How do you decide on a breed when you have a clash of opinions? Discussions

i did tell him about a staffy pup from rescue, i know there are plenty out there. i wouldnt even mind getting an adult one, but they are not my breed if you know what i mean? i like them, there's just other dogs i would rather have a go at owning first.. if he was prepared to do everything with it, training walking socialising etc then fair enough id let him have one and just get my chosen breed too but somehow i just dont think thats how it would work out

yeah totally know what you mean - there are dogs that I would be the same about. I suppose really it depends on your situation at the time - what sort of house you live in, garden, area...what dogs you have then and what dogs would get on best with the current ones. Maybe even go to a rescue, both agree not to think about breed and see what dogs make your heart melt

house wise we would be living in his most probably (already owns his own) so 3 bed detatched, reasonably big, small kitchen but large attatched garage.. medium sized garden, with walks literally on the doorstep.

i dont know if i could go to a rescue and just walk about, i went when i was 18 on a college trip and it killed me :-( i ended up falling in love with so many of them, felt so sorry for them and wanted to bring at least 3 of them home with me.. the only way i could rescue is by seeing a certain dog online or the rescue maybe matching us with one, otherwise id end up with the whole rescue in my house

Personally I wouldn`t have a joint dog. When I was married with a dog it was MY dog. But GSDs are one-person dogs so I imagine it`s different with other breeds. But so often dog ownership outlast relationships (sorry) that if I knew I`d be feeding, training, caring for and paying for a dog for the next 15 or so years I`d want it to be one I wanted.
JMO.

thats a fair enough opinion. but surely whilst living with your partner, either one that wants a dog the other would have to agree to some extent, after all they do have to live with it while you are together?

ClaireandDaisy, I felt the same way with my dog. Although I am living with my OH she will always be mine. However where a compromise in breed could be met I was happy to go along with it as he does have to put up with her presence (and hair and mess!)

It`s just me, you know? And I`m glad I did think like that because he left and the dog stayed. If he`d wanted a dog of his own as well I`d have had no problem with that.

I already had Zephyr when Dan and I got together. He was always fab with him, and unlike many people actually listened to me when I told him to ignore Zeph etc as he is nervous agg. I don't think he would have been much of a dog person if he hadn't met me, but he is actually fantastic with animals. We moved in together and not long after that we rescued Zeus. I love Rotts, but have to say they weren't first on my list. However I knew Dan had always wanted one as his Dad had one when he was young. What it came down to though was how the new dog was with Zephyr, and Zeus was/is perfect

when it comes to choosing a new dog i'd really like a poodle or chinese crested, but oh doesn't like either breed. he likes staffies which i'm not really keen on. all the ones i've met are soft and daft as a brush but it's just not a breed i'd like. oh's family have always had gsds, but the last few had nasty reputations. i managed to persuade him to get dobermanns for a change because i knew how friendly they could be. when we start looking for our next dog we have both agreed that it will be a smaller breed but it will need to be one that can keep up with opie. i would also prefer a rescue or a rehome to give a dog the chance of a fresh start that was given to jax

How old is this relationship?

I would not be concerned with potential dogs at this point............

im not concerned... like i said in the original post its a long way off it ever did even happen.
i was just intrigued as to how people with partners decided on what dogs they did if they had a clash of opinions. ;-)

I wouldn't even be talking to him about it just yet. You could well scupper your relationship before it starts.

When the time comes and you are both researching together what breed would suit you both, the compromise from both of you will be easy as the 'ideal' breed will jump out at you.

We both knew we wanted a smaller breed dog this time round and have been looking at various breeds for a couple of years now. The one we both liked was the Border Terrier so when the time came, a Border Terrier is what we got and we both adore her

oh we arent discussing it, the thought just popped into my head on how you would decide, after it came up what dogs he would like and i realised i wouldnt own any

I agree , its a long way off in the future yet to even be considering what you might or might not have.

However, something for you to consider a relationship if its going to work, is built on mutual respect, and that goes for what dogs you both decide on.

If and when the time ever comes , you both need to sit down and discuss (as with every decision you make) the pros and cons of all the dogs you both like, and come together somewhere in the middle,

That means you may never have your , weimaraner and he may never have his Husky, if one bull dozers the other, it snot a good sign for any relationship.

Will you be getting this dog when you move into his house?

totally agree with everything you have said

like i said we havent spoke about it, it was a thought that popped into my head after he said what dogs he liked..

but i imagine yes if thinks do work out the way we both hhope, the dog will be living in his house as that is would be where i move to.

Well David wanted a Lurcher and I wanted an NI so we got both as we were both happy with the others choice and we knew we wanted more then one dog.

In the future we will sit down and decide together on the next breed we get. I would love a saluki or a grey he wants a doberman but it will come down to which dog suits our house and exsisiting family as much as anything.

He knows i have breeds/sizes/attributes i wouldnt consider and he has breeds/sizes/attributes he wouldnt consider. Outside of those no nos we are fairly easy going

P.S i understand about the moving quickly part as well. I was friends with my OH for 2 years before we got together. After only 4 weeks we were engaged and have been together for 11 years in August

Ok. Not that I wish to be a misery, but if the relationship goes t*ts up and you end up back with your nan, who gets the dog? would your nan be happy taking you back with your three Crested's (assuming you keep a pup from your litter) and a large Weimaraner/Husky/Akita/Great Dane, or whatever you end up with?