Buying a large dog, but which one?

Murtle

well anyway, I will suggest asking rescues as sadly more and more puppies are coming in to them.

so for the Bernese Mountain Dog here are some;

Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Scotland Rescue
Mrs A Wilson, Hareshaw, Cleland. Tel: 01698 860298
Mrs H McAulay, Kilbirnie. Tel: 01505 683243

Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain Rescue
Mrs Sandra Gatward, Co-Ordinator, Dorset. Tel: 01202 872217
Mrs Sawyers, Assistant Co-Ordinator, Selkirk. Tel: 01750 32292

Northern Bernese Mountain Dog Club Rescue
Mrs L C Stephenson, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham. Tel: 01325 315882

for others you can find breed rescues here http://www.dogpages.org.uk/breeds.htm

thankfully responsible breeders will take back any pups whose owners run into trouble, but many do end up in rescue.

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your Chow, and having looked through your list, they are all gorgeous and huge!! Big bundles to cuddle up to! Good luck with your search!

Frugalista

Murtle wrote: »

well anyway, I will suggest asking rescues

That suggestion has already been raised and answered.

Croatoan wrote: »

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.

Diaphanous

Many rescue centres do have puppies also so they'd be easier with the children thing if you want to train yourself.

Diaphanous

http://www.largebreeddogrescue.com/breeze.php probably not the right breed, but you get the idea...

Person_one

lostinrates wrote: »

I don't think thje bickering helps OP any guys.


Its a shame all these threads end in bickering and more than one person being rude. I don't expect people will ever see eye to eye absolutely but the bickering on this board often sees me stop visiting this board because of constant replay.

Its a shame, but ignoring rudeness and turning a blind eye never makes a board any better either.

rising_from_the_ashes

Person_one wrote: »

Its a shame, but ignoring rudeness and turning a blind eye never makes a board any better either.

I have to agree - I wish we had a board guide on here..... some threads get way out of hand (not referring specifically to this one) whereas on the boards with guides, it's usually quickly stamped down on.

rising_from_the_ashes

OP, my aunt & uncle had 2 Burmese - they were both the soppiest, most adorable, lazy lumps:D but they were very well behaved and I can't remember that they ever had a problem with barking. They did have some health problems when older, but unfortunately you can't guarantee against that with almost any breed.

Croatoan

Diaphanous wrote: »

http://www.largebreeddogrescue.com/breeze.php probably not the right breed, but you get the idea...

I really love Malamutes and think they're stunning looking dogs, but I believe they need a serious amount of exercise, probably more than we'd be able to give.

There's so many breeds of dog we love, but to labour a point, the child minding means we have to tread carefully. We need to avoid "scary" breeds - now before anyone gets angry, I don't consider any breed scary, however some parents are very, and perhaps understandably, protective about their kids and I know we were turned down in the past by some parents just because we owned a Chow (though I'd imagine it could be any dog).
We both love Rottweilers yet getting one would would mean at least one, and possibly two of the minded children we have would immediately be removed by their parents. I like Staffies, Mastiffs, GSDs and many others, but again, the media (and bad owners) have done a great job and frightened many people into thinking they're vicious dogs. Now as much as I'm tempted to happily wave goodbye to any child whose parents as much as looked the wrong way at my dog, in these times we need to keep a steady income, so have to think carefully at anything that may threaten that, bearing in mind that not having a dog at all is not an option.
The big, long haired and cuddly criteria of the dogs I've listed has in part come about because we like big dogs and all these dogs are seen as "non-threatening" (and of course, we do love them) by most parents. The list would have been much longer if not for that.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Croatoan wrote: »

I really love Malamutes and think they're stunning looking dogs, but I believe they need a serious amount of exercise, probably more than we'd be able to give.

They're becoming the replacement for Staffies now, along with Huskies, so I would put them down as a probably not even if you were able to give one the exercise and stimulation they need, as you could easily start losing placements (? Is that the phrase?) on that basis as well.

suki1964

Here the Giant breed dog of choce appears to be newfies and Burmese and now malamutes ( mainly because of the high price commanded )

No first hand experience of any but the Burmese have always appealed because of their gentleness. A woman around here has three and the young adult dog is blind and is led everywhere by the two older dogs. The older dogs are so placid, the younger one is more nervy which is understandable