recommend me a dog breed

Requirements:

- not too big 

- sociable (with humans and other woofers)

- intelligent

- doesn't shed hair 

- doesn't yap or bark unduly

I wfh so am around most of the day.  

Thank you, woof woof! 

Mrs Dux likes spaniels, but they're complete 'tards. Chap in the pub told me his is 6 months old and still hasn't figured out how the door works. Westies are cool, but have a reputation as old people's dogs. Terriers are too hyper. Try the Bolognese.

Labradoodle.  I have one (although he’s at doggy daycare today) and he is absolutely brilliant.  Very much my best friend, just be aware that they get distressed if they’re away from you too long.  

Jordan (the guy who runs daycare) takes him home first because otherwise he gets a little upset.

He does bark to come in after a comfort break outside and he will bark to let me know if someone is coming to my flat.

Very easy to train him, really didn’t take much effort but as a puppy he was a proper chewer.  He’s not quite fully grown yet but acts a bit like a late stage teenager who is starting to calm down.

As a result of not really shedding, he needs regular brushing and regular trims from the groomer.  He is super cuddly and when I’m upset he can sense it and puts a paw on me to let me know I’m not really alone.

Shar pei ticks all the boxes (check parents though as some can be aggressive / protective with strangers etc), and are totally clean from a very early age (we've had 2)

(He’s a bit bigger than I expected now he’s almost done growing it’s fair to say!  Forgot to pay attention to his paw size when he was a newborn lol, oops!)

Dux I had a labrador who watched the cat open doors but after 14 years still couldn't go through any door that was less than 45 degrees open.

Do dogs take after their owners or their owners after them?

Nah, forget the designer breeds, just get a standard black Lab. Once they're five or six they know the household routine. My sis in law has a 'backpack dog' or something, yappy little thing.

When they come over my dog Sam pays it no attention. He eventually rises from his slumber at dinner time and its as if this little other dog has just seen Godzilla rising from the swamp. It goes mad.

Sam ignores it, has his dinner and wanders outside.  

Little dog gets scooped up into a carry bag and they leave. 

Takes all sorts.

 

Is Sam especially good at ignoring stuff you request him to do?  

A large breed that moults like crazy (I’ve had labs in the past so don’t try telling me labs don’t).

Brilliant suggestion mate.

Whippet ticks those boxes. 
 

Labradoodles are a thing, specifically bred in Oz a few decades ago to make a hypoallergenic guide dog, but the bloke who did it came out a couple of months ago and bemoaned the fact every bigger is now doing it with every breed for fashion.

I'd have suggested the working cocker (what aviator said, but smaller) but some can shed hair - one of ours did, the other doesn't.  A bit hyper until old age catches up with them, mind.

Get yourself a (female) greyhound, ex racer.  I've got one called Booze Flame and she's adorable

- Very good natured (so no need to worry about biting kids)

- Kenneled as pairs so generally good with other dogs

- Unloved and thrown on the scrapheap, so doing a good deed

- They're pedigrees so it is good fun looking up their family trees

- They are athletes so it's really good fun looking up their race history (Booze had 19 career wins and 16 second places in a 89 run career.  She had a hot streak of 4 straight wins in the space of 8 days in 2015, so I bet the punters loved her)

- They don't need much exercise and sleep a lot, so good house dog

- They are short haried so don't drop as much as other dogs

Whippet whippet whippet whippet whippet

for Christ’s sake if you’re worried about shedding hair do NOT get a labradoodle 

whippets are the perfect house dog. Snuggly, affectionate, don’t need hours of exercise, hate cold and rain, happy to chill on the sofa while you do your thing

 

 

And do NOT get any type of working dog unless you are prepared to (a) exercise it for multiple hours per day and (b) do agility/brain stimulation stuff with us. They are smart and fit and they get physically and mentally bored very easily, at which point they become destructive. 

I would take a whippet over a retired greyhound - lots of them v troubled/psycho if have been badly treated.

whippets are gorgeous and beautiful. My friend runs the whippet appreciation society :)

Miniature or toy poodle is a potential option. Intelligent and doesn't really shed, however the grooming will be expensive and regular. 

If getting a doodle mix, please be diligent with breeders. Many have jumped on the mixed-breed bandwagon are indiscriminately breeding temperamentally unsound and physically poor dogs. The man who created the Labradoodle recently expressed his remorse over his creation because it's created a huge demand for fancy mixed breeds, which has been lucrative for unethical breeders. 

Don't get a random dog off Facebook or Gumtree. Get it from an actual breeder who does rigorous health checks. A good breeder doesn't have dogs available all year round, they meticulously plan litters and have only one or two. If you aren't bothered by the pedigree or "quality" of a dog, then I would suggest adopt/ rescue. 

I'd highly recommend you visit Crufts and speak to various breeders. There will be a variety of breeds and you may fall in love with a less common breed. 

Agree with torontochick. Do NOT get a collie, GSD, malinois or any dog from working lines if you can't commit to roughly 2-3 hours of exercise daily and regular dog training classes/ activities. They need lots of physical exercise and mental stimulation. Imo, every dog should be getting plenty of the latter, regardless of their breed.

Re yappy dogs, I've not met a quiet terrier. Rarely do I met any terriers that I like. So you probs want to avoid that group.

Also, shar-pei is a horrible suggestion for someone that wants a sociable dog. In general, they simply aren't. Shar-peis are known to reserved and wary/ uninterested of strangers. And in the wrong or inexperienced hands, can snowball into reactivity and aggression. Also, they are one of the more difficult breeds to train. 

First ever “dogwalking related shag” came from a young lady with two poms.  

We kept bumping into one another near the common.  Jasper knew what I was up to.  Judgemental little sod.  Thank god dogs can’t talk.

Whippet and Italian Greyhound also good choices. Regards intelligence, I don't see much difference between most small/ medium breeds. No breed stands out as dumb as a bag of rocks. The only major difference is level of drive and stamina between, for instance a westie vs a  working cocker spaniel.

If you are planning to compete in dog sports, then of ofc I would recommend something like a collie or GSD. However, "non-traditional" breeds can certainly perform very well in a variety of dog sports. When I had a dog years ago, the smartest and most enthusiastic dog at our scent detection and competitive obedience classes was a pomeranian. This little dog put the collies and german shepherd to shame. 

Re: mental stimulation for doggies, you can buy little puzzles that dogs can play with and when they figure out how it works they get a treat.  Be aware that irritatingly smart dogs you may as well just give them the treats direct because they will completely figure out the puzzle flawlessly within a few days.

And if they are incredibly smart, they will take the puzzle, play with it a bit in front of you at first and then carry the puzzle to their bed where they then completely empty it or treats and hide both the puzzle and the treats under a blankie for later, because obviously whenever I am going out I am abandoning him FOREVER so he has to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. 

Took me weeks to figure out he was doing that.

@Teclis: Even if they work it out within a few minutes, it's still much more enriching than giving the food straight out of a bowl! But yeah, I remember buying some £20 puzzle toy and one of my dogs worked it out in 5 mins angry. I never fed my pups out of their bowls. It was always in food toys/ enrichment activities or used for training. 

Sounds like your criteria aren’t too fussy actually. So avoiding working dog breeds and any particularly high-maintenance breeds, most would probably be suitable if you’ve got the time.

Dogs largely take after their owners - but obviously within the confines of the breed. I’ve got a pug and she is fit as hell and loves mud, water, long walks etc - that’s the raising. Whilst she has no separation anxiety with being left alone, if people are home then she couldn’t be shut away and would have to be centrally involved and lying on somebody’s lap - that’s the breed.

Cockapoos are lovely dogs and sound like they tick your boxes. Lively but manageable if you’ve got a reasonable amount of time and commitment. 
 

 

Soz Toronto but that is not true. I have had working (hunting) dogs and worked them pretty much all my life. They sleep and don’t give a toss just like any dog. None of mine have ever been destructive. Sure if you are talking cop dog or guard dog stuff but why would you want one.