Hi all...
I was thinking about getting a dog, I was looking of getting a alaskan malamute but been learning about the bread and dont think its going to be the right dog for me, and my wife doesnt like dogs with long hair( she's got OCD, and dog air allover the house drive her crazy!) I have a 5 year old daughter and we are Thinking of having another baby soon too, so what would be the dog that you would recomend for me? Its got to be smart,good with kids ,hort hair, good with other pets (I have 3 cats, and a terrier female dog), there is always someone at home so the dog will never be alone but because of my work long walks will always at evening, I have a long garden so they have plenty of space to run... I was looking for a dog that would like to play, seeing that my terrier doesnt( she Is a rescue dog and is very shy)
so If you can help me...

To be honest you need to ask your wife if she wants another dog. She already has you, your daughter and a terrier to look after, and possibly another baby in the pipeline. Does she really want more upheaval in her life right now? Your post refers to what you have and what you want, with no mention of "we"....

Here is a link to a dog breed selector, you answer some questions and it will give you the breeds of dog best suited based on your answers. It's at least a good starting point. As you are looking for a dog with short hair due to your wifes OCD, it is worth selecting any options for allergy sufferers, as that will limit the breeds down to light shedders.

http://www.breederretriever.com/breedselector.php

http://www.purina.co.uk/Home/All+About+Dogs/Your+New+Pet+Dog/Choosing+a+Dog/Dog+Breed+Selector.htm

It's worth trying a few different selectors, they can vary as to what they recomend.

Personally I would wait till the baby is born before bringing in another baby cause thats exactly what a puppy will be and I know baby's (human) are alot of work and so are puppies and to be able to give the puppy the undevided attention it will need that will almost be impossible and then to hope that puppy grows up with the proper socialization it needs you could just end up with alot more problems then you want... You already have a small child (5) to be able to supervise a puppy, small child and watch an infant all at once is like asking for a miracle. You cannot and should never leave children and puppies/dogs alone thats when things happen- Iam not trying to be rude or anything but I would wait. My bro got another dog just when they were due to have their son and the worst mistake he made sadly it was the dog that suffered since he had to rehome him, was to much for them.

Personally I would wait till your youngest is atleast 3 before bringing in another puppy. When i got my first boston i waited till my son was 3- I did have 2 big outside dogs before that but wanted a lil one and am glad I waited potty training was done and now it started all over again but with 4 legs instead of one.... :)

Hi,

If I were you I wouldn't get another dog right now :)

Particularly an AM. As you probably already know they are a huge commitment and aren't the ideal breed for you at this moment, if ever, at all.

From your post you know that an AM is not the right dog for you, especially bearing in mind your wife's  OCD. They do shed constantly.

Have you thought about getting another dog - maybe another breed - in a couple of years - after your future child is born - and the house - including your wife has settled into a routine?

Please consider all of these factors before you even consider adding to your family. ;)

Just for fun logged onto the first site - and it came up with 146 breeds. lol So - if I was seriously thinking of augmenting our doggy family - not a great deal of help, really. :-)

lol. You must be fussy - I just tried it and got 156!!!

Oh dear, that one isn't very good atall is it :( , I've never used it before, just found it while 'googling'.

I have never found those breed selectors any good at all, usually come up witha  popular bred, or soemthing totally different. 

I have deliberately answered questions to get my own breed and have had nothing like.  the nearest t I ever got was a Finish Spitz which isn't rally similar in character at all.

To ab I have answered on your other thread.

I just tried the first site and my breed actually came up as 3rd on the list. If there'd been a question on size then it would probably have come up 1st :-)

I tried the first site and entered answers aiming to get my breed - an Estrela Mountain Dog.

It came up with:

1. Chow Chow
2. Great Pyrenees

Errr slight difference there!!!!

The breed selector I used when I was looking for my dog was this one: http://www.petplanet.co.uk/dog_breed.asp

It still doesn't find Estrelas but the profiles are quite detailed and I found it very helpful to rule out breeds which were totally unsuitable, as it describes exercise requirements, compatibility with other animals and children and often a bit about temperament too.

Replying to the OP I would definitely not be getting a Malamute, or any large powerful dog - my Estrela knocks over my 6 yr old regularly (by mistake) and I would be really worried about her accidentally harming a younger child.  She's also shedding and I got 3-4 handfuls of hair off the rake in 5 minutes this morning!  Have you thought about a toy breed - I like the Maltese and they don't shed and have lovely personalities.  Plus they are too small to hurt the children by mistake.

I liked your second breed selector.  The first breed it recommended was a Belgian Shepherd!!!  Wow, not bad at all!

Sarah.

>I have never found those breed selectors any good at all, usually come up witha  popular bred, or soemthing totally different.

Nor me. I geared the answers to get to dalmatian, and the Breedselector one insisted on a cocker spaniel first and dalmatian coming in at 20! The Petplanet one decided my answers meant I was looking for a Finnish Lapphund!

I wouldn't have found a dog at all going by those 2 selectors - the first one virtually had every dog in the book except mine and the second - I put all the attributes of my present dog in and it couldn't come up with anything at all!  The best place to look at dogs is Crufts Discovering Dogs - you can talk to owners and get lots of information.  It took me a good year planning - reading and talking to people before I decided what to get - one trip to Discovering Dogs in London and another to Crufts.  We didn't get our first dog until our children were 5 and 3 - we got an Irish Setter who was a gentle softie.  We did get a kitten the day before which was daft looking back.

i think the others are right and now might not be the best time... however i also think that you should take a long time to think about it so considering a breed now and waiting and researching for a while might work out well for you. with that in mind...

several of the toy breeds are non shedding so would be better for and OCD sufferer than a short breed- short coats still shed and it gets everywhere... so maybe a maltese, chinese crested or a bishon or something similar? the entire point of toy breeds is to be frendly and playful so thats maybe an idea.

poodles are another obvious choice but they are very smart so need work to keep entertained (hard with kids). however you could get the kids involved in the training- good for dog and child!

what about something like a puli? non shedding but high energy, needs lots of excersize.

in short coats there are loads. why not get your wife to have a look on a breed directory or buy her a breed encyclopaedia so she can see what she fancies, you do the same and compare.

In some ways it is easier to select the things you can not live with.  For me for example it woudol be a breed that slobbered.

That will rule some out, then the must haves, then what you can compromise on (prick or drop ears, colour etc).

According to the Pet Planet one, Dont even come close.  I dont like Spitz breeds, and thats what basically came up.  Also, had a Chin, and a Cocker Spaniel.

Worth a laugh though.

> In some ways it is easier to select the things you can not live with.  For me for example it woudol be a breed that slobbered.

And what is wrong with slobber?? lol

That's a good tip Brainless, that's how I decided on what breed I would be getting, checking off the 'definately not's' first. (the slobber was on the 'can put up with' list - not the 'must have' ;) )

Hi and Thanks for all the advise, we're not Thinking of getting another dog before the baby is born, but we are looking to get one soon... I just want to learn about the bread before getting one and that is why I'm already looking and asking for help, I like big dogs My wife likes small dogs... so we are looking to get a mid size dog, I like a active dog and dont mind the exercise...I love AM but dont think my wife would be happy with one :( so I will have to find one that both like and That's why I'm asking for help, this will be my dog but I know that my wife will have to like him too... and because of the OCD i have to try to find one that will be "clean"... I'm From portugal and we have a farm there so I will have to wait till I go Back(maybe in 20 years time  :(  ... ) before getting my AM I will get one some day !

> I dont like Spitz breeds

How do you do it as I never gert spitz breeds come up despite deliberately answerign the questions that way.

I was just talking to my wife and and we might just wait till is the right time for me to have the dog I would like to have(AM) I always wanted one and will not be fully happy till I have one... :( That way i will have lots of time to learn about the breed and be ready for it... :)
so i would like to say many thanks for your advise it was very helpfull... :)
AB 

I was trying to get Pinschers.  I specifically said, short coat, minimum grooming, and other pinscher traits.  Yet almost all breeds listed were Spitz breeds, and the Dobe came in at 83, the Miniature Pinscher at 127.  And on most days, I wouldnt trade the Miniature Pinscher for anything lol.

just answer what you dont want, and the breed you want will come up.  Hey, Poodle came in at number 10 or 11, when I said MINIMAL GROOMING.  Wonder how many poodle people lie about grooming times if poodles are minimal grooming (BTW this comment about poodle people lying is a JOKE - but the poodle did come on my list of like top 20 breeds to fit my personality and lifestyle)

ETA Mom just did it, and said showing was a must have and it came up with a LABRADOODLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

This selector seems better..

http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do

That one suits me much better.....well confirms we have the right breed for us!

Karen :)

WOW!!

That's the first time ever a dog selector site has come up with my breed for me !!!!!!  and another of the dogs (96%) I've also owned and loved :-D   I usually give all the answers I'd expect to bring up my breed and get totally unsuitable ones

Very impressive!

> That one suits me much better.....well confirms we have the right breed for us!
>
> Karen :)

Nope my breed wasn't even there and loads that I would never consider.

yay! i got great scores with bullmastiffs and mastiffs and! for the future! an akita! yay!

Worked for me too! I got a Dobe, Weimaraner and GWP at the top.

Wow, not bad, 3 setters all came in at 98% or above (the red and whites not an option due to american site!) and tollers (my dream future breed) at 96%...Had many gundogs near the top, and aussie shepherds at 94%...

Just been back to the breedretreiver survey, couldn't remember exactly what numbers I put first time so it came up slightly differently but my breed came up as 3rd the 1st time and actually came up 1st this time. Then went onto the animal discovery survey and my breed came up top at 99%. Pet Planet suggested English Setter - don't think that is a medium breed? Then tried the Purina and it couldn't find anything suitable at all. Weird.

Yay!! I got Mastiffs!!!

I was just talking to my wife and and we might just wait till is the right time for me to have the dog I would like to have(AM) I always wanted one and will not be fully happy till I have one...  That way i will have lots of time to learn about the breed and be ready for it...
so i would like to say many thanks for your advise it was very helpfull...
AB 

Good for you- do your research in the time weigh all the pro's and con's about the breed ect and see if this breed will fit into your life style instead of trying to make it fit- thats where most people go wrong they make a breed fit and end up with so many problems if they just found one that fits. Best of luck :)

I was 99% certain i wanted a poodle when i started looking for dogs. We had them in the family but i still did lots of research, read books, talked to people before that extra 1% made my mind up.
Think youve made an excellent decision to look into it more. Wait until the perfect time and youre totally sure you get the breed you want. Instead of doing internet questionnaires :-) no disrespects but i cant see how that works, why not go out and about and meet people with different dogs. See what appeals to you. In your head you may think you want a lively dog and then meet a lively dog and decide its not for you. Definatly go and meet dogs in the flesh then decide.
God luck, let us know how you get on