Buying a large dog, but which one?

lostinrates

Person_one wrote: »

I have toy dogs, and while I love to see them socialise with dogs of all sizes I can't help but have my heart in my mouth when they're skittering about round a Great Dane's feet, he'd only have to put a foot wrong accidentally to break their spine! :eek: I just try not to worry though, its worth it for them to be well socialised and make doggy friends!

Oh and I'm sorry, but I'm a stopper and talker, feel free to just smile and answer while you walk past though, I won't be offended!

That's true,...but there are always risks with even the best socialising. After all, dog dog shattered her leg playing with a whippet this summer!....but as you say...socialisation is vital for healthy emotions and happy dogs.


I am always polite when people want to talk, I'm proud of the dogs and interested in other people's too (I get five minute breed envy often, lol)....its just those rushed times when you are trying to get them run ragged a bit quickly.

Welshwoofs

lostinrates wrote: »

ah.....herein lies another problme with giants. Country walks can be a problem...navigating styles with low botton bars that can't be crawled under, and high top bars that shouldn't be jumped over by giant legs, and are very hard to lift over, if not impossible.....much of the footpath network is out of bounds. Someone pointed out the difficulty of holidays with a giant, and they simply are not as welcomed or as transportable as a smaller dog.

Oh god I didn't even get on to stiles!

I'm an avid walker, but I literally have to pour over Ordinance Survey maps before I go anywhere because you cannot get 12 stone of dog over a stile. I've lost count of the number of times we've forged out on a new walk, only to have to turn round 10 minutes later and come back.

I'm afraid that these days I'll simply look for any way through, even if it means leaving the public path and going through a break in a hedge.

Caroline_a

Welshwoofs wrote: »

Oh god I didn't even get on to stiles!

I'm an avid walker, but I literally have to pour over Ordinance Survey maps before I go anywhere because you cannot get 12 stone of dog over a stile. I've lost count of the number of times we've forged out on a new walk, only to have to turn round 10 minutes later and come back.

I'm afraid that these days I'll simply look for any way through, even if it means leaving the public path and going through a break in a hedge.

You could always go straight through them... :rotfl::rotfl:

lostinrates

or kissing gates.....another hazard for giant owners.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

lostinrates wrote: »

or kissing gates.....another hazard for giant owners.

[completely taking this out of context]

Yep. Right pain when you get your huge butt stuck in one of the things.

:whistle:

Croatoan

OP here.
Just for info we've decided on a Bernese. Went round to see one yesterday and will be bringing him home near the end of the month. I'll try and pop up a photo or two when we get him. Thanks for all the assistance.

rising_from_the_ashes

Yaaaayyyy! That's fantastic news!

I must say I'm cuffed as I've such fond memories of my aunt & uncles Bermese from when I was younger.

Can't wait to see the pics!

ali-t

Croatoan wrote: »

When we made out our original list, the Bernese was, and still is, my wife's first choice, and the Leonberger mine
Having just lost a dog at an early age I might be guilty of placing too much of an emphasis on the health problems of the Bernese. Next step I think is to attend a few shows and talk to breeders. There is a lot of info on the internet, though as always, much of it is contradictory.

I don't have experience of any of them but on a dog forum I go on, BMD's frequently come up in topics about insurance. There are a number of BMD owners who say that getting insurance for them at a decent price is very difficult and quotes of £100pcm are not unusual.

If ongoing running costs are an issue (which they are for most of us!) it might be worth putting your breed choices into some of the pet insurance search engines both with puppy and senior checks.

This may have the impact of shortening your shortlist so you can focus on deciding between 2 rather than more.

Good luck.

Croatoan

ali-t wrote: »

I don't have experience of any of them but on a dog forum I go on, BMD's frequently come up in topics about insurance. There are a number of BMD owners who say that getting insurance for them at a decent price is very difficult and quotes of £100pcm are not unusual.

If ongoing running costs are an issue (which they are for most of us!) it might be worth putting your breed choices into some of the pet insurance search engines both with puppy and senior checks.

This may have the impact of shortening your shortlist so you can focus on deciding between 2 rather than more.

Good luck.

Yeah we did consider that but decided in the end it wasn't going to put us off. I think, but haven't checked, that most large breeds get expensive to insure as they get older, although as you say, the Bernese is likely more expensive than most.

UKTigerlily

Aww can't wait for pics, Bernese are beaautiful, congrats! What will you call him?