what is a great breed dog for a first time pet for a family?

[Pen]

16 hours ago, Princess5 said:

what is a great breed dog for a first time pet for a family?  our kids are 11 &8.  we have never owned pets before neither the kids nor the adults..we have no clue what we are doing...want a puppy for sure..willing to spend money to get a kind, happy, mild dog from a good breeder..what would be a great breed of dog for us?  Labrador?  golden doodle? labradooddle? any other?

 

What does “mild” mean to you?  

Most Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Beagles I have known will accept lots of cuddling and rambunctious play with kids without getting snappish, in fact they usually adore being cuddled, having heads and body parts on them etc.

But most are active and exuberant when young. So if “mild” to you means inactive, none will be likely to fit.  In fact few puppies - 3 year old dogs have mellowed out. 

[Pawz4me]

9 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

 

Many of you mentioned to find a reputable breeder. How does one go about determining who is a reputable breeder?

 

A good place to start is with the breed club of whatever breed(s) you're interested in. Almost all breeds will have some sort of national club or group. For example, here's the National Beagle Club of America (I'm guessing other countries have their own). If you click around a bit you'll see they have an overview of the breed as well as a section for breeder referral. When I decided I wanted a Shih Tzu puppy* the first place I started looking was the American Shih Tzu Club, and through them I was able to locate a truly fabulous breeder who was less than twenty minutes from my house. And many breeds will have local/regional clubs in addition to a national club. All that info is usually available on the national club website.

*Even though most people here know I'm an advocate for rescue--I have a foster dog snoozing beside me right now--I also think there are very valid reasons for people wanting a purebred puppy. I certainly had them when I got our Tzu. I'm all for people getting the dog or puppy, purebred or mutt, that's a good fit for them. As someone who works in rescue I'm much more concerned with people making the right choice for them, and making a lifelong commitment to that pet, than I am in where they get it.

[OH_Homeschooler]

16 hours ago, Scarlett said:

She is a jewel.  A mix breed, but  she sure looks and acts pointer.  Super smart.  High energy....but easy to train.   I am already plotting getting another one...,a full blood this time.  

 

I had one just like this-a mix but she seemed to be about 95% pointer. She has passed on but she was such a good girl.

[G5052]

We got an older beagle mix from a rescue and have never looked back. One advantage of getting an older dog is that they have less energy and have developed their personality. I couldn't afford a purebred, so focused our search entirely on the rescues. 

She was housebroken and friendly right away, but apparently had very little training. We had to work on leash manners and basic commands. No problem training her, but being a mix supposedly helps that way. 

I was surprised by how cuddly she is. She truly wouldn't mind laying on the couch with a human ALL DAY LONG. She's very companionable. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by G5052

[Ottakee]

Another way to find a reputable breeder is to ask around to local vets.  They know which ones are more puppy mills and which ones are great breeders I'd excellent puppies.

We had an oops litter once with our dog.  Those were wonderful puppies.  Even the vet said they were healthier and had better temperament than many purebred puppies they saw.   

Sometimes local vets will know of a littler of puppies that are an oops litter but very healthy and great family dogs.  Vets might also know of a dog that needs a new home as well.

[sassenach]

3 hours ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

 The number one dog that gets lost or runs away here are beagles. The second is husky.

I've owned both of those breeds and can confirm it was a huge issue with both.

[kristin0713]

We have a beagle mix and she’s the best, sweetest, gentlest dog ever.

You couldn’t pay me to get a golden doodle or golden retriever. I’ve known too many crazy ones. 

[kristin0713]

30 minutes ago, sassenach said:

I've owned both of those breeds and can confirm it was a huge issue with both.

Yes, our beagle is a runner. We have an electric fence that she was trained on at 6 months and she absolutely stays within it.  She’s 5 now. She’s never tried to break out of it. 

[Innisfree]

The thing is, beagles are bred to run and follow scents. They're bred to be hunting dogs.

If I were on a farm and wanted a dog who would stay on the farm or outside around the house without a good fence, a beagle would not be the right choice. But I'm in suburbia, and we have leash laws, and our yard has a good fence which was planned and professionally built to contain dogs safely. I mean-- it's a standard 5' fence, part chain link, part more attractive aluminum. But I got it to contain dogs and small kids.

Most days our beagle gets either a longish walk or two, on a leash, or some significant training and exercise (obedience and agility) in the yard. He hasn't tried to run off. He does miss his exercise if for some reason it doesn't happen, and then he might be up in the night barking and wanting to chase deer out of the yard.

He is with dd15 almost constantly, because she is his person, and he doesn't want to be away from her. The one time he slipped out when my nephew left the door open, he ran right around and waited on the front porch to be let in. Back in the misty past a month ago, when dd was at school all day, he spent the day snoozing on her bed until it was time for the school bus to bring her home, and then he woke up to meet her at the door.

He does love to dig, no question.

So, I think beagles may run, under some circumstances, because they're supposed to, after all. But I also think their needs can be managed so that it's not a problem, depending on your situation.

[ktgrok]

15 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm a fan of beagles for first time dog owners with young kids. Sure they have cons, just like all breeds do. But IMO they come closest to meeting the ideal that most families are after in a dog. Do be aware that most of them are incredibly smart. People who don't really know dogs think it's stubbornness, or that they're dumb dogs. Usually it's far from that. A beagle is a dog who has been bred for millennia to work far out in front of a hunter and thus to be able to think for itself and make it's own decisions. A good hunting beagle HAS to be able to make its own decisions. That's totally different from breeds like Lab, Goldens, Border Collies, etc. that are bred to work closely under the direction of a person. A dog who has been bred to be smart enough to make its own decisions is a dog who will need to be convinced of the "why" that it should do what you want instead of whatever it wants to do. And that is exactly where the false notion that beagles are stubborn comes from. A beagle won't do what you want for the simple joy of pleasing you, as many breeds will. It takes more skill and more patiece to train a hound (any hound) than it does a breed who has been bred for millenia to work closely under a person's direction.

 

Yes! There are basically two types of working/sporting dogs. Those that were bred to follow orders brilliantly, and those that were designed to figure things out themselves, brilliantly. Both are incredibly smart. Both CAN be trained to amazing feats of greatness. BUT...it will be VERY different looking in how you get there. 

Labradors and Golden Retrievers are bird dogs , and were bred to sit very quietly for long periods of time, in order not to scare the birds, then to follow the hunter's directions to go get it, but only when told, and then to come directly back, hand it over, and sit quietly for a long while longer. 

Pointers and spaniels and versatile hunting dogs like GSPs, Weimaraners are also bird dogs, but in a totally different way. They are NOT bred to sit and wait for orders. They are bred to go out way way in front of the hunter, find the bird on their own, and flush it out or point it. The GSP and weim and a few other breeds then also retrieve it, and even hunt wounded game. But their big job was to figure out where the birds were on their own. They were not bred to quietly listen to the human because the human didn't know where the birds were. 

Hounds..hounds are like that second class of bird dogs, except even LESS likely to listen to humans. The pointers and the flushers were at least expected to be under some voice control, and to come when called, and to hold the point while shooting, etc. Hounds are mostly just let loose and the humans attempt to keep up. Period. Because they often worked in packs they are great at reading doggy body language. But, they were not bred to look to humans, and for much of their history were kept in packs outdoors, in kennels. They didn't work one on one with a human like a pointer, so human body language is NOT something they excelled at. For that reason, i find them the hardest to train because where as a weimaraner will want to know why you asked him to sit, the hound won't even notice that you asked. With a pointer or weimaraner your biggest task is to figure out how to motivate them to follow the command. With the hound the biggest issue is getting them to notice you gave one. And although a pointer may not care as much about pleasing you as a labrador, at least they do seem to know if they pleased you or not. My hound...he had no clue. I'd catch him chewing something up and instead of looking concerned he'd just look confused, as if he thought maybe I just wanted to share that tasty book with him or something. I remember when we were fostering a weimaraner my husband got upset one night watching Queer Eye. (yes, my big tough husband got all teary eyed over that show, lol). Anyway, the weimaraner we were just fostering came over to him and started nudging him, putting her head on him, etc. She knew he was upset. Our own dog, the hound, had NO CLUE and snoozed away, lol. 

But, that hound is who my 7 yr old with PANDAS goes to when he can't calm down or stop crying. Tracker will let DS 7 lay on top of him and cry, and never get upset himself. He's great that way. And has been protective when we needed it, gentle as a lamb with kids and small animals, and they have such soft ears 🙂

[rebcoola]

Thinking more about it honestly our easiest dogs have all been mutt rescues.  Why because we were matched with a dog that had qualities we wanted had already been living in a home with a family that has been working with them so they can find a forever home.

[Lori D.]

OP -- as you can see, everyone has their favorite breed, and why. 😄 

I think what is key for YOU and your family is to do the research about different breeds, and honestly assess what your family can/will do to accommodate the needs of different breeds -- and also what you can't/won't do to accommodate the needs of different breeds. Somewhere in there, you will find several breeds that are a good fit for YOUR family.

Then consider all the pros and cons of puppy, vs. a grown dog.

And also the pros and cons of going with a breeder vs. a rescue organization vs. a dog that is being fostered vs. Humane Society.

BEST of luck in finding the perfect pet to become your new family member! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Dicentra]

Completely non-usable post about a dog breed (because I do NOT think the following breed is good for first time dog owners) for the OP 🙂 but if we're talking about dogs who are bred to be independent and who WILL NOT LISTEN AND/OR OBEY if they are "on" to something, I give you...

The Great Pyrenees

😄

Fabulous dogs with anything small and helpless and needing guarding.  Lowest energy dogs I've ever seen (unless something is threatening their "flock").  But WILL NOT LISTEN if they think that something is "up" and it needs to be checked out.  Oh, they hear you just fine.  They'll turn back, look at you like, "Dude - I hear you.  I'm doing stuff here." and then continue on with whatever they need to investigate.  They are also giant and shed/blow HUMUNGOUS GOBS OF UNDERCOAT in the spring/summer, and I've been trying to train at least one of my Pyrs to fetch for the last 7 years.  Nothing.  Nada.  They just lie there and look at me with a look that says, "You threw it.  You go get it."

I love my Pyrs. 🙂

(Note: This post may or may not have been prompted by an incident earlier this evening involving two Pyrs, an early skunk, and me YELLING AT THEM to come back to the house with them IGNORING ME COMPLETELY.  Luckily, no one was sprayed.)

Edited April 17, 2020 by Dicentra

[Frances]

2 hours ago, rebcoola said:

Thinking more about it honestly our easiest dogs have all been mutt rescues.  Why because we were matched with a dog that had qualities we wanted had already been living in a home with a family that has been working with them so they can find a forever home.

Exactly. For me, the best analogy for me when thinking about getting a dog is looking for a new pair of jeans. I might do tons of research to find the very best brand new pair and they seem like they will be just right when I try them on. But after I wash and dry them several times, they might now be too short or too tight. Because no matter how much research I do, I won’t really know how they will fit until later, after I’ve already bought them.

On the other hand, I can go to Goodwill and try on many pairs of already worn/washed jeans. I know they are going to fit exactly the same after I launder them as they do now. And while they might not last as long because they are not new, I know they are a perfect fit.

While we won’t get to spend as many years with our older rescue dogs, I like the certainty of knowing exactly what we are getting and providing a loving home to an older dog in need of one.

My brother has always gotten purebred pups from reputable breeders and invested significant time and money in their training. One of the three was an easy, good tempered dog. One of the others developed extreme fears as a young adult, and was never an easy dog, and the other turned out to have serious, untreatable heart defects. In the latter case, the breeder’s long time vet had just retired and a new, inexperienced vet missed the signs. They were offered a refund or new pup from the next litter, but had already bonded with the dog and wouldn’t consider giving him up. 

[G5052]

8 hours ago, Frances said:

Exactly. For me, the best analogy for me when thinking about getting a dog is looking for a new pair of jeans. I might do tons of research to find the very best brand new pair and they seem like they will be just right when I try them on. But after I wash and dry them several times, they might now be too short or too tight. Because no matter how much research I do, I won’t really know how they will fit until later, after I’ve already bought them.

On the other hand, I can go to Goodwill and try on many pairs of already worn/washed jeans. I know they are going to fit exactly the same after I launder them as they do now. And while they might not last as long because they are not new, I know they are a perfect fit.

While we won’t get to spend as many years with our older rescue dogs, I like the certainty of knowing exactly what we are getting and providing a loving home to an older dog in need of one.

 

I really like that analogy. We started by going every weekend to the largest rescue in our metropolitan area. It gave us a chance to meet a variety of kinds of dogs and to chat with the volunteers. I had cats growing up, but had never owned a dog. We went in wanting a doodle mix, but those are hard to find. There was one, but he was very high strung, and we didn't want that. We walked some larger dogs that needed training and decided that we needed something smaller. The beagle mix we chose was a little older than we wanted, but she was so interested in engaging with us. She carefully went to each of us and was very friendly and outgoing. She didn't have leash manners, but was happy to go on a walk and kept looking back to make sure we were coming along. She liked playing with other dogs in the yard. In other words, she's a very easy and personable dog. Her file said that she rarely barked and never tried to bite.

And that's pretty much what we got. She barks when she goes out in the morning for some reason, but that's it. Training her to leash took awhile because she wants to sniff everything, but now she'll look back at me before pulling on the leash as if to say, "Please let me go check this out!" She's run a handful of times, but will go and then will look back as if to say, "Are you coming?" She's never gone far. 

Other than two vet visits when she was limping, she's been very healthy. Both of those visits were after she slipped and fell, but she recovered fine with doggie Motrin and less activity. 

One advantage of beagles over the doodle breeds is that they don't have to be groomed. She doesn't like baths, but I bathe her once a month and put on a lot of conditioner because she tends to get itchy. Prior to the virus, I took her to a grooming place for her nails, but that's not hard to do yourself. 

When her time comes (NO!), we'll get another beagle mix. They're just right for us. We like the size and personality.