What type of dog to get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doodles are popular for a reason - non-shedding, good family dogs, cute. Ours was nuts until 2ish but is so calm now and a very good dog.

I think with three kids op won't have time to exercise or give the dog mental stimulation. Remember they had an English Bulldog! Not very bright and doesn't need much exercise. doodles are a whole different story.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Tolerant and at least medium size is what you should be looking for, not fashionable, but most basset hounds are good family dogs.

OP here - this intrigues me! I love basset hounds! Any recommendation on a good breeder?

Why not a Beagle? They are very sweet and in my opinion way cuter

Beagles in general tend to bark more and have a higher prey drive. They are still bred as pack hunters and will pursue a small furry thing to the ends of the earth if given the opportunity. They are good dogs, just not good city dogs.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have an English Bulldog and a Mastiff (English Mastiff). I’m going to recommend a Mastiff.

Yes, they are giant breeds and you have young children—which is something you need to consider. Despite their size, they are incredibly sweet, docile dogs.

I thought my Bully was a total sweetheart until I got my Mastiff.

Trust me.

[NP]

OP here - I am actually well versed with Mastiff's (sibling has had multiple mastiffs) but we want a dog that has a longer lifespan. It was heartbreaking to lose our dog and he was 10. My sisters mastiffs have all died under the age of 7.

Oh, that’s sad. I’m sorry.

My big girl is the best dog ever (don’t tell my Bully), and I’d be heartbroken to lose her.

Good luck, OP!

[PP]

dp I would hate all the slobber.

Yes. Yes, that is a thing. 😆😆

It’s worth it, tho.

Good on you but it wouldn't be worth it for me!

That’s OK.

[Anonymous]

If you want a rescue that’s not a pit, I encourage you to go to Richmond and go to the spca. They have dozens of adorable hound mixes. We got ours there and she is a wonderful dog. They are a great organization and will help you find a good match for your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adore our English lab. We got her from Griffinsburg English Labs in Boston, Va. Danielle and Tristan, our breeders, are fantastic and still check in with us every now and then. They were a huge resource when working with her while she was a young puppy. She is the most loving, friendly dog and very good natured and gentle. Having a puppy is a tremendous amount of work though. I personally can’t imagine doing it with a two year old, but if you have the time to give to the dog, go for it! I had a friend give me great advice about dogs years ago…she said that if you really commit to them for the first two years of their life, you will have a fabulous dog! I’m not saying stop giving them love, training, and lots of walks and playtime after they turn two, but really dedicate a lot of time to them when they are young. It pays dividends!

I have had two Labs and now have a Lab puppy. Having a puppy is almost like having a baby/toddler. They require a lot of attention or they will destroy everything. Maybe look into adopting an older Lab. Our second Lab was 5 when we adopted her and she was great. If you have a large fenced yard, you won't need to walk the dog as much. There are local Lab rescues. We got our second Lab from Lab Rescue. There is also Lu's Labs.

[Anonymous]

We rescued a lab from a local lab rescue and LOVE him. He loves kids (we have a teen, plus 6 kids under 8 living in the 2 houses next door to us), is very sweet and doesn’t resource guard. He loves other dogs, and is just a total love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lab person here again. Just wanted to say that when we had our invisible fence put in I expressed concern about the fact that it didn't keep people out because I didn't want little kids to wander into out yard (possible due to where it is) and maybe get bitten. Our dog was only 8 weeks and was all puppy teeth. Anyway, the guy chuckled and said "Ma'am, you don't need to worry about that. You got a lab."

I disagree. All dogs bite

Ok. So this turkey is technically correct. But labs are extremely patient and they love attention so biting is almost unheard of. You will never read the newspaper article about a lab that just ate two kids and put their mom in the hospital. Poodles bite. GSD bite. Lots of little dogs bite. Huskies and any spitz breed dog is more likely to bite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adore our English lab. We got her from Griffinsburg English Labs in Boston, Va. Danielle and Tristan, our breeders, are fantastic and still check in with us every now and then. They were a huge resource when working with her while she was a young puppy. She is the most loving, friendly dog and very good natured and gentle. Having a puppy is a tremendous amount of work though. I personally can’t imagine doing it with a two year old, but if you have the time to give to the dog, go for it! I had a friend give me great advice about dogs years ago…she said that if you really commit to them for the first two years of their life, you will have a fabulous dog! I’m not saying stop giving them love, training, and lots of walks and playtime after they turn two, but really dedicate a lot of time to them when they are young. It pays dividends!

My dad has an English lab. It's 130 lbs. Absurdly big. The vet says he's the perfect weight for her frame. She's sweet but way too big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adore our English lab. We got her from Griffinsburg English Labs in Boston, Va. Danielle and Tristan, our breeders, are fantastic and still check in with us every now and then. They were a huge resource when working with her while she was a young puppy. She is the most loving, friendly dog and very good natured and gentle. Having a puppy is a tremendous amount of work though. I personally can’t imagine doing it with a two year old, but if you have the time to give to the dog, go for it! I had a friend give me great advice about dogs years ago…she said that if you really commit to them for the first two years of their life, you will have a fabulous dog! I’m not saying stop giving them love, training, and lots of walks and playtime after they turn two, but really dedicate a lot of time to them when they are young. It pays dividends!

My dad has an English lab. It's 130 lbs. Absurdly big. The vet says he's the perfect weight for her frame. She's sweet but way too big.

Sorry to mix genders. The 130 lb beast is a male English lab. My dad used to have a female lab and apparently I defaulted to "she" and "her."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our family waited many years to get a dog because not all were on board. We went with a mini golden doodle and she is literally perfect in every way. Every time we have another dog in our house (family visiting etc) we just appreciate our own dog so much more. She's super sweet and playful but also chill. She never sheds or barks. Doesn't chew on anything she isn't supposed to chew on but loves her toys. She's an angel.

+1. We have a mini Australian labradoodle. Don’t let doodle hate deter you, I feel like we literally have the best dog out there. Great temperament, easy to train, and great size for younger kids.

A bit defensive, eh? So the haters have no experience in what they say?

Why do people hate doodles?

How much time do you have?

https://nypost.com/2018/09/22/why-the-inventor-of-the-labradoodle-regretted-his-creation/

Here is one article where the person who thought of them regrets it.

All the problems in that article (puppy mills, unethical breeding, genetic issues) are issues with any trendy purebred dog. The answer is to buy from a reputable breeder (ethically, the answer is to adopt but that can eb a real challenge and I understand not wanting to roll the dice when you have kids)

Or just get a rescue. You can foster an older dog to get to know them or get a puppy that you can train. Just don't choose one that looks like a pit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family waited many years to get a dog because not all were on board. We went with a mini golden doodle and she is literally perfect in every way. Every time we have another dog in our house (family visiting etc) we just appreciate our own dog so much more. She's super sweet and playful but also chill. She never sheds or barks. Doesn't chew on anything she isn't supposed to chew on but loves her toys. She's an angel.

+1. Our minigoldendoodle is 5 mos old, house trained, only chews on toys, sleeps until 8a, doesn't bark at night. 10 yo DD loves her. Sounds like OP wants something bigger but I couldn't be happier with our pup (and I was pretty nervous about getting a puppy).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oldie but a goodie: Our 2 Goldens are wonderful with kids. They don't have any of these "triggers" people seem to cite as kids behaving poorly with dogs (touching their food. hugging them, pulling a tail, etc.) They just go with the flow and are happy to be around people and getting attention.

Golden Retriever 1000%

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I've posted about this before, but please do your due diligence finding a breeder. There are many lovely websites out there that mask non-ethical breeding operations, which are in effect, just puppy mills.

Responsible breeders specialize in just one breed. They want to preserve the health of their breed of choice and therefore run genetic testing on all their breeding stock and avoid breeding from dogs with known inheritable diseases. By stock, I mean very few dogs, since they have them in their own home, so each dog can have proper human socialization. No kennels. They want to meet potential owners because they don't want their puppies going to just any weirdo. If a dog breeder refuses to meet you and show you the litter, they're not ethical. They would never ship puppies - shipping a puppy by itself is traumatic for them. Unless you're willing to fly, this limits the distance to the breeder.

Finally, responsible breeders are few and far between and therefore usually have a waiting list. Getting the right dog takes patience, it's not an off-the-shelf purchase.

The only thing worse than the “pit bulls are great family pets” people are the “it’s not a reputable breeder unless you waited 3 years and found them on a Quest” people. There are far fewer of these “reputable” breeders than people who want dogs. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the only options should be a rescue puppy bred in the woods with zero planning, a puppy mill torture victim with health problems, or a magic golden dog with perfect bloodlines from the specialist home breeder ever.

Ah the ignorance. "pit bulls" which is five different breeds can be good dogs and mutts are the best! My has a about 33 percent American pit bull terrier as well as other breeds and we love him.

Most pit owners say this and are shocked when their dog turns around and bites someone’s face off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted about this before, but please do your due diligence finding a breeder. There are many lovely websites out there that mask non-ethical breeding operations, which are in effect, just puppy mills.

Responsible breeders specialize in just one breed. They want to preserve the health of their breed of choice and therefore run genetic testing on all their breeding stock and avoid breeding from dogs with known inheritable diseases. By stock, I mean very few dogs, since they have them in their own home, so each dog can have proper human socialization. No kennels. They want to meet potential owners because they don't want their puppies going to just any weirdo. If a dog breeder refuses to meet you and show you the litter, they're not ethical. They would never ship puppies - shipping a puppy by itself is traumatic for them. Unless you're willing to fly, this limits the distance to the breeder.

Finally, responsible breeders are few and far between and therefore usually have a waiting list. Getting the right dog takes patience, it's not an off-the-shelf purchase.

The only thing worse than the “pit bulls are great family pets” people are the “it’s not a reputable breeder unless you waited 3 years and found them on a Quest” people. There are far fewer of these “reputable” breeders than people who want dogs. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the only options should be a rescue puppy bred in the woods with zero planning, a puppy mill torture victim with health problems, or a magic golden dog with perfect bloodlines from the specialist home breeder ever.

Ah the ignorance. "pit bulls" which is five different breeds can be good dogs and mutts are the best! My has a about 33 percent American pit bull terrier as well as other breeds and we love him.

Most pit owners say this and are shocked when their dog turns around and bites someone’s face off.

So if that is true why arent there more 18 million attacks? Humm. We hear about mailings because it is rare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I've posted about this before, but please do your due diligence finding a breeder. There are many lovely websites out there that mask non-ethical breeding operations, which are in effect, just puppy mills.

Responsible breeders specialize in just one breed. They want to preserve the health of their breed of choice and therefore run genetic testing on all their breeding stock and avoid breeding from dogs with known inheritable diseases. By stock, I mean very few dogs, since they have them in their own home, so each dog can have proper human socialization. No kennels. They want to meet potential owners because they don't want their puppies going to just any weirdo. If a dog breeder refuses to meet you and show you the litter, they're not ethical. They would never ship puppies - shipping a puppy by itself is traumatic for them. Unless you're willing to fly, this limits the distance to the breeder.

Finally, responsible breeders are few and far between and therefore usually have a waiting list. Getting the right dog takes patience, it's not an off-the-shelf purchase.

The only thing worse than the “pit bulls are great family pets” people are the “it’s not a reputable breeder unless you waited 3 years and found them on a Quest” people. There are far fewer of these “reputable” breeders than people who want dogs. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the only options should be a rescue puppy bred in the woods with zero planning, a puppy mill torture victim with health problems, or a magic golden dog with perfect bloodlines from the specialist home breeder ever.

Ah the ignorance. "pit bulls" which is five different breeds can be good dogs and mutts are the best! My has a about 33 percent American pit bull terrier as well as other breeds and we love him.

Most pit owners say this and are shocked when their dog turns around and bites someone’s face off.

So if that is true why arent there more 18 million attacks? Humm. We hear about mailings because it is rare

You need to step off it. I don't know you or your history, but you are a horrible example already of dog ownership. Part of responsible ownership is accepting breed characteristics and knowing their breeding history and bloodline. For some reason Pit owners don't want to recognize breed history. It's ludicrous. We, humans, have bred dogs for certain purposes. The Jack Russel? The are rat chasers, they will do that till the end of their days. They are pros. The Goldens and Labs? They have soft mouths to retrieve waterfowl and were also bred to be pleasant companions while hunting. Pointers? They're bred to point towards prey and they do a damn good job at it.

Pits are bred for gameness and ability to fight. Gameness is the most volatile part. They're also not particularly intelligent. If you believe this ignorance I can already tell you are not a responsible dog owner. People with Akitas, GSD, Dobermans, Malamutes, Huskies, Rottweilers, etc.? They know they own dangerous dogs and they take ownership very, very seriously in general. If you want to be a sportsman with this kind of gun ready to fire...ok I guess? But this is not a family dog.