Advice on suitable dog breeds for new puppy

[tomh]

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Our toy poodle sadly passed away last month at the age of 18 years. He was my wife's dog originally, then I lived with him too for the last 10 years when we moved in together.

We're quite keen to get a new dog in a few months time and have been thinking about our lifestyle and what types of breed might be suitable.

We live in a one-bedroom, first floor, tenement flat. There's a bin yard out the back down some stairs, but not really a garden. There are three parks fairly nearby, about 5-10 mins walk away.

My wife works full time 9–5. I'm a bit more flexible in that I'm self employed. I used to just work in the house, but now rent an office (about 40 mins walk). I don't want to give this up and have to go back to working in the house, but I could either work mornings in the house then leave the dog alone in the afternoons until my wife returns, or some days I could walk to work with the dog and have him with me at the office. (I'm not sure if I could manage walking there and back every single day, I normally cycle or get the subway train).

Our old dog was always fine being left alone for 8-9 hours, he just seemed to go into hibernation then wake up when we got home. I always assumed that's what all dogs did, but it seems not!

We've been wondering if a whippet would be suitable for us as they don't really need a garden, preferring to be indoors, and we've heard they are fairly quiet and peaceful indoors after a burst of exercise a couple of times a day. We like terriers too, but it sounds like they can be a bit noisy and boisterous, which has put us off. Any advice on our situation and types of breed which might be suitable would be appreciated.

 

[goldenbear2013]

Sorry to hear about your old dog! But 18 years old! Wow!!!!

Whippets are wonderful dogs but they are very people orientated and do suffer with seperation anxiety so if you considering leaving the dog on its own for 8-9 hours then it's not a good idea.

To be honest what I should say is that despite your other dog being ok with it, you shouldn't get a dog if you are planning on leaving it alone for that long a time, it's not fair on the dog, especially if its a puppy. It needs as much time with their owners as they can, for training and companionship.

However, this is the real world and a lot of people leave their dogs for a considerable amount of time whilst they are at work and they are perfectly happy.

If you are able to take some time off when you first get your dog and then you build up the leaving time gradually so when you do start to leave it on its own for a considerable period of time, it will already be used to it right from the word go!

As for breeds, you either need a couch potato dog, such as a british bull dog, mastiff, or something of a similar size, that are quite happy to snooze the day away whilst you are at work. These are large dogs but suitable for apartments as they need little exercise, great companions and sleep for around 18 hours a day roughly!

For smaller breeds I would probaly say bichon frise, pug, french bull dog or king charles spaniel. They are all loveable dogs that needs lots of cuddles but minimal exercise and are suitable for apartments. They are happy to be curled up sleeping as they are bombing around on a field having a play.

I would probably say get in touch with a few breeders via the kennel club webiste and talk/email to them about what you want out of a dog. They will be very honest and tell you if the breed is suitable for your lifestyle or not. If you want to talk to some breeders face to face then you can go to Cruts in Birmingham, when it starts in February/March time?

They have an A-Z of dogs and you can also see the breeds as well as talk to the breeders there. We did this when we were looking for our puppy and they were most helpful!

I hope this helps, good luck with your search and I hope that you make the right decision

Sophie x