Help us choose between Rhodesian Ridgeback, GSP, Boxer, Malinois General Chat

My fiancée and I have been looking at different breeds that might be suitable for us. We are planning to get a dog in about a year when we get married and will be moving in our own place (currently saving for a 3 bedroom flat). We live in Scotland.

I never had a dog but love them and love to play with them. (my mum fostered a Rhodesian Ridgeback for two months when I was still living with my parents)
My fiancée had a Manchester Terrier.

We are both working:
I am away from 7am until 5pm, week ends off.
My fiancée is away from 12:45 until 11pm. She only gets 1 week end off per month, so it means that 3 weeks per months she has 2 days off during the week.

We are a young and active couple. (trying) Running 4 times a week. We will have time to go for a walk/run twice a day, at least 30-45 min each time.

We don't have pets or children. But we are planning to have children in the future.

We want an active dog that we can take running with us (5k, 10k or 20k). We love hiking in the Scottish hills, so the dog should be able to go walking 2-3 days in a row in various weathers/temperature (yeah! for Scottish weather).

We are looking for a medium/large dog with minimal grooming/shedding.

We have a shortlist of a few breeds that we like the aesthetics of, and seem to tick our boxes.

• The one that is our current top choice is the Rhodesian Ridgeback as it is a beautiful and very athletic dog with minimal shedding.

The current main runners up are:

• (German Shorthaired Pointer): We like its looks less than the Ridgeback. 4 hours by itself might be too long. But it is an all weather very athletic dog. (The answers convinced us it is not the right dog for us)
  
• Boxer: We always loved boxer, beautiful, athletic fantastic personality. But 4 hours alone might be too long. And does not do well with extreme temperatures.
  
• (Belgian Malinois): sheds a lot but seems to tick the other boxes. (The answers convinced us it is not the right dog for us)
  

We also considered

• (the Anatolian Shepperd) but its size might be too much for us. (The answers convinced us it is not the right dog for us)

We will be fully committed to our dog and will be taking training classes to get it right the first time.

We are not rushing our decision and will take the time to measure up all the pros and cons of the breeds to be 100% sure of our choice when the time comes.

We welcome any advice concerning the breeds mentioned above but also any other breeds that we might have dismissed for the wrong reasons. Don't hesitate to mention any error we made in our research.

In my (limited) experience, many malinois are SUPER hyper, full on, and need a job. This is mainly going by speaking with other people who own them, and not my own direct experience, so please take that as intended! All the owners I know who own them are involved in some kind of dog sports with theirs - whether that's agility, service dogs, schutzhund etc.

Boxers can settle into family life really well. They're hyper, but most I have known have lived within a family and don't need a job to do - just plenty of bouncing time. I don't really know a huge deal about them in the home though.

Again, ridgies no idea lol

GSP's.. well, we just added a puppy on Thursday, so maybe I am a bit biased. My other half works from home, otherwise I don't think I'd have considered the breed, I have to say. He is not IN the home all day, but around and about it 99% of the time, so the dog will be able to have him in and out all day to interact, let him out and when he's old enough, hopefully potter around with him like Bodhi does, and sit in the office with him when he's in there. They can suffer with separation anxiety.

We went with a showline bred dog, rather than working line (although dad does also work), because we hoped they'd be a bit softer and less demanding. So far (in our vast experience of all 3 days) he has proven to be a lovely little thing

I'd advise contacting the breed clubs and attending a few meetings/shows so you can meet all the different breeds and speak to owners for some better advise (than mine anyway HA!).

Look on youtube for videos too. I spent hours looking at videos of GSP's lol.

Sounds like you've thought it through, and with the right routine, most dogs can fit into family life. Just do your homework

eta - you're going to come across horror stories for ALL breeds... don't let them put you off.

Thank you for the answer.

Hehe, we have been watching so may YouTube videos of dogs

GSP seem to be incredible dogs, but we are aware of the risk of separation anxiety and that it might not be the best dog for us because of it.

And, yes we are definitely doing our homework as we have to get it right the first time as when the dog is with us there is no going back...

I used to have a walking companion with a young Ridgeback bitch. I found her to be more 'biddable' and require slightly less stimulation and exercise than my Dalmatians. She was affectionate but aloof and wasn't as 'full on' as my Dals are.

Prehaps look in to an older rescue Ridgeback (or non specific breed) that would fit your requirements and be suitable for being alone for a few hours

I too wouldn`t advise a Shorthair - particularly for a first dog, unless you`re going to learn to work him. They are very driven creatures.

Thanks for the answers.

We'd rather have a puppy and see our dog grow old, but we are also considering rescues.

Hi,

If you are saving up for a flat, will this flat have a garden? obviously not having a garden isn't ideal with a puppy. Pups need to be in and out constantly when being toilet trained.

Also you have to bear in mind that young dogs of those breeds are very active and may be a handful in the confines of a flat. Most adult dogs should settle after exercise but this isn't necessarily the case with young dogs who often lack impulse control.

As for the 4 hours the dog will need to be left a couple of times a week, this should be no problem for most adult dogs. For a young pup however, 4 hours is quite a big ask. Most pups have to be slowly acclimatized to being left and many put up a protest at first. In a flat, you have to consider the potential impact of your dog barking for a couple of hours -- do you have understanding neighbours?

You won't be able to go running or do long day hikes with a large breed dog until they are at least 18 months of age. This is to allow them to develop physically and build up their stamina (and consequently muscle mass) to avoid injury.

In terms of breeds, Anatolian Shepherds I believe are flock guardians and therefore are really not suitable for living in a flat in suburbia. Belgian Malinois' and GSP's have distinct working and show lines and typically wouldn't be recommended as first time dogs (working lines especially, neither of which are typically kept solely as pets). Ridgeback's I know nothing about. As for Boxer's, there are quite a few Boxer owners on here who may be able to give you some input on the breed.

When I read your list of requirements, I thought a young rescue Lurcher would be perfect. Or a young Staffie or Labrador cross. Luckily rescues are full of those too.

I second this, and will also add that, from my experience, they are not all weather dogs. They seem to spend an awful lot of time shivering if stood/sat still for any length of time in colder months.

Thank you for your answer.
Like I said earlier we are also considering rescues.
It is just the case of weighing up waiting for the puppy to grow up to do all the activities and all the other requirements you mentioned vs starting straight away with an adult. But does it outweigh the pleasure to see our dog go through puppy-hood and all its cuteness?

But you make a strong case for a rescue.

We are hoping we can get a garden, most of the flats in the area we are interested in have one.

Well the puppy stage is in the grand scheme of things very short. By 6 months of age, height wise many dogs are fully grown. So they only 'look' like puppies for the first 3-4 months you have them anyway. Plus the puppy stage can be so trying that you often want them to grow up to get it over with.

If you went down the rescue route you don't necessarily have to get an older dog. Plenty of dogs in rescues are between 6-12 months of age, the time their behaviour can be challenging and their owners give up on them. These dogs will often be quite puppy like in character but will have the benefits of an older dog (aka being able to hold their business for longer than 5 minutes!).

GSPs are wimps in the rain, they have single coat and can be a bit whingy and clingy.

Boxers again only have a single coat, can slobber and it would be vital to have breeding stock heart tested if you wanted to go running regularly.

RR again, single thin coat, the ones I have seen have not appeared overjoyed in the wet weather.

BSD Malinois, more coat, but if you have not had a dog before perhaps not the breed for you, certainly not the working lines.

Anatolian Shepherds, not known for their athleticism being flock guardians.

Discover Dogs is on at Earls Court in November so a visit there might be useful or at Crufts at the NEC next March.

I am sure you know that running of the type you have suggested would not be suitable until the dog was at least 18 months old.

You haven't mentioned a border collie, but an older (assessed) border collie from rescue might be your perfect dog.

agree with this.

Also echo the others who say that a malinois is NOT a first dog.

Any dog you get will need to be trained to be left alone, regardless of age or breed. Of course, some breeds do better than others...

I have 2 Boxers, who are regularly left alone for period of 4hrs and up (and can be left without each other for that time as well).

Apart from buying good, heart-tested stock (as SB says), you also need to assess for temperament. The right Boxer will be a (mostly) biddable, family lump of fun and companionship.

At the right age, they will be able to go running with you, and should be able to easily do a 10k, if not further - providing you've built up gradually. One of my boys used to gallop cross country courses with my friend on her horse - running beside them like a carriage dog!

My 2 don't slobber anymore than a lab really - it's just the water bowl you have to be wary of - their jowls hold a lot of water!

Re the single coat - they can be a bit wimpy in the rain, however that's down to you. I'd say they tolerate cold better than heat, though we were just in Cornwall with our two, and they dealt with sunshine and temps of 24 degrees admirably (we don't get that on the Lancashire coast!)

They generally aren't too 'worky' - like a GSP, Mali etc, though will happily do obedience, flyball, agility, CaniX etc. It'a all a case of building up though - as usual!

The best way to choose a breed is to know the breed - go and meet breeders, go walkies with their dogs, grill them, let them grill you! Most good breeders will talk your ears off about their breed - pros AND cons - second that going to Discover Dogs is a good idea to meet the breeds.

Thank you all for your answers. You've been of great help. We think we'll take the rescue road so we can make sure that the adult dog responds to our criteria. No one made us change our mind concerning our first choice the ridgeback. So we will proably try and find a rescue ridgeback if possible.

Thank again!

Sounds good to me too although not quite sure about the running with the lurcher. We used to have a ridgeback bitch called Gemma and she was fabulous with my kids particularly when they were little, stunning temperament although did like to guard the pram a bit too much at times!

Our next dog was my Viszla as he reminded us of her look but was narrower and easier to handle. He used to come running with me when he was younger and running alongside my husband when my husband was cross country cycling. My V is now 12 but still walks at least 8 miles per day with us, was very easy to train as they are a biddable breed and he is an aging gentleman now.

My other dog is a rescued border collie who is 2. We wanted another dog that would fit in with our active family life and she has been fantastic too. Border collies are great as long as they are challenged with training and get a lot of regular exercise. My teenage daughter started agility with her 6 months ago too but thats only once a week. We got her from the blue cross at the age of 6 months and we have never had a problem with her, very sound and loving nature.

Well done you for researching and asking questions. You can never ask too many when it comes to acquiring these four legged friends!

I agree, it's great that you are properly considering things first. Good luck in your search.

i definately wouldnt recommend a GSP for a 1st time dog owner, they are a fantastic breed but they need boundless amounts of exercise and mental stimulation, ours was also quite destructive when she was young.