Prospective dog owner - advice please

[Blue_muppet]

Understand what you're saying brocolli, thanks. I agree with your sentiments.

Regarding the small dog breeds, it's mainly because we couldn't really take them into the great outdoors with us to the same extent. If I lived in a fantasy world I would have a Boston Terrier during the day, and then snap my fingers on a weekend to turn him into a Boxer

[broccoli]

It really depends on the breed as to how active the dog is. You can get medium dogs that will flag before other small dogs, and large dogs who won't move off the couch. The good thing with a smaller dog who gets tuckered out is you can pick them up. You get a golden retriever who parks itself and you've got a hernia on your hands

The problem is that an active dog who'll be up to a lot of activity with you on the weekend is the one who'll get bored and upset not also having that activity during the week.

How about a corgi? They'll certainly keep up with whatever you want to do, but will fit in your yard without needing to (or being able to) jump the fence.

EDIT: go to some dog shows. Sometimes, what you think of a breed isn't how the dogs are in "real life" (even "weirdo" show dogs )

FURTHER EDIT: You can also get dog-walkers to come during the week and take him out so he's not alone the whole time.

[Doughboy]

We have a 5 year old Golden Retriever and she is home by herself during the day, but she gets two walks a day.

She is super active when we are, but when we chill so does she. Never seems to be too upset about being left alone during the day, although I fell guilty every morning when I leave.

She can come and go inside as she pleases. We take her for heaps of walks to the beach and the parks on the weekends etc Sometimes to the Perth Hills in winter (snakes are bad mmmkay!) and she loves it.

As we always say, a tired dog is a happy dog

[5tumpy]

Originally Posted by broccoli

As dogs are pack animals, they don't really like being on their own.

Oh please! Dogs are pack animals, but this doesn't mean they freak out when left on their own! A dog that's raised on it's own will be fine to be left alone, however, if you take a dog that's had others around it it's whole life, of course it will have issues, but like everything with dogs, it's all about how you train them...

Originally Posted by Blue_muppet

We're struggling a little to find a breed with a temperament that fits into the category above.

As said above, be careful with some of your activties, as you won't be able to take dogs with you everywhere you go, but from what you've said, I'd be looking for a "Gun Dog" like a Labrador or Golden Retriever, or even a Setter (each breed of setter has a slightly different personality)... These dogs will walk along side you to exhaustion, and do fine when left alone for long periods of time... Be warned though, Labs dig, a lot, and all the above can be "dopey" i.e they will do stupid things, my Lab thinks she's a lap dog, even though she's ~30kg, and runs around like an idiot everywhere she goes, but they are easy to train, and aren't "curious" dogs like Beagles that have a tendency to follow a scent to the ends of the earth...

My mother and father in law have an Irish Setter, and she's just a beautiful, placid, good natured dog, she'll follow you to the ends of the earth, but at the same time is an outside dog and happy to be on her own.

The other benefit of a gun dog is for your unleashed requirement, you obviously need to train them properly, but their instinct to stick with you, even when unleashed, and to return to you when called...

My Lab is a hyperactive "Marley" type Lab, and she's happy as to be home on her own 8 hours a day, as long as she gets a walk and a ball thrown for her when I get home... She's a great guard dog, in that she'll bark at people/dogs who come near her backyard, but will stop barking immediately when I tell her to... In saying that, if someone actually gets into our yard, she'll jump all over them, but not actually do anything "guard dog" like, in fact, she's been known to stop barking all together, and go get her ball for the "intruder" (kids next door who jump over to retrieve a football or whatever...

Melza is right, if you want a guarantee of the temperament, but if you're happy to raise the dog correctly, the only thing more rewarding than raising a puppy, is raising a child!

Originally Posted by broccoli

EDIT: go to some dog shows. Sometimes, what you think of a breed isn't how the dogs are in "real life" (even "weirdo" show dogs )

Are you serious? That'd be the last thing I'd be doing... Show dogs are often in crates in between being shown, and the ones that aren't you can't get near because their owners guard them like the family jewels... You are never, ever going to get an accurate picture of a dog from a show dog who is at a show...

What the OP is doing atm is the best thing they could be doing, researching...

[broccoli]

Originally Posted by 5tumpy

Oh please! Dogs are pack animals, but this doesn't mean they freak out when left on their own!

Who said they do? You need to quote the person who said that, you've mistakenly quoted my post.

[HumbleBum]

Originally Posted by 5tumpy

Oh please! Dogs are pack animals, but this doesn't mean they freak out when left on their own! A dog that's raised on it's own will be fine to be left alone, however, if you take a dog that's had others around it it's whole life, of course it will have issues, but like everything with dogs, it's all about how you train them...



As said above, be careful with some of your activties, as you won't be able to take dogs with you everywhere you go, but from what you've said, I'd be looking for a "Gun Dog" like a Labrador or Golden Retriever, or even a Setter (each breed of setter has a slightly different personality)... These dogs will walk along side you to exhaustion, and do fine when left alone for long periods of time... Be warned though, Labs dig, a lot, and all the above can be "dopey" i.e they will do stupid things, my Lab thinks she's a lap dog, even though she's ~30kg, and runs around like an idiot everywhere she goes, but they are easy to train, and aren't "curious" dogs like Beagles that have a tendency to follow a scent to the ends of the earth...

My mother and father in law have an Irish Setter, and she's just a beautiful, placid, good natured dog, she'll follow you to the ends of the earth, but at the same time is an outside dog and happy to be on her own.

The other benefit of a gun dog is for your unleashed requirement, you obviously need to train them properly, but their instinct to stick with you, even when unleashed, and to return to you when called...

My Lab is a hyperactive "Marley" type Lab, and she's happy as to be home on her own 8 hours a day, as long as she gets a walk and a ball thrown for her when I get home... She's a great guard dog, in that she'll bark at people/dogs who come near her backyard, but will stop barking immediately when I tell her to... In saying that, if someone actually gets into our yard, she'll jump all over them, but not actually do anything "guard dog" like, in fact, she's been known to stop barking all together, and go get her ball for the "intruder" (kids next door who jump over to retrieve a football or whatever...

Melza is right, if you want a guarantee of the temperament, but if you're happy to raise the dog correctly, the only thing more rewarding than raising a puppy, is raising a child!



Are you serious? That'd be the last thing I'd be doing... Show dogs are often in crates in between being shown, and the ones that aren't you can't get near because their owners guard them like the family jewels... You are never, ever going to get an accurate picture of a dog from a show dog who is at a show...

What the OP is doing atm is the best thing they could be doing, researching...

Quality post!

[Blue_muppet]

Thanks for your reply 5tumpy, I'll have a look into Irish Setters as well. I think at this stage a cocker or retriever with the right temperament is probably sounding like the most suitable.

Originally Posted by broccoli

Who said they do? You need to quote the person who said that, you've mistakenly quoted my post.

You said it further above but that's OK - There seems to be two schools of thought in general, one that says dogs shouldn't be left alone for more than 4 hours, and those who have happy dogs and work a 40 hour week. I'm sure we'd all love lifestyles that allowed the former! It's good to get everyone's opinions, hence the point of this thread

Brocolli you mentioned dog walkers too - I think it's a good idea. Depending on how satisfied the dog was with the exercise we gave it I'd look into doing this on particular days of the week.

[broccoli]

Originally Posted by Blue_muppet

You said it further above

No. I did not.

[Melzawelza]

Originally Posted by Blue_muppet

I've been doing a bit more reading about cocker spaniels and they seem to be known to be more likely to suffer from separation anxiety.

It's quite hard to know what would happen in reality as all dogs have different personalities, and all (most?) dogs can be trained or have behaviours adjusted.

HumbleBum - did you raise them from pups? What are their sex?

I understand your hesitancy re: separation anxiety as it's a nightmare but don't focus too much on that, particularly if you're considering an adult. You'll KNOW if the dog has separation anxiety because you know what you're getting.

I've got a pound rescue - probable pure pit bull or pit bull mix. At least mainly bull breed. As a whole the bull breeds are prone to Sep Anx however she deals quite well with being left alone for 11 hrs on the days I work.

[Blue_muppet]

Hi guys, I thought I would update this thread as it has been a couple of months.

A few weeks after that thread we were in contact with a Golden Retriever breeder from Melbourne's SE suburbs. It turned out she had a 5 year old female that needed to be re-homed. She had used the bitch for breeding and also as a showdog. The deal was that we could take the dog so long as she should get it back for a period when she came into season so that her last litter could be made, then we would get her back spayed.

We have had her for about 6 weeks now and she has the most beautiful temperament. She loves food, cuddles and people in that order. We have had some mild issues with her having some anxiety with us out of the house, we find leaving her indoors works the best where she can just curl up on the couch. We've been walking her twice a day so far, it actually took her a while to get used to it because I have a feeling she didn't get walked much where she was.

She's a bit of a bench-surfer when out of sight and when we're not home so we need to be careful to put food away - she once managed to eat a slice of toast straight out of the toaster and I came home one day to find she'd eaten a whole home made loaf of bread plus the accompanying butter.


Also, the in-laws are out of town for a couple of weeks so we're baby sitting their pooches.

[Doso]

Congrats, I have a had a Golden retriever in the past and they are an awesome dog with an excellent temperament

One thing I can't stress highly enough though is to get pet insurance as pure breed Golden Retrievers can have issues with their hips later on in life

[Blue_muppet]

Thanks Doso. Do lower hip scores reduce the chance of hip complications later in life? Her hip score is 1/3

[Jim-podiatrist]

She's a good looking dog Blue-Muppet.

We've got a 1 y/o goldie, and she is still completely spastic. They reacon that 2 years for goldies and they simmer down completely.

[Blue_muppet]

1 is still puppy age I suppose. I'm not sure if it's her temperament or her age, but she's the most chilled dog I've ever met. She struggles to chase toys. I have a feeling it's partly her show dog training.
Real life ducks and kangaroos though are a completely different story, she will chase them to the ends of the earth

[broccoli]

She's lovely. What's her name?