my next dog. I have some ideas but it’s always fun and interesting to see what other people think. I know most people will recommend another spaniel and I’m not opposed to that but would like to see any other suggestions too.
I currently have a 2 year old working line English Springer Spaniel female and a 14 year old Cairn Terrier male. The next dog will not be until after my older dog passes away which hopefully will not be for a while- but I want to start thinking and planning now as I always have two dogs.
My springer is a small one, at just 14kg and 16 inches at the withers. I’m looking for a dog that is a similar size to her really but can compromise on that. I am a single adult with no kids. I work from home and live semi-rurally. I have a footpath at the end of my street that takes me straight out into open countryside across several routes where we can walk for miles. It also has a river running through for swimming and splashing (dogs not me!) and is mostly open fields and some patches of woodland. It goes on endlessly across public footpaths as it joins a national long distance walking path. If I keep walking I can also do an 8-10 mile circuit from my house entirely across countryside that takes me to a large woodland area. I also have a large field at the back of my house which has long grass and I use to do shorter walks and gundog work with my spaniel in. Across the road is a large urban ish park but secure with open fields and a river. Within a short bus or train journey I have country parks, forests, woodlands, more countryside, beaches and a secure dog field with agility equipment.
My ideal dog would be:
- Active enough to genuinely enjoy my lifestyle. I’m a runner. I don’t do mad distances or anything- I’ll run three times a week with my current dog in harness. Usually around 6-8k speed session, 10-20K long run and a 5K parkrun (or alternatively a race) on the weekend. I do as many canicross and dog friendly races as I can. The distances are usually 10K with the odd 5K thrown in. Maybe once or twice a year a half marathon. I don’t run or race longer than a half marathon with dogs. On a normal, non-running day I walk my current dog for 2-3 hours a day but this is all off lead over open country, swimming in the river, playing (some) fetch, doing gundog work finding scented dummies etc. A couple of times a year I take a week off work and spend the entire week doing day hikes somewhere like the Lake District or other national park.
- Friendly and sociable- I don’t need it to be everyone’s BFF but I do want a dog that is not likely to be quarrelsome with strangers or other dogs. I can’t drive and never will drive due to a disability I have and so I get about a lot on public transport. I’m very good at it and we get to some excellent places still. However, this means we are often in close contact with other people and animals. I would also like it if the dog would enjoy playing with my current girl who is quite boisterous and rough in her play.
- Likely to be reliable off lead with training
- Likely to be comfortable being left alone for a few hours when needed. I work from home but obviously as a single adult there are times I have to leave the home and can’t bring the dogs with me. This means the dogs are alone as I have no partner or family member who can stay in with them.
Dogs I have considered:
- Another English Springer- Same as my current dog. Fine but would also like to see if anything else could fit too!
- Working Cocker/Sprocker- again, fairly similar to my existing dog. Same sort of thing as getting another springer although I’ve heard cockers can be harder work than springers in terms of things like recall/anxiety/guarding.
- Brittany- Fairly rare in the UK but I do like the look and size of these but admittedly don’t know much about them. But they are probably at the top of my list currently.
- Welsh Springer Spaniel- Again, I like the look and size but don’t know much apart from some basic research which suggests they could be a good fit.
- Vizsla- These seem ideal on paper apart from being slightly bigger than what I want and I have also heard they can have a lot of problems with anxiety and nerves.
- German Shorthaired Pointer- probably a bit too big for me to easily navigate public transport with.
What I don’t think I want:
- Herding breeds- Initially they seem like a good fit. However, I am admittedly, not much into trick training or agility or what not. I provide my dogs with enrichment at home, I do scent work in the house and play with them and give them lots of natural enrichment and gundog work. But I’m really not interested in training loads of tricks or doing various doggy activities except canicross. Also, I haven’t really clicked well with most of the ones I’ve met- I’m more of a gundog person.
- Terriers- I love my Cairn but terriers in general are not for me and he will be my last terrier.
Sorry for the essay! Would love some opinions. Essentially I’m a gundog person really lol but would consider other options too!