Help picking a new dog

[jrebel]

Forgot to add...I will never buy anything other than a puppy.  I am a firm believer that once a dog learns bad habbits it is harder to break those habits than it is to train it right the first time.  Even with limited time.  Puppy all the way, it will be way more loyal.   

[Stilly bay]

older dogs will bond with you just as well as any puppy. sometimes its the human that has a harder time bonding with the older dog vs the puppy.

most older dogs that have not been abused or traumatized are perfectly capable of learning new tricks and losing bad habits through consistent training and reinforcement. I will even go out on a limb and say its a helluva lot easier teaching an older dog new tricks than it is teaching a puppy the basics.  in the end it really depends on the person doing the training.

[ribka]

I would suggest a lab. Unless you can devote time every day to exercise and training  your dog  with your limited area would stay away from pointing breeds. They are working breeds and require quite a bit of time or Will develop behavior problems because they are bored and not exercised.


I see a lot of pointing breeds in animals shelters that are needlessly  put down because clueless owners do not understand their needs and do not spend the time to train and exercise them. 

[GrousePointer]

Get a Spinone Italiano.

If you are willing to wait and have some coin (they are expensive) I can recommend a breeder.

Look up WalkyDog bike leashes. They are poor men's roading devices and work great to keep your dog fit and calm. Take it from me, I've lived with English Pointers in a townhouse, two urban housing areas, and in the country on gravel roads. The thing is a life saver and keeps the dogs fit for hunting season.

Speaking of great dogs, English Pointers probably fit the bill for you but your work demands won't work with their exercise needs.
But if you want a great family hunting dog that is an out of the box natural, they are second to none imo.

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

[runamuk]

older dogs will bond with you just as well as any puppy. sometimes its the human that has a harder time bonding with the older dog vs the puppy.

most older dogs that have not been abused or traumatized are perfectly capable of learning new tricks and losing bad habits through consistent training and reinforcement. I will even go out on a limb and say its a helluva lot easier teaching an older dog new tricks than it is teaching a puppy the basics.  in the end it really depends on the person doing the training.

I prefer non puppies I love year to 2 year olds dont have to go through the housebreaking or chewing BS.  Mind you I did rescue for over 20 years often taking dogs no one wanted.  I have purposely only had about 3 puppies ever 1 was a disaster also was the only mutt I ever took in and kept.  1 was the poodle the ex and boys hunted with, and one was my last chow.  I also mostly prefer females but a good dog is a good dog.  right now I have everything I usually cannot stand in a dog and love her...she is a two year old chi/rat terrier, I dont usually like tiny dogs and terriers are an absolute no for me....yet oddly she fits in quite nicely, her partner in crime is a german wirehair who is about a year and a half and had been rehomed twice and when he came to us he had been in a yard chained he was raving nuts and yet within a couple weeks settled right down, just needs lots of exercise...I am quite smitten with him to be honest....
I've taken everything from bottle babies to 12 year old blind deaf dogs mostly it was chows but there have been some others, my borzoi came to me as a 4 yr old and she was probably one of the best dogs I ever owned she was with me until she was 14-15 years when I had to put her down due to cancer, don't write off an older dog

[Special T]

You can't go wrong with a golden. All they want to do is please.. male/female don't think it really matters. There is a reason why they are the go to dog for seeing eye dogs... I don't own one but know several people with them. They can be great hunting dogs, and you have ZERO worry about them eating some one.  BTW I love that Walkie dog leash GP great looking product! 

[ORCA_SIX]

German wire hair pointers are great family dogs. We have two of them and my 1 year old son lays all over them. They are excellent hunters for both upland and waterfowl. Very protective all around good dogs. Hope this helps

My wire hair pointer lives on 1/2 acre and 1700 sq ft house and she is awsome.  I have two kids 3 and 5 and she is the most loving dog ever.  She is very mellow mannered, unless she wants to play fetch...then she is down right annoying  .  Buy a female and get her spade, this will help with temporment a ton.  I will never own another male dog in my life. 

Good Luck.

German Wirehair Pointers are the way to go. Very loving dogs, energetic but can chill out. At least mine does. Like all hunting dogs you will have to get them out with exercise.

How can you pass up a dog that looks like that. Also, get a female and get her spade.

[Tman]

Just got my first bird dog, a german wirehaired pointer last week. So far the most laid back pup ive ever had.

[krism83]

We have two dogs right now and both are excellent dogs. We have a 7 year old Pit, and I know everyone will say how horrible Pits are and that they aren't family dogs. Those people have obviously never owned one or had a bad experience with a Pit who had a crappy owner. We also have a 1 year old Black Lab, and he is the goofiest, dumbest, most loyally awesome dog I have ever had. This little guy can be a terrorist one minute trying to play and getting into stuff, and the sweetest cuddler on the couch the next.

They are both pretty protective of the house and property, especially if its only my girlfriend at the house. They will bark when people show up but if it is someone who comes over often or that they have met a couple times then they usually can it and go back to chewing on their kongs. I have never seen them bite another dog or person, never seen them even attmept to act aggressive towards one for that matter. They love it when my girlfriends little brother comes over so they can rough house with him and then they can all lay on the couch together and watch TV...for some reason my dogs LOVE the disney channel.

I think either of these are good family dogs, its all about preference.

[Carl]

Tagging to follow the thread.

[coachcw]

I have a female choc lab and bread her with a english pointer . great temperment and loving dogs . we kept a Male Tanner tott is the most laid back pup you could imagine , he is now three and is a assume dude , he and my daughter are practically unserperatible . Either way a lab or a german wire hair you cant go wrong . from my experiance the pointers arn't barkers and the labs can be .

[MuleySniper]

I don't have the time for a "working breed" IE, labs, gsp's, gwp's, spaniels etc... Not saying at all they are not great dogs, I just honestly don't have the time for a bird dog (which most spoken above are bred for) I grew up with first a Springer Spaniel.... Spent most of my adolescence with an awesome snow white Lab... Graduated highschool with yet another awesome Springer Spaniel... With all of those mentioned dogs only one of them was used, very limited I will add, was for hunting... As I grew older, got married, my own place and a family, knowing I'm not a huge bird hunter,  I wanted a guardian dog. My place is not huge by any means... Nearly ten years ago I bought a male brindle bullmastiff pup... Big brindle colored male. He has been the sweetest most loyal dog I have had. I can leave to go to work and know I that dog will protect my family and my home with all he has. My 6yo son has lots of friends, we have lots of friends with kids and myself and the parents don't think twice about my dog. He his great with children of any age, non aggressive at all. Slightly to other dogs but again, his home is his turf, not the neighbor dogs. He's getting up there in age and I wont hesitate at all to replace him with one exactly like him. He is primarily an outdoor dog but he does have a spot in the house for cold and rainy days. He also sleeps inside the house in his spot. Not saying that I don't love other breeds, they just don't fit with my lifestyle and needs at this point in my life. Most dog owners treat their dogs like their children, a good thing to keep in mind when choosing a breed. 
MS

[yorketransport]

Wow, this is a lot of info to wade through!

As far as my gift for being bit by dogs, I've never figured it out. I'm not scared of dogs, but I typically don't trust them. I should say that for every dog that's bit me, there have been 20 which didn't. And that cocker spaniel we had loved my wife, she just hated me. My wife always said that the dog could just sense the evil in me.

I love the idea of a golden retriever but I hate the thought of all that hair . I have to say that the first dog to bite me while working was a golden retriever though. It was a fluke though. Looking back I should have noticed that the dog had been neglected and abused and I should have known better than to even go into the yard. That one was all my fault.

I need to do a lot research still before running out and getting anything. I let my wife pick the last two dogs and I think she chose based on how cute the puppies were. I will look into an older/rescue dog as well. While everybody loves a puppy, I like the idea of a dog which already knows the basics.

Keep the info and suggestions coming. I need all the help I can get on this.

Andrew

[lokidog]

Yes, goldens produce a lot of hair.  So do labs.  Ours was not allowed to go upstairs to the bedrooms so there was a relatively hair-free zone.  Brushing as often as possible will pretty much eliminate the problem as well as providing lots of bonding time.

BTW, ALL puppies are cute, even the little yappers.   

[yorketransport]

What about wirehaired pointing griffons? Anybody have one? They sound like a toned down version of the German wirehaired pointer.

Andrew