Help finding the right breed for us, please help. Which breed for me?

imo i dont think either of you are ready for a dog...

Like you, I too investigated Foxhounds and Trailhounds when I first approached rescues. I love the look of them all. However, when I delved a bit further into some of the issues with hounds, such as difficulty in instilling a sound recall, I realised that I might be taking on more than I could really cope with.

When you say you want to walk off lead, I'm assuming (wrongly?) you mean just in the park or fields etc? Not a dog you could walk off leash in a busy suburb or anything like that? Because - apologies if I am stating the obvious! - no dog should ever be off leash unless in a secure area e.g. field.

Here's a thought - how about trying to find a fox red Labrador???

Then you have some of the colouring of the hounds you like, but not so much of the recall problem - although be warned that young Labs are extremely sociable and not always great at recall while young and bouncy!!

Also a Lab would need a minimum of an hour's exercise a day - something else to bear in mind.

Fox red Labs don't that often turn up in rescues, however... Lots of yellow, black and chocolate ones though

TIBETAN TERRIER - gorgeous, aren't they? We meet a few regularly at the local park and they are adorable - very cute, very clever and boy can they run fast!!!

POODLE - also lovely. Miniature Poodles have bags of personality and are extremely clever!

My aunt used to have standard Poodles and they were hilarious, very lively and again, so clever.


BEAGLES - good choice all round, as you're looking to rescue, you could tell the rescue team that you really want one that has been trained re recall? I would think they might have some where this applies.

Now, all that being said, the dog I eventually fell for and brought home is a yellow Lab - with awful recall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I keep him on a long line and we are working hard at improving it.

So when all is said and done, you may just find that one day you go to a rescue, be it generic or breed specific, and there is a certain dog there that just gets to you....


Do keep us posted?

Well that might be true. It is part of what we are trying to work out through this process. It might be that none of them are suitable for us and you'll then be right.

all dogs need exercise,all dogs can be smelly,not all dogs whatever the breed cant be let off lead,all dogs can have health problems,all dogs are individual beings ...u have to like the idea of dogs in general warts and all before u can whittle it down to what breed or cross you want..and even then its a lottery..if your not prepared for that then a dog isnt for u no matter what they look like!...jmo.

Yes, I think that is a realisation that we a slowly coming to.

hehe - Yes, I meant walking off lead in that sort of environment, not walking down the High Street.

I think like you say, I doubt we could reliably meet it's exercise needs.

Good call, I'll mention that to them.

Hehe - a lot of rescues here seem to be just dominated by SBT's, which kind of puts us off checking them out really. Hence I've been looking at breeds and breed rescues which foster dogs and are able to know more about the individual dog.

I also like Pointers, any of those would be suitable?

Just visit lots, online and in person, general and breed specific, you'll soon see one you fall in love with, they'll find you ;-)

Personally I think you sound ready for a dog, i love the way you're taking it so seriously, all this prep. Hell, we walked down to our local, (terrible) rescue centre for a nosey and came home with a scared, emaciated, injured stray male unneutered Akita with no history the very same day, I had never even met an Akita before, our garden wasn't secure, and we worked a lot of hours.

Look at us now, we didn't have a clue but we made him forget his troubles and taught him how to be a good dog, we got him through a year long cancer treatment, he's here to tell his tale, we have another Kita in tow and a baby on the way ;-) heehee. That dog turned out to be the best dog I know I will ever have the pleasure of knowing. There was nothing that could have made me leave him in there that day, nothing.

Your house will never be as clean again though - whatever the breed. We have mud up our walls and hair in the dishwashing sponge and that's not the worst... And people will smell dog when they walk in, no matter what, but you on the otherhand will get used to it ;-).

Yes, earlier in the thread I responded to a similar point. I appreciate it is JYHO, each to their own, I know how passionate many people are.

This is my friends Trail hound (A rescue from Norfolk, UK) and her current Fox hound (A rescue from Sydney, Australia).

I have met both (as well as her previous foxhound) she does agility and obedience classes with both. The trail hound is lovely, but very independent. She cannot be off lead in unsecured areas, she is very foody and has been well trained (good level of obedience the woman works with them everyday) on walks and at home.





(the foxhound)

This is my foxhound Craven,we have just come back from a short camping trip to the lake district.
The reality is he has been on a longline or lead the whole time,even in the tent when the door was open,because the first opportunity he gets he will run away.




He does get to go off lead when he has a dog to play with,but as soon as he or the other dog have finished playing he will be off,I have learnt to read his body language now and can usually get him back on the lead before he bolts,but not always,and it can be a long wait for him to be found,the last time was nearly 3 hours.

Very high energy.....!

Have you thought about a golden retriever?

We have 2 cats, our Goldie knows they are boss.

I have 2 children, plus lots of visiting children, our dog adores children.

You can do agility with them, or field work. they are gun dogs.You can let them off the lead in parks, fields etc.

Easy to train and intelligent.

They will go as long as you do, I walk mine between 1 hr to 2hrs. But if I only walk him half an hour he is happy.

As for the hair, just sweep the floors once a day. And brush him every day.And like most dogs when they get wet he smells. just buy lots of scented candles.

If you go for a girl they are slightly smaller.

I love Golden Retrievers

And there are plenty in rescue through no fault of their own.

They are large dogs but as you say, females will be smaller.


To the OP - if you should decide on this breed, I would advise getting one aged OVER the age of 2.

This does sound like a very good suggestion. Not only would I want to be able to let them run off leash, I'd also want to be able to play fetch etc with them. Doing something like agility etc would be a bonus too, as I'm sure that would help both the dog and us as new owners.

Thanks for the tip, are they a bit high octane below that?

Would a Springer or Cocker spaniel be a good idea?

Thanks again,
David

Both Springers and cockers, are high maintenance, a cocker even a show one will only just make do with the amount of exercise you're suggesting, and they don't like to be left, and can be very vocal in their dissaproval, we'll not even go down the working cocker road, they need to have their brain worked and to be exercised, i would suggest more than you're intending to.

Springers, most springers in rescue are working strain, they are not for the house proud, love water, mud and muck, and have a tendency to spread it all over, again they need loads of exercise and to work their brain, otherwise they can be right royal pain in the bum, believe me i have 5 of the little darlings, and one of the main reasons for handing both springers and cockers over to rescue, is that the owner didn't realise how much work they were.

I know you think you're doing the right thing by looking at breeds,,,,,, but all breeds were bred for a purpose and some of the function is still in them.

Please open your mind to a good old mutt, that has been fostered, if i were advising you, i would say something around 3 - 5 that has a proven recall, that likes cuddles and is ok to be left, there are 100's of them out there.

Re getting a GR over 2:

Both Golden Retrievers and Labradors are big, bouncy dogs and when they are younger, they can be a bit excitable. From what I've seen, Goldens seem to calm down just that bit quicker than Labs, though. If you were to get one aged 3 or over, they'd probably be great fun but just a bit less frenetic

Goldens are gorgeous, that's for sure!

In case this is helpful:

http://irishretrieverrescue.com/

Have a look at the above site, at the 'rehomed' dogs, will give you an idea of how many fab and lovely Goldens are out there looking for nice new homes

Also:
http://www.retrieverrescue.net/

I'd avoid a welsh springer as well, although their exersize needs would suit you they hate being left and are destructive and noisy if you leave them for more than a couple of hours alone.

We got our Golden Retriever at 7 weeks old, and boy was it hard work.

Then he got to 15 months and turned a corner and suddenly got easy, then even easier at 2Yrs old, then even easier at 3.

like most breeds there are 2 types, more show types which tend to be bigger and not as energetic and working types which are more on the go.

Mine does n,t like being on his own for too long, they do like company.But I think most dog breeds are like that.

If you lived nearer I would say borrow him for a couple of hours as he is very friendly., he will go up to complete strangers for a cuddle.

My friend homed a 1 year old Goldie because the owner had a fall and could n,t walk the dog. then a year later they had a baby and the dog has been brilliant. The dog is now 4years and they haven,t looked back.

Miniature Poodles make wonderful pets.you can easily do the grooming at home once you see how easy it is.this needs doing every 8 weeks.they dont smell,dont shed,are very friendly if socialised properly.super clever too.If you look on poodle rescue there are a couple of lovely ones that need rehoming at the moment.Good luck(i would love a poodle but OH doesn't like them,i was brought up with them,btw toy poodles are yappy and could get jealous if you have a child)

We're hopefully going to look at a dog this weekend, I'll tell you more afterwards. We're both really looking forward to it!

It's a recently turned 2 year old, which a breeder had bred on, hoping to use in shows, but hasn't quite made the grade for that. Apparently a softie with an easy going temperament, already crate trained.

Any tips on things to look for?
Things like whether he jumps up at us on arrival or anything? Anything key to ask? I assume it's a little different with it not being a puppy, but I'd guess there are still key things to look out for.

Tests
One thing that was mentioned when I asked, was that they did not do hip scores. They said that previously they used to, but had very inconsistent/unreliable results and as such stopped doing them. I'm not sure whether I'm worried about that or not.... any advice or is it one of those very opinionated kind of subjects?

I'll be asking whether it's KC Reg'd, I forgot that when I spoke to them previously.

People will always give you some rubbish about why they don't hip score...it usually means that they either don't want to pay out for them or they have something to hide.

If it were me I would walk away ;-)