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I apologize ahead of time for the super long post. After a couple years of going back and forth, my wife and I have finally decided to get a dog. Unfortunately, we have a decent sized list of criteria that we would like to have in our future pet. They are (ranked relatively by importance):
-Hypoallergenic
(yes, no dog is truly hypoallergenic but we are looking for something that's less prone to produce an allergic reaction. Backstory: neither my wife or I are allergic but my mother-in-law is allergic to pretty much everything, probably humans too. While it wouldn't bother us, since we would be seeing my MIL regularly at their house, I don't want it coming down to deciding between visiting them w/o the dog or staying home. We want a dog that can travel with us (see below) so if it is only going to aggravate my MIL's allergies to the point when we can't visit, then what's the point of getting one. Obviously we would only be staying for a limited amount of time and there are measures we can take to make sure it's not going to kill her. But the more hypoallergenic, the less work is involved. Also, my wife does NOT want dog hair all over the place so the less shedding the better.)
-Relatively easy to train (my wife would be a first-time dog owner)
-Good family dog (for when we have kids)
-Small-medium size
-Not a yapper (see: yorkies)
-Medium-ish energy level (my wife and I are runners and we like to do active things, but when we aren't running, we are plopped on the couch doing as little as possible, haha. We would prefer a dog that has the energy and athleticism to run with us, but also doesn't mind laying on the couch when we aren't doing anything)
-Can travel well (our parents have beach homes and we spend many of our vacations there so we'd like to bring our dog with us when we go)
While we know that there is not an ideal dog that has ALL of these and, even if there was a breed that did doesn't mean that individual dogs don't vary, we have found a couple breeds that look intriguing:
-We really like Cockapoos (they look cute enough for my wife and meet most of above). But I was curious as to their ability to go for jogs/runs and if anyone has had experience traveling with them? I would think that a larger cockapoo (the standard or maxi?) would be better for running but I don't know.
-We also like Portuguese Water Dogs, but they seem like they may have too much energy for the times that we just want to chill. Does this seem correct?
If anyone has any other ideas, I'd be more than happy to hear them. We are considering rescue dogs and aren't necessarily set on these two "breeds" above but they seem to match our criteria. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
You might look at something like a golden doodle (cross between a golden retriever and poodle). We've got a mini golden doodle (dad was a mini poodle), so he's not as big as a regular golden doodle. He's about 40 lbs, but they are often smaller and I believe there are even smaller ones, where the dad is a toy poodle. He doesn't shed (except for the time when he shed his puppy coat) and is hypoallergenic. We all have allergies and he causes no problem at all. He's happy just lying around the house, yet he loves to go outside and run. My husband takes him running occasionally. He rarely makes a sound, other than occasionally whining when he wants to go out or is out of water. The only time he really barks is when there is someone outside our house. He doesn't bark when someone rings the doorbell, but if he sees someone, who is say putting flyers out on doors or something, he will bark, and it's what we call his "big dog bark". He can sound like a huge killer attack dog when he wants. Of course if anyone actually saw him they would never be afraid. He looks like a giant stuffed animal. He absolutely loves everyone. He's so cute and cuddly kids can't keep their hands off him, and he's totally okay with that. He's very smart and was easily trained, or maybe he trained us! I would say, all in all, he's got the wonderful personality of a golden retriever, the intelligence and non shedding coat of a poodle. Another good thing about them is, you can let their hair grow long or keep it cut short so their is virtually no care.
I would suggest a schnauzer too, except they tend to be barkers. We've had 2 and both would bark leaves blowing down the street. They really are awesome dogs though.
Japenese Chin, Papillon, Boston Terrier. Miniature Poodle (not toy=yappier). Bostons are a really kid friendly breed.
A Cockapoo is a mutt, not a breed. Avoid anything with Cocker in it. More people react to Cocker dander and fur than any other breed. Anything with "Doodle" in it is a mixed breed bred by irresponsible people who sell them for crazy $. Pounds are filled with 30.00 "Doodles".
May I suggest another way to go about your search?
Go to a rescue group and show them your list and ask if they have any dogs that might be a good match. The reason I say this is not because I am a proponent of rescue (which I am) BUT because a reputable group will know all their dogs quite well and can point you in the right direction.
If their dogs are being fostered in a private home, they can tell you if they travel well, if they yap, how much they shed, if they like cats/kids/other dogs, how much exercise they need/like. They'll be able to tell you more than you probably want to know about a specific dog.
Also, the dogs they have will most likely already have basic obedience (a real plus!).
Of course a breeder can tell you that their breed is all the things you want but what if you get the one puppy that falls short in one or more categories?
Good luck. The fact that you're putting a lot of thought into getting a dog shows that you'll be a good owner. The dog you get will be lucky.
P.S. Try not to get your mind set on a specific "look" (sounds like your wife might be doing this). I'm here to tell you that you can easily fall in love with a dog that you once thought was not your type. A sweet little poodle mix taught me that.
Last edited by atina33; 03-04-2013 at 12:40 PM..
Reason: added a p.s.
Instead of doodle cross, get a purebred standard poodle from a reputable show breeder.. Perhaps slightly larger than your criteria, but I think they still qualify as "medium size". You won't get a dog smarter or more people oriented. The standards generally do not have the same bad issues as the smaller versions.
Keep the coat shaved to a short length all over and the dog won't look silly or frou frou, and the coat is easy to care for.
You might be able to find an adult retired show dog and not have to put up with puppy silliness and destruction.
The only warning about standard poodles is that they are wicked smart, so you have to be careful about what you are teaching the dog.
Instead of doodle cross, get a purebred standard poodle from a reputable show breeder.. Perhaps slightly larger than your criteria, but I think they still qualify as "medium size". You won't get a dog smarter or more people oriented. The standards generally do not have the same bad issues as the smaller versions.
Keep the coat shaved to a short length all over and the dog won't look silly or frou frou, and the coat is easy to care for.
You might be able to find an adult retired show dog and not have to put up with puppy silliness and destruction.
The only warning about standard poodles is that they are wicked smart, so you have to be careful about what you are teaching the dog.
My standard poodle just had her first birthday. We have had dogs all of our long lives and this poodle is one of if not the best of them all. She fits your criteria to a T. Mine is a deep red and she's beautiful.
A really good pup ffom a breeder of champs should run about $2,000
Instead of doodle cross, get a purebred standard poodle from a reputable show breeder.. Perhaps slightly larger than your criteria, but I think they still qualify as "medium size". You won't get a dog smarter or more people oriented. The standards generally do not have the same bad issues as the smaller versions.
Keep the coat shaved to a short length all over and the dog won't look silly or frou frou, and the coat is easy to care for.
You might be able to find an adult retired show dog and not have to put up with puppy silliness and destruction.
The only warning about standard poodles is that they are wicked smart, so you have to be careful about what you are teaching the dog.
I second this suggestion! As I was first reading the OP, a standard poodle is what came to my mind.
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