Greyhounds are great but I’m not sure how well they will do with ‘roughhousing’ but that could be because my experience with them has been limited to older, retired racers that just want to sleep and cuddle.
Any large dog should be able to tolerate the rough play as long as they’re well-trained and know their limits (and the children need to learn limits as well). It’s hard to run randomly name breeds of dogs by without knowing what their preferences are. When I see no shedders, all I can think of are giant schnauzers, poodles, Kerry blue terriers, wirehaired pointing Griffons & Irish water spaniels (our neighbour had two of these when I was a kid and they were fine with us noisy kids). These are dogs that will need other grooming requirements such as clipping or stripping.
Whether they go through a breed rescue, their local shelter or a responsible breeder, just make sure they’ve done their research!
(I’ve heard enough ‘bad’ about Gentle Giants Rescue to suggest that if one of the breeds is of interest, please pursue a breed-specific rescue supported by a national breed club.)
I have two Neos and I honestly wouldn’t recommend them with little kids. Not because they don’t like children, because they do, but they are pretty rough dogs. They don’t pay much attention to where they’re going, their idea of a gentle pat translates to solid whack with a paw the size of a plate, and they’ll barrel into you just for the laughs. Their idea of playing with each other involves body slamming. They’d never mean to hurt a child, but I can see them squashing a little one just by accident.
My Mastiff X, on the other hand, is so sensitive and kind with kids. I’ve seen him follow a little boy around like a shadow, desperate to be friends but so careful that he didn’t knock the kid or scare him.
Not a Dane fan. I have a close friend who has had a couple.
They die early. I haven’t’ known a single Dane that went past 10. 14 is not believable.
They seem to get bone problems, heart problems, eye problems, ear problems. Starting about 5 or 6, they start to get those fatty lumps which aren’t unhealthy, exactly, but are unsightly and worrisome.
The can be hard to control if the kids will ever be walking him.
I’ll 5th boxers. They’re high-energy. Smart, trainable, affectionate. Can be a little dog-aggressive. Don’t know if that’s a big issue for the OP.
Dog person here chiming in to back up the allergy claims. If allergies are an issue, think about the PWD or the Standard Poodle.
No other breed will work out, if the child is asthmatic or truly quite allergic to dander.
Both breeds are solid tempered with kids if properly raised and socialized.
I’d consider looking for an adult from a reputable breeder looking to retire a show dog or a former stud/broodbitch. it’s a nice way to get a fully trained, well socialized animal that will fit right into the family when you have young kids. That way you KNOW what you’re getting, from the get go.
I would say a Labrador Retriever. I had always had small dogs and decided to go large. Well, he is a happy, loving, loyal, protective dog. He loves my niece and nephew. Very trainable, too.
Be sure your brother takes the kids to meet the puppies before he chooses. Watch for whichever puppy is curious and bold…a shy dog will be problematic with a pack of kids around.
I’ll second this suggestion. If the adults in this case are inexperienced with training dogs, and/or training kids how to interact with dogs and providing the supervision dogs and kids need when together, an already-socialized dog is the way to go.
The fact that the kids have asthma is problematic. I’d look for a breeder who is willing and able to take the dog back if the asthma gets worse with the dog in the house. The parents should also be prepared for lots of tears on the part of the kids if that happens too - kids can get really attached to a dog quickly.
I’ve had greyhounds for many years now and I actually wouldn’t recommend one in this case. Many of them can be shy and sensitive and don’t always do well in a busy, noisy, kid-filled household. Divorces and problems with small kids are the two biggest reasons greyhounds get returned to their adoption groups in our area, and some adoption groups now won’t adopt a greyhound to anyone with kids under the age of 5 or 6.
If you Google the name of the organization, you will find all kinds of stuff on the 'Net about them. Whether it is true or not is up for debate.
There have been arguments/disagreements between the Wards and some of their adopters, and some other rescue groups take exception to their policies, saying they are not in fact a rescue, but are selling dogs for profit.
if you scroll down, you will see an item about a lawsuit between the Wards and an adopter; it started as a disagreement about what the adopter’s dog should be fed and escalated from there. There are other, earlier mentions of this dispute in earlier editions of this same column.
details some complaints made by other rescue organizations against the Wards; IIRC, the Wards filed suit against the newspaper for what they’d written about the complaint.
In that article, there is a statement that says the Wards provide telephone help for a fee to their adopters. If this is true, it strikes me as unconventional at best - I know of no reputable dog rescue organization that charges a fee for support after the dog is adopted. Their web site is so painful to look at/wade through that it is hard for me to determine if there is anything else they do or don’t do that a typical reputable rescue organization would or would not.
I’ve looked through the Gentle Giants website on several occasions when searching for information on dog breeds that interest me. Leaving aside the fact that they list breeds such as “Adronicus Mastiffs”, which upon Googling seem to be Cane Corso crosses (the website also shows them with “their friend XXX, the creator and sole breeder of Adronicus Mastiffs”), or “Sasquatches” (I don’t even have a clue), they seem to have a surprising amount of puppies available constantly.
I found this site which seems to have been set up by a woman who was, to say the least, not very happy with her experience with Gentle Giants Rescue. There are many stories on the site which tell about things such as underweight, sick dogs being handed out for adoption, mice and rats scurrying around the free-feeding containers, dogs which were adopted out as “around 18 months” that, when vet-checked, turned out to be 5+ years old, lack of vaccination records, insistence by the rescuers that any physical and mental problems the dogs have are the fault of the adopter…
Incidentally, both Gentle Giants and the anti-Gentle Giants site could really use a makeover.
I have noticed that over time the Gentle Giants website and requirements have changed somewhat. They used to say that you were required to buy their dog food, now the website states you must feed a food that meets their dietary requirements. As far as the cost of the food goes, for my last dog, I was paying about $35 dollars for a 30 lb bag of food from my vet, so I would not say the price is out of line.
As far as the telephone thing goes, here is the statement from their website
The wellness program is a combo deal where you get a vet visit, discounts on vet supplies, hands on behavior training, and six bags (240 lbs) of dog food. The pay for phone service appears to be only for dogs they don’t adopt out
This seems reasonable to me.
As was said in another thread about dog rescues awhile back, all animal rescue people are strange. Are the Wards in the middle of the bell curve of strange, or are they at the extreme end? Frankly, I don’t know. Right now the only crime I am sure they are guilty of is bad website design.
Well, I’ve done greyhound adoption for years now, and I certainly don’t consider myself ‘strange,’ though who knows, maybe you would. I do think this type of work tends to attract people with strong personalities and opinions, though, FWIW.
The things that seem odd to me about Gentle Giants are that they appear to have a lot of puppies (as auRa pointed out - most breed rescues end up dealing mainly with adult dogs with puppies only available occasionally), they claim to have so many different breeds, including mixes (most rescues deal with one breed, though there are all-breed rescues, certainly) and the amount of the fee they expect adopters to pay - it is way above average for a conventional rescue and is much more in line with what you would pay a breeder for a puppy. And it’s not the area they are in or the sizes of the dogs that can account for their fees - the Great Dane Club of San Diego lists Dane rescue organizations in CA and says that rescue fees run from $350-$450 (under their Adoption Rules), which is much more in line with what I am used to seeing.
If I were in the market for a Dane or another very large dog, I’d certainly look elsewhere first, if for no other reason than the fees.
And I’ll stop highjacking this thread now too, as the OP is probably wondering right now what the heck this all has to do with his original question (sorry, OP!).
I’d go with a Poodle of some kind. The Standard ones are a fairly large dog, and the Miniatures are about the size of a Beagle, more or less.
No allergy problems with Poodles, and as a breed, they’re extremely intelligent, people oriented and active/athletic dogs. They’re also instinctive hunting dogs- according to the literature (and my experience), they’ll point birds from a very early age, and they love to swim.
I grew up with a Miniature Poodle as my dog from when I was 4 years old, and I couldn’t have asked for a better companion. He was extraordinarily smart, loving, protective and patient with me and my younger brother.
As for the hair cuts, we gave our dog a trim whenever he got shaggy- we’d generally use the higher guard in the winter, and just about crew-cut him in the summer when it was hot. We used regular old hair clippers that my parents got at Sears, and it didn’t seem to make any difference to him.
My personal issue with the Gentle Giants group stems from the multiple warnings I’ve seen on separate breed lists regarding: to not sell/adopt to anyone connected to this rescue as the dogs may be bred, exorbitant adoption fees, and adopting out animals with known health issues or lying about age.
Also, since they seem to seek out rescuing rarer breeds (large and small) that wouldn’t often show up in a shelter yet seem to have no problem offering adoptions for them, concern me that they may broker puppies BUT it simply could be their enthusiasm. The odds of a silken windhound showing up in rescue would be rare indeed. They also seem to offer adoptions for high end designer dogs that don’t have much in the way of information. Sasquatch? Adronicus Mastiffs? Ambull Neopolitan Mastiffs? Those aren’t breeds. Sites like Petfinder are making it easier to locate surrendered dogs for breed rescues. I’m sure if the Neo folks heard about one of their dogs in a shelter, there would be an alert to bail out that dog in a heartbeart. Would Gentle Giants bail out generic giant mutts? Would that fall into their “Unique Combinations” category?
Their requirements, however, are mostly what I see coming from breeders/ breed specific rescues (including the 24/365 support) but the diet restriction is ludicrous. How on earth are they going to enforce that? If you stop buying their food, are they going to come seize your dog? I’d like to see that.
So no personal proof and no urge to obtain any. If I decide that I need a Great Dane or a Pyrenees, I’ll be going through a responsible breeder or a rescue supported by their breed club. This decision stems from my personal experiences with rescue and my personal interactions with breeders.
YMMV, of course. I know that rescue groups can do a good job pissing off potential adopters and in this day of the internet, it’s easy to spread crap about people. If someday in the future I learn that all the warnings were out of malice, I’ll be the first to admit that I had had the wrong impressions and for them to keep up the good work. Until then, I remain wary.
(Edit)
Oh, and my apologies to the OP. I didn’t mean to derail this and hope that you are learning about some dogs that may fit your brother’s family’s requirements.
I re-upped my subscription to weigh in on the greyhound issue. Yes, a greyhound might make a good pet for children. Might. It’s all dependent on the children in question. Are they well-behaved, with parents who will take the time to educate them on the proper handling of a pet and ensure that they understand? Then sure, a greyhound is a great pet. Are they rambunctious little terrors with little discipline? Then heck no, stay far away from a greyhound. Not for the children’s sake, but for the dog’s. A greyhound will generally tolerate noise, chaos and children poking at him without protest and without offering to bite or even growl. He will more than likely hate it though, and seek an area away from the commotion if he can.
My sister has 2 children under age 5 that are more of the terror variety. They have 2 Great Danes that seem impervious to their running, screaming, poking and pulling. My greyhound… well, not so much. When they visit, I remove him to another room to avoid the shellshocked look he tends to get after they’re around. I figure he’s been through enough in his short life, the last thing he needs is my nephew pulling his tail.
As the third person who rescues retired racers to post in here (just picked one up from Alabama on Saturday), I suggest somebody start a thread just for greyhounds. In the name of educating the masses. And sharing stories and photos. Lots of photos.
Ditto on both points. That URL is just fugly in IE and I’m sure FF wouldn’t be much different.
Er. **ETA ** since I hadn’t read all the way down to Gulo gulo’s comment. Maybe I won’t pass that on after all then… :dubious:
But the actual content is awesome. I may pass that on to my brother for whenever he gets a place that allows dogs and he’s mature enough to care for one for reals. I’m not into giving walkies 3x a day (this is why I have cats who are another kind of awesome) but I’ve always appreciated dogs, especially the big sort who like nothing more than being squished, slobbering on Their People, and being given lots of lovins.
When I was a kid, my family had a German Shorthaired Pointer. He was born the same year as me, and lived to age twelve, which is common, according to Wikipedia.
I don’t know if this is a characteristic of the breed or part of this specific dog’s personality: He was friendly to everyone when he was hanging around loose, but when he was on his chain in the back yard, he was on duty. If you weren’t part of the family, you’d better keep your distance. I remember him biting the mailman once, and think he bit at least one other person too. (I don’t remember why the mailman was in our back yard.)
I’d like to get a Neapolitan Mastiff, but my wife’s a cat person, so if we ever get a dog, the first one probably will be a small one–maybe a corgi.
I like the idea of getting a retiring show dog and I like the idea of the bull mastiff.
At what age do show dogs retire? Do you pay 1/2 price or do they keep breeding rights or how does that work? I don’t want to lay down 6 or 7 grand for a good dog but half might work. I thought show people were really attached to their animals.
But that would be perfect for me since I don’t have time for all the puppy stuff and training.
Like auRa we have a Standard Schnauzer - not maybe as big as the OP is looking for but non-shedding, intelligent, tough, and great with youngsters. Ours is black and according to some stories the blacks are more sociable than the pepper and salts.
We chose a Schnauzer particularly as Marcus junior has allergies and asthma and we haven’t had problems. As the kids were 12 and 10 when we got her she grew up with stacks of kids in and out of the house and she wanted to play with all of them
There are Giant Schnauzers if you want a bigger breed - one just won Crufts! - which have the same advantages wrt non-shedding but I am not sure the temprement is as good - a bit less easy going.
I’d throw in a vote for standard poodles. Greys are lovely dogs, but aren’t much for roughhousing–sighthounds are runners, not wrestlers, and endurance is a real issue. In all other ways they’re ideal for anyone who wants a large couch potato. Total sweethearts, too.
I’ve also heard terrible things about Gentle Giants. Their polices seem good, but they charge huge amounts of money, seem to have lots of complaints about neglected, ill, and injured dogs, and sell an awful lot of puppies. I’ve never been there and have no proof for anything, but something does strike me as shady going on there.
I do think this type of work tends to attract people with strong personalities and opinions, though, FWIW.