Hi

I would be ever so grateful for some advice from fellow dog owners/breeders.  My hubby and I are searching for a new family dog for us and our 6 year old.  Our beautiful Labrador passed away a few years ago and it has taken a long time for us to even hazard the thought of replacing her.  Whilst I would love to have another Labrador, we have recently moved to a flat and until we decide where we want to live space is an issue.  I am scared to go for a breed other than a Labrador because I just don't know what to expect, I know that with our lab she was so calm, gentle and wonderful and great with all the family.  She did, however moult for England and I know we do not want a dog that sheds so much hair again!!!!

I have found 3 breeds that I love the look of and these are the Basset Fauve de Bretagne, The PBGV and the Mini Wire Haired Dachshund.  I love all of them because of the wiry coats and adorable faces but I don't know of the three which would be the best with children, the gentlest and the calmest.  Or if any of them can be walked off lead in the park/fields and whether it is better to go for a dog or a bitch in terms of temperament and if any of these dogs could live in an appartment.

I would be ever so grateful for help and advice, this is such a huge decision and I really don't want to make a mistake.

Thank you

You seem to be choosing a breed based on coat type and size.  There are huge huge differences between a labrador and the 3 breeds you've stated, besides those characteristics....

I'm a trainer and have had those 3 breeds in classes.  They are not the most trainable breeds...  By that I mean that they are very nose-focussed and scent-houndy, and are likely to be very interested and distracted by smells and scent of all kinds.  And their nose is much closer to the floor than a labradors, so getting them to ignore all those smells on the ground is harder for that reason too. 

Over all, they are less trainable than a labrador... You don't need to keep them on a lead all the time, but do expect it to be harder to train a recall than it was with your labrador.

I would not say that space is an issue when choosing a dog.  I know of several people, ourselves included, who have large breed dogs in small houses/apartments.  It's all about the walks, the outdoor exercise and training you can provide - dogs need time, not space.  So don't exclude another lab - or another large breed - for that reason.

Obviously the shedding is another issue though, since labs do shed a lot... 

Personally, although I love the personalities of dachsies, I wouldn't have one myself because of the back issues and injuries which come along with being bred to have such a long back.  As breeds go, the PBGV and the Basset Fauve de Bretagne are healthier and more robust.  I wouldn't say they're calm as puppies, though...

Dog or bitch makes no difference in terms of temperament, but bear in mind that it is better for a bitch to be left intact until the age of 5/6/7yrs, current research shows - so unless you want to deal with seasons every 6 months (which are no big deal, but people with kids or white carpets might not), then a dog would probably be a better choice, as he can be left entire with less inconvenience.

Scent hounds are so so very different personalities to labs, they are driven by their nose, independent & certainly not there to please you. Recall is possible but not immediate, they come with selective hearing & a 'pause button as I call it' anything from 30 seconds on a good day to a couple of minutes! Some days  just glad when I call they bother to look my way, ours do go off lead most days but I'm with them mentally all the time & don't let them out of my sight to go as someone rightly said in another post 'to go self employed'. Backs especially in Dachshunds need thought & care, you say you live in a flat do you have steps or stairs which for me would be a no no but doable if your prepared to carry. We have bassets who have been up stairs but if they develop problems it really isn't worth the risk & I can't carry 5 stone plus. You need to have a good sense of humour, patience & consistency, & I can't imagine life without one.

Not all dachsies are prone to back problems, I have found the smooths have more of an incident than the longs or wires and research of lines and getting from a responsible breeder should reduce the risk even more.

My dachsies are not allowed to do the stairs till 6 months old and then up only and carried down till a year old, curtailing too much exercise means the muscles supporting the spine don't get a chance to strengthen, they do get on the sofa but are shown how to jump onto a bean bag and then the floor when getting down, did try steps but they were in too much of a hurry to get down.

I wouldn't trust my dachsies off lead unless the area was completely enclosed, I use an extending lead which allows them to run on ahead and back to me meaning they cover more ground than I do on a walk.

The coat on a wire hair can vary a lot, a pup who is very hairy when young will need more grooming/stripping than one which is less hairy, a friend in Australia has a litter at the moment and out of 6 pups one of each sex is hairy and the other 4 are not but still look like wires.

Good Luck with your search

What about a wire haired or curly coated gundog breed?  As scent hounds are so differently motivated than gundogs.

Mind you I would not say any gundog is calm until in mid years.

I love the independent nature of hounds, but they're not for everyone :-)

If you love the wiry coat and faces of those 3 breeds what about a standard schnauzer? Smaller than a lab, wire coated and certainly the ones I've met have all been off lead in public parks and (slightly) calmer and less yappy than the miniatures.

Arghh it is just too confusing I do love the look of the wiry scruffy dogs and have picked Hounds but am up for the challenge!  We are fortunate in that we are ground floor.  Just out of interest can a Labrador live in a flat?

Yes and why not look at lines that don't have a really thick double coat ?

I have got both types and my one girl is a big bear who takes weeks of grooming to gt all the dead coat out but the other two I have at the moment don't take to much grooming.

And neutering does make a considerable difference to some Lab coats, vastly increasing the amount of undercoat produced so keep a male entire and spay a female  as late as possible.

Hi LJS when you say look at lines that don't have such a thick coat what do you mean exactly please?  Our dog had a very very thick gorgeous coat, she was from working lines and no matter how much and how often I brushed her the hairs just kept on coming!

You need to go to shows and working trials and start to look at some dogs and speak with as many owners and breeders as you can until you find to find somebody who has or knows somebody who has a line that has a less dense coat and meets all the other important things such as good temperaments and all the relevant health tests.

> I do love the look of the wiry scruffy dogs

Ditto, and after our lovely terrier-type whiskery mongrel I opted for a wire haired gundog.  All the looks and character with less barking and better recall...

Do have a really good look at the whole of the Group to be sure you understand what you might be getting in a hound.  Whilst each breed within the group will be different you can expect similar traits to be present.  I love the hounds you've mentioned (a Basset Fauve is on my "one day" list) but they don't suit everyone so do visit some breeders to discuss them in detail and do explain your home environment to get some realistic feedback.

In the meantime have a think about what you're really looking for, other than size and appearance.  Can you manage a barker?  What if you get a howling hound - will you manage your neighbours?  How much time will your dog be on its own?  Do you need an independent dog or can you manage a velcro version?  If you can't let your dog off the lead very often (for lack of safe spaces) can you do the mileage to provide the right exercise when it's fully grown?  As someone else has said it's time rather than space that is important BUT house training is easier when you have a garden although be prepared for digging with a Fauve or a PBGV!