Help with choosing a dog breed please
 

My two boys (10 and 11 years old) have been on at me for ages to buy a dog. I'm thinking of finally buying one. These are the criteria

1) Needs to be good with the whole family, child and old person safe.

2) Though not its primary purpose I'd like it to have some ability as a guard dog if possible.

3) Not too much hair shedding, the less the better.

4) I know this is subjective but it needs to look good.

5) No major health problems.

6) Intelligent and trainable so that it doesn't sh1t all over the house :D

The boys want a GS because they've seen photos of the one I had when I was a young boy. But I'm not convinced that a GS is the best breed for current family circumstances.

Anyway, does such a breed exist that ticks all of my boxes? Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

British Bulldog. :thumb:

Puggle

Pug / beagle

Are there any Dog Rescue centres near you?
If so go and have a look and a talk with them.
Believe me a rescue dog will know it's been rescued.
Good luck

We also have a British bulldog, fantastic family dog very gentl with the children extremely protective over them and my wife but not to the point of dangerous.
Insurance is a must as with any dog and buying from a proven breeder is key.
Very lazy hates rain and snow but I do walk mine for an hour a day he’s built like a breeze block not fat. No dribbling and very little shedding but does fart like a trooper if the kids feed him crap.

Labrador seems to be a good all rounder

Got to be a staffie best dog I ever had an ticks all the above boxes
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...c957a82ce6.jpg

Yep, ideal for Ding!

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...e6c615989.jpeg

;)

Chocolate Labrador. Can’t go wrong.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...6e11ad556.jpeg

As a dog owner myself and I like to select best dog for my needs, seem you have a similar choice to what I'd have, largish, child friendly and a dog that is protection capable.

Well, we had a Rottweiler and honestly best dog for all circumstances if brought up right, very loyal, protective, friendly, and affectionate. Could walk down the road without a lead on and it wasn't bothered about other dogs etc. Unfortunately died of bone cancer which couldn't be helped, their back ends can go due to size and weight of them so I was super careful in her healthyness to keep her on weight and not overweight but couldn't help on the cancer, which unfortunately is common in Rottweilers.

Moving on, what dog to get next, I was very keen on looking at dogs health issues as I didn't want a similar problem as before, looked into British bulldogs myself but the breathing problems and eye problems put me off, looked into labs but it's hit n miss again with eye problems, (wanted a manly dog anyway lol).
The GS is a fantastic dog all round and very well trained in all aspects and makes a good choice what your looking for, but for me the long haired dog was a big fat no from wife.

So then I started looking into bull mastiffs and if your read some dog encyclopaedia (yes I bought a dog encyclopaedia book lol) they are quite healthy dog with a decent lifespan as lifespan was important to me as our rottie only made it to about 9 years old which was devistating, I knew in my heart on how healthy I kept her she would of made 12-15 years old if the cancer didn't arise.
So the bull mastiff breed was quite encouraging for me for allround, so I singled it down to a borobel dog, which look really beefy as fcuk lol, but reading into them they tick every single box that I wanted with health, kid friendly, security etc etc, couldn't find a negative for me, apart from the size of some of them can be, but I'd want a bitch which are more less beefy, and I think bitches are more reserved in being a noisy silly dog and only react when there a real issue.
So I'd deffo have a bullmastiff type breed, now onto what happened next!.....

.....so as all this was going on, a friend of the family had a newly acquired pup that they wanted rid (now this is where it gets interesting), long story short. Its a pug cross jack Russell, I said oh no I don't like little dogs as nearly all of them I see have little dog syndrome and I'm sure everyone knows this is fact, I can't stand yappy dogs that just bark for no reason and just generally make noise.
In the end the wife convinced me that it would be good for our daughter and it's won't be too big for her to handle etc etc and it's free if we take him, 'him' as in a boy, I thought ah ffs it's even a boy which are even worse for being a pita for yappyness etc.
So yes we took him, everyone loves him, he's gorgeous etc etc
BUT believe me, the kind of things like above I want from a dog, this is not it, he's a freaking pita ass and I don't hate him as he's part of family now but honestly I hoped I'd of said no as he's very smart but naughty, doesn't listen even though he knows exactly what's been told, very sneaky and freaking yaps for absolutely nothing half the time and really boils my blood sometimes.
Little dogs are a big fat no from me,
But talking about little dogs, as I work on the road going to houses all the time, I've now gone to 2 different people's houses where I've encountered a French bulldog and they have grown on me for the simple reason not one of them have barked or yapped at me and just tootled up for a stroke and not really bothered of me which I liked for a dog to be instead of being annoying at every opportunity like all the small dogs I've encountered in my job.

Sorry for the long winded post lol, but I wanted to share my similar requirements to yours it seems.
So for me for our circumstances it's would be a large bull mastiff or for a smallish dog then a French bulldog would do, but the guarding requirement wouldn't really be in there as it's seems more of a family type dog.
I think most big dogs are really a deterrent rarther than guard/security but most dogs will know when it's protecting time, more so GS, Rottweiler etc type dogs as that's their background to some services, but if bought up right you can have them to fit round your lifestyle.
Good luck lol, it was a hard decision for me too and look now what I've ended up with.

Pics of rottie (rip) and JUG lol
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I would suggest a Hungarian Vizsla (I have one) - but with a couple of caveats.

They need to be around their family and can't live outdoors - they are known as the velcro dog, they attach themselves to their humans. When young they can be a bit boisterous, which means a lot of jumping up and will greet you with two paws on your chest or shoulders. They do need to be regularly exercised, ideally off-lead. You need to put the effort in to ensure they don't become bored and go "self employed".

They will defend their "home" and their family - its hard to credit when you see how placid and gentle they are, but they are fearless. Mine is 10 months old, weighs in at 20Kg and his strength and stamina are incredible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizsla

Been trying to teach him to retrieve the post, without scaring the postman.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...a630511632.jpg

I think I have seen this little guy on here before - love the way his front teeth are always on show - he just looks like a cheeky wee fecker!!!!!

You probably have on the last dog thread of me moaning again, don't be taken in by his looks lol

i also agree with bustamoves, as kids me and my sister were bought up with rotties as the family pet-NEVER had any issue with them,loyal through and through and absolutley gorgeous. both of ours died just after turning 10 (both with back end problems). we had our 1st one (rocky) mid 80's to mid 90's then our second (ottis) was late 90's.

me and the mrs work full time now so not got time for dogs but would have another rottie in a heartbeat.

also consider a german shepherd or a boxer dog.

remember its people that turn dogs bad and give them reputations that are not deserved.

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Macey the boxer dog. Great with family and kids. Barks when the door goes. Dumb as hell though lol

boxer

My family bred boxers for over 20 years , fantastic breed , totally soppy but an all round rewarding dog and meets all your criteria

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psgb2jnkxl.jpg

Here’s my puggle he even has his own Instagram lol (gf runs it Lol)

Labrador

Springer spaniel


Never had a lab but everyone I have met lovely.

I'm afraid I wouldn't have any bulldogs or the like even though I love every animal on God's earth. Staffie's and the like

I'll keep an eye on this because recently I've been considering a dog, if not now then further down the line.

Ffs, really :lol1:. Now that's a bit extreme lol, these women dog owners just get them for the fashion is what my wife did without thinking of the long time goal which now pisses me off as I'd have my loyal, affectionate, obedient, non yappy, listen when it's told dog lol.
Yes I blame my wife why I'm always mad at the dog lol, I stroke it when I've had some brandy though lol
Sod it, I've learned to live with the fecker now.

Tbf some people on snet have little dog syndrome hahaha

If you get a dog (or any pet) on the basis that children will look after you are deluded - they won't (IMO)

they will love it -but they will not walk it every day, or pick up its sh1t

I was always the luke warmest re getting a dog, but ended up (with my wife) walking it most days - which I actually enjoy

One of my wife's main criteria was looks - it had to be pretty (she does not do ugly)

we have a Hungarian Vizsla - ticks pretty much all the boxes (hair, smell etc)

but does need exercise and is very very emotionally demanding - would be a crime to leave it alone for long periods, they love human contact, not a problem with 5 kids though - but still demanding, which in many ways is very rewarding


Margot
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as an ex fashion designer my wife tells me autumn is her season!!!!!

to add - since writhing this I googled the breed and came up with this website

it is pretty much spot on - even down them not liking rain!!!

https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/dog-bre...garian-vizsla/

Belgian malinois???

Best family dog is the Labrador without question.


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Agreed

Thanks, lots of suggestions

1) Staffies, bulldogs etc. No offence to any owners but we really don't like how they look. I know it's subjective but in my eyes they aren't handsome.

2) Labradors are gorgeous, but my impression is that they are pretty useless in terms of protecting the family.

3) The Hungarian V is one that does seem to tick the boxes. However it may need more attention than we can give. The dog would need to be able to cope on its own for a number of hours.

4) Belgian Malinois looks interesting.

How about a Doberman? Seem to rank highly when you google family friendly guard dog. They also seem highly intelligent, well behaved and a 'calm' dog.

Thanks

Think labradors are no wimps...

Mind you, most dogs are good guard dogs from the smallest to the biggest :)

Ding you couldn’t be more wrong with that assumption about Labradors. Both mine have been very protective of my children. As an example if the children and dogs were in the car and anyone came near the car the dogs would bark and growl at them until they got in their own car and drove off.

At home they are both guard dogs and the male has a particularly deep and aggressive bark to the point i’ve had delivery drivers/cold callers asking what dogs I had in the house as they assumed they were something nasty (i keep them back from the door when answering). Of course they weren’t told as best to let them think i’ve the hound of the baskervilles living here.

For a dog to be protective it’s not so much about the breed but how it’s brought up and trained. Any dog can be aggressive it’s about making sure it’s only aggressive in certain situations and it’s controlled.

Rottweiler 100%, does everything you want and more. Ive had them all my life and they have the best temperament of any other types of dog ive encountered. The only negative is they tend to die around 10 years old and all mine have been due to a cancer of some sort.