Best Breed For Your Average First Time Dog Owner

[Lowenhart]

I think dogs on the lower energy scale that do not need a firm hand when raised are ideal for first time owners.

The breeds I tend to recommend for suburban situations include-

Greyhounds and Whippets

Cavaliers, Tibetan Spaniels and Papillon

Havanese, Bichon Frise and Mini/Toy Poodles (oh and Lowchen )

Staffords, Rottweilers and Golden Retrievers for people with an eye to be more active and want to do a bit of training.

I never recommend a working line anything to a novice owner in a small backyard who is not planning on training and working with their dog every day. Yes there are mellow, easy dogs in that bunch but they are generally the exception, not the rule. Finding one can take a tonne of luck or some good knowledge.

Oh and I always laugh when a friend gets a scent hound and complains how stubborn they are. Not my first recommendation for a first timer.

Edited December 3, 2010 by Lowenhart

[Moselle]

Haven't read all posts but does your friend have allergies? if not....then the cavalier is my 1st recommendation as they are laid back and not too boisterous although they do shed alot. Maltese are also loyal and loving pets along with the bichon and neither shed.

[jamesanddean]

We were first time dog owners and I already knew I wanted a Golden Retriever. Once we moved into our house and had a backyard with room for a large dog I did more research to ensure we could handle the commitment and responsibility.

3 years on I can say it was one of the best decisions of my life. We spent time with him at puppy preschool and other dog training classes when he was older and we now have a very chilled out and perfect dog for us. It also ended up being much easier than we expected.

Being first time dog owners we went through a breeder and purchased a puppy as we were not confident in taking on a rescue dog first time around who may have had specific behavioural training requirements. Even with our boy we made mistakes but nothing stays the same for long with dogs, especially when they are puppys. I would suggest you listen to your breeder (I am amazed at how accurate our breeder was with what she told us, she knows her dogs!) and ask questions on this forum - there is a lot of experience here. We did things thoroughly eg crate trained, dog training, etc but it has paid off.

In our case, a Golden Retriever was perfect for us (couple no kids) but just be prepared for the hair everywhere . You can't avoid it so once you get used to it you learn to live with it and vacuuming every day

[mokhahouse]

Saying that groups of dogs like large dogs, gun dogs, working dogs etc are not suitable for first time owners is preposterous and denying some great homes to these type of dogs. Yes Labrador puppy and adolescent antics can be a bit of shock for first time dog owners and even for some first time Labrador owners who have had other breeds and some people cannot cope with them and dump/rehome them.

I certainly agree with what your saying labsrule. I am not a first time dog owner but Mokha was my first labrador. Even now that he is a couple of years old he is so different to my rough sable collie girl "Lady". She would never have even thought of some of the things Mokha has gotten up to. So I was actually more confident with my first dog breed (collie) and am still getting the hang of these labradors. I am loving every minute of though,I would hate to deny a family the joy of a labrador just because they were a first time owner. I think education as to what to expect is more important.

[Havasneeze]

I would highly recommend Schipperkes. A big dog mentality in a small package. Easy to maintain, don't need a lot of exercise and quite intelligent. I also Havanese and whilst they are a lovely dog with a gorgeous temperament, the coat does take a fair bit of maintenance. You could off course cut the coat off, but why get a coated dog if you're just going to get rid of the coat?

[Donegal]

The first dog of my own was a Golden Retriever, a breed that I wanted because I loved the look of them and thought they were a delux version of the Labrador with their beautiful wavy coat and found one in a petshop as a newbie knowing no better at the time. He was supposed to be a pure breed GR, looked like one except he was a little taller and leaner than the average Golden male???. He was a great dog who taught me heaps, how to train a dog, manage a dog and how to raise a puppy from my own mistakes too. He lived healthily to 15 years old.

My next and present dog is pure breed registered Amstaff male, who was better than my Golden as a puppy, but due to raising him more effectively from my previous experience I was able to mould him more easily. My Amstaff presented a new challenge developing dog aggression at 8 or 9 months old which is a behaviour I didn't have to contend with or evern think about with my GR who was friendly towards everyone and everything, so I was very much back in the newbie scene with this dog aggression I had no experience in handling and training better behaviour.

What I wouldn't recommend to a newbie is a breed that could have a predisposition for aggression or bloodlines in those breeds that do, like working line German Shepherds from security backgrounds or Bull breed lines that have those tendencies. Now that I have learned a lot of how to deal with and indentify the early onset of aggressive behaviour and how to reshape that before it gets out of hand which happened to me, I could own a working line dog now more effectively I think, but aggression is devistating and really hard to live with having no experience how to shape and manage it. I met up with a few people in my shoes with GSD's, a Rotty and a couple of Staffords that were like my boy who were battling the same situation. But I found being inexpereinced, that no naughtiness and bad behaviour is as hard to cope with as aggression is and I really shudder when newbies say they are looking at a GSD litter for example because their ancestors were police dogs or something like that From my experience, anything remotely bred that could have aggression in their genetics for a newbie is best avoided until they gain some experience.

[black magic]

I don't think there's such a thing as "average" dog owner - first time or not.

You've got to consider the owner's personality, life style, commitment and a range of other factors.

One persons's "easy" dog is another's infuriating one.

Totally agree with this post.

also wanted to add that I think these topics are a bit pointless.

Edited December 3, 2010 by black magic

[huga]

I think pugs are a pretty 'easy' breed

[raz]

I think pugs are a pretty 'easy' breed

That's because yours is normal. I'll swap you Lola for Pancake for a weekend - might change your mind a bit, Huga.

I agree with the others - it all depends on your friend.

[Donegal]

I don't think there's such a thing as "average" dog owner - first time or not.

You've got to consider the owner's personality, life style, commitment and a range of other factors.

One persons's "easy" dog is another's infuriating one.

Totally agree with this post.

also wanted to add that I think these topics are a bit pointless.

Why are these topics a bit pointless, so that newbies can remain totally in the dark???. Who has to consider the owners personality Poodlefan, who is responsible for that consideration, who undertakes that role when a newbie is considering to get a dog???

[huga]

I think pugs are a pretty 'easy' breed :p

That's because yours is normal. I'll swap you Lola for Pancake for a weekend - might change your mind a bit, Huga.

I agree with the others - it all depends on your friend.

Yeah, but Cakes is 17 kinds of special

[raz]

Yeah, but Cakes is 17 kinds of special

:p ;) I blame Mr ReadySetGo for that and always will!

For the first time dog owner I would direct them to Dog Breeds101 subforum. There is a question there specific to what breeds are not suitable answered by breeders and owners - 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with?

Then they can start ruling out what breeds NOT to consider. Seems like an easier way to go about it

[koalathebear]

Why are these topics a bit pointless, so that newbies can remain totally in the dark???. Who has to consider the owners personality Poodlefan, who is responsible for that consideration, who undertakes that role when a newbie is considering to get a dog???

I believe that it was blackmagic dismissing the topic as pointless not poodlefan ... I personally always find these topics interesting.

[labsrule]

Saying that groups of dogs like large dogs, gun dogs, working dogs etc are not suitable for first time owners is preposterous and denying some great homes to these type of dogs. Yes Labrador puppy and adolescent antics can be a bit of shock for first time dog owners and even for some first time Labrador owners who have had other breeds ;) and some people cannot cope with them and dump/rehome them.

I certainly agree with what your saying labsrule. I am not a first time dog owner but Mokha was my first labrador. Even now that he is a couple of years old he is so different to my rough sable collie girl "Lady". She would never have even thought of some of the things Mokha has gotten up to. So I was actually more confident with my first dog breed (collie) and am still getting the hang of these labradors. I am loving every minute of though,I would hate to deny a family the joy of a labrador just because they were a first time owner. I think education as to what to expect is more important.

:D hey I have had Labs for many many years and they still surprise me with what they can get up to. Just when I think I am over being surprised by these scallywags, they pull another rabbit out of the hat I remember saying when I got Tana, my new lab pup last year that after Fitzy, his predecessor, who was the biggest scallywag Lab that I have ever had that nothing that Tana does will ever surprise me after Fitzy's antics . How wrong was I ;) You got to love the Labs though as they have such fertile creative imaginations and life is never boring with these extremely lovable and very funny rascals

[Donegal]

Why are these topics a bit pointless, so that newbies can remain totally in the dark???. Who has to consider the owners personality Poodlefan, who is responsible for that consideration, who undertakes that role when a newbie is considering to get a dog???

I believe that it was blackmagic dismissing the topic as pointless not poodlefan ... I personally always find these topics interesting.

I was referring to both posts really, probably should have highlighted Poodlefan's too. I think these topics are good to hear so many different views and experiences, I like them ;)

[black magic]

I don't think there's such a thing as "average" dog owner - first time or not.

You've got to consider the owner's personality, life style, commitment and a range of other factors.

One persons's "easy" dog is another's infuriating one.

Totally agree with this post.

also wanted to add that I think these topics are a bit pointless.

Why are these topics a bit pointless, so that newbies can remain totally in the dark???. Who has to consider the owners personality Poodlefan, who is responsible for that consideration, who undertakes that role when a newbie is considering to get a dog???

Breed 101 offers a wealth of info about breeds.

Why not go through there and get some info.

I think these threads end up with many (not all) people offering suggestions based on their own personal preference of breeds.

[Delviktar]

Border Collies. Greqt family dog, but so versatile if you want to show, agility etc

[Delviktar]

Border Collies. Great family dog, but so versatile if you want to show, agility etc