[Closed] Help me choose a dog.

headfirst I dont think your patronising in the slightest. Actually, if you got in touch with a few local homes and got your name down I bet you could pick up a nice cross-pup eventually.

We've had a few dogs at home- A Corgi that liked to bite me (ALOT!), yorkie etc- but a cross lived to 18yrs old and never had to visit the vets. Placid/calm yet affection. We gave him to a relative of ours after her husband passed away and he was good as till the end 🙂

Hora, we regularly have feathers in the dogs mouth, and frogs left in the garden, frog's have a tendency to play dead though and when you lift them up the buggars jump!!

hora - Member
DONT GET A RETRIEVER OR LAB! No offence if you own one but jesus they do my head in and they do suffer joint problems sadly.

Main problems with Labs/Retriever is they are over exercised way too early, a little and often is better for the first year or so. Also check the hip scoring of the parents and ask to see the results.

So the Jack Russell is a sawn-off Parsons Terrier?

plenty of pedegree dogs and pups in dog shelters, no need to encourage dog breaders/puppy farms any more!

staffie - can't get better with kids. not great with other dogs (they think they're people)
get one of the longer legged ones - I think the breed's going that way a little.

staffie - can't get better with kids. not great with other dogs (they think they're people)
get one of the longer legged ones - I think the breed's going that way a little.

sawn-off Parsons Terrier- that sounds a good weapon for post offices and money vans.

Candodavid - My GF is always shocked. She thinks just because our dog looks 'cuddly' that he shouldnt hurt anything. Hence I never let him within 5yards of any small child/baby or puppy as he can be intensely jealous.

Whippet

Meet Marmite the Patterdale terrier;

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The ball in the picture at the beach is the size of a tennis ball, she's not irish wolfhound sized and standing next to a football!
Brilliant breed, I'd deffinately recommend them.

Nigel the Patterdale Terrier.

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Has someone said cocker spaniel yet? Not the rubbish show ones with the uber-fluffy coats, but a working one.

How do you tell when Patterdales are dirty? 😕

Nigel is lovely!

You can tell they are dirty by the trail of mud they leave on the carpet and the smell.

Nigel is lovely!

He is but has a sock fettish which can be annoying.

willard - Member
Has someone said cocker spaniel yet? Not the rubbish show ones with the uber-fluffy coats, but a working one.

Page One.

Get one that barks not yaps, proper dogs bark and fashion accessories yap :p

Marmite is super cute! I know it's wrong but I really want one... 😉

I like those patterdales. I'm warming to terriers recently, but a labrador would still be hard to beat in my book.

Oh go on then...

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Paddy the Patterdale is sorely missed in our family. Put to sleep 3 years ago, and we're still struggling to work out whether to get a replacement.

Patterdales are all the nice aspects of terriers, Intelligence energy loyalty, without all the bad bits the snappiness, etc. Would always recommend them to families. Top dogs

Patterdales are all the nice aspects of terriers, Intelligence energy loyalty, without all the bad bits the snappiness, etc. Would always recommend them to families.

My vet friends tell me that most pedigrees are prone to inherited health problems of one kind or another, but the exception is Border Terriers.

[i]I also don't see the point of taking them mountain-biking, because, unless you live on a bridleway or always drive to trail centres, at some point they're going to have to be walking/running on roads whilst you're on your bike - I don't fancy that with my two pretty obedient dogs!
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Duh. What's wrong with driving to the bridleway?
Now mine's trained to go on the lead while I'm riding I just ride on the footpaths to the bridalway (its quiet round these 'ere parts).
Until then I just stuck bike and dog in the car.
The [i]point[/i] of taking them mountain biking is that it is bloody GREAT!!

I managed to get a puppy of a rescue dog. Jack Russell too. Ripping me and the house to shreds but think the world of her.

Boxer, the most fearless,loving,loyal,funny & cudly stupid big oaf of a dog you'll ever find.........
Forget it if you're house proud though.... 😕

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Try again

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Terriers are ok but I think they have not got a lot of personality. The males ones are too intinctive and want to make themselves look bigger, cock on every bitch they see and are hard to train and recall. They are yappy no matter what the owners say.

A lurcher is a fantastic dog in its smaller size. Whippets are also good dogs. A cocker would be a good bet though if its going to be used as trail typre dog. The smoother hair cockers are fantatic looking with good traits and temperament and much better than any terrier in any guise. Cockers get better with age too.

I do agree with the pedigree thing though. They take more money to buy and keep the vet in a new Merc. I just bought a German Shorthaired pointer and have found out about vets! Poor pup at 5 months is lame at moment with no end to it getting better soon.

I dont know if anyone has said this, but whatever you choose, make sure you are prepared to walk it every day, and dont think it will be ok on its own all day while you are at work!

sorry to be all dog PC but I get so annoyed when people do something stupid like buy a Springer and get surprised when the poor mite tears up the house because it is left on its own all day BORED

anyway, I am a Springer fan. The little dude is obedient, athletic, (funny), great with my Baby, loyal, ACE! I never tire of watching him enjoy the countryside. I have a Cocker cross, too. He is the clever one...

Emac 65, I agree.....oh hang on, any excuse to post pic of Bruno.....we lost him in January 🙁 God we miss him terribly.

However, not small in any way!

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One of these?
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Superb temperament, great character and will run all day!

He's two know and going to get another one later in the year!

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and here!

OP here....

Thanks for all the replies folks, amazed at the response. Thanks.

I have had dogs in the past, one a terrier/collie cross (I think, bit of a heinz he was!) I know all about the need for regular excercise and terriers being a bit harder to train. But I appreciate folk pointing out the pitfalls of dog ownership, just like to assure youse that I'm not some kind of tit who's just decided he wants a dog with no thought of what it entails.

I'm also aware that pedigree dogs have problems, but the dogs I'd consider; parsons, border terriers etc seem to be pretty defect free, I'd never consider some of the more outlandish/problem breeds, but again thanks for the advice.

You've all given me lots to think about, breeds I'd never heard of and ones I'd never really considered. I will probably still try to go for a pup, maybe a pedigree maybe not, as what is wrong with wanting to give your kids what they really want? I'm going to contact Border's animal rescue tomorrow to see what they have in as well, as my mind's been changed on the possibility of getting a rescue dog.

The one thing that is certain is that we are definately getting a dog after seeing all the cool/cute ones posted on here! Border terrier probably top of list now if getting a pedigree. (patterdales look nice too)

our lurcher is 3/8 greyhound, 1/4 whippet, 1/8 border collie, 1/8 bearded collie and 1/8 bedlington terrier, how can you go wrong with all those mixed up genes!!

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anagallis_arvensis - That is a smashing looking dog but don't you find that his/her ears affect the reception on your satellite TV 😆

ooops, nothing to see here, move along please 😳

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Took my 3 month old puppy out for a very, very short ride for the first time a few days ago. She loved it! She is a vizsla cross.

Good luck, please ring round the the dog shelters, you might just find the the pup your looking for 😆

We got an ex-racing greyhound from Dogs Trust a few weeks ago.

Sleeps a lot, bloody big and thick as hell. But strangely lovable.

Cost us £100 as a donation to get her. £72 last Friday for a course of anti-biotics (for bad gums) and flea treatments for a year and £120 for dental treatment yesterday.

Today she ran into the side of a moving car, despite being 200m from the road, and unable to see it, when let off the lead. Seriously, thick!

That Lurcher of anagallis_arvensis is a great looking dog. We had a Lurcher as a family dog for 12 years. It was so bright and loving.

[i][b]seth-enslow666 -[/b]. I just bought a German Shorthaired pointer and have found out about vets! Poor pup at 5 months is lame at moment with no end to it getting better soon. [/i]

That's what I've got - hope your's gets sorted mate. She's a fantastic trail-dog. Other traits have made her (well, me!) very popular on this forum 😉
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[b]No_discerning_taste [/b] - isn't that a bit young to have them running that hard? Only from what I've read on here, but I think you need to let their bones develop to avoid problems in later life. Worth investigating.

DezB- I think you overestimate the speed I'm doing coming down that hill!!but on a serious note, I discussed this with the vet. The key is to build it up slowly, with short frequent walks, this is especially important with big heavy breeds. She will be more of a light, medium size build I think.

To be honest she is physically more active running around the living room than she is running with me for a few minutes. And she doesn't seem to listen to me telling her it isn't good for her bones! 🙂 At the moment she is doing 40 minute walks or about 5-10 minute runs.

Izzy the Lakeland Terrier. Mad as a bucket of Frogs but good family pet.

Does bark a little but easy to manage and loves coming running.

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Cool. Hope you don't think I was making assumptions, but thought I'd mention it.
Ours was old enough to run ragged when we got her!