Dog owners?

[carlimac]

We're looking for a new dog after our sweet 12 yr old golden passed away last summer. As much as I love that breed, I'm not sure I want another one. Oh, the shedding! What kind do you have or would recommend?

We have 4 kids and a cat at home. We'd like something that is mid-size, non shedding (or minimal) and not prone to barking. Two of the girls are runners and would love a dog to run with.

Any ideas?

[rameumptom]

Try a Lab. They are much like the golden retrievers, but without all the hair.

[JudoMinja]

The barking habits vary between individual dogs- you can't really trust the breed description to know whether or not the dog is going to be a barker. For less shedding, getting a short-haired breed will have less shedding than a golden, but they still get fur everywhere. For a non-shedding breed, you want to look for one classified as "hypoallergenic". The only one that comes to the top of my mind that is medium-sized is the poodle. Another hypoallergenic dog, though this one is a small breed, is the havanese.

My parents have a black-mouth cur which is a medium-sized short-haired hunting/herding breed. She is an excellent dog. Good with kids, good with the cat, good with other dogs. She prefers to play a little rough so she's better with the older kids. Only barks when she wants to come inside or while she's playing. Her bad side is her tendancy to become destructive when left home alone, but that was easily solved by kennel training her.

[Guest]

From the information you provided, it is not enough to find a breed that will match your needs. There are so many more requirements that you need to match to find a dog that will fit your family. For example, do you live in a cold/hot climate... do you have a yard... are you good with dog training or establishing pack heirarchy... what's your budget as far as vet bills and stuff... how many hours will the dog be alone... do you have other pets, etc. etc.

If you're up north, a Finnish Spitz could be a match for you - but you have to answer the other questions because Finnish Spitz are hunter-types and can be aggressive towards other dogs and are a bit on the stubborn side... see what I mean?

Here's a dog selector quiz that might help: Dog Breed Questionnaire : Dog Breed Selector : Animal Planet

I don't think this quiz is complete but it's one of the good ones out there. You might want to google more breed selector sites and bounce the results with each other.

I'm a big dog person. This is my philosphy:

To have a forever dog, like a marriage, starts with a very careful choice.

I have 2 English Bulldogs and a Bichon Frise. I love my dogs. But, they're not for everybody. I've had dobermans, german shepherd, lhasa apso, japanese spitz, and a variety of mix breeds. I love all those dogs. They're all different personality with different requirements. None of them were "perfect" dogs. Just like none of my kids are perfect. But, they were all part of the family, therefore, we all adjusted and compromised to go through life together.

Edited November 3, 2012 by anatess

[BadWolf]

Try a Lab. They are much like the golden retrievers, but without all the hair.

Oy, vey.

I have a double coated (aka the normal kind) of lab.

I have to dust mop once a day year round, twice a day in spring. I get a quarter to a half a grocery bag full of hair (from my 1032 sq ft house) every day. Spring, it fills the bag. I have enough for a whole new dog, every day!!!

He gets one bath a week, brushed daily, and furminated in the spring every other day.

The hair!

I love him, but oy vey, the hair!!!

He sheds about as much as our husky used to.

You can get mutt-labs that don't have the undercoat + waterproof coat... But true lab retrievers, you will be dealing with HAIR every day for years. The nice thing, is no mats. But hair and waterproofing oil (hence frequent bathing) have just become part of daily life. 20-30 minutes every day.

Super glad the fabric furniture I got as zip off cushions. Those get washed every 6weeks.

[carlimac]

Try a Lab. They are much like the golden retrievers, but without all the hair.

I thought they were shedders, too. Just shorter hair.

[RMGuy]

We had an English Lab. Still miss boy

-RM

[slamjet]

Boxer or Pit Bull. I have wonderful memories with both breeds. the pit was my favorite, he was such a clown.

[Vort]

Our bishop and his family have a labradoodle. Extremely cool dog. We have proven ourselves unfit to own a dog, but if we ever had one, I'd lean toward a labradoodle, or maybe just a regular full-size poodle.

[Dravin]

Boxer or Pit Bull. I have wonderful memories with both breeds. the pit was my favorite, he was such a clown.

Some of the nicest dogs I met on my mission were Pit Bulls.

[Guest SquidMom]

Ptt Bulls and English Bulldogs are great family pets, despite the bad reutatuon they have.I workrd in vet offices for many years and they were always my favorites! You should try to get one as a puppy, though, because they bond so closely with children at a youg age. Very protective, very smart. But also destructive! High enery means they need alot of outlets. Not good in a small home without a big yard.

We adopted a 2 y/o Standard poodle from a shelter and we absolutely love him! Shave in summer, let grow in winter. Does have a lot of energy, so running with kids is perfect! He only barks alot when we put him in his pen outside. He barks at strangers, but if you say they're okay, he's okay, too. If he hears someone moving around at night, he wants to check it out. Good guard dog. VERY intelligent!

I highly reccomend the standard poodle. You don't really have to groom them all froo froo, either.

[Sharky]

Not a mid-sized but the best 2 dogs I've ever had were a Great Dane & my bestest all-time favorite .... Akbash.

The Dane barked a fair bit at "abnormal" things in the neighborhood including cars pulling in the drive. The Akbash barked at "animal threats" not at people threats.

The Great Dane is very much a "couch potato" who all they want is to be with their people & as long as they get excersise can adapt to even tiny apartments, The Akbash is very adaptable to a wide variety or accomidations & even to changes in those accomidations.

Both require good socialization .... though I've never had a problem with teh Akbash een when they weren't people socialized, the Danes, well 1 of 3 had a tendency to be a bit nippy & act aggressively thoughshe never really bit or attacked just acted like she was going to.

[circusboy01]

Not a mid-sized but the best 2 dogs I've ever had were a Great Dane & my bestest all-time favorite .... Akbash.

The Dane barked a fair bit at "abnormal" things in the neighborhood including cars pulling in the drive. The Akbash barked at "animal threats" not at people threats.

The Great Dane is very much a "couch potato" who all they want is to be with their people & as long as they get excersise can adapt to even tiny apartments, The Akbash is very adaptable to a wide variety or accomidations & even to changes in those accomidations.

Both require good socialization .... though I've never had a problem with teh Akbash een when they weren't people socialized, the Danes, well 1 of 3 had a tendency to be a bit nippy & act aggressively thoughshe never really bit or attacked just acted like she was going to.

So when the Dane was being a couch potato where did everyone else sit? LOL

[Sharky]

So when the Dane was being a couch potato where did everyone else sit? LOL

The problem has actually been when we want to go bed ... she takes up the entire king-sized bed. Never had any arguements over the couch as she likes having the room to sprawl that the bed provides!

I was actully surprised to learn that "with the right foster parents" the rescue will actually place a Dane in an apartment situation simply for that reason .... all most Danes want is to be a constant part of your life.

[Misshalfway]

Add my lamenting of dog hair. We have a Rotti mix. I was making eggs the other day and there was dog hair in it! It almost drove me to say a cuss word.

[pam]

I have a sheltie/cocker spaniel mix. I don't notice the hair until I vacuum. Talk about hair then. Pretty disgusting when I realize that was all on the carpet I just vacuumed.

[jayanna]

I have a fox terrier mix. She is a rescued dog, she does not bark indoors, chew on anything, or get on the furniture. Best dog I've ever had.

I have leather sofas so that the dog hair does not stick, though she really doesn't shed that much, mostly just where she sleeps. She is very energetic, and fox terriers are usually very active and tenacious. They are usually very friendly and quite clever.

I have a dog door so that she can go out to our yard whenever she wants. Twice there was a rat sneaking into our shed that she found, killed and dropped at the back door. She was so proud!

[pam]

I couldn't imagine not having a doggy door after having one. There just happened to be one installed in the house I moved into 4 years ago. It's such a nice thing to have.

[carlimac]

I have a sheltie/cocker spaniel mix. I don't notice the hair until I vacuum. Talk about hair then. Pretty disgusting when I realize that was all on the carpet I just vacuumed.

With our Golden I used to vacuum so much hair I could have made a new pet out of it.

[pam]

With our Golden I used to vacuum so much hair I could have made a new pet out of it.

Pet wigs. There's a new business for you.

[Guest SquidMom]

There are lots of breeds that don't shed. Most shelters will allow, and some even require, you to foster an animal for a month or so before you make a final decision.... You may feel guilty returning them to the shelter, but in long run, it's in the dog's best interest.

Our shelter required us to build a six foot tall enclosure for Archer, (our standard poodle,) before we could bring him home. It was a pian, but turned out to be invaluable, after all.

[carlimac]

There are lots of breeds that don't shed. Most shelters will allow, and some even require, you to foster an animal for a month or so before you make a final decision.... You may feel guilty returning them to the shelter, but in long run, it's in the dog's best interest.

Our shelter required us to build a six foot tall enclosure for Archer, (our standard poodle,) before we could bring him home. It was a pian, but turned out to be invaluable, after all.

Wow! Our shelter lets you take them home for good the very day you walk in. No questions asked- literally. I get the feeling they are just glad to be rid of any animal taken off thier hands.

When we lived in MN they were much more strict about what homes they would let animals go to. You had to pull serious strings to take a pet to home with little kids under three.

[carlimac]

From the information you provided, it is not enough to find a breed that will match your needs. There are so many more requirements that you need to match to find a dog that will fit your family. For example, do you live in a cold/hot climate... do you have a yard... are you good with dog training or establishing pack heirarchy... what's your budget as far as vet bills and stuff... how many hours will the dog be alone... do you have other pets, etc. etc.

To answer some questions- SE Idaho is dang cold and windy in winter and hot/dry in summer. We have a big yard with no fence but could do the electric fence if needed. We successfully trained our Golden in a short amount of time. We used the crate method. I have no idea what you mean by "establishing pack heirarchy". Vet bills aren't much of a problem. The dog won't be alone too much, only when I have errands or volunteer for a few hours. I'm not working right now. We have a cat (who doesn't like other animals ) and two gold fish that just keep living for some unknown reason. (2 yrs old now).

We've been to the animal shelter a few times. I'm not crazy about getting a dog that we don't have any history on, especially if it was just picked up off the street and we don't know if it was abused. I don't think we'd be good with an animal with emotional problems. I prefer a puppy hand raised with kids in the home that didn't play too rough. I'm not crazy about training in the winter but will do it needed. Our soon to be 10 yr old daughter really wants another dog for her birthday. We're looking at some Goldendoodles in the area. What i really want is a Petit Bassett Griffon Vendeen Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen Dog Breed Information ADORABLE!! But they are few and far between. There are none in this area and I don't want the puppy to have to be flown here.

Anyway, I already know I want a male and his name is Brody. Just have to find him.

Edited November 4, 2012 by carlimac

[Guest SquidMom]

two gold fish that just keep living for some unknown reason. (2 yrs old now).

Haha. Goldfish are impossible to kill! We eventually flushed ours because they were beating up our other fish. I would not be surprised if they were living happily in the septic tank!

[Bini]

We're looking for a new dog after our sweet 12 yr old golden passed away last summer. As much as I love that breed, I'm not sure I want another one. Oh, the shedding! What kind do you have or would recommend?

We have 4 kids and a cat at home. We'd like something that is mid-size, non shedding (or minimal) and not prone to barking. Two of the girls are runners and would love a dog to run with.

Any ideas?

Look into Greyhound Rescue.

These dogs are a well rounded breed. If you have a moment checkout the link above. It answers a lot of general questions regarding greyhounds. But in a nutshell, they are great with kids and make wonderful pets. While they were bred for speed, they do not require physical stimulation to the extent of, for example, cattle dog breeds that constantly need "jobs" to exercise their minds and bodies. Greyhounds have lovely temperaments (and if you've owned a Golden or Lab you know what I'm talking about) and obviously can handle morning jogs like any other pooch but are very happy taking it easy with their persons, too. That said as a brief side note, very young children may not be suitable for this breed. Otherwise, greyhounds are very social dogs and play well with other canines.