Help us choose a dog

[WinterDeere]

Quick facts:

1. Semi-rural/suburban family of four with a nice big yard. Kids are 10 and 14.
2. Our last two dogs lived 16 and 20 years, respectively. They were great dogs, but as cold as this sounds... I'm not looking for another 20 year dog. I want to be retired and traveling before then! Looking for a good ~12 year dog!
3. Looking for a nice mid-size dog that's not destructive. This can't be a dog that wants to claw through the front door every time a squirrel wanders by, or one with severe separation anxiety issues when we go out for an evening.
4. House full of allergy sufferers, who are also dog lovers. Labs are my favorite (I grew up with labs), but obviously not an option, due to massive shedding and dander. Likewise with shepherds, and oddly enough... poodles! Yeah, I know, poodles are supposed to by hypoallergenic, but there's an oil in their skin that makes my forearms break out in rash. Weird. We seem to all do well with short-haired dogs, which don't have an undercoat, as the undercoat (shepherds, labs, retrievers, huskies) is what usually carries all of the dander.

Would like to just go to ASPCA or other shelter and pick something, and may still try that, but fitting all these criteria is more challenging with that route. If buying a breed, looking mostly at short-haired mid-sized dogs. Vizsla in particular caught our eye, as hitting most or all of the marks, despite having been originally bread as a hunting dog.

Vizsla - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[yooperterry]

If you cannot commit to a full life dog, get a teddy bear.

 

[WinterDeere]

If you cannot commit to a full life dog, get a teddy bear.

WTF does that mean? As noted, our last dog lived past her 20th birthday. Have you ever managed to keep a dog alive for 20 years?

Shopping breeds with 12 year average expected lifespans, rather than those with 15 or 20 year lifespans, doesn't preclude one from dog ownership.

That was a really ****ty thing for you to say.

 

[Eagle1]

In that life span you are looking at Giant breeds, or those so over/in bred they have health issues. Most medium dogs 50 - 80 pounds will exceed you 12 year mark. Small dogs on the whole live longer. Irish Wolfhounds and Bernese mountain (way over bread) are the shortest lived at 8-10 (that I know) if that long and take 3 years to mature. Very short adult healthy life span.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't mind if it exceeds 12 years. I'm just not aiming to repeat 20 years. My last three dogs lived 18, 16, and 20 years respectively.

I'm coming up on 50, and it's hard to imagine where I'll be or what I'll be doing at 70, that was all.

Heck, a mutt my mom got from the ASPCA which was an enormous lab/shepherd mix, was healthy until age 16. Not sure how long she would've gone, maybe a few more years, but mom had to have her put down due to hip problems. Poor dog couldn't get off the floor, some mornings, and was in obvious pain.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've always been of the mind that the right animal finds you at the right time. I, personally, don't feel good about buying a dog that was bread for the purpose of being sold as a pet. Working animals, or farm animals for food or sport sure. Just my opinion though we all have a free choice in life. Maybe go to some pounds/ shelters and look for older dogs. I understand that older ones have less of a chance to be adopted.

 

[WinterDeere]

(Note: I was already typing this when LittleBittyBigJohn's post popped up... good timing!)

Adopting an adult rescue might also be a good option for us, but my luck with that in the past has been mixed. I got one that had absolutely crippling separation anxiety issues, to the point where he'd destroy the house if left alone for any period. He also went nuts if you'd try to crate him, since he wasn't crate trained. My sister adopted an adult, who has had many other personality issues, I won't go into.

So, adopting an adult is attractive, and I'd actually prefer it in some ways. But I'd need some help in identifying potential issues due to poor upbringing.

 

[yooperterry]

WTF does that mean? As noted, our last dog lived past her 20th birthday. Have you ever managed to keep a dog alive for 20 years?

Shopping breeds with 12 year average expected lifespans, rather than those with 15 or 20 year lifespans, doesn't preclude one from dog ownership.

That was a really ****ty thing for you to say.

Did not mean to sound a negative way. Just saying, we cannot say how long a dog will live, so you must be committed to the animal for life. We have had dogs for the last 40 years of our lives, and yes it is difficult in retirement to travel when you have a dog. I apologize to you if you thought I was being critical of you.

 

[WinterDeere]

Did not mean to sound a negative way. Just saying, we cannot say how long a dog will live, so you must be committed to the animal for life. We have had dogs for the last 40 years of our lives, and yes it is difficult in retirement to travel when you have a dog. I apologize to you if you thought I was being critical of you.

Oh, got it. Then sorry for my reaction. A dog becomes part of the family, we're committed to it, no matter what happens.

But as described, I'm not so far from retirement and empty nest, that I'm really intending to bring home another "20 year" dog. I think the average expected lifespans of most larger breeds would suit us just fine, trouble is, we tend to like a lot of the mid-sized breeds.

I don't really like putting a dog into a kennel, we only do it when really necessary, and go far out of our way to use a kennel where we know they get more than typical attention from the owners. If we reach retirement and want to do a bit of travel, I'd feel guilty having a dog that's getting stuck in a kennel, just so we can go have fun. That's my reasoning for thinking something with a more moderate expected lifespan is better for us, today.

 

[jyoutz]

We have only had Australian shepherds. An awesome dog breed for their intelligence and behavior. They tend to want to live outside except during cold nights and they aren’t indoor dogs.

 

[Eagle1]

Let's start there what type of dogs do you like? Give me some parameters to look at.

 

[Tomtint]

We have had Dobermans and Weimariners. Both have been great breeds. The Weims seem to have less genetic problems overall. Our current one is a rescue Weim.. He was off cast because he is the Blue colour and not the breed standard silver/grey. .. Friggin stupid.
He is basically a couch potato.. More than happy to go for rides, or walks, or hang out in the yard.. Not particularly fond of chasing balls in the yard.. Rather sit under the trees. He will certainly take notice of birds and squirrels or deer in the yard.. He could never catch one.
Our last Weim was a silver. He lived to 13 and it almost killed me to have to put him down. But he was struggling and lost the mobility in his hips. .. I still miss him everyday.

 

[WinterDeere]

We have only had Australian shepherds. An awesome dog breed for their intelligence and behavior. They tend to want to live outside except during cold nights and they aren’t indoor dogs.

We have about 4 acres, and right now the invisible fence is buried around the central ~1.5 acres that makes up the back and side yard immediately adjacent to the house. So, a dog that likes to spend a lot of time outdoors is not a huge problem for us. However, our neighbors all have terrible problems with deer ticks on their dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors. We have an absurd number of deer wandering through our yard, all day, everyday.

Let's start there what type of dogs do you like? Give me some parameters to look at.

Hah... that's where I was fishing for suggestions! My parents owned several labs and shepherds when I was growing up, and most of my close friends or family have owned labs, retrievers or standard poodles. All great dogs, but those are all out, due to their huge allergen loads. I've also owned a dashshund and three mini-pins, and although some were better than others, I'm sort of done with those breeds... and really anything that small.

Weimeraners and Vizslas, and I guess by association ridgebacks, all look interesting to me. I knew someone who once had a weimeraner, but don't have any exposure to many other breeds.

I do have exposure to, and love for, great danes. But my wife already vetoed that option, and I can't disagree with her reasoning.

 

[Eagle1]

If the Vizsla is in your wheel, maybe look at Kelpie, Basenji or Basset. Shorter live would be an English Bulldog or Bull Terrier

 

[WinterDeere]

We have had Dobermans and Weimariners. Both have been great breeds. The Weims seem to have less genetic problems overall. Our current one is a rescue Weim.. He was off cast because he is the Blue colour and not the breed standard silver/grey. .. Friggin stupid.
He is basically a couch potato.. More than happy to go for rides, or walks, or hang out in the yard.. Not particularly fond of chasing balls in the yard.. Rather sit under the trees. He will certainly take notice of birds and squirrels or deer in the yard.. He could never catch one.
Our last Weim was a silver. He lived to 13 and it almost killed me to have to put him down. But he was struggling and lost the mobility in his hips. .. I still miss him everyday.

Thanks for posting! I was worried all weimeriners were too high-energy, so this is good info.

 

[WinterDeere]

If the Vizsla is in your wheel, maybe look at Kelpie, Basenji or Basset. Shorter live would be an English Bulldog or Bull Terrier

Thanks! Will check them all out.

Always liked bulldogs. In fact our neighbor has a massive bulldog which pays us infrequent visits, he likes to tease our chickens, although he's not aggressive at all. I'm not sure of the specific variety, but he is a true beast of a dog, as solid as a brick outhouse.

 

[2manyrocks]

I would pick based on how the dog responds to you and not worry too much about life expectancy or shedding.

Life expectancy can be unpredictable. I don't think any dog of ours ever made it to 20 years. You must take excellent care of yours.

As for shedding, a good vacuum cleaner works wonders.

 

[Eagle1]

I would pick based on how the dog responds to you and not worry too much about life expectancy or shedding.

Life expectancy can be unpredictable. I don't think any dog of ours ever made it to 20 years. You must take excellent care of yours.

As for shedding, a good vacuum cleaner works wonders.

I tend to find the dog finds me not the other way.... but vacuums are next to powerless when you have 5 GPs in the house at night.

 

[Eagle1]

Then there is drastic option
9 Best Hairless Dog Breeds

 

[WinterDeere]

I would pick based on how the dog responds to you and not worry too much about life expectancy or shedding.

To some degree, I agree with you. I mean, I'm not going to bring home another lab or shepherd. As much as I like those breeds, I know that keeping up with their shedding is a lost cause. But any shorthair breed... I'm not going to be worried about comparing one to the other WRT shedding. Personality comes first.

Life expectancy can be unpredictable. I don't think any dog of ours ever made it to 20 years. You must take excellent care of yours.

yep. The one that lived to 20 had an average life expectancy of 16 years, we just got lucky. They get good care and good food, anything beyond that is luck and genes, I guess.

As for shedding, a good vacuum cleaner works wonders.

Yeah, shed hair isn't a huge problem, it can be vacuumed up easily enough. It's more the dander attached to the hair, specifically undercoat hair, which gets into every bit of upholstery in the house. If you don't suffer from allergies, it's probably hard to fathom, but it's a real problem for those who do. Some breeds (Shepherd, Husky) make much dander than other breeds of similar size, so we're just avoiding those.