Tentatively researching.. What breed would you suggest? Which breed for me?

Not that this will be happening for the next 6-8 months but my OH & I are starting to tentatively look around for our next dog. We've had some issues financially recently which has put a new dog off the cards but as long as my OH's job stays steady for the next 6 months & we can renew the lease on our house for a longer term, we're considering getting another dog in 2013.

Any dog that we get would be a rescue, which is one thing we won't budge on. As much as I'd love a puppy, we'd probably be more suited to a young male (Probably about a year old). The only breed we definitely can't have is a Staffie. I would love one but Josh is not keen :-(

What we can offer:

- A medium sized house with a medium sized garden.

- Two walks a day. I walk Molly for 45 minutes in the morning & Josh has started taking her with him when he goes for his jog in the evening. We often do longer walks on the weekends & take Molly for a swim in the local lake on Sundays.

- Lots of training & playing. We've just started attending a weekly agility/obedience class with Molly. She's also fawned over every evening Whenever we're at home, she's with us. Any dog we have would also get a lot of affection from Josh's little brother (17, Autistic) as he comes round once a week or every other week and absolutely loves the hell out of Molly

- Never being alone for more than 4 hours. Josh works 10am to 6PM & can get home every lunchtime if needs be. He also works from home on Thursdays & would have the flexibility to work from home a bit more if need be. However, this is reliant on him staying in his current job (But then again, so is getting a 2nd dog!)


What we're looking for:

- A medium sized dog that requires little grooming & doesn't shed a lot.

- A dog that we can train to have a reliable recall. I know that mostly comes down to training but there are certain dogs that are known for having better recalls than others A breed that is typically intelligent & eager to learn would be good for us.

- A breed known for being affectionate. I know a lot of that comes down to personality more than breed but I know there are certain breeds that can be a bit aloof. With Josh's little brother coming round, we need a breed that will enjoy getting a lot of attention & will be affectionate to more than just one person.

- A breed that isn't known for being a barker! I know that again, this partially comes down to training but we live in a terraced house with thin walls so anything that is known for being a barker is probably not suited to us.


Just one final note, we intend to foster before we start looking at a 2nd dog, just so we can make sure we can cope with 2 dogs!

Thanks for looking

I'm thinking a spaniel type, quite a lot in rescue. Can be full on little-ish dogs with a big happy personality and full of beans, but usually very affectionate and easy to train.
With it being a rescue you may just be best visiting/calling a few places and seeing if they have any dog that would fit the bill... Easier than picking a certain breed.
Good luck with it.

I must admit, I do love the idea of a spaniel And I do always see them in rescue, so I'm sure we'd find a suitable one easily enough.

The only thing I'd worry about is them not getting enough exercise with me! I always figured they were quite high energy dogs & that I couldn't provide enough stimulation for one.

Again I'm sure that a decent rescue centre (especially one with a foster programme) could inform you of the individual dogs requirement for exercise. Not to mention it doesn't all have to be physical work, a quick blast of agility or obedience work can tire them out much more, that mixed with a morning walk and afternoon jog may be enough for a spaniel cross or a lower energy individual.

Cavalier? quiet, not massive grooming requirements, easy on exercise requirements, affectionate.

Border Terrier? might fail on the barking bit but the rest fits.

Whippet? again, most of your 'wanted' list fits. Only sticky bit might be recall, being sighthounds.

Bedlington Terrier? or even a Bedlington x Whippet? cracking cross, I love this type of lurcher. The Beddy x Whippets I know all match your criteria.

Westie? they do tend to bark a bit and the coat requires maintenance. Nice dogs though.

Tibetan Terrier? don't know much about them but they look nice.

Chinese Crested? may not go down with your OH though I suspect.

I was thinking GSD if you could stretch to a bigger dog until you said 'not a barker'

What about a Smooth Collie - not sure about their yappiness but seems to fit well enough?

Maybe when you foster you will find the perfect dog comes along for you!

Overlooked the rescue/foster bit.....how about a good old fashioned mutt. Or just become a foster failure.

German Shepherd Dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good luck. (ps: probably 2 year old plus.) just to make sure they are grown up. almost! good luck.

Haha did you miss the bit about not wanting a dog that sheds a lot

He He, think I'm becoming a typical GSD owner, think everyone should have one!

Hee hee hee - welcome to the GSD fanatics club You are well and truly indoctrinated

What about a cocker x poodle or for more energy lab x poodle.
I see alot of these going up for re-homing, more because they have become so popular with first time dog owners who couldn't look after a pet rock never mind a dog. :-D

Hmm, I'll definitely consider spaniels then! I always wanted a spaniel (All my friends had them when I was growing up & they were such lovely dogs) but had ruled them out so if we could get one that suited our lifestyle it'd be excellent!

I'd quite happily have either (or all!) of those breeds but I think they might be a bit on the small side as Josh wants something bigger :-( I suggested another terrier because Molly's very terrier-y so they'd go really well together but he's so adamant that they're not 'real' dogs because they're not big :-(

I do like Collies & Josh grew up with them so they're a possibility. The only thing putting me off is again the exercise factor as the ones I've met have been very high drive dogs & I wasn't sure we'd be active enough for one. I know Josh does have a soft spot for Collies though so if we found perhaps a slightly older, calmer one we might be able to make it work

This is kind of what I'm hoping I'm a bit anxious about going out & finding one myself only to then not have it 'take' to our lifestyle or for Molly to not gel with it, so having one that fitted in as a foster that we failed to rehome would probably be ideal for us!

I like the idea of a mutt but I'd be slightly worried we could end up with one that'll be too much of a handful if we're not sure on the exact parentage & we get him before he has matured I bet if we found one or fostered one that fitted with us we'd probably end up with it though!

I think this thread has made me realise that breed/looks aren't as important to me as they are to Josh & I'd probably take any rescue that fitted in with us

See, these posts are quite spot on taste-wise because Josh ideally wants a GSD but I'm putting my foot down precisely because I know that I will inevitably be the one who ends up doing all the grooming I probably wouldn't mind daily grooming too much, it's more the cost of having to be groomed professionally & the potential for getting matted that would worry me.

Plus the barking thing & the fact that I know they can be really high drive puts me off a bit too I know on days when it is raining & Josh doesn't want to go for his jog that I'll be the one taking the dogs out in the rain!

A poodle cross would probably suit us quite well actually & there does seem to be an influx of them in rescue at the minute, probably because of the reason you mentioned
I think a SpanielX or LabX would probably be my choice at this point in time

Nick mentioned Smooth Collies - which are basically the smooth coated version of the Rough Collie. These dogs aren't high drive and active dogs in the same way as Border Collies. Have a word with Madmare, as I think Bev used to breed Smooth Collies, so she could give you the lowdown on temperament, exercise levels etc.

And the other advantage is they have excellent health records compared to other breeds, HD is very low

i read once... "One of the good things about a German Shepherd Dog, is that they only shed fur once a year. unfortunately it lasts 365 days!

Standard coated GSDs are very easy to care for. I give mine a rake out of undercoat and quick brush over the top coat every couple of days, but could do this less and it wouldn't really matter.

The longcoated GSDs also get groomed every couple of days - and usually need it, otherwise they can get matted behind their ears and around the "knicker" area They also don't need professional grooming.

Regarding barking, my two longcoats only bark when someone comes to the house - although I don't have neighbours etc so our visitors are few and far between. My working line boy rarely barks and usually only at the other dogs in excitement when we are going out.

Thanks for that info Nick, I didn't know that.

Haha so true Jeagi ... yes, while the longcoats don't tend to shed that much (as many don't have a proper undercoat) the standard coats seem to shed non-stop.

I didn't even know smooth collies existed They do look lovely, I might have to drop Bev a PM to see what the lowdown is on them. Thanks for the clarification!

This makes them even more appealing! Molly has been a bit of a sickly dog so having a dog that is known for good health would be a welcome change.

Thanks again for the info This does make me change my mind a bit, perhaps they are not quite as high maintenance as I previously thought! The only other thing that would worry me is not being able to give them enough exercise. Again, I know that I will inevitably end up doing the bulk of the work for whatever dog we get (As much as I love my OH, he prefers his computer to going out for a walk!) so I don't want to take on more than I can handle with regards to exercise etc.