Family Pets

[luvsdogs]

I prefer a long coated dog to a short coated. My son's mixed breed, short coated dog sheds every time you pat her. With long coated dogs what falls out forms tumble weeds, much easier to pick up. Except when molting my border collie & Japanese Spitz only need brushing about once a week. Some of the small breeds do bark a bit but need training to prevent it from being a problem. My son's dog is a digger, the border collies I've had dug as puppies or after lots of rain.

[Guest donatella]

what about a Spitz breed, they dont shed too much, dont have that 'dog smell' and many just need a good brush every few days but thats about as much grooming as they need. there are plenty of spitz breeds to chose from (i should also note they're the prettiest dogs hehe)

Spitzes don't shed? I should tell the samoyed down the street, he must have missed the memo :laugh:

they have their coat blowouts but if brushed regularly you pick most of it up in the brush and not on your floor, clothes, furniture etc.

can't speak on behalf of that samoyed though ;)

i have a dog with a LOT of hair and i don't see it anywhere but in her brush every few days whereas the shorter wirey coated breeds seem to leave hair all through the house.

[Red Fox]

Keep in mind, low maintenance does not really exist. Its more pet vs show dog which can be massive maintenance. For pets, you keep the coats clipped down(either a groomer or a nice sharp pair of scissors or clippers) keeps things nice and manageable. All dogs really do need regular brushing, it also allows you to check for grass seeds, suspicious lumps cuts and bumps etc.

Grooming wise I disagree. Neither of my dogs need much. Nails when the need it (every 1-2 months), same with ears, a brush over with the Zoom Groom when they're shedding (once a month if they're lucky, usually less), the Ridgie gets a bath when he smells or is having a decent hair shed, the Mali gets bathed only when she coats herself in mud. Wouldn't call either of them 'low maintenance' though. :p

OP, I think what you are looking for is a medium - short coated, low drive, companion dog.

[Esky the husky]

Just an anacdote- Esky (spitz breed) + father in law's chicken run = multiple chicken deaths.

Not that a husky would be suited to the OP anyway.

Sandy when you find a breed you like, do some research about the health conditions that the breed is prone to. Find out if they are conditions that you can test for, then find an ANKC breeder you are happy with who tests for these conditions :) That's your best shot at avoiding health issues, after that genetics will do what it will, and you play a big part in keeping the dog healthy too :) By feeding appropriate foods and giving him excercise.

[Loyal K9]

I don't know if you are after a small breed.

We have a Norwich terrier. It's the smallest breed of terrier.

We have her since she was a puppy and got along with our guinea pigs.

Actually she was bitten by one of the guinea pig on her paw and bleeding quite a bit.

She doesn't shed hair but it has to be stripped back (or trimmed) every few months.

She can handle few kms walk without a problem but also happy just to play around in the backyard.

However, she is not a lap dog. She prefers just to stay near us.

She is a bit stubborn and strong will. Very independent and very friendly. It's characters of the breed.

We also have a sheltie. He sheds a lot..........

Everytime I clean the vaccum cleaner, 3/4 of it would be filled up by his hair.

[Greytmate]

Keep in mind, low maintenance does not really exist. Its more pet vs show dog which can be massive maintenance. For pets, you keep the coats clipped down(either a groomer or a nice sharp pair of scissors or clippers) keeps things nice and manageable. All dogs really do need regular brushing, it also allows you to check for grass seeds, suspicious lumps cuts and bumps etc.

Grooming wise I disagree. Neither of my dogs need much. Nails when the need it (every 1-2 months), same with ears, a brush over with the Zoom Groom when they're shedding (once a month if they're lucky, usually less), the Ridgie gets a bath when he smells or is having a decent hair shed, the Mali gets bathed only when she coats herself in mud. Wouldn't call either of them 'low maintenance' though. :p

OP, I think what you are looking for is a medium - short coated, low drive, companion dog.

Yes. Coat maintenance can vary a lot with different breeds, and some are extremely low maintenance. We don't even own any grooming scissors or clippers.

My dogs get a bath 2 or 3 times a year and don't really get brushed very much in between. They drop very little hair. We certainly never get tumbleweeds or anything that looks 3D. Just a few hairs on the floor to vacuum up weekly. Very low maintenance. I pat them to check for skin problems, because they don't need weekly brushing.

It sounds like a retired greyhound could suit the OP perfectly, but only if they got one that had been assessed with penned chooks. Some of them are not interested in birds at all. The important thing is to get one from a reliable organisation that carefully assesses their dogs. The chook pen would need to be secure and the property would need fencing of at least 1.2 metres high.

Very, very quiet, good with kids, non-destructive and not especially prone to anxiety or escaping. Low maintenance, physically sound and very few health problems. They only need a minimal amount of exercise compared to most dogs to keep them happy and prevent them from getting into habits like digging.