Suggest me a (probably) gundog breed!

[EagerTaupePlayer]

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!

rare but a Clumber spaniel
Vizla
GSD

Team Vizsla here - you sound like you would give a Viz the perfect life, and that's not something I would say often.

They can suffer from separation anxiety and be a bit wild and neurotic, but in my experience that tends to come more from people getting them based on their "nice family dog" rep and not really understanding their needs, and also not putting in the training and boundaries needed early on.

They do have a high prey drive, but with proper training from the get go recall training is completely manageable - mine can recall away from a bolting deer in an instant.

They are extremely physically capable, could keep up with your running, generally love to swim, and benefit from lots of exercise - especially good quality off lead exercise where they can put their nose to work and explore different terrain. More than anything they need to be with you and work with you and be challenged to use their brains. Obedience, gundog training, scent work - if you mix that in with regular exercise and firm but fair boundaries, in my opinion you'll have the best dog breed in the world.

I have a ten year old boy, and he's not for the faint hearted. In the wrong home he would be a disaster, but his intelligence, loyalty, almost human personality, are honestly incredible. We do a mix of off lead walks, obedience (he comes to obedience classes as my "demo" dog), a little big of retrieving and scent work (just for fun).

He did terribly at being left as a pup, but we got over that and he can comfortably be left for several hours at a time or longer for the odd night out. They are slow to mature, mentally and physically, and have a well deserved reputation as being very difficult puppies, so training needs to start immediately, and there won't be any running or leaving alone while pup is little.

They can be prone to health issues so if you are considering, do your research on that - especially VIP, which is a horrendous auto immune condition. Given the choice, I'd go for working lines over show lines any day. The females are usually a lot smaller and slighter than the males.

There are also many fantastic dogs in Vizsla rescue UK looking for homes, so if you're not set on a pup, that is also an option.

Have I sold it?!?

Have you considered an English Pointer?
Tick all those boxes re energy for running, trainability, calmness with other dogs and with absolutely bundles of endless affection. Our boy is very sensitive to individuals, too - gentle with my elderly family members & eternally bringing footballs inside for outside fun with the teens. He’s around 25kg at 5yo, bitches are obviously smaller.

@Molleeeee what work do you do with your spaniels? Do you mean hunting, or a job like sniffer dogs? (Dreams of finding a career path with wcs.)

Cocker. Or branch out and have a sprocker - I have one and he is brilliant. Very clever and a bit judgemental of my life choices if they involve anything other than being with him 😂
he is a working dog through shooting season and we also Canicross. Just learning bikejor too!

I am biased as I work them but this would be a lovely life for a working line Labrador. Except perhaps the running bit; you’d have to train them with excellent recall as they like to tack about in the undergrowth while you run along in a straight line.

equally, if you allow them to join in on your gundog work in the field, they will be happy snoozing back in the kitchen with the radio on while you run - that’s what I do with my own ones.

You can find smaller built Labradors if you select your line and breeder really carefully - it sounds like you have the time to do that which is great.

Good luck and lucky dog!

Viszla, utterly fabulous dogs. Super clever, love a walk or a run, will sleep like the dead for a good 4 hours if left.

@JulietteHasAGun my female spin is about 40kg! Not at all fat, but stocky. Also not great as a running companion. She was fine up until about 6 years old I’d say, but now she much prefers a walk with lots of sniffing and standing in muddy water time. I’d adore another one, but not the breed for the OP.

I was going to suggest a toller. Really good natured and clever!

We have a Working Cocker and he is just the most rewarding family dog, keeps up with everything, chills out totally in between. incredibly easy to train (mine is very food orientated) greets people like they are his long lost friend, greets family members like they are his utter world, even if they only went to the loo 2 minutes ago.
Does anything for a tennis ball.
We’ve never had any issue with guarding or aggression as we never put him in the position where he needs to.
Mine is 10 now, hard work in the first two years, total companionship for the last eight - you get out what you put in, work their brains just as much as their legs.
Fantastic dogs!

Sprocker all the way - perfect compromise between cocker and springer, less nutty and needy than the former!
I know two tollers locally and they are both quite grumpy and reactive to other dogs. Not very laidback, unlike my spaniels!