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 shitty 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 shitty 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.