What Breed?

[Lisa Simpson]

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We are deliberating getting a puppy and are completely stuck on which breed to get. I am trying to make an informed and responsible decision but descriptions of each dogs breeds and temperament seem to be doing our best to put us off. At the moment the choice is very wide: Whippet, Weimaraner, Labrador or Jack Russell. My husband and I both had Dalmatians as children (my family also had corgis) but have not had dogs since then. We have a Burmese cat, 2 children (aged 8 and 10), we both work from home so the dog would not be alone and we live in an open-plan house in a hamlet in south-west France. The garden is not fully fenced in and any fence we do have is about 1 metre 20 high, occasionally horses and sheep come to graze in fields nearby. Any ideas/suggestions would be welcome. Thank you

 

[peppermint lady]

for a great family dog go for a whippet of lab without a doubt

 

[jayp]

We are deliberating getting a puppy and are completely stuck on which breed to get. I am trying to make an informed and responsible decision but descriptions of each dogs breeds and temperament seem to be doing our best to put us off. At the moment the choice is very wide: Whippet, Weimaraner, Labrador or Jack Russell. My husband and I both had Dalmatians as children (my family also had corgis) but have not had dogs since then. We have a Burmese cat, 2 children (aged 8 and 10), we both work from home so the dog would not be alone and we live in an open-plan house in a hamlet in south-west France. The garden is not fully fenced in and any fence we do have is about 1 metre 20 high, occasionally horses and sheep come to graze in fields nearby. Any ideas/suggestions would be welcome. Thank you

I would be asking yourselves what is it you would like to do with your dog , will it be a companion on long walks, will it be a fun active dog for your children to play with, what standard of obedience do you expect and how much time will be spent training,

Any one of your suggested breeds will jump the fence if not well stock trained

Good luck with your decision

 

[~Annie~]

Much as I would love to recommend a whippet to you - the best of breeds - without a secure garden you might be better with something different, although as has already been said any of the breeds you mention would easily clear what fence you have, and Jacks as well as whippets will take themselves off hunting. If you do decide on a whippet you will really need to put in the work on recall and stock training from day one.

That said my whippets actually spend very little time in my garden as we have miles of open country very near by where we run them, after which they tend to choose to curl up in the house and sleep

 

[Suzycbee]

As has been said, you do need fenced boundaries for whippets, having said that, they make the most fabulous family pets, clean, affectionate and well slim !!

Good luck, mend your fences and get a whippy !!