Hiya, new here

Hi to everyone who reads this my name is Sara and i am hoping for help in choosing the right breed for us by us i mean me , my siater and her cat. My sister has autism and doesnt like living on her own but has no interest in meeting anyone she feels the safest when she is with me as ive helped her to live with her autism and have always had her back. She has a beautiful scottish fold cat called Theodore who keeps her calm. I myself have always wanted a dog and now have the time as i now work from home and im ready to get a dog. For many years i had researched what breed to get and i did through research choose the German shepherd but jen is scared of them as she was bitten as a child by one and so i have respected this and she is also excited to get a dog.

So i have joined in hope that we will find our perfect breed. I'll give a description below of the type were looking for.

We are looking for a an easy to train dog ( were both new to dogs)

a laid back and easy going dog

a dog whoes friendly to other dogs and other pets ( has to be good with cats)

a dog whoes not yappy we live in a semi detached house and our neighbours are the type who would complain and we dont want to upset or annoy them so more of a quiet breed

a dog who love exercise as we love long walks

a calm dog ( jen gets uncomfortable around hyper dogs like springers due to her autism she does better around calm dogs)

Easy goat care we dont mind brushing and bathing but we could not handle a huge grooming job.

We both prefer large dogs upto 50kg

A playful dog who loves his people

These are the main things were looking for if theres anything we have missed just ask and we will try to help

There's a reason the Labrador is the most popular breed in the world and sounds like it would fit your requirements.

Leonberger.

Lovely breed, and surprisingly non slobbery

Are leons easy to train? I thought they were stubborn?

Golden retriever also answers your listing. Would your sister be alright with the moulted hair everywhere?
Be warned, whatever breed you finally decide upon, remember that puppies are manic, bitey annoying little things which could upset your sister, you will need to prepare her for that. It doesn’t last long but it feels like forever when you have that cute little puppy hanging off your clothes

She is ok with moulting hair\Fur. Ive fully explained to her what it will be like having a pup and she ok because it doesnt last long.

Ive added golden to the list along with Lab and Leon and will wait for further breed suggestions then we can go through the list together

labrador or golden retriever.  Good reason why they are used so much as assistance dogs, yes they will shed hair and require more housework but you cannot beat a good one for what you want.  Of the two I think the goldens are slightly easier but both lovely dogs and easy to train.

avoid poodle crosses- too high an energy for what you want

ps if you decide on lab do not go for funny 'rare' colours. standard yellow or black are easier to find with a complete set of health tests. 

Whichever dog breed you go for find out what health tests the parents should have and make sure there are proper certificates for both parents-not just a 'vet check' . There are unfortunately back yard breeders /puppy farms producing untested litters which can be a nightmare of terrible and expensive health problems once puppies grow up.

Thank you Weimed , ive just been reading through the forum about the ridiculous prices and rare colors its shocking what people can get away with. These are not toys there breathing living animals and if you can look after them properly dont have one. It makes me sick what going on right now.

Can i ask why you think Goldens are slightly easier?

If u search poodle noodles post from a while back she has two boys who are autistic and successfully decided on a standard poodle as an assistance and companion dog .

Her posts may give u some information

Just searched poodle noodle and nothing came up I'll try just poodle, found the member but there appears to be no posts. So i can read any of them

Try this link

https://forum.champdogs.co.uk/topic_show.pl?tid=147973

sorry my fault I added a space in her user name

> Can i ask why you think Goldens are slightly easier?

<img src="/images/mi_quote.gif" alt="Quote selected text" title="Quote selected text" class="qButton" />

Just based on the ones I meet out walking and ones that were at puppy classes/older dog classes with owners who were new to having a dog,

Thanks Weimed.

At the moment were between the lab and Golden , i prefer the Golden but Jen prefers the Lab as shes attracted to Black animals her Scottish fold is Black too.

There very similar which is why its hard to pick between the 2

very similar.. on a totally shallow point I think black fur shows up less on clothing then yellow!   I always said if ever I had another cat it would be a black one as the pale fur from my last cats drove me insane on black clothes lol.    
Both breeds are lovely- there isn't much in it

It does make me wonder why there are far more lab service dogs than Goldens? Could it be there little easier to train due to the love of food?

both very greedy breeds...

weimed: > both very greedy breeds...

You are so right and I wonder if this is why they are so eary to train - food driven reward

I am always amazed that people recommend the most prevalent breeds as being perfect pets. So many people follow this thought process & breed them as they know they will sell, sadly most without regard for health or temperament.

I had a neighbour many years ago who was frightened by a GSD type dog in her childhood, her husband loved GSDs & always wanted one, so for a special birthday he got a well bred GSD puppy. His wife ended up adoring the breed & she & the bitch became inseparable, her fear of the breed disappeared.

One should really not recommend your favourite breed as being suitable for everyone, many young Labrador puppies are hooligans for example & real care needs to be taken in choosing a breeder, the only one of this breed I would consider, would have been bred by a lady, who had over 40 years experience, whose dogs never seem to go though the hooligan stage, sadly she no longer breeds.

I have the most gentle, calm, biddable Border Collie, who goes against all the popular ideas of a Border Collie, however I would not suggest the Border Collie in general as an idea pet dog.

To the OP, do lots of research into honest unbiased opinions of any breed you are drawn to, rather than following other people's concepts & passions.

I love Keeshonden, a late friend of mine bred some of the best, however I could never live with their natural behaviour of barking warnings, they are a guarding breed despite being a spitz breed.

lol they aren't my favourite breeds- personally I adore all the hunt/point/shoot group like weimaraners and vizlas- can't have one as too arthritic to do the exercise , 

labs and goldens aren't breeds I would want as they just don't do it for me but they are very good dogs for what the poster wants and having watched lots of baby labs and goldens in classes I have attended over the years I can see why they are popular- they want to please - they want to be trained and make super family pets without requiring extreme dog knowledge in their households.

lab hooligans.. yep they are bouncy fools when growing up but compared to other breeds their daft phase is a breeze

> I am always amazed that people recommend the most prevalent breeds as being perfect pets.

I didn't quite understand this sentance are you saying that the breeds ive been recommended ( labs and Goldens) are not best kept as pets?

I thought i should find out what you were meaning.

Ann which breed would you recommend based on what were looking for?

I vote for lab or golden too. I’ve had a lab and lived next door to a golden and both were great dogs.

My lab girl was a bit of an idiot as a youngster but she settled into a nice calm girl who was still happy and excited for playing and walks.

I wonder if an older lab might be better? That way you know exactly what you’re getting and you miss a lot of the puppy daftness, if that’s a concern.

sometimes people will suggest their own breed because they are so dedicated to that breed. My experience on this group is that generally o the experienced breeders look past that and will recommend as much as they can a breed suitable for your needs. Many are used to identifying people who want their breed when they have a litter and will bebale to turn people down if they don't think its right for them

Obviously people have to reply on you to give a good description of your needs , expectations and lifestyle but generally what I have seen over many years  is that those experienced people are doing just that

If you look through the post from the lady with tinnitus you will see people have really thought about her needs and in some cases suggested other than what she wanted .
Labs and goldens can and do make excellent pets but there will always be exceptions as there are in the way owners train them .

btw I dont have either but understand how they fit many peoples needs .

Thanks silverleaf

I think were settling on the Golden. The daft puppy stage doesn't bother us.

> I wonder if this is why they are so eary to train - food driven reward

Most labs I’ve met are people pleasers as well as food monsters, and that helps a lot.

> I think were settling on the Golden. The daft puppy stage doesn't bother us.

I think you’ll have a great time! They’re lovely dogs. :)

Thanks furriefreinds , i have read that thread it took awhile as theres a hell of a lot of replies to get through.

I was interested in the mention of a Eurasier from that thread never heard of them so looked them up and i like them , just need to wait for jen to get home so i can show her and talk to her about them.

They seem to fit like the Golden

I cant say I have much experience of them except I agree they do seem nice dogs .some what aloof something u wouldn't describe a goldie or lab but this int necessarily a negative traits
See what others say who have more knowledge about them .
Does jen have any thoughts on breed specifically?

Thanks Furriefreinds , they may be perfect for us they even come in black which jen will love and they remind me a tiny bit of german shepherd in appearance especially grey sable ones.

I dont mind aloofness , jens reserved and shy with people anyway so she will be happy with this. But from the eurasier socioty website it says there aloof but without being aggressive it seems they just ignore people which i like.

From that other thread i saw Brainless has a Spitz breed , Brainless how do you get a spitz breed to do what you want when training as ive read spritz breeds are difficult to train and very stubborn.

If anyone else has any experience or knowledge on the Eurasier I'd love to hear from you

The 4 top breeds for autism and an assistance dog are Labrador, Golden Retriever, Standard Poodle and GSD.
I don't own any of these breeds, grew up with Labs though and find them so easy to train. Finding a good breeder is essential whatever breed you decide on, also knowing whether you want show or work lines as well as I can see you are mainly looking at Labs and Goldens.

Also have a chat with the eurasier breed club .

Once we can get back to shows again its worth visiting them and seeing the breed u like and talking to owners. Shows are pretty well controlled so hopefully jen can avoid any situations that could stress her also the out door shows are likley to be back earlier that if course depends if we are allowed to have everyone there


I didn't quite understand this sentance are you saying that the breeds ive been recommended ( labs and Goldens) are not best kept as pets?


No the general public are led to believe that because a breed is widely available that they therefore must be ideal pets, there is no"ideal pet"breed per se, what suits one situation may not & often doesn't suit another.

When an independant survey was done on dogs responsible for hospital treatment for bites & other injuries(it was done to try to prove GSDs were the worse) the result was in fact the Labrador Retriever was most recorded, with the GSD well down the results. So are the paragons of virtual really "ideal" pets?

What is important is that ALL puppies are trained from day one, to build a bond between owner & pup, which makes the puppy easier to live with. Doesn't matter what the breed, size or shape. Plus full health testing & knowledge of health conditions there is no test for, like epilepsy,  in the pedigrees

A friend loves big dogs, he has a Pyrenean x Leonburger, he is huge, but so gentle & calm with humans, dogs & other animals. Despite being literally knocked off his paws as a puppy by an out of control yellow adult Labrador & then attacked, it hasn't affected his temperament. The giant breeds do seem to have a predisposition to being very tolerant & easy going.

After talking with jen between the lab and Golden we have chose the Golden.

I then showed her the eurasier and she likes them so we dont need anymore suggestions thank you to everyone who has helped.

We are now between the Golden and the Eurasier.

If anyone has any experience on the Eurasier I'd love to hear from you.

I have contacted the Eurasier society as theres not much info out there on them so waiting for them to get back

Thanks Ann for explaining and i agree labs and other popular breeds dont suit everyone. Its about spending the time to learn about that breed and be honest with yourself on if you really feel that breed\dog suits you.

We have got it to 2 breeds now.

I like giants but jen really doesnt think she coukd handle a giant breed she feels comfortable with nothing bigger than a Golden.

You could also speak to some of the breeders and owners in the breeder section here.
I noticed that there is ine breeder who breeds both the breeds u are interested in .might be worth a chat

Thanks furriefreinds I'll check the breeder out and send an email

AnnRSmith:  > there is no"ideal pet"breed per se,
I would agree and this why it is so important that manners, time, training & are imperatve.

> When an independant survey was done on dogs responsible for hospital treatment for bites & other injuries> the result was in fact the Labrador Retriever was most recorded

Maybe, I wouldn't argue with your 'fact finding however you can't seem to distinguish between bites & other injuries.  As a large Breed they may have run into, jumped up and knocked someone over ot even pulled their walker off their feet so I'm afraid I have to question whether they are a 'dangerous for biting' breed or just a bif 'lumux' at times.

> So are the paragons of virtual really "ideal" pets?

Yes they are if you get a dog bred for temperament just like any other Breed.

> When an independant survey was done on dogs responsible for hospital treatment for bites & other injuries(it was done to try to prove GSDs were the worse) the result was in fact the Labrador Retriever was most recorded, with the GSD well down the results.

Honestly that doesn’t surprise me, because for a long time Labs were the most popular breed in the UK (I think the French Bulldog took over relatively recently). You’re going to see more Labrador bites simply because there are a lot more Labs than GSDs!

I’d like to see the results controlled for actual number of dogs of each breed out there.

Anecdotally, I have only been bitten by two individual dogs. One is my papillon who has fear issues, and the other was a Labrador. I was young and somewhat arrogantly assumed that because I owned a Lab myself I could say hello to one I didn’t know without considering whether that dog wanted to say hello to me. I would not have behaved like that with an unknown GSD.

chihuahua got me- repeatably- but hardly any teeth so no big deal.  Other was a large staffie/American Bulldog cross- that put a really nasty wound in my thigh. 
All dogs can bite and badly trained badly socialised dogs are not safe dogs. 
Getting a breed with a 'soft' reputation does not replace the need for training and socialisation as any dog can be made bad by bad owners

Silverleaf:  > Honestly that doesn’t surprise me, because for a long time Labs were the most popular breed in the UK

Yes of course.  I didn't consider this.  Sorry to hear about your bites...we always have to be careful of any unknown dog. My Labs are 'working' rather than 'show type'. Thank goodness as viewed as probably the more highly strung between the two I've never had a nasty dog on the yard but they do alert bark & growl and I've been all round the Farm at 'stupid' o'clock in the morning checking things out (probably shouldn't say it but I don't think any would actually bite unless they or the family were being attacked.).

Our nearest neighbour has a GSD and he is absolutely beautiful and loving in everyway.  EXCEPT for the Postman who will only deliver mail to the road end as two of his vehicles have had the rear bumper dislodged.  (maybe he's lucky it wasn't his rear bum -per)

The collation separated bites from other injuries, which included broken arms, wrists, fingers & legs!

I know the results were per head of population of the the breeds not just numbers of incidents.

It was done in an attempt to get GSDs banned, it backfired & was quietly archived as a result

Oh I see.  It always gives the chance to make informed/considered opinions when all facts are in place. It's just so difficult sometimes when figures are not perceived to be on even ground.
Thanks Ann

Of course all dogs are capable of biting, but even a poorly bred, poorly brought up labrador is highly unlikely to cause serious injury or death.

This report is one of the most comprehensive studies of deadly dog attacks ever done. Even in the US labradors are the no.1 most popular breed and the largest number of AKC registrations, yet in 13 years they've only killed 9 people, and several of those incidents were multi dog attacks including pitbulls, so unlikely the labs actually killed the person. GSDs killed 20 people and of course the number one people killer, the pitbull, with 284 deaths to it's credit.

Labs are popular for very good reasons, they are lovely dogs, a tad enthusiastic for me, but great family dogs for most people.

chaumsong:  > <br />Labs are popular for very good reasons, they are lovely dogs, a tad enthusiastic for me, but great family dogs for most people

Couldn't agree more.  Fantastic Dogs wheter Pets or Workers and mostly both,  I've come across a 'crabbit' one but never a known biter.  I think the rumour re GSH started with a 'whisper' and gained credibility which is so not the case.

I have been bitten in anger by two dogs.. a chihuahua (on a pretty much weekly basis for years) which thankfully had very few teeth.
and a staffie/American bulldog type dog- that took a real nasty bite of my thigh and I still have the scars. It was sufficiently bad that the police drove me to hospital for treatment.

both had one thing in common. bad upbringing,  The chihuahua had been a caged puppy farm bitch completely untrained, unsocialised, not even housetrained until middle age and I had a lot of sympathy for her, she really just couldn't help it. she was tiny and near toothless so her aggressive outbursts were not a big deal.

The staffie/ crossbred dog had a bad upbringing.  Loving doting owners who did zero and I mean zero training,or socialisation. he ruled the house and could not be told to do ANYTHING, the day he escaped he bit me in the street and another person and was busy trying to attack cars.  He was truelly dangerous and I am relieved he was PTS,   I believe any dog that household had could have  turned out a biter as they were clueless . it was unfortunate they chose a large powerful dog to be their pet.   I suspect had they had a lab they would have ruined it as no dog copes well without training.

Wemed:  > both had one thing in common. bad upbringing,

My, you certainly have had bad experiences and I hope the worst reminders are over now!  It is always so sad when you hear of 'a bad dog', a bad breed'. Every dog born could be such but the fact that we teach, care & love our dogs and should have an understanding of their differences before making them an addition to our lives is often negligable .

> love Keeshonden

Me too, it's how I ended up with Elkhounds.

I was going from a 24 inch dog, so the jump down in size was a bit much.

At 19 1/2ish the Elkhounds were a better size and more practical coat.

The bark is also not as high pitched.

As a single parent living in a City I also wanted a breed that was more of a deterrent, with it's wolfy looks  and not being a known breed, they looked the part.

I have always been drawn to the less known (not commercial or fashionable), as it is easier to find breeders with a  true love of the breed, even though there is likely to be a long wait for a puppy.

You choise a breed, then a breeder, and they help select the most suitable puppy in the litter.

Genetics clearly plays a huge part, but it’s definitely foolish to deny the impact upbringing has.

I imagine it’s quite hard to ruin a lab if you’ve even half an idea about how to train a puppy, unless it’s very badly bred. Malinois? Your average pet owner isn’t in any way equipped to bring one up properly.

No shade on the more easily “ruinable” breeds, or individuals, of course. They can be amazing. My breed isn’t a difficult one in general but they are sensitive, and my own papillon more than most. Being very sensitive, highly intelligent means that it’s very easy for him to be scared once and then decide that thing is evil and that he has to protect himself against it.

With my old lab on the other hand, I reckon I could have sawed her leg off and she’d have just licked me and wagged her tail.

We are not in the US where more people are killed per head of population by other humans than in most other if not all Western countries.

You cannot compare statistics when one breed involved does not legally exist for starters.

You quoted deaths caused by dogs in a human  population of 328,200,000 of under 1,000. The US has a dog population of over 76,000,000 BTW

Do their biting incidents include those caused by working dogs in the cause of their duties? The incidence of K9 unit bites in the US is much higher than in the UK

You are missing the point, there are good & bad in all breeds & the more popular the breed the more likely there to be poorly bred dogs touted as the"ideal"family pet, meaning being suitable for the vast majority of families, when in fact they are not.

I do so hope eventually owners have to be"licensed"BEFORE they can own a dog & that training all dogs is compulsory. In Germany you do not see "stray" dogs, they have a highish dog tax, which is reduced if the dog are proven to have been trained.

AnnRSmith:  Apologies upfront but we are not in the US, we are not In Germany. I am not missing the point.  Already addressed how important time. effort & training is!You will never convice me that a well trained labrador is vicious!  Poorly bred? - the more popular, the more attention certain Breeds will attract and more learning will prevail.