Buying a large dog, but which one?

Croatoan

Pretty sure we want to get a big, maybe giant, breed of dog to replace our Chow who died of cancer a few weeks ago
There's a few stipulations: my other half wants a medium to long haired dog; it will hopefully get on with my cat (or at least not try to eat it); it won't be too much of a barker (we live in the suburbs and need to keep the neighbours happy); and it must be good with small children - wife is a child minder - no child would ever be left with the dog and while minding children the dog will be kept separate. Our Chow was wonderful with children but stayed in the kitchen/garden while children were around. It will be purely a family pet and live indoors.

I accept that all dogs are individuals and as such, other than the long hair, nothing can be guaranteed, but it makes sense to give us a fighting chance on the other criteria. After much research we've narrowed it down to:
Bernese Mountain Dog - ideal, but very concerned about health problems and short lifespan.
Leonberger - ticks most of the boxes, I think. Unsure how vocal they are.
Tibetan Mastiff - probably more Chow-like and dominant in temperament, plus I believe they can be night time barkers and unsure how it'd react to the cat, which is a worry.
Newfoundland/Landseer - ideal but the legendary amounts of drool is putting us off a bit.
Pyrenean Mountain Dog - again a little worried that they may be heavy barkers.

Has anyone owned any of these dogs and can either confirm or deny any of the comments I've made or give advice on the choices? Thanks.

Person_one

Why not give these rescues a ring and see if they've got any dogs in their care that might suit your lifestyle?

There are limits to what you can know about a dog just from breed, the rescues will know the individual dogs, their needs and quirks and will be able to 'match' you up. They both specialise in larger breeds:

http://www.largebreeddogrescue.com/

http://www.ironmountain-dogrescue.com/


Sorry about your Chow, good luck in the search for a new friend!

laurz

have you thought about a giant schnauser

Croatoan

Person_one wrote: »

Why not give these rescues a ring and see if they've got any dogs in their care that might suit your lifestyle?

There are limits to what you can know about a dog just from breed, the rescues will know the individual dogs, their needs and quirks and will be able to 'match' you up. They both specialise in larger breeds:

http://www.largebreeddogrescue.com/

http://www.ironmountain-dogrescue.com/


Sorry about your Chow, good luck in the search for a new friend!

We have considered a rescue dog, however with my wife being a child minder many Rescues won't consider us, and I'd personally prefer to train and socialise a dog ourselves from being a puppy rather than bringing in an older dog who we, and often the rescue, don't really know.

Person_one

Ah, it would be difficult with your wife's job.

gettingready

After much research we've narrowed it down to:
Bernese Mountain Dog - ideal, but very concerned about health problems and short lifespan.
Leonberger - ticks most of the boxes, I think. Unsure how vocal they are.
Tibetan Mastiff - probably more Chow-like and dominant in temperament, plus I believe they can be night time barkers and unsure how it'd react to the cat, which is a worry.
Newfoundland/Landseer - ideal but the legendary amounts of drool is putting us off a bit.
Pyrenean Mountain Dog - again a little worried that they may be heavy barkers.

have you thought about a giant schnauser

No, OP did not think of that breed as he is very specific in his question and already mentions the breeds he would consider.

He is also absolutely right about getting a pup in his circumstances (kids around) so mentioning rescue dogs is not relevant here same as suggesting other breeds.

OP. sorry, cat@t help you out as I have a GS myself, have a friend with Tibetan Mastif and I know her dog is a barker and very protective and dominant... But it may be just this one, do not really know.

HOpefully someone else will be able to advise.

Nice choice of breeds but may be difficult as none is very popular in UK - the Tibetan Mastiff my friend got is in POland....

About Leonberger you can possibly ask here - this couple have them and adopted another one so should be able to help you from their own experience with the breed:


http://s10.zetaboards.com/biggsd/topic/7296410/1/



All the best

Person_one

gettingready wrote: »

No, OP did not think of that breed as he is very specific in his question and already mentions the breeds he would consider.

He is also aright about getting a pup in his circumstances (kids around)

I'm sure the OP can answer for himself, you probably don't need to...

Laurz was trying to be helpful I'm sure, its easy to overlook a breed that might be perfect when there are so many out there, GS's have the bonus that they don't shed or slobber!

gettingready

Looking at OP's list it is very easy to see what dogs he is looking at and why - shape, fur, size

This one would fit (no idea what it is called in UK or they even exist here) but it was not on the list...



Oh, found the local name for this one - St. Bernhardshund

They are used to find people lost in the mountains back home... lovely big softies....

Croatoan

laurz wrote: »

have you thought about a giant schnauser

Thanks. We've considered lots of dogs but for various reasons prefer at this time to restrict ourselves to the ones I've mentioned.

UKTigerlily

Isn't Discover Dogs on in November? AFAIK all breeds are there & it's a good place to meet them & to chat to their breeders & other owners about the breed in general x

ellies_angel

We grew up with an Irish Wolfhound, a huge hulk of a beast, but just a big baby. When she had done something wrong she would like alongside the coffee table with her head underneath it and think that because she couldn't see us we couldn't see her. I was always tripping over her because I hadn't seen her.
For a big dog she needed much less exercise that other larger varieties. Would take her for a long walk and we weren't even half way there and she would stop, lie down and not budge until I turned round to go back, because of this they didn't eat nearly as much as you would imagine.
Can't recall having any health problems with her, she was a very easy going lovable beast. Other dogs would love to have a go especially the little terriers (I have one of them now) she would just carry on, even with one dangling from her refusing to let go.
The only downside is their short life expectancy, which was the only reason I didn't get another, it broke my heart when she died. I got a border terrier now because she reminded me of a wee wolf hound.