How do you find the right breed for you?

When I first posted on here many years ago I think my three dream breeds were Belgian Shepherd, GSD and leonberger and I owned a little jack Russell working cocker cross and a troublesome lurcher.
Since then we added a rescue sheltie and my partner kept one of the dogs we fostered - a terrier mongrel (although I'm sure he's part goat) and my poor old terrier passed away earlier this year so we have the lurcher aged 5, the sheltie not sure how old But the vet thinks 11+, and the terrier cross who is about 3.

We have also fostered and boarded a few dogs over the past few years which has helped me clarify what I do and don't like in a dog rather than just speculate. I fell in live with a bullmastiff we cared for, but after seeing how much food and vet bills quickly racked up with a dog of that size its not something I want to take on financially in the next few years!
We also fostered a leonberger cross and I found the amount of water she liked to splash about the house not really to my liking plus the longer fur picked up a lot more mud than you would have thought and I was cleaning it off the ceiling and 6 foot up the walls! So perhaps a short or smooth coat is best for me.

Character wise I like a bright dog that is up for learning and doing and I really enjoy how quick the little sheltie is and how much my lurcher enjoys playing with toys with me and his brains. Downside is I had a lot of trouble with his recall and desire to chase and a few other sighhound traits when he was younger but I guess it taught me a lot.
The terrier also loves training but isn't so into playing with me with toys which do find disappointing at times (I love to play).
Things I find difficult or slightly annoying is a dog that likes a lot of physical affection/contact, don't get me wrong I love a cwtch with my dogs and am not cold but I do find having a chin welded to me knee or a shoulder pressed into my thigh all the time a tiny bit wearing. My partner on the other hand really enjoys a fuss pot dog  so he and the terrier who is a chin/knee type dog get on great :)

For me a dog that is similar in character to my lurcher would be cool, it would be nice if the dog had a bit more get up and go than Vic though, who is quite lazy in some respects.

I find it difficult to even narrow down to anything, I did go around the discover dogs last year but it was so busy it was difficult to talk for long and I only managed to have one really good conversation, which is to be executed at such a busy events guess!

We also have no idea how much a good pedigree costs, the most I ever paid for a dog was £40 and my OH £150, it seems hard to gauge from adverts as it seems like it can vary from £300 - £1000 even in one breed, so how much to set aside?

Starting with the price, I would be rather suspicious of any dog that costs less than £600 as I'd wonder what corners had been cut. You do not get a wellbred pup for £300. I think in most breeds the good, responsible breeders all tend to charge similar prices -often it may be a good idea to have a word with a breed club to get a rough idea of cost.

Can't help you otherwise, other than to say that if you don't like clingy dogs, then a Belgian Shepherd is definitely not for you. :)

You need to be honist with yourself on what you could offer and cope with in a breed, then see which ones meet you lifestyle needs.

This is how I found my breed.
First I wanted to show and wanted to know what I was getting so a purebreed was for me. I then looked on the KC site and looked at every medium small dog not in the toy group (just not into the toys) as my mother is afraid of dogs it couldn't be a big dog. I looked at the photos and made a list of all the breeds I liked the look of.
Once I had my list I went to breed clubs and breeder websites to find out more about the breeds temperament, health problems, exersize needs, grooming ect and began crossing off breeds who I didn't like the sound of them or grooming/exersize needs were too much.
After I was left with three or four breeds I went along to crufts to the discover dogs to meet them and ask owners some questions. It then came down to two breeds and due to reading about lots of shedding twice a year picked the one for me. I them emailed 3breeders to ask a few more questions and found out my choses breed also sheds a lot twice a year but by then I didn't care I had fallen in love so brought a new hover ready lol.

The breeders were open about the average price range for a health tested pup and once I found my breeder they told me how much they planed to charge, I then had a year to make sure I had the money as the utter wasn't due till the following year.

Get yourself a nice working goldie, Pookin ;) clever, biddable, lovely to walk with, playful, goofy, and total lazy butts in the house, happy to sleep most of the day if well stimulated, but keen to go when you say the word!

Chose all my breeds by looking at dogs in my chosen dog sport, and speaking to/meeting breeders. I agree with others in that you should be prepared to spend good money for a good dog. In my breeds I'd expect to pay £700-800 for a good dog.

Agree about the working Goldie, Tectona. Our new pup comes from dual purpose lines on both sides, but with the emphasis on the working part. She's a lovely pup and amazingly clever. She's got me doing all sorts of things for her!!

> Starting with the price, I would be rather suspicious of any dog that costs less than £600 as I'd wonder what corners had been cut.

This is very breed reliant I think!!
My most recent bought in girls have been £500 & that is the price I charged for mine(males) & I certainly didnt cut any corners(neither did the breeders of the girls I bought).

I have what is believed to be a working lines Golden Retriever (rescue came to us as a puppy) and he is a wonderful dog. If I knew his breeder I would love to have another just like him. He is so chilled out at home but very active and energetic whilst out and about. He does agility, has a wonderful temperament and is so easy to live with. Downside is his coat attracts mud and burrs but it is a very, very small price to pay for having this amazing dog - having said that I also have a WSD and he seems to shed more hair than my GR.

I also have a small terrier cross who is mainly short haired but does have some rough coat along his back and to be honest his hair causes the most problems - the short hair sticks into the carpet and soft furnishings like a dart and is really hard to get out of  whereas the longer coated dogs have hair that forms "tumbleweeds" and is far easier to hoover up. Short coated dog dries far quicker, WSD also dries fairly quickly and the GR takes a long time to dry.

I wouldn't necessarily discount a particular breed for a specific trait if all other aspects of that breed are ones you are happy to live with. I personally  couldn't live with a dog that drooled, nor one that is known for being very vocal as our terrier has taught me that I don't really do "vocal" :-)

What about a whippet , we have a pup and his recall is great ( hope it stays that way ! ) he has been so easy to train . Has bundles of energy but will curl up and sleep for ages too.
Also a well bred whippet should cost between £450 and £550 , that's what I found anyway when I was looking .

Looking at your post, I would say a Bedlington Terrier, Whippet or BedlingtonxWhippet Lurcher would tick your boxes.

Bedlingtons are Very easy to train and are very playful.   They love to be active outside but can chill indoors, until there's some action, then they are right there with you :-D    They will walk all day or be happy with a good blast in a field, they do love to run :-)    Ours also love cuddles and are very affectionate without being velcro dogs.

There are Bedlingtons doing agility, obedience, and Dancing with dogs, as well as working.   

Just make sure you get a pup from DNA tested parents.   Advice on health tests on the Bedlington Breed Websites :-)

They do need a regular trim, but it's easy enough for owners to learn if they want and can be done with just scissors.    No big shedding of coat, but it does need regular grooming as the shed hair stays in and can knot if left.   Grooming if done regularly is easy and just needs a slicker and comb, with scissoring or clipping every 6 weeks.

Whippets are also happy to chill indoors, but love a run outdoors too

Bedlington/Whippet  Lurchers are bred for work, but can make good pets too.   The Dingles' dog on Emmerdale is a Beddy Lurcher, as was Alf on Heartbeat :-D    

Only one problem with these choices, one is never enough :-D

well I was going to suggest a working gundog, I have labs and a real soft spot for most of the smooth coat HPRs (vizlas, pointers etc), I love the attitude to life that comes with a working bred dog BUT I'm not sure they'd be as standoffish as you want, one of my labs just enjoys snuggling up when on the sofa but one of the others would really prefer to be zipped inside my skin i at all possible...........!! I have heard though that the wire haired vizlas are less neurotic and more independent than the smooth coated.

Have you considered a collie? working or pet bred a possibility, not normally to be recommended to a pet home but if you are willing to give them plenty of mental work to do they could make a lovely pet. Eager to learn and not as needy (IMO) as gundogs. the working strains are all I am familiar with and they can come in every different size and colour and coat type under the sun!

agilabs my collie is far more needy than my gundog - Golden Retriever :-)

Thanks for all the input guys, the tip about calling the breed club to find out average prices, why didn't i think of that? common sense really!
I'm in no rush to get another dog, onee of the joys of getting near 30 is that i'm much more patient about life and the things i want.

Another question, is it ok to call up/contact breeders and ask to visit them and their dogs to get more of a feel for a breed or would you get fed up/think it was rude? I'm a socially awkward person on the whole so am never quite sure about things like that? :s

On the clingy dog front I guess while some breeds do tend to be more owner oriented than others you can never rule out ending up with a fusspot even in a stand offish breed as they are all individual. I'd also like to clarify that I'm not horrid to a dog that wants a lot of affection or push it away, I just find a dog that follows me about the house etc, to make me anxious because I then start to worry the dog is not happy when I have to go out or be away from it. I have had two dogs like that in the past, the border collie we had when I was a girl and my departed terrier, they were great dogs and I thoroughly enjoyed them, I find Vics attitude more relaxing on the whole (on the other hand while he is not hugely affectionate he takes a lot of pampering like tucking in blankets and having a warm jumper etc. otherwise he can get a bit whingey).

If I were to prioritize what traits would be nice it might help a bit more.

1. desire to play/learn, an active dog - Things I like to do - Playing fetch, tricks, basic obedience, I also taught Vic quite a few helpful things like picking up dropped items, opening closing doors and drawers etc. its a shame he doesn't have the eager to please attitude of Rigsby he'd be dead useful then, as it is if he is sleeping or sitting on the sofa you'd be hard pressed to get him to stir.

2. Sizewise Less than 40kg more than 18 

those are the only two i would set in stone

> Can't help you otherwise, other than to say that if you don't like clingy dogs, then a Belgian Shepherd is definitely not for you >

I think that of most of the pastoral dogs now, while I really love their looks and admire their athletic abilities and their wits I always joke with Rich that if I got a shepherdy type dog it would probably give up on me and decide to be his!

The look of gundogs has never appealed to me but looks is far far less important to me than character, and I do often watch the gun dog scurries and think how much fun it all looks.

I will probably add more as it occurs to me :)

Hi Pookin
Re contacting local breeders just to go visiting just to talk about the breed, I think it's a really good idea. I quite often have people coming over to visit my Ridgies just to see if the breed is right for them. I will then suggest people for them to contact re buying a pup if the breed is what they want. Far better to find out at this early stage that the breed isn't what you want than after you've got a pup.

Another question, is it ok to call up/contact breeders and ask to visit them and their dogs to get more of a feel for a breed or would you get fed up/think it was rude? I'm a socially awkward person on the whole so am never quite sure about things like that? :s

I had one such visit last month, and two planned for this month. People just wanting to meet the dogs to see what they think of the breed. :) I'd much rather people did such thorough research before embarking on finding a puppy and then discovering too late it's not the breed for them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. It's also more useful to you to meet breeds in their own homes, than at a show or Discover Dogs, as you will see them in their home environment where they are at their most relaxed and show their true selves, can ask if you can go for a walk etc.

Goldie still comes to mind from your last list. I have a flatcoat retriever but as much as I love them they are velcro dogs. I love them for that but obviously not for you so I would say goldie they tend to be abit more independant or satisfied not to need to follow you around. Beddlington or whippet also sounds like a possiblity

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">is it ok to call up/contact breeders and ask to visit them and their dogs to get more of a feel for a breed or would you get fed up/think it was rude?

This is something I and I'd think most good breeders would encourage. and is what I advise people to so when considering a breed they do not know well.

It could ensure a person does not make a mistake in the breed they choose that they and subsequently a breeder will regret.

I often have people just come and see the dogs whether they go on to have the breed or not, and if they choose to get a puppy when they are ready, or go the breed rescue route too.

Most of us will do this for other breeders if the potential owner lives close to us.

I won't be ready for a new puppy, for potentially a few years, as I won't get one until my current dog has passed away. But I'm already looking at breeders and will be visiting one this weekend ( which I'm just a tad excited about ), I've come to realise it's invaluable to look for your breed and breeder way ahead of time, as you can be a lot more objective in your choice.
I started a thread about this very subject a few months ago, When to Get on a List, you might find it useful.

Its funny the things that attract us to our dogs isnt it?

We first got into our breed (Newfoundlands) when I was just 23 - we had young children and wanted a dog that we could work and spend time with as a family. Hubby had been a life guard and we all adored water and loved the thought of spending weekends in the lake with the dog! we have never looked back! 13 years later we are still in the breed - and still have our first Newf that we spent over a year trying to find.

The down side was the slobber - something I wasnt sure we could deal with, but I guess its like changing a nappy - I can deal with my own 'Kids' but wouldnt relish cleaning some one elses!

We were very lucky that we got everything we had hoped for form our breed, and are still very actively working them, it gave us a whole new social life too!

We found in our breed the price seems to rise £200 a year - our first was £900 in 2002

Had any one asked me in my teenage years If I would want smelly, wet, hairy, muddy, slobbery dogs who I would work in dirty cold lakes all year - who would mean my holidays were caravan based rather than abroad, who would sit on my as a lap dog with the 'magic paw' fixed firmly to me ALL evening would I still have chosen this breed?? ....

Probably not - bloody glad no one asked me as I wouldnt change a thing :-)

I encourage people to visit my home without the distraction of cute puppies. I am very honest about the cons to my breed and do not take offence if someone decides vallhunds are not the breed for them. Unfortunately the price of a pup in my breed varies quite a lot. I choose to ask what I would consider a far price for a pup, it also means I can chose where my pups go rather than who can afford them.