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I have always had dogs until my 20s but now have my own family. Recently our amazing cat lost a fight with a car and now the house just feels a bit wrong.
So as per title, what's a good dog to go for. It will have to be a rescue so may need a couple of suggestions.
We have 2 girls, 5 and 8. Both are used to dogs.
We have a large garden and live opposite a giant park. My wife doesn't work (she says she does) so longest it would typically be left may be 2-3 hours unless we go somewhere.
Not interested in a yappy toy dog
We have a miniature labradoodle who is a lovely family dog, so loving - loves snuggling up on the sofa with my daughter and doesn't need huge amounts of excercise. Only downside is that she's constantly looking for food and you have to be careful she can't nab anything when you're cooking.
I was a bit of a curmudgeon about having a dog, finally gave in to my girls pressure and now I'd hate to be without her!
Retriever or lab?
Lab
Not a beagle. They are dreadful
Springer spaniel
Do like the idea of a spaniel.
Why not a be be beagle?
Whippet or lurcher worthy of consideration.
Behave a bit like cats too, which you may appreciate.
After a three year dog break, I've got a four month old black Labrador Retriever (gundog bred). He's absolutely fantastic, so easy to train, loves his cuddles and every human and dog he meets. Super quiet too which was a bit of a shock having had two Cockers previously.
He's happy in his crate for three hours in the day (sleeps) not done longer as haven't needed too and is in it overnight snoring away normally between 10.30pm-6.30am.
He's a lab so food driven but doesn't beg or try and steal human food (but then he's never been given any). He's in the process of trimming various shrubs, making the garden his own, teething but no more so than the Cockers did.
Without hesitation I'd say Lab/Retriever.
Whippet. For run all day or sleep all day. They're quite happy with either.
Or Beddlington X Whippet. If you're feeling more atheltic and / or you want more "personallity".
Lab or retriever are very good family dogs. They just need lots of attention and stimulation.
Woah, woah
Go easy on me 🙂
Cocker Spaniel? The in-laws have got one:
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Great with kids and other dogs, enjoys winding up swans though
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Why not have a look round your local rescues.
They would be able to give you some advice as to what would be suitable for your family.
Staffies are good family dogs.
Just be careful with rescue staffies as they may not come from the best background but the rescue centre should guide you to ones that are suitable for your family.
Whippet or lurcher worthy of consideration.
Lurchers are cheaper. Mine has a dash of collie and a splash of Bedlington rest is greyhound and whippet. Awesome dogs lazy as hell inside crazy as hell outside. Amazingly gentle too unless you areca rabbit!
My mum has a Bedlington whippet lurcher. Madder than a box of frogs but a lovely little thing.
Vizsla - amazing dogs. My mate has one. Trouble with labs is they're frickin greedy and they molt.
Anything with long hair is a pain in the arse to dry when its wet.
Poodles mixed with spaniels and collies mixed with anything make for mentalists!
(We've now got a Miniature Schnauzer. Great family dog, bit of a yapper and not a trail dog - get something with longer legs. Again Vizsla solves all of these issues!)
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Sprocker - less mental than a springer but still spaniel temperament.
Drac- posting that photo is not helping me!
I'd love a Border terrier, however we're not at home enough at the moment. And our garden is surrounded by a field, any terrier is going be hard to contain unfortunately. Too many rabbits and hares to tempt them I think.
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Making a garden border proof will a challenge they're escape artists
old english sheepdog; had one from puppy to her death; we had three young children - younger than yours - when we got her. She was great with the kids - not just ours - and our kids were great with her.
We had large garden so built enclosed dog run and kennel which she was in from about 12 months old; long walk twice a day and lots of play time.
Recommended - if you don't mind the inevitable grooming.
Two other suggestions
- my ex partner had a lovely Bedlington Terrier
- my daughter has a dorkie, dachshund and yorkshire terrier cross; another recommendation.
Greyhound or lurcher if you have a spare couch. Take next to no walking (relatively), good nature (our toddler just pushes them out of the way to get past, they've been hit with toys, poked, prodded.....not a whiff of bother), cheap to feed. They'll rip up your lawn running for 3 mins a day though and can't, for the most part, be trusted off lead. Very affectionate though, they think they're lap dogs.
Black Lab
Beagles. Disobedient, abscond, food-obsessed. Just dreadful
Look cute as puppies. Don't be taken in. They're like gremlins!
Spaniel or lab cross. Get a cross breed.
Post pics when you get one!
Lurchers are fine off lead if trained. Yeah she'll chase anything that runs away but the chase is over pretty quick and then she trots back. Not like a terrier that'll bugger off hunting for an hour or two.
Got to suggest rescue Lurcher too. So many variations but basically comes down to super chilled inside and speed demons out.
I think mine is greyhound x saluki, but who knows!
Why not have a look round your local rescues.
They would be able to give you some advice as to what would be suitable for your family.
Very few rescues are housed with young children (usually over 11/12 ish) - we tried for a long time and gave up. We ended up with a cocker (that we bought as a pup) and our two 7 yr olds utterly adore her and she is fantastic around them despite all the hugs, being pulled left, right and centre etc.
[b]Rough Collie[/b]. Brought to Britain by the Romans, they could not be trained as anything but sentry dogs in WWII, because no matter how much people tried to get them to, the dogs just would not attack people.
Extremely intelligent, they make the finest possible family dogs.
I've had two, and would get another in a second.
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The best dog I've known is a bearded collie crossed with something like a whippet or a greyhound, the other best dog was a total mongrel which never barked. I think it's meant to be true that cross breeds are healthier generally. King Charles Spaniels are endearingly daft. 🙂
+1 for a rescue lurcher - loads in the rescue centres and if you want a young dog, staffies and lurchers give plenty of choice. Mine's fine off the lead too, even crossing roads and suchlike but do always have to keep an eye out for cats...
We had rough collies when I was younger. Lovely dogs but so much grooming. They get in a mess if you don't do it.
Check out Dixy [url= http://tia-rescue.org/dogs/home-needed/ ]here[/url]
Bichon are great with kids.
They don't shed hair too.
Expensive to buy as they are not a typical mutt.
I've been bitten by an over protective collie and the kids are likely to be nipped if they run around. I'd never have a collie with kids.
breed doesn't matter if you are getting it from the rescue since you will be able to interact with each individual dog
In the time-honoured tradition of recommending what you've got, since you're going for a rescue it's got to be a Staff/Staff cross. We have a rescue Staffie X Boxer (alongside a non-rescue Boxer X Spaniel) and he's just the most awesome thing ever. Runs about daft as much as you could want, but will sleep all day too if we're having a quiet day. Very short coat so clean and no dog smell. Loves his humans so much that he can't lie on the sofa without having to be touching one of us. Trainable, eager to please, and has been great with our friends' toddlers. The Boxer side does mean he isn't the best on a lead but recall off it is superb. Anything Staff does need training out of their inbuilt desire to constantly lick you in the face (out of love) though!
Sprocker ftw. Got ours in may. So fit, so fast, so energetic outdoors but chilled in the house, doesn't seem the shed hair, fantastic with the kids and very clever. Our is a nice size at 11kg.
But everyone thinks their dog is the best!
But everyone thinks their dog is the best!
Absolutely correct.
We had a King Charles Cavalier which was the quietest, friendly, lovable dog ever. Soft as shite she was. Unfortunately she had the dreaded Mitral heart valve disease which cavvies are known for so we'r reluctant to have another just yet, so we've just put a deposit on a Red Fox Lab.
I'll let you know after the 1st week of December!
I've got a four month old Vizsla/Pointer cross and he has a lovely temperament, so I would recommend either breed or a cross. He does need plenty of walking and we never leave him alone for more than three or four hours though.
I'll let you know after the 1st week of December!
Lovely dogs easy to train, very friendly and placid.
Lovely dogs easy to train, very friendly and placid.
Which is why, after much deliberation & taking little notice of people on here, we chose one!
But everyone thinks their dog is the best!
I know its wierd as my dog is the best!
Good on you OP for considering a rescue.
This fella is looking for a home - http://rescueremediesdogrescue.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4659 but you need to be quick as I don't think he'll be in rescue for long.
We've had two cockers at the same time as the kids (kids aged from 7-8 when we got the dogs?). Like all dogs, each one is different in temperament etc, but these have been great...
Soft, loyal, lovable with the family; but will still bark at an "unknown" in or around the house. Unlike a springer (springer would originally have been my preference), the cocker is a much more manageable size for modern houses / lifestyles.
Drac-Stop it!
Making a garden border proof will a challenge they're escape artists
I don't think we'd stand a chance, quite a few holes in the hedges that let the wildlife in.
Will a terrier come back of its own accord eventually?
We got a Vizsla puppy in March.
I wouldn't recommend for a young family - mainly due to the amount of daily walking he needs - I just think he's either end up climbing the walls due to not getting out enough or you'd be doing relay parenting managing the dog.
Grew up with collies/spaniels and have a spaniel now - unless you have a decent bit of time to invest then I'd steer away from a gun/working breed. We'll get something like a pug-cross, or a whippet/bedlington next time I reckon!
But everyone thinks their dog is the best!
No, I think mine is the worst. But I still love him.
Rescue is definitely the way to go, as you won't appreciate the extra demands a puppy brings with a young family to organise.
One thing I'll say is make sure you definitely all have time for the daily walkies and attention the mutt will need. It's a job that muggins 'ere has been lumbered with, despite it not being me that wanted the beast.
Hope that doesn't seem patronising, but I imagine a cat is a fair bit lower maintenance (but of course far inferior to any dog).
Border terrier. Mine is 7 months old. Great recall. Doesn't chew much. Crate trained. Always up for some action though is happy to chill in house as long as he gets a run in the morning. Doesn't shed. Doesn't smell much. Barks at most things when we're out but I quite like it. He seems like the perfect dog so far. Just about to take him out to the beach. With regards escaping from, he does tend to visit the neighbouring garden but only to see if there is any food out but never goes any further.
Best advice I can give is get them whistle trained.
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Pomsky
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We'll get something like a pug-cross, or a whippet/bedlington next time I reckon!
Why two such different choices?
I'd steer away from a gun/working breed
You do realise whippets and Bedlingtons are working breeds and the cross of the two is very much a working dog?
Will a terrier come back of its own accord eventually?
If you have pockets full of sausages, then yes!
My Fell Terrier will return at the first whistle. My JR won't! She has a very, very strong hunting drive which tends to block out any distractions, including me.
Both my partner and I grew up with and have owned our own rescue greyhounds, deer hounds and lurchers. The Greyhound Rescue constantly pull at our heartstrings with pictures posted on their Facebook feed of dogs looking for love.
However we brought a Whippet Sprollie last year and she's proved an incredible dog. Like most running dogs it's super lazy and fast as lightning in equal measures. Smart like collie and as mad as any Spaniel. She likes to chase swallows. A loving and affectionate animal she is unrelentingly patient with the baby and is so gentle with him....... just be careful when out in the county. If a deer takes off the gentle play thing remembers why she's a dog. At 9 months Ruby was just a couple of feet from bring down a buck.
Will a terrier come back of its own accord eventually?
If it feels necessy then yes.
He's growing loddrik lovely little border.
Lurcher:
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I love our whippet (two kids, 7 & 5)
+ves: doesn't bark, doesn't smell, very affectionate, crate trained easily, lazy indoors but has an absolute character change when outside and is brilliant fun and fearless - so fit and fast (needs 10-15km a day either running with my wife or with me on the bike), loves kids and other dogs, very beautiful looking things.
-ves: poor recall (although doesn't really want to run off is easily distracted), picnic raider, can cover a lot of ground very quickly so needs a lot of open space, needs 10-15km of running a day, really hated bad weather when she was a puppy.
I'm biased (once more) towards spaniels because I own two; a springer and a cocker.
Of the two, I'd have to agree with rkk01 that a cocker is a better choice for modern life. I love my springer, but he's a big dog and does take up a lot of space on the sofa. The cocker is very much easier to manage.
[i]does take up a lot of space on the sofa[/i]
"we're going to need a bigger sofa"
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He's 8 months in that picture so still a fair bit of growing to go...
We've got a Lakeland trail hound who wasn't fast enough/interested enough when racing. Had her from age 2, first dog, kids 6 and 8, and she has been absolutely brilliant, will run all day or sleep all day, really easy going.
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See [url= http://www.trailhoundwelfare.org.uk ]here[/url] for details. Ours came direct from the owner but Trailhound Welfare charity rehomes dogs nationally.
Beagles as pack animals have a single communal brain. If you're lucky the chosen pup has use of the brain when you collect it and it's reasonably trainable. If unlucky someone else has the puppy with the pack brain and you have a hunting machine that doesn't think for itself. Choose wisely padawan.
Never, ever agin!
Rottweiler for the win. We rescued ours from Dog Trust at the age of 14 weeks. He's completely crazy but as soon as a small person comes towards him he's as placid as anything, just sits there and lets them play with his ears and muck about with him. He's sat next to my 1 year old nephew while he (my nephew) emptied his toy box and handed him each of his toys one by one. Dog just took them really carefully out of his hands and made a pile of them, it was soooo cute.
Pluses - capable of good exercise but will happily settle on the sofa and sleep for hours, easy to train, super sociable.
Negatives - stubborn as a mule with training/recall when he's not in the mood, very strong, eats absurd quantities, people cross the road to get away from you, you'll need a bigger sofa, goes through toys like a industrial shredder
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[url= http://pikore.co/profile.php?id=174350154&name=edrollasonphoto ]Lots more on here [/url]
Loads of great dogs there 😀 but only one mention that many rescue centres won't home dogs with families with small children. Check with your local ones before you go down and fall in love with a particular dog.
Lurcher, lurcher, lurcher 😀
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Vizsla - amazing dogs. My mate has one.
Lovely dogs but they can be a pain - they love human company and are known as velcro dogs as a result.
My uncle and aunt had one (Digby) who was brilliant as long as he was with you at all times. He refused to sleep downstairs at night on his own - if he was he'd chew everything, pee and poop everywhere. If he was upstairs with people...not a peep.
We're on the verge of getting a dog. Even my other half has come round the idea and really wants one.
Staffie or staffie mongrel. The rescue homes are full of them as idiots think they're a mean fighting machine when in actual fact they're fluffy sweeties.
I work at home so our Viszla is with me all day but he will be left alone downstairs at night. I wouldn't leave him alone in the house while at work/out riding for a few hours though. As I said above you need to allow at least a couple of hours a day for exercising him.
Our kids are 14 and 20 and I do most of the walks but it's useful to have them around to look after him or do the odd walk when I or my wife can't.
He has a great temperament and is less mad than we were led to believe he would be. Other Vizsla owners we meet often comment that he's remarkably calm for a Vizsla puppy....
He's dead handsome (imho) 🙂 9 months in this pic :
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+1 for Lab.
They love kids.
Loads of great dogs there but only one mention that many rescue centres won't home dogs with families with small children. Check with your local ones before you go down and fall in love with a particular dog.
Our local Dogs Trust kind of has that as a blanket policy but if you go in and make the effort to speak to the trainers/staff they're actually very flexible. They want dogs to go to the right homes, so if you can show you know what you're doing and you're going for a young dog without too much history they'd be fine.
Staffie or staffie mongrel. The rescue homes are full of them as idiots think they're a mean fighting machine when in actual fact they're fluffy sweeties.
Don't get a staffie-collie cross. We got one 'by accident' (it wasn't obvious it was collie when she was tiny) when we were after a companion for the rottie. She's nuts, completely nuts, and can do a full re-charge in 45 minutes; hard work is an understatement.
wwaswas he's gorgeous. They're easily my favourite breed of dogs.
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He looks a whopper!
Any Ridgeback in the mix?
User-defined that's a very different looking lurcher to the ones our neighbour had when we were kids.
Lurchers come in many guises. Any cross breed with some greyhound or whippet is a lurcher..some are much more running dog based than others. Users dog looks like the running dog part is smaller.
It looks like it has a bit of Wheaton terrier in it . Lovely looking dog mind.
but only one mention that many rescue centres won't home dogs with families with small children.
Our local Dogs Trust kind of has that as a blanket policy but if you go in and make the effort to speak to the trainers/staff they're actually very flexible.
Whereas I spoke to several local charities (but not the Dog's Trust as they don't have a local branch) and I got *very* in-depth grillings from them all (including one where I had an extensive form to fill in) where they asked about our history (had we owned dogs before, had we owned rescues before), asked about our children, asked about our garden size (and fencing/security), asked about our working arrangements (regarding how often the dog would be left alone etc). We were also asked whether we had another dog – some dogs are only suitable to be re-homed where there is another dog around (so they can learn sociability) whereas other dogs can't be homed where there is another dog.
We were even told by one of the charities that they wouldn't even consider us because we didn't fit their requirements.
[i]Any Ridgeback in the mix? [/i]
No we've got the pedigree line - a local gun dog person said it was mostly working dogs rather than show ones and they tend to be a bit bigger and a bit more 'canny'.
He does look big in that picture, he's not *that* big - sort of Wiemaraner size, I guess? Although he's still only 9 months so he's got to grow and fill out a bit more.
@Johndoh - oh they do all of that, including a home visit to check on your property and garden. However, there was definitely a degree of flexibility and a willingness to work with prospective owners rather than dismissing people out of hand.
Bedlington owners here. Got Stan when our girls were 4 and 5 yrs old. (They're now 10 and 11). He's fantastic
+ positives - non shedding - both my wife and youngest daughter have bad asthma and are allergic to dogs (or dog dander to be specific). Mad as a box of frogs but either we've lucked out with Stan or they're remarkably biddable (once trained) for a terrier / working dog. His recall is good and he'll walk nicely to heel as well as obeying the usual plethora of basic commands. He's equally happy sofa-surfing or lazying about the house as he is running about the woods. He's mainly motivated by toys and tennis balls rather than food, rabbits or other small furries (he'll happily co-exist with our chickens when we're all knocking around the garden). Again, for a terrier he's remarkably quiet.
- negatives (such as there are) - we had to put some serious groundwork in when we first got him - but not sure how different this is from any other dog to a lesser or greater extent. They do require some grooming otherwise he can get matted - and typically we get him clipped every 5-6 weeks. He seems to have developed a phobia of the rain 🙂 and now returns to his bed / following you round the kitchen if it's wet outside, rather than running for his lead. Not the brightest of breeds. We still get bothered by people wanting to breed from him (not much luck there as he's been 'done') - for example we had a bin lorry screech to a halt and the driver jump out wanting to know whether we'd be interested in putting him to stud...
There are a few congenital defects in Bedlingtons that are also worth keeping an eye out for / checking with the breeder. Specific details escape me right now but there's a particular liver issue that's typically fatal 🙁
I'd have another Bedlington in a heartbeat.
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I've got a Swiss Shepherd. We asked for the most confident puppy as relatives have young children and we live in an apartment. She's very chilled at home and whilst walking/ searching/ jogging. The confidence helps as she's not spooked by loud noises or sudden surprises, which inevitably come with small children. On her first NYE last year, she wasn't bothered by fireworks. We trained her by firing gun blanks on the farm at a distance.
Of my dogs litter, the range of temperaments was surprising. At a puppy meetup (4 months old or so) we saw boisterous puppies, dominant behaviour, one was very aggressive and the other completely afraid other puppies. I know a couple with the cousin of my dog and it is extremely territorial and protective of its owners. The difference between my dog and their dog is night and day.
My sister-in-law has three working black labs who are easy going. She uses them for retrieving birds on hunts and her dogs are national champs. By stimulating them with an activity (retrieving dummies and birds) she keeps them content. They're happy snoozing at home for most of the day.
My sister has a little yappy terrier and a ginger labrador. The terrier is bonkers, but the labrador is the most chilled out and dopey dog I've met. It's brilliant with my nephew and very sociable. It would make an excellent gun dog.
My advice would be to get a labrador of some description, with a gentle and confident temperament.