Best dog breed for me?

[BlacksheepCardigans]

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If you trained, you know that there's no breed that doesn't jump, unless you cut their legs off. No jumping is an owner thing, 100%, not a breed thing. Ditto with the mailman. Your comment about weather made me think you were planning on having an outside dog, which promptly cuts out all the nonshedding breeds. You want a soft dog (easily trained) but you don't want one that could ever submissively pee. Again, they're just not compatible requests. And you want low energy BUT a good defender, and you want everyone's ideal family-dog size. Oh, and it has to not bark unless it's a real threat, but it has to always respond to real threats.

If a dog like that existed, every human on earth would own one, me included.

The nonshedding breeds in your size range - which would NOT be able to be outside dogs - would be a small Standard Poodle, a Portuguese Water Dog, Irish Water Spaniel, Soft-Coated Wheaten, American Water Spaniel, Pumi, a few of the continental water dogs, etc. I suppose you could call the wirehaired dogs nonshedding, which brings in the Airedale and some of the smaller gundogs. None of them are low-energy. The Standard comes closest but they're one of the jumping-est breeds that exist. You should also expect to pay two or three grand for a Standard because buying from anything but a fantastic breeder is begging for disaster. The whole breed is so riddled with health problems that if you don't buy from someone amazing you're going to be buying your vet a sailboat.

 

[Xtina]

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I've definitely considered a poodle, and I won't mind paying for a well-bred one. I know what to look for in a breeder and feel like I'm ready to spring for a well bred dog for the first time buying a purebred.

 

[Xtina]

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Good idea.

Must haves:

No shedding
No uncontrollable barking but a good defender
Easily trained/motivated. Wants to obey.
Medium sized (40-60 pounds)
Medium to low energy
No drooling!

 

[rebbetzin]

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I want a smaller dog next time, probably a pair of them. I am the one that does the obedience training here, and I told my husband Spartacus is the last big mastiff! We will be in our 60's when Spartacus is gone, he is going to be seven this summer. I am just not confident in my strength to train another Alpha Male Mastiff!

My all time favorite dog was an Old Engish Sheepdog! Got him in Alaska when my kids were small. He was GREAT!!

I miss him!!

Here he just "watching" in the snow.

And this is one of my all time favorite photos.

 

[Xtina]

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Eh, I don't agree with much of this. My shepherd mix has never been a jumper, while my lab mix was awful his whole life until his back started to go bad. I did everything I was supposed to to stop the behavior and it never made even the smallest dent. I believe some breeds are more prone to jumping than others.

It's not going to be an outdoor dog. I don't agree with keeping dogs solely outdoors. But my shepherd mix hates hot weather and it's a possibility we could need to move to a warmer climate in the coming years. I don't want to get a breed that can't handle warmth, and I live in a cold place now, so weather shouldn't be an issue for a breed.

Although you did make good suggestions. I am considering the wirehaired dogs. I like them a lot. And while what you said about the gun dogs is true (super high energy) I've seen a huge number of them in the city here that act like they are the lowest energy dogs I've ever seen...calmer than my old boss' mastiff. And I agree about the Poodle. I know they have health problems, but right now it's looking like one of the best breeds for me. Except they're so horribly neurotic and they have high energy from what I hear.

 

[Xtina]

I had to respond to the last three individually to keep things less confused. Honestly though, I have to say that there are tons of small breeds that would be perfect for me if they had a larger twin. I love Cairn and Border Terriers. I love Bichons too. I just wish they were bigger.

Oh, I forgot to add to the last one that it's not true that good defenders are big barkers. A friend of mine ran a rescue and said her Doberman once cornered an "intruder" - a friend of hers who just came in the door - and held him until the family realized they had a guest in the living room. It was a few minutes before they found him standing on top of the couch with the dog growling in his face. But the dog never barked once.

I should also add that I'm sorry if it seems like I'm just knocking down everyone's suggestions and thoughts. I guess I feel like lots of people are just being negative for the heck of it, which doesn't take into account the marvelous wide array of dog breeds and individual dogs' personalities. I started out myself saying I know it sounds like I don't really want a dog, so that should have ended any snide comments about how Disney has the animated dog for me. And I said myself that I feel like it's an almost impossible thing I'm looking for, so I'm probably not looking for a bunch of naysayers. Instead, I'm looking for what's possible, instead of what's not possible.

 

[rebbetzin]

I have a neighbor with a standard poodle, got her from a Rescue Org. The dog is calm, never barks (of course she found out later, the dog had surgery to remove her voice box!! VERY SAD! Because my neighbor wanted a Watchdog. This dog is about three and is so calm, obendient and nice.

 

[Xtina]

I do think I would love a standard poodle. They're so ugly, but they seem like a great breed all around. I know my husband doesn't want one but his main objection is that they're ugly. And I'm over it. I'd rather have a great dog than a pretty but ill behaved dog.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

A good - and here I mean beautifully bred - Standard is not a neurotic dog in the least. They're confident and silly and proud and have a great sense of humor. They are NOT low energy but some of them could be described as "medium" energy. As a breed they are incredibly adaptable dogs that adore humans. But "not jumping" is not a breed trait. It's just an individual dog trait. I have a crapload of Cardigans here, all pretty closely related; some jump a bit, some habitually jump and have been extremely difficult to train out of it, and some have never dreamt of it. Your Shepherd didn't like the heat; my shepherd-coated dogs adore it. In other words, my individual dogs like the heat. Your individual dog did not. Most dogs of any long-faced breed can tolerate heat pretty well; a good double coat actually helps keep them cool. But there could certainly be an individual who doesn't, and there's no way to predict that when you're picking out a breeder.

Poodles are going to be more likely to be habitual jumpers than most other breeds. They are NOT quiet. They are also not particularly good defenders or watchdogs. Either you get one who barks at everything or you get one who would happily invite a burglar into your house. Most of the well-bred ones will be closer to the latter than the former.

You also have to count grooming costs into the purchase and upkeep; everybody says they'll do the clipping themselves but it takes years to know how to do it right and the equipment to do it right is not cheap either. Unless you keep them in a very, very short clip yourself, which means they're not going to look like poodles but more like a scrawny curly-coated retriever, you should count on every-8-weeks grooming visits. Your breeder may insist on this in the contract, actually.

 

[rebbetzin]

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Hmmm, I don't think they are ugly. Well, maybe if they are kept in "show type" clips. A puppy clip with a mushtache is a cute dog face. I think. I had three miniature poodles growing up because my mom didn't like shedding. They were all great dogs. not neurotic at all. Just good companions.

My little sister had Dobies. She had her life protected a couple of times by them. Once as a Vet Tech when she was a teenager, some guys broke in the office when she was there alone, the dog (female) lunged over the counter for one of the guys throats! Kept that one pinned til the police arrived. The other guy ran off!