Help us choose a dog

[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.