Dogs for first time owners

[Cookerpebble]

what breeds of dogs do you recommend for people who have not owned a dog before. We were thinking of a smaller breed due to the size of the house, although we do have a big garden.

[veekay]

Suggest you read a few breed books to get an idea of what dog suits your life style. It is not a good idea to get a dog even a small one if you are working all day ( not fair to leave it alone all day ). Do a bit of reading and decide then when you know what you are wanting, do some research into the breeder ( if you are getting a pedigree dog) to make sure they know what they are doing, so many people breed dogs for the money ( and if you do it right there isn't a lot of money to be had ). if you go for a 'heinz' make sure it will not out grow you and a rescue dog agian make sure it suits you don't just get one because you feel sorry for it.

Most of all it is going to be with you for a very long time so make sure you choose a dog you want not what someone else says you should have

Hope this helps

[Lolabelle]

Don't get a Rhodesian Ridgeback as they are big and very strong willed, so unless you are very strong minded and good at standing your ground. They will walk all over you if they can and try to dominate. I have two and love them dearly. Get something that is not too active if you aren't active and make sure you have time to walk it even if you have a big yard, because walking them help them not become neurotic from being locked up allthe time in a yard.
Having said all that, having a dog is fantastic, and they are the best friend you can ever have. Good luck with it and read as much as you can about any breeds that you might be interested in. By the way, sometimes you can get a most fantastic pet in a mongrel (heinz). Some breeds are over bred and can have thier own problems. Look up road tests on google or something like that.

[porshiepoo]

I personally don't believe there is any particular breed of dog that is best for first timers or one to be avoided. It's all about how you bring them up.
Even a normally level headed retriever has the ability to be a complete nutcase if it's bought up wrong! IMO the likes of Rotties, etc are at an increased risk of being labelled 'Bad' purely because of the type of person that is drawn to a breed they 'believe' to be 'hard'. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying all Rottie, Staffy etc owners are nutcases, I'm just saying nutcase people are more likely to be drawn to what they believe are 'hard' breeds as opposed to Poodles, Pomies etc and that is what makes a dog (any breed ) a 'bad' breed.

Basically, my advice would be to read up on what kind of breed you like. Theres no point getting a Poodle because you think it's a safe breed, if you're going to be too embarrassed to walk it.
Be honest with your evaluation about what type of breed you like, what kind of time you can offer it and most importantly have a firm resolution as to what rules and boundaries you need to enforce and stick to it.

Any dog does not care how big the couch is for it, or how big the garden is or even whether you can afford the best collar and lead etc. The most important thing in a dogs life is calm stability and the best way to bond with any dog and to enforce your pack leadership is during a walk.
Do it as many times a day as you can but at least twice and no matter what size the breed in ratio to your garden, your dog will be happier.

Good luck in your search! Keep us posted.

[Liz]

Great advice as always Porshiepoo.

However, I do think certain breeds will be more suitable for different situations and you really have to do your homework to find the right dog for you eg there is a myth that Greyhounds need lots of exercise when the opposite is true so, if time is a factor, this breed would be suitable for those who can only go one long walk a day.

Good luck in your search Cookerpebble and I wish more people would think about it before rushing out to get a puppy or dog.

[Cookerpebble]

Thank you all so far.
I don't think we will be going down the puppy route just yet. Don't think it would be fair on the dog to try to train it right when we are just learning ourselves.
Our cat is from a rescue shelter and I think we will get our dog the same way when the time and the dog is right.

[dozy]

We have had Boxers for over thirty years and they are great pets very loving and great with kids ,some say that they are windy but if you give them dry mix that solves the problem .
Before i got married my folks had labs,corgi, poodle and of course a boxer ,there are plenty of folk with boxers so you can get good feedback and the Boxer Rescue Scotland are alway looking for good homes ..best of luck ..

[Cookerpebble]

Are boxers not prone to problems if left alone? Unfortunately not going to be able to have dog with me all the time (but would not be alone for long periods). I read that boxers are great family pets but need constant companionship.

[gary.b]

I wouldn't recommend getting your first dog from a rescue centre, they can come with "baggage" that you maybe too inexperienced to deal with, the previous owner may not have been completely truthful about their reasons for re homing so you may only get told half the story for example, "The previous owner's were moving to a small flat" when in fact the truth was every time they went out the dog howled, wreaked the house and defecated all over the kitchen.
Get a pup at least you'll know it history.

[veekay]

On the whole I agree garyb a pup would be best, but a good rehoming scheme could help I have heard Lab rescue are very good and a thread here seems to agree with it. In saying that I would go for a pup. I mean we have babies and most of us have to learn as we go. We don't get a bigger child to practice on - but if we did I wonder how many of us would go an to have babies!!!

[porshiepoo]

Are boxers not prone to problems if left alone? Unfortunately not going to be able to have dog with me all the time (but would not be alone for long periods). I read that boxers are great family pets but need constant companionship.

Any breed of dog can become nuerotic when left alone, it depends on many other things irrelevant to the breed of the dog.

Personally, I would suggest a puppy, but obviously the choice is yours. Unless of course you can get a dog from rescue that rescue know the background of 100%.
No matter what the background of a dog I do believe it's possible to rectify most problems (as I believe the problems stem from people not dogs) but only if you're experienced in some way with dogs and their training, otherwise I fear you may end up with a dog you cannot cope with and sadly could knock your confidence as it's your first one!

Do plenty of reading first, on dog psychology as well as dog breeds, it'll help in the end and it's best to be forearmed as they say!

[changilass]

Having taken everything everyone else has said into account, try this site:-

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/select_a_breed.asp

[gary.b]

Theres nothing complicated about training a puppy.
Dog training should be black and white, if the dog does something good reward it, if it does something bad punish it, simple.
Don't waste your hard earned money on too many fancy books its just common sense.

[Liz]

if it does something bad punish it, simple.
common sense.

Erm...how?

[Jeemag_USA]

Erm...how?

Liz I always used to train my dogs with a willow switch, a very thin piece of stripped willow branch, when they do something wrong I would twang them with it and say somehting a word or whatever like ah-ah or bad or something or you can use a whistle, the switch doesn't hurt, it more gives the dog a start and they don't like it, eventually as you train them like this you can throw the switch away because as long as you say the word you associated with the twang of the switch they know whats coming and they stop. I'd never advocate whipping or beating a dog in any way, a willow switch is used only to aid in command recognition and its very effective. Make one about 2 to 2.5 feet long and carry it loosely in your hand and when the dog pulls or does something you don't like, just bounce it off his backside and say your command.

[porshiepoo]

Liz I always used to train my dogs with a willow switch, a very thin piece of stripped willow branch, when they do something wrong I would twang them with it and say somehting a word or whatever like ah-ah or bad or something or you can use a whistle, the switch doesn't hurt, it more gives the dog a start and they don't like it, eventually as you train them like this you can throw the switch away because as long as you say the word you associated with the twang of the switch they know whats coming and they stop. I'd never advocate whipping or beating a dog in any way, a willow switch is used only to aid in command recognition and its very effective. Make one about 2 to 2.5 feet long and carry it loosely in your hand and when the dog pulls or does something you don't like, just bounce it off his backside and say your command.

Crikey, have to say that it's not something I personally could do! Having said that I've schooled many a dressage horse and was always taught to give a quick, slight flick of the schooling whip behind the leg (Mine lol) to back up leg aids, so it's not like I can comment really.

IMO there are other ways to train ourselves to have happier, healthier minded pets. It may take more effort on our part and has to be more consistant probably, but I prefer it.

One of the real problems with your method Jeemag is that it's negative punishment and IMO this could lead to an unstable, unpredictable dog in the long term?

Cookerpebble, one thing I would suggest if you get a puppy is to prevent any kind of food claiming right from the beginning.
Every puppy we've ever had has been taught this right from the beginning and now any person could quite easily walk up to any of our dogs and remove their food without them being in the least protective or defensive.
I started it off by rolling my hand in the bowl while they were eating and preogressed it from there. For me, this was one of the most important things to do as I needed to know that any wandering childrens hands were not going to get bitten off.

[Ash]

i agree with you porshiepoo, i had a shetland sheepdog growing up and he was awful with food, if you tried to pick up his plate he would certainly bite, we got alfie(cocker spaniel) 14 weeks ago and like you said when he is eating i gradually add food to his dish and keep him calm, as we have a 3 year old so have to get him used to being touched whilst eating and he is ok about it

[brandy]

i totally agree with the food.. what we do with bubs.. is when she has something that she will not let go.. ie sock or shoe that she shouldnt have.. i give her a little flick on the nose.
also what i have found to work, is that when she is getting to rough i will take her by her scruff gently and make her lay down. she then goes belly up tail wagging.. and i then rub her on the belly praising her for not being agressive.
she tends to want to think that ben is a puppy .. and she can play with him accordingly.. he seems to think the same thing.. so its a constant power strugle between them. right now she is learning her place, and other than playing with ben like a puppy which we are working on, weve not had any problems!

[Boozeburglar]

Crikey, have to say that it's not something I personally could do! Having said that I've schooled many a dressage horse and was always taught to give a quick, slight flick of the schooling whip behind the leg (Mine lol) to back up leg aids, so it's not like I can comment really.

IMO there are other ways to train ourselves to have happier, healthier minded pets. It may take more effort on our part and has to be more consistant probably, but I prefer it.

One of the real problems with your method Jeemag is that it's negative punishment and IMO this could lead to an unstable, unpredictable dog in the long term?

Cookerpebble, one thing I would suggest if you get a puppy is to prevent any kind of food claiming right from the beginning.
Every puppy we've ever had has been taught this right from the beginning and now any person could quite easily walk up to any of our dogs and remove their food without them being in the least protective or defensive.
I started it off by rolling my hand in the bowl while they were eating and preogressed it from there. For me, this was one of the most important things to do as I needed to know that any wandering childrens hands were not going to get bitten off.

Jeemag is pretty clear on the fact that this is a temporary measure to get the dog to subconciously associate the NO command, whatever one is used. He is clear it is not done in such a way as to hurt the dog, it is really no different to tapping your dog on the nose with a paper, or shaking a tin of pebbles.

He never suggested the dog receives no positive reinforcement.

Rubbish about it leading to an unstable dog.

[Tyke]

what breeds of dogs do you recommend for people who have not owned a dog before. We were thinking of a smaller breed due to the size of the house, although we do have a big garden.

As per usual on here you ask a question which then gets hi-jacked, over complicated and lost.
Best thing to do is talk to someone who knows about dog breeds, their temperaments etc. You can then start to narrow things down and hopefully come up with a breed which suits. Then comes the problem of finding the dog, not always easy. I operate a puppy finding service free of charge. If you want more help PM me and I will happily help as much as I can.