Omega Glory I have to third or fourth a Boxer/hybrid mix. Mine was 50% Boxer 30% Pitbull and 20% of something else. This was the opinion of my Vet though.
Not the smartest dog on the planet by any stretch of the imagination but we never worried about leaving her alone with the kids.
We also had a smaller dog at the same time who was half Chi and half something else, she might have weighed about 10lbs.
Now picture this 10lb dog being in complete control of this 70lb so called brute. Hilarity ensued on many occasions. The little dog was obviously the brains of the operation.
Short haired dogs in my experience shed almost as much as long hairs but the upside is you don’t have to spend as much time on grooming.
These were both rescue center dogs about 1-2 years old, although that was undetermined since there was no documentation. I just saw them last month at my ex’s and they are still kicking, although at 15+ years they have slowed down.
The test thinks my best matches are Ibizan Hounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Swiss Mountain Dogs, Greyhounds and Great Danes. Some of these are too big, but i like the way the test explains why a particular breed would or wouldn’t be worth considering.
On boxers and bulldogs: The test I just took says this:
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Which makes me think it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the level of exercise that the other dog requires.
It would seem a greyhound would be your best choice of those… Ibizan Hounds and Swiss Mountain dogs are very hard to find and $1500 to $2000 each as puppies. (www.puppyfind.com has some breed information and puppies listed for sale around the US.) The Scottish Deerhounds seem even more rare - not a single one is on puppyfind.com, so I can’t even get a price range.
Having had bulldogs, I completely agree with their inability to run, but boxers are not as flat faced, and generally have much more energy that the two breeds you mention. A boxer mix could still be an option.
I have a 7yo neutered male english bulldog. He’s not agressive with most strangers, but there are a few men he won’t let in the house. All the rest he jumps on playfully, and at 60lb and all muscle, he can knock me over. He’s dumb as a post, and my wife’s family are mostly big guys who like to roughhouse with him, so I have not been able to train him not to jump on people. He constantly steals food from my daughter, and has started snapping at my wife when she pushes him away. I don’t know if he’s typical, but I would not reccomend the breed.
You need to get some dog-training help. All of those are very solvable problems that will continue to get worse unless you fix them. Have you taken the dog to any obedience classes?
If you’re thinking greyhound, I know they can get along with smaller dogs. My aunt had a rescue greyhound and then took in a homeless chihuahua. The chihuahua (named “Rat” because he was as ugly as one) could easily walk under the greyhound. They got along great.
The problem is getting my wife to train him instead of just yelling at him, and my daughter to stop feeding him. He listens to me, as long as we don’t have guests. When guests are around, he gets excited and goes deaf. I’d reccomend a mutt over a bulldog any day. They’re much more easily trained, plus they don’t usually require thousands of dollars worth of surgery just to keep hair out of their eyes.
We had a beagle/bassett cross when my kiddies were small, and she was the best! She was protective of them, but they could wrap her big flappy lips all the way around her head practically, and she would just thump her tail slowly. She had a “Toto” dog as a best friend, although she would chase mice. She never caught any, mind, she just chased them. Our pound-puppy, a 50-lb. Rottie/pit mix, is wonderful, but she views small fluffy things as “things to be caught and mauled”. Our pug, being an old bitch in every sense of the word, keeps her in line, but also gets regularly run over and trampled. Oh, the indignity! :rolleyes:
A female golden retriever would fit the bill. A big female would be 70-80 lbs and are good with adults, kids and other dogs. I don’t have to groom mine any more than usual, other than cutting mats out and brushing her because she likes it.
Some people shave their goldens in the summer, and if it’s not too short it doesn’t look too bad. I’ve also seen some that have naturally shorter hair than usual. Or you could get a golden mix.
The golden retriever rescue group is called GRIN, btw.
Send them to obedience school with him. The main point of obedience classes is to train the people, not the dogs.
Then you’re not really in control, except when he wants to let you be. That’s why you need some help.
Now that I can’t argue with at all. Mutts are the best. I avoid pop-eyed dogs, wrinkly-skin dogs, and smushed-face dogs - I’m not that fond of vet bills. As my vet tech SO once said, ‘shar-peis, a vet’s best friend’. That holds true for a lot of the odd-looking breeds.
I’ll umpteenth the suggestion to get an adult dog from a rescue group. They can help you find the right dog with the right personality for your family. There are breed-specific rescue groups, if you decide you just must have a particular kind. Mutts are terrific, though.
Breed temperament is a very broad generalization and not really a good criteria if you’re looking for a particular dog personality. Typical breed characteristics may or may not hold true in varying degrees for a particular dog.
A puppy’s temperament may change as it grows up, and will be heavily dependent on your work in socializing and training. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time working at it, or aren’t sure you can, then you’d be better off with a known, grown dog. Particularly the part about “not aggressive but reserved with strangers” - that’s more an individual personality thing than a breed thing or a training thing.
Here’s a bunch of info on testing puppies for temperament, if you’re determined to go that route. If you’re getting a purebred, a good breeder will have already done this and be able to help you pick a puppy. Puppy Temperament Testing
SDs are sighthounds and need a LOT of exercise. One or two hours of off-leash running per day, ideally. Very laid-back indoors, though, as long as they get enough exercise outside. Depending on the individual and how they are socialized, they may or may not be good with small dogs.
JRB
ETA: Off-leash running as in a big park or field or woodland or something. Not your backyard, unless you have a freakin’ huge backyard.
Three of these are sighthounds. See post above. Also, sighthounds tend to have a certain type of personality (smart, sensitive, independent but dependent at the same time), and don’t make a good match for everyone. On the other hand, if you do turn out to be a sighthound person you’ll never go back to plain vanilla dogs.
Re that test: none of the breeds I love best came up even within the top 100 recommendations. :rolleyes: On the other hand, I’m a sighthound person and my #1 is the Saluki, which probably is never recommended to anyone ever (they can be “difficult” for the average owner in a vast number of ways).
I have a 10, 8, 4, and 1 1/2 year labs. The 1 1/2 year old lab is 100 lbs and energetic – think Tigger. The 10 year old - her name is Abigail (Abby) - we call her snail. As they get older, they calm down.
The 1 1/2 year old regularly mows down my 2 year old daughter. But would never intentionally hurt her – just a lot of energy. I wouldn’t trade it for a thing. Kids and dogs learn how to adjust. She knows to give him a berth when he’s playing, and that she can also tug his earns, smack his head and stick her hands in his mouth when he’s resting on the couch. Also, his tail makes a good rope to aid in climbing onto the couch.
That’s a really big assumption. We had blue heelers on our farm and there is no way in hell I’d keep one as a pet. They’d run along with the tractors to the back 40 a mile away; follow the baler up and down the field; run home with the tractor; herd in the cows from the other end of the pasture; stand guard while milking; and THEN think about taking a nap. I love heelers, but there’s no way I’d ever even think about keeping one as a “pet”.
You might want to take a look at the larger terriers while you’re searching.
I have a Bernese Mountain Dog, which is pretty close to your criteria, but she does have a longer coat. It doesn’t require much maintenance, though.
She’s a beautiful dog, and very good with kids. Ours is a bit unusual in that she’s pretty friendly with strangers, as the breed, in general, is very affectionate with family but a bit aloof with strangers. She’s also very gentle with older and smaller dogs, but very playful with larger dogs. I think the Swiss Mountain Dog is basically the same dog, but with a shorter coat. Bernese seem to be more commonly found, though, at least where I live, so one might be easier/cheaper to obtain.
Ours requires quite a bit of exercise, but, again, that’s a bit unusual for the breed, and she is still a puppy. She is becoming quite a bit lazier as time passes - she’s just over a year old right now.
I’d like to second or third the recommendation that you check out greyhounds.
My wife and I worked with an organization that place retired (we didn’t use the word “rescue”) greyhounds for awhile.
If you work with a good group, (and if you PM me, I can give you suggestions) they will meet you and your family, including your dog. They will have you meet the dog before hand and should be able to work up a personality profile and find a dog which would fit your family and lifestyle.
Greyhounds have a lot of things that I really like about them.
The retired ghs are generally lazy. Really, I’m not joking when I say that my dog is on her feet probably a total of three hours a day. She is fine with our cats. She rarely barks. She was really easy to potty train. She is great with kids. She likes to meet people, but would never jump on them.
This is my dog though, and the personality changes from dog to dog. Something you can try to do though, is find a local group and meet some of the dogs before you even put in an application, or even make a descision on what type of dog to get. The people that run placement groups (and this goes for almost all dog types) want what’s best for the dogs. If your house and family won’t be the right place for the dog, neither you nor it will be happy and the groups don’t want that.
If you do decide to at least meet some, let me know!
