What breed of Dog?

after.dark

Hi, I'm researching the best type of dog to fit in to our family. Having some issues at home at the moment, but once these are sorted we will be getting a pup. I want to get one from a pound and will not go near a breeder. What type of dog would you recommend?

My BF does not like muscle dogs like bull breeds - we both prefer a sleeker look. This has nothing to do with their precieved temperment at all - I know there is a lot of ignorance surrounding them. A dog who will not be huge is a must as our garden is not huge. A dog without a strong prey drive is important due to other pets and the fact the dog will be with us when visiting people with cats. A dog whos breed is not known as vocal would be important too as we are in an estate and while there will be someone home most of the time, when we are not there I don't want a pet to be driving my neighbours up the wall. Exercise wise, a 1 hour daily walk would be given as well as a quick morning jog (only about 15 mins though) and at the weekends we usually go camping or hill climbing so the dog will be with us and getting a good workout. What breed would we best suit?

miss no stars

A greyhound might be right up your street. They really only need thirty minutes exercise a day and are quite lazy! The short hair means you don't need to pay a huge amount of attention to their coat and are generally quiet and gentle creatures. They get along well with other animals as they have a very strong pack instinct and this same instinct means they are great with small children and family life. They don't tend to bark which is a definate plus! We had 4 of them living beside us for years and you wouldn't know they were they only for the fact we saw them being walked!

edit: whippets are fairly similar too and just look like miniature versions. Bear in mind though, that both of these breeds don't do too well with an outdoor life but due to their laziness are well suited to living indoors. The lack of undercoat also means they aren't gonna spread too many allergens in your home either.

carwash_2006

Greyhounds, lurchers and whippets are great pets. If you do decide to go that route, do try and get one that is already tested as cat safe if you can. Some of them do have quite a high prey drive and while it is possible to train them to leave cats alone you can't really use other peoples cats for doing it.

If you go for a rescue dog you could look for one that is tested as cat friendly. If you get a puppy you will need to visit the friends quite regularly, preferably friends whose cats are good with dogs - ie don't run away or show fear.

Susannahmia

+1 for the greyhound.

after.dark

Personally I love greyhounds, whippets etc, but he doesn't. LOL maybe he's not ready for a dog seeing as how he wan't one that looks a certain way. Not as skinny as a greyhound he says (I think he's a bit nervous of them, I grew up with sight hounds, he grew up with yorkies). Any other suggestion?

LovelyTom

Border Terrier's are great. They don't bark without reason, extremely friendly and will take whatever excersize is given without demanding it. They're rather small though, only 16 inches to the shoulder.

Here's a picture of mine as a pup.

peasant

after.dark wrote: »

A dog without a strong prey drive is important due to other pets and the fact the dog will be with us when visiting people with cats.

That would sort of rule out the Border Terrier completely and any Greyhound / Whippet that isn't expressly tested as "cat safe".

Sounds to me like you'd probably be best served with a very young Labradollie (Lab & Collie) mix like they populate our pounds and rescues by the hundreds.

Get it young enough so it can be raised with your other pets and learn to respect them.

miss no stars

peasant wrote: »

Sounds to me like you'd probably be best served with a very young Labradollie (Lab & Collie) mix like they populate our pounds and rescues by the hundreds.

Get it young enough so it can be raised with your other pets and learn to respect them.

Our labrador had a cat introduced after 6 years of being an "only pet" and he was fine. Still tries to sniff and work out what she is, but gets along swimmingly and has been known to cuddle and kiss her.

The problem with anything that is part lab is they require a HUGE amount of walking. They're such intelligant dogs that they need a lot of stimulation and they have boundless energy. If an hour a day is all that's on offer, it might not be enough in the puppy years.

anniehoo

How about a golden retriever? Ye cant beat their temperament (friendly, never aggressive, not big barkers, suit your exercise regime)! Great breed!

Trinity

You may be hard pressed to find a thoroughbred in the pound so i would keep my options open.

Go in have a look around. The terriers are rampant in there and despite their reputations, mine lives happily with my rabbits. In saying that, thats how i raised him - with feral kittens i was taming and a few other fosters coming and going. The rabbit is roaming freely around the room as i speak and dog not batting an eyelid.

He was a failed foster but he was only a tiny pup when i got him..

arybvtcw0eolkf

Trinity1 wrote: »

You may be hard pressed to find a thoroughbred in the pound so i would keep my options open.

Only in so far as you won't get a dog with IKC papers, but there's plenty of thoroughbred's in all the pounds.

maims3875

anniehoo wrote: »

How about a golden retriever? Ye cant beat their temperament (friendly, never aggressive, not big barkers, suit your exercise regime)! Great breed!

You can't beat the Golden Retriever, if you are willing to spend time with the dog and exercise if frequently, you'll get ten times back what you put in.!

after.dark

Oh I don't want a purebred - sorry if I sounded like that.

Borders are so cute, I love their little teddy faces, but they are known as great hunting dogs, so I would imagine they do have a high prey drive, and I don't know how safe I would feel with them around other animals as they get older.

Would a retriever suit an estate house? Not a very large garden, although I would imagine him/her to be indoors a lot.

sunshine rose

hey,we have always had collies and have found them to be extremely friendly.they can be quite energetic but it sounds like you will be giving it plenty of excercise so it should be fine. as for cats well we have 2, he gets on great with 1 of them but he likes to try and get a rise out of the other 1,so i guess it just depends! if you can get a young dog you should be able to socialise them well with each other. i think it's great that you want to get 1 from a rescue centre as there are so many unwanted dogs in Ireland. good luck with your search and i hope you find a wonderful dog that will bring you many years of happiness.

a website that might be useful
http://www.dogsindistress.org

lisaloo

try www.irishanimals.ie, animals always looking for good homes!!

maims3875

after.dark wrote: »

Oh I don't want a purebred - sorry if I sounded like that.

Borders are so cute, I love their little teddy faces, but they are known as great hunting dogs, so I would imagine they do have a high prey drive, and I don't know how safe I would feel with them around other animals as they get older.

Would a retriever suit an estate house? Not a very large garden, although I would imagine him/her to be indoors a lot.

I picked up a golden retriever cross from the pound three years ago, great bitch and super with kids, doesn't bark at night.

This type of dog can fit into your lifestyle and the estate house shouldn't be a problem - if you walk the dog daily,

if you don't exercise the dog and its confined in a "small" space, then thats not a good life for the creature.

LovelyTom

Mine hasn't a high prey drive at all! In fact he loves playing or just relaxing with my cat and he never chases birds. Border's are used for flushing out fox's.

But saying all that my dog was raised with my cat since it was 9 weeks old.