Breed Recommendations

[LisaCC]

I'm not sure of the temperament, hopefully someone with more experience can jump in, but for looks, black, large size, and coat, Curly Coated Retriever?

I believe they can be a bit more of a handful than your general labs and golden "family retrievers".

Edited July 6, 2015 by LisaCC

[Dogsfevr]

I wouldn't recommend those breeds to anyone who is not prepared to put alot of work in.

If you believe you have the time to do that they could be great but if time is an issue then i would not bother .They are powerful,very smart & need alot of mental stimulation otherwise a nightmare to live with through no fault of there own

I gather your kids have friends that come around so also keep in mind the dog you pick needs to be trained for little friends or you have an area set up that is dog safe /child safe .I am not saying those breeds aren't child friendly because they are but breeds often wanting to protect there family require good training in understanding visitors at home are fine .

Of the ones you have listed the Giant will have less coat work,the other two will also require dedication to grooming & all 3 will require adding the expense of grooming salon visits.

I have shown Airedales for years i think they are great dogs you can't do alot of the grooming yourself ,whether people would be scared by them who knows but for the short period you want an intimidating dog the rest of the time it needs to be a wonderful family pet that will fit in the car & go out with you so also factor in your car size & if a large breed would fit

[Dame Aussie]

*ahem (flame suit on)* This seems like the kind of situation for which people may want to develop a med/large, non-shedding breed with a family pet temperament... just saying.

Hunbun, I'll send you a private msg :)

Except if they look like a teddybear they aren't exactly going to put people off :laugh:

I can't think of anything less scary personally :laugh:

[Salukifan]

*ahem (flame suit on)* This seems like the kind of situation for which people may want to develop a med/large, non-shedding breed with a family pet temperament... just saying.

Hunbun, I'll send you a private msg :)

There are several:

Standard Poodle - temperament is gun dog like. No surprise - that's what they really are.

Curly Coated Retriever.

Standard Schnauzer - probably a bit more dog than the others. I like the Giants too.

[Purdie]

The Curly Coated Retriever has a coat drop once or twice a year with quite a lot of coat shed.

The rest of the time very little shedding.

ETadd

Would a Collie suit ? I'm not sure about the shedding with them though.

When i was a child our neigbour had a Collie and he was a good watch dog.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Purdie

[Simply Grand]

Any of the Collie breeds have the big coat drops a couple of times a year too, not bad day to day but hair everywhere when they do shed.

[Henrietta]

*ahem (flame suit on)* This seems like the kind of situation for which people may want to develop a med/large, non-shedding breed with a family pet temperament... just saying.

Hunbun, I'll send you a private msg :)

There are several:

Standard Poodle - temperament is gun dog like. No surprise - that's what they really are.

Curly Coated Retriever.

Standard Schnauzer - probably a bit more dog than the others. I like the Giants too.

Sorry to butt in,but what kind of gundog do you think the standards are most similar to? I'm curious because I've always fancied some of the gundog breeds, but would also consider the smaller poodle varieties.

[Hunbun]

Lots of things to think about! So thank you everyone for responding!

The grooming of those dogs I have already thought about and I would draw up a budget for everything dog related before actually getting one anyway. Oh and I have a suv, big boot..

The kids have friends and we often have visitors, so that's something to think about too. Where I grew up it was quite common to have to lock your dog up while visitors were there, as lots of people had caucasians etc. But I definitely don't want a dog like that.

I think any dog I get would be well socialised though, I'd take it with us as much as possible.

I could manage with the coat drops couple of times a year, as long as rest of the time it's not heavy. The staffy I had here was terrible, any time he moved there was hair dropping off him. My floors were white :D

I do want a dog that will not eat the kids, but i'm not getting a dog just for the kids either. I would still like a dog that will be highly trainable and smart.

The personality has to be right too, I wouldn't want to get a dog that wasn't right for me.

I think what I need to do is try and meet some of these breeds in real life to see what they are like and also continue fostering, but foster bigger dogs and maybe younger dogs to see how I manage time wise.

[Bjelkier]

I don't know if a bit of drool is an issue for you but what about a black Newfoundland?

I'm also allergic to short coated dogs and double coats have always been ok for me. They do require a bit of grooming and do shed like double coats are prone to doing however they're great family dogs, they're large, have a huge bark and look very intimidating while still being fairly easy dogs to deal with, at least easier than the breeds you originally mentioned. We used to have them and so many people freaked out seeing Evie and Tessa at the front gate, the girls wouldn't have done anything but they didn't know that.

Regardless of what breed you're looking at I would suggest heading down to a show in your area at some stage and meet the dogs to see how you react to their coats and have a chat to the breeders/owners.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Bjelkier

[Simply Grand]

Hunbun, I think your most important thing to figure out initially is the shedding issue then. If you only have issues with the short, spiky haired constant shedders but handle a double coat or coat drops ok your choices are much wider than if you really need non-shedding!

Trouble is you'd need to spend a bit of time with a coat dropper dropping coat to see what it's like, when my two collie breeds drop their coats there really is A LOT of hair, it comes off my Aussie Shepherd in handfuls without even pulling and lasts for weeks on end twice a year, sigh.

Definitely a great idea to get out and meet the breeds you're interested in, spend some time with them see what kind of personalities you like :)

[Salukifan]

*ahem (flame suit on)* This seems like the kind of situation for which people may want to develop a med/large, non-shedding breed with a family pet temperament... just saying.

Hunbun, I'll send you a private msg :)

There are several:

Standard Poodle - temperament is gun dog like. No surprise - that's what they really are.

Curly Coated Retriever.

Standard Schnauzer - probably a bit more dog than the others. I like the Giants too.

Sorry to butt in,but what kind of gundog do you think the standards are most similar to? I'm curious because I've always fancied some of the gundog breeds, but would also consider the smaller poodle varieties.

In energy levels I think they are most like the utility gun dogs. I think the smaller poodles are quite different.

[Yonjuro]

The Airdales I have met have been great :)

I used to be a "don't wan't a shedding dog" bloke... I now have a husky LOL. I can guarantee he takes far less grooming than my late mini-schnauzer :D I prepared myself for the husky hair onslaught, but I am totally honest when I say, it's no big deal at all. A forced hair blower is a godsend and it blows out most of the undercoat at coat blow time, and then a good brush once a week and we don't have much hair in the house at all (he is an inside dog)

A good diet reduces the amount of guard hair breakage too, so there are things you can do to make life a bit easier and less messy indoors :)

I am not suggesting a Husky would be the dog for you but, my point is that shedding is really no big deal (assuming the dog has hypoallergenic fur - if you need it so)

So if any of the above seems doable or manageable then your options with greatly increase :)

[Hunbun]

I mean no shedding would be pretty nice, but it's not the most important factor. The coat lenght and wether I react to that breed is and the only way to find out is to snuggle a few. Have to see what shows are on near me.

My dog growing up was a seasonal shedder, our yard was full of hair fluffs and our neighbour actually made a jumper out of our dog and neighbours dog hair :D

Newfies are magnificent looking dogs, but they would definitely weigh more than me, not sure if that's a good idea?

I am liking the Bernese more and more, but they just look like big teddybears :) How do these fluffy breeds go with QLD summers?

I think I need to borrow someones fluffy dog to see what it's like :D

[Simply Grand]

Where in Qld are you Hunbun? I'm on my phone so can't see if it's in your profile. If you're on the Gold Coast you're welcome to snuggle with my Aussie Shepherd and see how you go with her fluffy coat :)

I'm not super knowledgeable about Newfies but in my experience they can be a little stubborn when they want to, in that if they decide they don't want to do something they plant their butt and, well, good luck shifting them! I'm not sure how biddable they'd be for obedience type training either. Great as far as loyalty towards "their" people though, especially kids.

Love Berners :) if you can deal with the hair they might work.

[Hunbun]

I'm in Brisbane. Thank you Simply Grand, will take you up on that offer when I come your way next time! :)

Haha I can imagine shifting that much dog, or I mean Not shifting :D

I do really like the idea of obedience training and I would be able to do that in the back yard, so finding time for that wouldn't be hard. It's the long walks I'm worried about.

Are Berners heavy shedders all year round or do they drop their coat couple of times a year?

With the Giant Schnauzers, what sort of daily exercise/work would they need?

[Simply Grand]

(Apologies in advance, hate writing long posts on the phone and this has turned out long so it may not make sense!!)

Again I'm not super knowledgable about Berners (ie never had or worked with one but have met a few), I think they are in the group that shed a little bit day to day then have big coat drops. There are some owners on here who can hopefully tell you more about actually living with them!

With the Giant Schnauzers and the other "tougher" breeds that you mentioned in your OP, and I think even to some extent the Standard Poodle, exercise wise you would probably be fine with two half hour/one one hour walk a day or thereabouts once fully grown and probably fine to miss one here and there. Work wise, a couple of 15 min training sessions and/or brain games, and maybe food from puzzle toys etc would probably be fine too. The issue I see is more with having a super consistent approach and firm rules.

Strong willed dogs NEED that for you to remain in control of them, especially if they are large as you will not be able to physically control them if you end up having to (not you personally, people in general). The trouble with that with kids in a household is that it's really difficult for you to maintain that consistency. Kids (and plenty of adults) are just not always capable of sticking to the limits like stone and clever, determined dogs figure out that inconsistency quickly and take advantage of it.

The risk then is that you get a dog that thinks it is allowed to make its own decisions in unclear situations, such as kids new friend coming over, unexpected action from someone in the street, or even just the fridge they can open or dish they can reach and decide to open/break (constantly, yes from experience!)

From what you've said I think you'd probably be fine with a Standard Schnauzer if it was just you OR if you can find a suitable adult that is good with kids and trained and settled in a household. But I'd be wary about taking on a puppy, young dog or dog that has been given up because previous owners couldn't deal with it, only because of the worry of adding stress your life rather than just the pleasure of a dog.

Of course any dog is going to need that same training and consistency to some extent but the less determined, more biddable, eager to please ones are a little more forgiving of inconsistency and kids forgetting the rules than the strong willed, determined ones.

[Bjelkier]

Where in Qld are you Hunbun? I'm on my phone so can't see if it's in your profile. If you're on the Gold Coast you're welcome to snuggle with my Aussie Shepherd and see how you go with her fluffy coat :)

I'm not super knowledgeable about Newfies but in my experience they can be a little stubborn when they want to, in that if they decide they don't want to do something they plant their butt and, well, good luck shifting them! I'm not sure how biddable they'd be for obedience type training either. Great as far as loyalty towards "their" people though, especially kids.

Love Berners :) if you can deal with the hair they might work.

Our Newfies and the ones I had the most contact with were pretty biddable dogs, didnt take me long to have my show girl well trained. I wouldnt call them a stubborn breed, not like a spitz or a hound.

[BullBreedBoy]

Rotties - I do like them and they definitely look scary :D But the hair is a problem. Even tiny smooth haired dogs make me itchy..

It's a shame, because the Bull Terrier fits all your requirements perfectly, and sounds like would be a great match

match but I guess this would upset your allergies?

Edited July 6, 2015 by BullBreedBoy

[Salukifan]

I'm in Brisbane. Thank you Simply Grand, will take you up on that offer when I come your way next time! :)

Haha I can imagine shifting that much dog, or I mean Not shifting :D

I do really like the idea of obedience training and I would be able to do that in the back yard, so finding time for that wouldn't be hard. It's the long walks I'm worried about.

Are Berners heavy shedders all year round or do they drop their coat couple of times a year?

With the Giant Schnauzers, what sort of daily exercise/work would they need?

How much time would you have most days for training and exercise outside your yard?

[Podengo]

I'm happy to chat about giants if you want to send me a message. One of my best friends breeds them and I have helped raise a couple of her litters, babysit her giants now and then and have done a bit of sport training with all of them :)