Help picking a dog breed

cocker5

F1 fanatic wrote: »

You cant go wrong with a beagle.

Great temperament, Very clever.

I love beagles but would never want to own one... they need (in my experience) waaaaay more exercise than lots of dogs and thats saying alot considering i have a cocker.

My friends have one... he's 10 now and still very much a difficult dog, I'm afriad its put me off for life

Yes he's very clever.. opening all the door in the house, opening dishwashers etc, but still quiet destructive (probably due to not enough exercise etc) but still its scared me for life with regard to bealges Im sad to say :cool:

F1 fanatic

I have my Beagle 8 years. He was only destructive when he was a puppy.

They only tend to be destructive when they get bored. Once hes walked regularly there are no problems with him.

They are an extremely affectionate breed and great company.
The only bad trait is that their nose is king and he will follow any scent that he finds interesting. Generally we just keep him on a lead unless we can get to a secure park to let him run free.

doubter

Cormac... wrote: »

Not really constructive as I've already stated I have 2 cats.

But If we, and others who work, took your advice where would all the dogs be?
Back in shelters? Put down? In cages?
I appreciate peoples sentiment in saying dogs need "round the clock care/attention" by the sounds of it... but this is also the real world where people work. Neither of us is going to leave work for a dog, flipping hell people don't even do that for their kids.

Ideally I'd hope my OH father might pop out twice a week to take him for a walk as he is retired and also we have a housemate who would be around the house 16 hours a day.

Short answer.....
(and I really didn't want to have to put it as bluntly or heartlessly as this but I'm trying to make my point)
For the rescue dog: it's our place or it can stay in the shelter.

Also, there are plenty of dogwalking services available.
I can only agree with most of the other posters: Check in with your local rescues, don't go for a overactive breed (i.e. border collie, springer-they need huge amounts of exercise..stay away from Akita's and huskeys) most rescues will be perfectly able to asses your situation and pair you up with the perfect dog. My first thought when i read your post was sheltie- it's a medium size rough collie.Great temperament.Good luck.

zef

A lot of the terrier breeds have an inbuilt chase instinct/ prey drive, esp JRTs, just something to keep in mind with regards to your cats.
If you are going to be out 7 hours a day can you be sure the dog will not get at them?

The Cool

OP, shelters are brimming over with labrador crosses, and the lab "personality" is a lovely one, so definitely think about that. My lab does shed a fair bit, it's grand as long as you've no carpets but you seem to be ok with that having cats. Our house doesn't smell doggy either. We take him out to run around after a ball every evening and after 20 minutes he's ready to go back inside and lie down.

Also, if you're going to be out during the day a middle aged dog would suit you well; he'll get into the routine where he'l be happy to snooze for quite a few hours while you're gone and then be full of beans in the evening. (When we got our lab a year ago, both my bf and myself were out at work all day and doggy was fine, though it was summer so we didn't mind him being outside all day. I now work from home and doggy has a routine - jumps up when we come downstairs, my bf leaves and I settle down to work, and dog curls up on the couch and snores until about 3pm. Then he has a sniff around to see what he's missed while he was sleeping and when my bf comes home he's ready to play.) A puppy really is like a baby, it will get lonely and sad without playtime and cuddles.

I totally agree with you that a home is better than a shelter, even if you are out during the day.

sparky63

I'd surprise her with "lets go for a drive" and take her to the shelters. That way you'll both get what you want.