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Please do NOT take offense at this, but I really suggest getting a calm, gentle dog that can be pretty chilled out.
I have MANY older patients with broken bones from their exuberant dogs.
LOL! Don't worry, I don't take offense that easily. I went skydiving four years ago (at 62). I'm not quite to the point where I need a calm, gentle dog.
Well, I think the shedding factor should give you a short list. Start with dogs that don't shed, and go from there.
My rat terrier is everything you're looking for .....but she sheds HORRIBLY! My world is covered in tiny white hairs.
When I was looking for a medium sized dog, I narrowed it down between poodles and rat terriers. I decided I didn't want to deal with grooming. And I think I am a forever rat terrier person now. Smart, loyal, not a big barker, ready to go all day OR be a couch potato with me, friendly to everyone, nice size at about 23 pounds, but very sturdy (I didn't want a dog I had to worry about stepping on, but was small enough I could pick up without hurting my back if she got sick or hurt), very trainable......But, wow on the shedding!
Boston Terriers can be found in larger sizes (up to 35 lbs sometimes). Meet some thru a rescue group and you will learn the temperament of the dog. Most are not great barkers, they tend to self-exercise. You can get one who is house trained from a rescue group, too. They are easy to groom and not bad shedders. Funny and loads of fun. Here's a great example of such a dog:
LOL! You should read the thread I started back before I rescued Jackie on which would be better for me, a poodle or rat terrier. This is exactly what people came up with for me LOL!
One of the clinchers was RunsWithScissors' story and photos of a rat terrier she has that plays with the squirrel tree, and actually puts the squirrels back into the tree lol!
Have you looked into Cavalier King Charles Spaniels? Personality wise, I think they would be a wonderful fit. They do not act like small dogs at all and are extremely friendly.
Let me tell you about ours. My wife and I were just saying yesterday that she's all-around the best dog we've ever had. There's just (almost) nothing about her that we don't like. She's as close to perfect as we can imagine.
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Originally Posted by Katzpur
1. We want a dog (dogs) that are not prone to excessive barking.
She barks when the doorbell rings, ceases when we head toward the door or call her back. Also barks when my wife or I come home and then MUST go out to meet us. Otherwise, we've tried to train her to bark when she wants in, but all she'll do is stand at the back door with her nose against the window. She will bark at squirrels, but mostly she chases them up a tree, then runs around the base to make sure they don't come down.
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2. We want a dog (dogs) that are not terrible shedders. (We had wall-to-wall Collie hair for several years.)
No shedding, ever.
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3. We want a dog (dogs) that are easily housebroken and trainable in the basics of good behavior.
Peed on the kitchen floor the first 5 minutes she was in the house; hasn't had an accident since in about 7 years. She had a brief habit of tearing up tissues if they were on the floor, but we quickly stopped that. Easily too, I might add. She wants to please us, and we don't have to scold much for her to understand what's not acceptable.
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4. We want a dog (dogs) that are friendly with people, not aloof, not hostile or overly protective.
Very friendly, anything but aloof. We have a cat that is constantly picking on her and we encourage her to stand her ground. She'll sometimes snap at it after he continually swats her, jumps on top of her, crawls underneither her and keeps it up for 5 minutes; then she immediately turns and runs like she's ashamed.
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5. We want a dog (dogs) that don't require huge amounts of exercise. While we're in good health, I am 6. and my husband is 72. We're not likely to want to take the dogs jogging.
We let her out in the back yard 4-5 times per day. If it's nice and sunny, she'll wander about for awhile, then lie in the sun for 5-10 minutes. Otherwise her exercise is limited to running away from the cat. OR... OR... if she happens to see a squirrel when she's in the back yard or camping with us. They can drive her crazy for hours at a time. Everything else -- birds, other dogs, etc., she just tunes out.
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7. We would prefer a medium-sized dog (dogs) over either a tiny dog or a huge dog.
Here's the only (possible) down-side. Patti is a Silky Terrier. She only weighs 12 pounds. To us, who had only had Yorkies for the past 20 years, she was medium sized. She might be too small for you. We live in town on a smallish (80x140) lot, so we prefer small dogs for that reason. There's less cleaning up to do in the back yard, they travel easier and are easier to be cared for by friends. She's big enough that we don't have to worry about stepping on her, but small enough that we can easily pick her up and carry her if necessary.
Other peculiarities: She doesn't care much for other dogs. She isn't hostile towards them, just turns her back on them like they aren't there. She's not a lap dog. She'll jump into my lap while I'm watching TV but only stay there for a minute, then it's back to the sofa or her pillow. She does love to be petted, but only for a few minutes at a time. She doesn't like baths, but she doesn't fight them either. A bath earns her a doggie treat. She seems to think it's a fair trade.
Silkies are mostly a cross between a Yorkie and an Australian Terrier. The first time I saw her (front seat of a car) I was trying to figure out if she was a Yorkie or a Silky. (They look very much alike except that Silkies are a little bigger and more blonde.) The owner came out of the store just then and I asked. She said Patti was a Silky and asked if I wanted her. She was headed to the pet shelter the next day because she could no longer keep her. I called my wife and asked her if she was interested. The lady followed me home; Patti jumped out of the car and ran up to my wife, who was sitting in the front lawn, and that was that. I guess it was love at first sight.
You can learn to clip the poodle yourself if you want to keep it basic. Not too difficult. It's when you get into the fancy clips that there is a learning curve.
The Whippet would shed some, but from everything I have heard about them they make lovely house dogs.
Have you taken any of those on-line "which dog for me" quizzes?
Seriously, I would take a few and see what options come up. Take the top two or three, along with some of the suggestions here, and keep an eye open when looking at shelters. A mix of the breeds that have been suggested would probably be a good choice. You can also search out breed specific rescues.
Good luck! It's always fun to pick a new object of your affection!
Have you taken any of those on-line "which dog for me" quizzes?
Actually, I just did that, and can hardly believe what the results were. I actually took about ten different quizzes. I did my best to answer honestly and even took a few of the tests more than once, where I had a hard time choosing between two options on the quiz. Here, from the various quizzes, are the suggestions for what dog I should get:
Field Spaniel
Golden Retriever
Cocker Spaniel
Australian Labradoodle
American Eskimo
Brittany Spaniel
English Toy Spaniel
Bernese Mountain Dog
Doberman Pinscher
Yeah, how am I going to choose between an English Toy Spaniel and a Bernese Mountain Dog? I mean they're so similar!
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Good luck! It's always fun to pick a new object of your affection!
I know! I'm totally enjoying the process!
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She will bark at squirrels, but mostly she chases them up a tree, then runs around the base to make sure they don't come down.
