Breed Suggestions for Roommate

Maxy24

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#1
So this is mostly just for fun, but some day might actually be useful. My roommate wants to know what breeds would fit her well.

She wants a medium to large sized dog
Must be a good running partner
Must like swimming (and she thinks she might do dock dogs...not sure how easy that is to find)-Swimming is one of her most important requirments
No professional grooming or really long fur
Must be good with other dogs
Preferably something that can be reliable off leash
It will be her first dog so nothing too difficult to train
No slobber

From how I've seen her interact with her family dogs it should be pretty tolerant, she likes to dress them up, lift up their front paws to "dance", pretend to sit on them, etc. So something you'd consider really good with kids.

So, what do you think?
 

stardogs

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#4
Young adult lab or lab mix from a rescue who has their dogs in foster homes.
 

Maxy24

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#6
Yeah, labs are what her family has now and it's not unlikely that she'll end up going that way. She doesn't know what other breeds are out there though, she wants to know all of the possibilities. We watched a dog show on TV and she liked the Curly Coated Retrievers, how would they be? She will most likely end up going the breeder route as she wants a puppy.
 

*blackrose

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#10
I looked into Curlies briefly when I was considering various breeds. I am not fond of curly coated dogs and I just couldnt get passed their look, although I tried. From my understanding, they are much more reserved than a Lab, more of a one person dog. They are social, but they just don't really care for anyone that isn't immediate family. Very intelligent and also trainable, but less "push button" than Goldens or Labs. To me, they seem to be the happy medium in temperament between a Lab and a Chessie, although I think they are much more.prone to being too reserved/shy.

I honestly really liked what I heard about them. I contacted a breeder and she was VERY helpful and more than happy to answer any of my questions. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I also thought Chessies would be a good fit for what I want and I just had a really hard time finding the curly coats appealing in any way, I probably would have gone the Curly route and not the Chessie. Still might happen some day, especially if I can get over the curly hair look.
 

milos_mommy

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#13
PWDs have pretty high grooming demands.

My thought was lab. A boxer might work but most of them aren't thrilled with swimming. I think a german shepherd (mix?) from rescue or even a well-chosen dog by a conformation breeder would be appropriate, too...a working bred shepherd might be a little much for her to handle.
 

Romy

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#15
Wirehaired pointing griffons fit all of those really well. They do get wet beards when drinking, but dry out pretty quick. I don't know if that would bother her since she says no drool.

Charlie had built in off lead ability. It was awesome. He was really fun to work with. He definitely loved water and had the highest pain tolerance of any dog I've seen.

For water, that was how we tired him out, lol. We lived on the beach and he'd run up and down the waterfall every day, go swimming in the ocean every day, run through the creek every day. He taught himself to dive underwater at high tide and find/retrieve butterclams. His nickname was Muddy Mudskipper. It's definitely a breed of waterbeasts. I honestly don't know how I would have handled him every day without water handy.
 

DogLover191

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#16
Re: Breed Suggestions

I'm going to go with the general consensus here and say a Retriever. Labs are super friendly (kind of slow to train, even breeders will admit they're not the smartest but they are great dogs), Goldens wouldn't be good because of grooming requirements, I'd recommend a Chesepeake Bay Retriever if you can get one, maybe a Poodle or Curly Coated Retriever.
 

Aleron

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#17
PWDs have pretty high grooming demands.
Unless you get an improper coat :)



I'd have to know more before suggesting one though. They really need a lot of early socialization and training, much like a lot of herding breeds. They can be destructive and very loud, though it doesn't sound like exercise would be an issue here! They are generally good with other dogs and very devoted to their people. Like to cuddle and be with you all the time. They are quite trainable but can be a bit independent too. They're more quirky than a Lab or Golden for sure and much more prone to being "weird" about strangers, unfamiliar stuff, noise, etc than those breeds. Unfortunately, there's a lot of health issues in the breed despite the parent club being extremely proactive about testing.

Curly Coats are nice dogs IME, uncomplicated like good retrievers should be but more reasonable than a Lab. I know a handful and they are just really, really nice dogs.
 

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