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

Norwich Terrier - they are the perfect dog!!
Healthy, not moulty, easy trained, love to learn, very social, quiet, jolly, will walk/ run as far as you want or are happy with 30 mins and an evening in front of the TV!!

unfortunately the above two together will be hard to find, you want a medium dog that does not shed much hair, and don`t want to spend time on grooming.

Usually the breeds, that come with with low shedding coats tend to be the ones that need the most coat care.

All the breeds that have been mentioned so far , the GSD, SC, spaniels and the doodles will shed coat (a lot) and need a degree of grooming.

Short coated breeds will give you plenty of short hairs , they sem to shed a lot, but less coat care, a quick wipe and wash now and again will dog.

No shedding (low shedding) breeds will give you less shed hair , but constant coat care.

I would decide what`s more important , the shedding or the coat care , then you may be able to narrow down your search, but if you are going down the route of rescue and xbreeds, you will have to take pot luck on how much shedding and coat care you will have to deal with.

One breed comes to mind, the Spanish Water dog, they are a none shedding breed (no dog does nto shed any hair) and they coat care is only twice a year, when they are clipped short.


but the down side of this is they are shaggy dogs the rest of the time, with tight curly coats, on dogs that like to get wet.......A LOT !!

Why not contact the breed club and see if any come into rescue, you can also get to speak to owners and see if this breed would suit your lifestyle.

Thanks for the suggestion! If it was just me, I'd probably consider another terrier, especially one like the Norwich Terrier but unfortunately I think they'd be too small for my OH to consider :-( I keep suggesting various breeds of terrier but he's just not going for it at all, because as he sees it we only have room/time for 2 dogs & we already have a small one so we should go for something bigger this time!

I think the lack of grooming is probably more important to me than the shedding. I can stand hoovering up fur & having to brush daily but I think anything that required constant professional grooming would be too much work for me & it'd be unrealistic for me to go for a breed that required that much work for their coat. I'd definitely rather have a dog that sheds but doesn't require too much grooming.

I hadn't considered Spanish Water Dogs but their grooming requirements seem fairly reasonable for us The low shedding is also a plus! And they do look like lovely dogs, I'm very taken

The love of water certainly isn't a problem because we actively want a dog who enjoys swimming & have a massive lake at the bottom of our road!

I'll see what OH says & if he likes this breed (He's so bloody picky!) I could maybe give the breed rescue a call & ask to foster for a while, to see if they're a good match for us

What about a labrador?

here you go to go on with ;-)

http://www.spanishwaterdogclub.co.uk/welfare.htm

They'd probably be a breed that would suit us quite well although I think I am quite taken with the Spanish Water Dog

Cheers! I've saved it to my favourites ;-) I've just spent the last half hour spamming my OH with cute pictures of Spanish Water Dogs.. I think I'm in love!

Also, I had no idea Obama had a dog, much less a Water Dog

Labs do shed though, excessively. The amount of hair I get up off the floor here each week really is shocking. You hoover or sweep up and an hour later it is back to how it was!

Apart from that though they are pretty low maintenance and tend to fit in wherever.

Obama dog is Portuguese, completely different breed, one is from the working group PWD, and the other is a gun dog SWD .

I had no idea they shed so much! I always thought they'd be really low maintenance as far as things like shedding go because they've got such short fur. I guess you learn something new every day

Aah okay, I didn't realise there were two breeds! Is the PWD higher drive if they're working group?

Google Smooth Collie Club of Great Britain - I think they are closer to your requirements than you may think

How about a Rottweiler?! Plenty in rescue, you could probably find a petite one! I've found Zeus to be low maintenance, he's calm, likes his walks and swimming but also likes the sofa and cuddles! I've actually never met a nasty Rott, and there are quite a few in my town with 'macho' owners! They always seem very friendly and affectionate.

And just to add, i'm very slack with grooming Zeph (GSD),I don't brush him nowhere near as much as I probably should and my dogs never get bathed, but they both look and smell good! Zephyr gets some small matts where he is really fluffy but if I gently pull on them they slide out. He moults a lot but this would be less if I brushed him more!

Sadly not! it is low maintenance in terms of brushing but the shedding is immense. They also blow their coat twice a year where it quite literally comes off in clumps. It is like a black furry bomb has gone off....

My OH has vetoed Spanish Water Dogs! :-( His reasoning was that they're too cute!

Thanks for the suggestion! I've actually messaged Bev so she's giving me a bit of info too

I'd adore a rottie but my OH is just not at all keen because of how they look :-( I was considering getting a 2nd dog just for me before we moved in together & had my heart set on either a Rottie or a Staffie but unfortunately he has veto'd both of them!

That's good to know about the GSD as they seem to be the only breed he's really interested in Smelling good is definitely a plus too!

I had no idea they did that, I thought it was only the northern breeds that blew their coats! I bet that's quite a shock for someone who just goes out & gets a lab as a low maintenance family dog!