I have both a springer spaniel and a bearded collie cross.
The springer spaniel has an amazing temperment, looks adorable, generally well behaved, good with children and families and a great animal.
The bearded collie cross (admittantly it is still a puppy) is very very hyperactive and tends to be too strong for even me Looks adorable too and generally a good temperment although we found he wants a lot more playing with than the spaniel. That may be due to age though as well
My nan has labs who make great pets and are also good with kids. So it all depends on what you want from having a dog. Both ours and my nans were decided upon by considering temperment, what they are like with families etc as they are family pets.
I think I'd opt for a golden retriever. Nice to look at, good natured, not one of those ridiculously hyperactive breeds.
... And I have a golden retriever that begs to differ.
It depends what you want really. Most goldies have their mad moments but do settle, labs are a more hyper version, but again settle when older.
Collies are, in general, completely nutty and loopy, but can be very lovely anyway, great if you can give a couple hours or so of walks a day and some playtime.
If you want a dog who'll lay around doing nothing and only needs 1 or 2 short walks,a greyhound are great.
Best bet I'd say is go to a few rescue centres and see if there's any that suit you, honestly it can vary so much between breeds, between types (show or working), between individual dogs.
ETA: Despite their poor reputation, staffies are (can be) lovely dogs, given the right socialisation etc, downsides is some have been used for fighting etc and can need an experienced home, others are just a victim of too many breeders and not enough buyers.
Last edited by GemmyMonster : 2 Weeks Ago at 12:42.
they are hyper, could play and cuddle 24/7 and never get tired, still very respectful of their owner, great with other dogs (get along with almost everyone), great with kids, people, never hostile or too loud. They bark only if there is a cat around
I have one JRT and a cocker spaniel but would definitely recommend JRT..
they're great if you have a flat and not a house, they won't eat your furniture or anything
so, strongly recommend JRTs after having lived with a bobtail, a maltese, a french bulldog and a cocker whom I still own
I would like it to be ugly
scary
bite to match its bark
big but not huge
large but trim
and to be able to fetch a stick.
On the perhaps optimistic assumption that you're not a troll, getting an attack dog is not cool. Not only could it hurt someone else, but it's hugely unfair to it given that if it just follows its natural instincts it could end up euthanised.
On the perhaps optimistic assumption that you're not a troll, getting an attack dog is not cool. Not only could it hurt someone else, but it's hugely unfair to it given that if it just follows its natural instincts it could end up euthanised.
I dont want it for attack purposes but i dont want it to be a scaredy cat i want it to be able to stand up for itself when needed.
Most dogs will stand up for themselves, and will also protect their owner with no training.
Not ugly, but something like a lab or goldie may work then, the retriever part means most will retrieve (although, not all of course).
Staffy is another good option, smaller but if another dog attacks it it'll do a good job of standing up for itself, lots in rescues needing homes too, of all ages, colours and different sizes (as well as loads of staffy Xs).
Very few dogs or ugly or scary, and it's frankly daft to want a dog with those abilities.
Most dogs will stand up for themselves, and will also protect their owner with no training.
Not ugly, but something like a lab or goldie may work then, the retriever part means most will retrieve (although, not all of course).
Staffy is another good option, smaller but if another dog attacks it it'll do a good job of standing up for itself, lots in rescues needing homes too, of all ages, colours and different sizes (as well as loads of staffy Xs).
Very few dogs or ugly or scary, and it's frankly daft to want a dog with those abilities.
Am i barking up the wrong tree for want a better phrase looking for such a perfect beast?
I would like it to be ugly
scary
bite to match its bark
big but not huge
large but trim
and to be able to fetch a stick.
There are no "ugly" dogs in my opinion but i would say the best dog would be a Boxer because they are definitely loyal to their owners and would stand up for both you and itself - when i had one she would growl at and even attack any other dog that jumped up at me or seemed to threaten me. But you must be careful because if your dog bites somebody and they complain then the dog will be put down. Boxers have lovely personalities and are friendly and slightly crazy and will definitely fetch a stick.
I guess the "scariest" dog would probably be a Rottweiler or a Doberman although Rottweilers are not "trim" and Dobermans are pretty huge.
I had a german shepherd crossed with a wolf once, he wasn't a bad family dog, was really protective actually, although I wasn't always comfortable with it, he could be agressive sometimes.
Or you could get the 8kg cat my dad had in Cuba, she was skinny so all that weight was pretty much muscle and instead of picking fights with cats, it would be dogs (she won them).
I had a german shepherd crossed with a wolf once, he wasn't a bad family dog, was really protective actually, although I wasn't always comfortable with it, he could be agressive sometimes.
Or you could get the 8kg cat my dad had in Cuba, she was skinny so all that weight was pretty much muscle and instead of picking fights with cats, it would be dogs (she won them).
Discuss everything to do with animals and pets in here.
Whats a good dog to own?
Looks adorable too and generally a good temperment although we found he wants a lot more playing with than the spaniel. That may be due to age though as well 
Re: Whats a good dog to own?
