Which breed do you think would be best for me, and Dexter...? Which breed for me?

Ah yes, the temptation to get a second Lab is always there

The difficulty for me is that it would have to be a rescue as no way would I go to a breeder, just too many lovely Labs in rescue.

That means it would almost certainly be an adult Lab, and I don't know that Dexter would be great with another adult male dog suddenly becoming part of the family.

How abot a newfoundland? They're definitely giant enough
Italian spinone? I like them LOL

How about a gundog of a different type? A Springer for instance. They would have a lovely time using their noses together. And gundogs are normally friendly.

Get a dobe and Dex will be too knackered to fail at recall (joke)

IDK really, I think it depends how much time you have for exercise, grooming, training, plus training and walking with Dex and walking together.....how much you want to spend on insurance (if you want insurance)and food....

Good luck on your search anyway, and hopefully a new arrival in a year

Just to say I agree with SB about avoiding a Boerbel, they are a lot of dog and can need a lot of handling.

IMO not a dog for those without a lot of prior experience of guarding and mastiff breeds, due to the potential for serious problems if it even goes slightly wrong.

I know you are talking 12 months or more but be aware that if may be more difficult to manage Dex if your attention is divided by two dogs, plus you have two to potentially be reacting and influencing each other if it were to pick this up from Dexter.

Hopefully Dex will be easier to manage by then though

Cheers TASS

I've realised that it's unrealistic to look at a Boerbel, I shall admire them from afar

I wouldn't dream of bringing another dog into the home, to be honest, until and unless I have managed to work on Dex's reactivity a lot more. He's already so much calmer than he was when he arrived - hopefully in another year there will be a lot more improvement, we're working hard on it together

This will be the most important aspect for you regarding bringing in another dog.

My advice to you is, if you cant turn it round 100% don't do it. its going to be so much harder for you, making sure the second does not pick up Dex`s bad habits, you also dont want to find you then have problems between both dogs.

IF ans WHEN you do go for one, pick a breed that is more laid back..Spinone comes to mind, the last thing you want is a breed known for its intolerance of others.

If you don't mind grooming how about a show line Golden Retriever?

Great minds think alike

When I think of a placid dog, I do think of Goldens. And I've always loved them.

So it may be that my original plans to get a GSD may not work out, as I don't think they are the most placid breed, generally speaking.

Meant to say - at Discover Dogs I saw THE most GORGEOUS Doberman!!!

He jumped right up to give me a hug! He was a real beauty It was a treat for me, as we never seem to meet any Dobermans at any of the local parks :-(

Yep, met lots of show line GR's all playful but still fairly placid and well natured Only met a few working line GR's but all of them were "all go"! So different.

Glad you got to meet a nice dobie then, I never see any either, bar my own of course.

I see one of these regularly.
He is a big gorgeous lovable lump and has an amusing name "Pudding"

I,m not bias or anything but a Golden retriever would be a good choice. In my opinion they don,t shed any more than a lab. However you do have to brush them daily, but my goldie loves to be brushed.

Or you could always get a Nova Scotia DuckToller, they are a bundle of fun, another gun dog.

I agree that a GSD would be good for you, could you get a rescue puppy? Like from Many Tears or something? If not, I'm sure you'll be able to find a brilliant breeder for you