Need help about how to select a dog breed

[Emmerlaus]

I being looking up option for me and my gf to have a dog. There is only a few criterias but it giving us a headache:

1) It need to be a hypoallergenic dog (corrected thanks )

2) I live in a cold climate and a appartement so it need to fit there.

3) Not have seperation syndrome. Willing to have a second dog to alliviate the problem if needed

4) Not aggressive toward strangers

5) Not a barker.

=============

So far, I only found the poodle?

We were tempted by the Brussels Griffon or the **** Tzu... But some website claim **** Tzu cant handle being alone for too long and same for the griffons.

Do you guys have any good, trustworthy website to suggest? Or know dogs enough to share your knowledge with me?

I would not mind having a mixed race by the way as long as its hypoallergenic.

[Peelee]

Amusingly enough, a pig would fit most of those criteria (except "no separation syndrome," those dudes are crazy affectionate so you'd probably need to get two). I really don't think "pig" is a good response to "recommend a dog" though. Especially "not just a pig, but two pigs, and in an apartment."

[Emmerlaus]

Amusingly enough, a pig would fit most of those criteria (except "no separation syndrome," those dudes are crazy affectionate so you'd probably need to get two). I really don't think "pig" is a good response to "recommend a dog" though. Especially "not just a pig, but two pigs, and in an apartment."

And pigs can become VERY big too. And have hooves if I remember correctly, my neighboor below would harass me with complains.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

1) It need to be a hyperallergenic dog

That's not a request you hear often. You have an allergic family member you wish would visit less?

All silliness aside (and understanding you mean hypoallergenic), I think that is going to be your main focus. It's also one of the better reason to get an actual purebred dog rather than a mix or a landrace, both of which will usually be healthier and live longer. But when there's a hard anti-allergy demand you want to know what you get. So I'd start by looking up a list of hypoallergenic dogs.

And pigs can become VERY big too. And have hooves if I remember correctly, my neighboor below would harass me with complains.

I've been told you need to carefully check for a curled tail. Most breeds of hobby pigs, which typically have straight tails grow up to be 80 kg or so, some even smaller. That's big compared to a dog. Industrial pigs, which have curled tails, can grow to around 350 kg. That's big compared to a your mom joke, and not even particularly tiny compared to a cow.

[Tvtyrant]

Dog breeds influence but don't determine personality. You can get a hyper aggressive golden retriever or a friendly Doberman, they are still individuals with their own personalities.

[Peelee]

And pigs can become VERY big too. And have hooves if I remember correctly, my neighboor below would harass me with complains.

Imean, if you're getting a potbelly, sure. There are different breeds of pigs that are smaller, though (not teacup pigs, those are almost universally a scam and are just malnourished baby potbellies). Jeju black pigs, for example, are roughly the size of a smallish/medium dog.

The hooves are definitely problematic, though.

[flat_footed]

Just to confirm, what is the nature of needing a hypoallergenic dog? The assumption is allergies, but this isn't always the case. Some people use hypoallergenic as a replacement for non shedding.

[Mith]

I'd recommend Sheepadoodle (sheepdog poodle cross) as I love my parent's dog. However, seperation anxiety is an issue with them (I don't think it's just that we spoiled the dog rotten).

[Emmerlaus]

Just to confirm, what is the nature of needing a hypoallergenic dog? The assumption is allergies, but this isn't always the case. Some people use hypoallergenic as a replacement for non shedding.

Their is several degrees of allergies. Im mortally allergic to cats but only a small bit to dogs. I am supposed to have the vaccin during this winter against dog and dust allergies. DOnt really care about teh cat one but if they can do the cat one too, I'll do it.

But yes, its because Im allergic.

[AMFV]

I'd recommend Sheepadoodle (sheepdog poodle cross) as I love my parent's dog. However, seperation anxiety is an issue with them (I don't think it's just that we spoiled the dog rotten).

Well anything with any kind of herding dog and poodle is going to be a problem because they're both really high energy and they need stimulation. Any kind of dog that has a lot of problem solving or thinking ability it like you having a herding dog is going to need stimulation and isn't going to be happy sitting by itself in an apartment for hours a day

[Emmerlaus]

Well anything with any kind of herding dog and poodle is going to be a problem because they're both really high energy and they need stimulation. Any kind of dog that has a lot of problem solving or thinking ability it like you having a herding dog is going to need stimulation and isn't going to be happy sitting by itself in an apartment for hours a day

True that!

I do not mind walking my dog and give gim enough excercice but I cant have him howl and shake in anxiety if Im not there. Or just getting depressed over my absence. Thats why Im willing to have two small dogs to keep each other company at least.

[Peelee]

Their is several degrees of allergies. Im mortally allergic to cats but only a small bit to dogs. I am supposed to have the vaccin during this winter against dog and dust allergies. DOnt really care about teh cat one but if they can do the cat one too, I'll do it.

But yes, its because Im allergic.

That's a shame, because if you could handle cats (and liked cats), a Russian Blue would tick every single box. Surely there's a dog equivalent of Russian Blue cats.

[Emmerlaus]

That's a shame, because if you could handle cats (and liked cats), a Russian Blue would tick every single box. Surely there's a dog equivalent of Russian Blue cats.

I like affectionnate cats, who would do anything for cuddles... but with cats, its always random. You could ahve a hyper affectionnate one or a super independant who only care about you when its hungry. Saw both.

And yes, that's still a shame. Would be willing to have a cat if I could not die in the presence of one for more then a few hours.

The reason I dont really care abou the cat one is because only one of my friends has a cat. I just dont hang with cats that often and Im not expecting the vaccin to completly cure it either. I would love it it did work like that but thats not how it works, from what I heard. The doctor will tell me more about that this winter.

[AMFV]

Imean, if you're getting a potbelly, sure. There are different breeds of pigs that are smaller, though (not teacup pigs, those are almost universally a scam and are just malnourished baby potbellies). Jeju black pigs, for example, are roughly the size of a smallish/medium dog.

The hooves are definitely problematic, though.

Smallest breed of pig is the Kunekune which ranges up to 400 lbs, the smallest ones are around 100 which is substantially more than a small or medium dog.

[Peelee]

Smallest breed of pig is the Kunekune which ranges up to 400 lbs, the smallest ones are around 100 which is substantially more than a small or medium dog.

Hogswallop. Choctaw Hogs get to around 120.

ETA: after looking it up, the Göttingen is the smallest pig in the world, at 50 lbs at adulthood.

Ill totally cop to not really knowing dog sizes. One of my cats is 25 lbs, and he's just a large-breed cat, so I figured dogs would far outpace him.

[AMFV]

Hogswallop. Choctaw Hogs get to around 120.

ETA: after looking it up, the Göttingen is the smallest pig in the world, at 25 lbs at adulthood.

Ill totally cop to not really knowing dog sizes.

Fair enough, although it's 25 kg which is medium to large dog size rather than pounds. And 120 lbs is quite a big dog.

[Peelee]

Fair enough, although it's 25 kg which is medium to large dog size rather than pounds. And 120 lbs is quite a big dog.

One of my cats greatly skews my perception. 25 lb guy, virtually none of it fat. Horrifyingly strong, the two times I've ever seen him use his full strength. Still tiny compared to all the neighborhood dogs, though.

[AMFV]

One of my cats greatly skews my perception. 25 lb guy, virtually none of it fat. Horrifyingly strong, the two times I've ever seen him use his full strength. Still tiny compared to all the neighborhood dogs, though.

A 25 lb cat is huge. Cats usually range around 8 at most. 35 to 65 lbs is considered medium sized. So even the very smallest pig is right at the top end of that.

[Peelee]

A 25 lb cat is huge. Cats usually range around 8 at most. 35 to 65 lbs is considered medium sized. So even the very smallest pig is right at the top end of that.

Oh, I know; my other cat is 5 lbs. The size difference between my two cats is much less than my larger cat and the next-door neighbors dog, for example (i think American bulldog? Pitbull? Something around there). And I don't know how weight scales, so that's where my confusion came in.

[darkrose50]

I had a shih tzu poodle mix that lived to 16. It was worth it just to tell people that I had a shih-poo. She was a great dog.

[x] Hypoallergenic (poodle mix)
[x] Cold climate (Chicago is often cold)
[x] Not have separation syndrome (she was independent, a second dog is always a good idea)
[x] Not aggressive toward strangers (she would bite a stranger if they cornered her, and also ignored her barking/growling, but that seems to be somewhat acceptable or expected)
[x] Not a barker (she would bark, but not much at all, it was impressive)

I have a Terrier now that I kid-you-not watches television. She barks when someone sneaks up on someone-else. She barks when there is scary music. She barks when there are animals. Of course she barks when there is barking. We were watching the new live-action Aladdin movie, and she ran up to the TV went on her hind legs and growled at the monkey! I think that she was interested in the shot going from a close up, to an ariel shot, and was confused as to how the monkey got so far away so quickly. The first time she growled or barked at the television was absolutely adorable. Her watching (and reacting to) television is still adorable, but it is sometimes distracting.

My Terrier thinks that my bed is her bed, and refuses to sleep anyplace other than in my bed. She ended up growing to a bigger size than what I anticipated, and I like to tell my kids that she is big as a horse, and I am going slap a saddle on her and ride her into battle.

I also have a poodle and his third favorite hobby is barking out the bay-window at anyone passing by. His favorite hobby is the tennis ball. His second favorite hobby is to tell me how he is starving to death, and that he needs to eat whatever it is that I am eating. He clearly tells me that whatever I am eating at the moment is the food of his people.

[Crow]

To be honest, it sounds to me like your situation warrants that you really shouldn't have a dog at this time. Ask yourself if your situation really sounds like it would be fair to the dog, to whom you would be its entire world. A cat might be more fitting, at least for now.

Furthermore, for every "doodle" mix that comes out of a litter allergen-free, you have more than half that don't. So you either end up paying a premium for an allergen-free doodle, or get a better price on one that isn't.

On top of that, another horrible side of the doodle craze is that a lot of failed doodles never find a home and end up being destroyed.

I cannot advocate against these frankenstein dogs enough.

I'm allergic to dogs myself; while having four high-shedding dogs (well, three plus our current foster). Depending how severe your allergy actually is, you might be able to deal with it.

[Artemis97]

My family had a shih-tzu poodle mix for almost 19 years, best dog ever. Intelligent, caring. She had us trained, is our family joke. She knew to scratch on the door to be let out, would stay in the yard and come back in when she was done, loved belly rubs, loved my dad more than anyone I think. We also have a pure-bred shih-tzu and a Havanese, which are currently living with my parents in Florida. They don't bark much unless there's someone at the door. They're a bit...not clingy... but feel like they have ownership of you? Very protective of their family and territory. Behave fine when at the dog park though. Thing is, we never had a lot of guests over at our house, so they weren't too well socialized. Get your new puppy out there and making friends, and they'll be less like that. I also highly suggest crate training. Not only does it give you a safe place to put your pooch when you're away, it makes them feel safe too, to have a place they can go and not be bothered by guests/chidlren/whoever. We never had an anxiety problems with them, but we always had two dogs, so they were never alone. They did get into the garbage occasionally, but that was the worst of it. As for apartment living, we always had a house or at least somewhere with a yard. Now I've heard rumor that you can train a shih-tzu in a litter box, but if you can manage to take them out two or three times a day, you should be fine. And if there's an accident, it's not a big one.

I'd say the biggest thing for having a good, personable dog is training and socialization. If they're used to people, they're not going to bark or nip. If they're trained to be quiet, or to have an alternate behaviour like picking up a toy to keep their mouth busy when someone's at the door, you should have no problem.


Oh yeah, for cold weather, Shih-tzus have quite long coats (though they need a lot of grooming to be kept that way. We just kept ours in a 'puppy cut' for simplicity's sake.), but they also make adorable sweaters and booties for snowy weather when a dog needs some extra help.

[darkrose50]

Molly (the shih tzu poodle) would take herself out for walks. The lawn folks would leave the gate open, or whatnot, and after a while she would just show up at the front door. Most of the time I never knew she was missing. I guess she would just walk around the block, and come back.

It is important to check their paws and such for burs, and knots. Check their nails to make sure the groomers cut them properly. Their hair grows like horse blinders. I would need to give her a face trim, or she would bump her head into the wall turning around. Check the fur on their but to make sure it is clean from poop. When she was old she would fall on her but while pooping. I would give her a bath, and use But Paste (diaper rash cream) on her bottom. It worked well.

[Emmerlaus]

My girlfriend and me are debating about dogs health issues...

She tell me that purebreed have less chances of gaining illness and health problem then crossbreed. Is it true?

[tyckspoon]

My girlfriend and me are debating about dogs health issues...

She tell me that purebreed have less chances of gaining illness and health problem then crossbreed. Is it true?

Depends on the breed, I guess, and whether you're talking about just mutts/multiple crossbreeds or 'we took this certified purebred dog and mated with this other certified purebred dog to make this purebreed cross' (which is just as likely to give you a dog that has problems of both parent breeds as to give you something healthier, really) but broadly speaking I would say no, crossbreeds are usually healthier. Many notable dog breeds have common major health problems as a side effect of the 'desirable' traits of the breed - greyhounds have overextended hips and legs and tend to have major mobility problems as they age, pugs can't breath through their squashed noses and have dental problems from too short a jaw, etc. Most of the more ornamental/weirder looking dogs have issues like that.

'Working' dog breeds might be better off, I guess, since they tend to have been developed for more practical reasons and things like 'I really like this color coat, I'd like more dogs that have that coloration' don't tend to cause the health issues that more extreme breeding for body modification cause? But I still wouldn't expect them to be generally healthier than crossbreeds/mutts of uncertain lineage.

[Tvtyrant]

My girlfriend and me are debating about dogs health issues...

She tell me that purebreed have less chances of gaining illness and health problem then crossbreed. Is it true?

Maybe? In my experience mutts tend to be healthier, but theoretically purebreeds can be ahead. Inbreeding makes bad traits show up more, but eventually it kills all of the individuals that share them and you get a healthier individual then its immediate ancestors.

A mutt on the other hand has fewer specific issues but lots of little ones that get magnified in purebreeds. Bad hips on a mutt are astronomically bad hips on an aussie or german shepherd, or none-existant on some breeds. Hot spots on a mutt are very bad in the molosser family, some breeds have none.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

My girlfriend and me are debating about dogs health issues...

She tell me that purebreed have less chances of gaining illness and health problem then crossbreed. Is it true?

At best I think you can say that a purebred dog from a good breeder will be healthier than the result of a random mating between two purebreeds. But a true mutt or a landrace (bred for a purpose, not looks) will generally be healthier and live longer. However, this vet notes that the environment especially during early life should be taken into account too. A slightly older dog taken in from a shelter (as awesome as it is that people give these dogs a home) can have more trouble becoming adjusted to family life or carry a disease from being around so many dogs. Since purebreeds tend to be aqcuired at a young age from a breeder working in a more controlled environment they gain a few points there.

They're still being deliberately bred to have health defects like the fashionable curved back that causes modern German shepherds so many problems and the skulls too small for their brains of Dalmatians of course (both of those examples are breeds that come from brilliant working dogs and would have been a great choice for a pet just a hundred years ago), and that isn't about to change, but there is apparently something to be said for purebreds in terms of health.

[darkrose50]

"There's an unspoken assumption amid the mutt-loving set that mixed breeds are inherently healthier than purebreds. Among breeders, however, the reverse is often claimed. ... Mutts mostly win out for their sheer hardiness, thriftiness and longevity, due to their lower incidence of genetic disease." http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-exp...than-purebreds

[Taffimai]

My only advice is to consider what temperament you're looking for before thinking about looks or size. To illustrate I'll compare my current and my previous dogs.

The current one is quite large (google lurcher), but mellow. He can be happy with two five minute walks per day and spends the rest of his time practicing his bear rug impression, having no interest in fetching or cuddling or any sort of typical dog-human play. He only gets up to wag his tail at visitors. However, when I go hillwalking on the weekends, he'll happily trot along for a few hours. Even though I have a house with a large garden, he rarely wants to be in it and would undoubtedly be happy in an apartment as well.

Our previous dog was a small to medium-sized mutt (could easily fit in a cat carrier). He was full of energy right up to his last day. Rain or shine, he wanted to be outdoors to chase after squirrels, birds, balls or passers-by. Indoors he would follow me around hoping for interaction, so by the end of his life he knew over thirty different tricks. Visitors didn't get the chance to ring the door bell, because he started barking long before they made it up to the door no matter where he was at the time. This dog would not only drive your neighbours mad, he'd probably be miserable.

I can't think of any hypoallergenic breeds (maltese, bichon frise, poodles and their crosses...) that aren't inherently energetic (they were mostly bred to be companion dogs), so if you're not going to be able to spend a lot of time interacting with them, it's probably best to look at various adult ones until you find one that's calmer than average.

[Slaine]

If it's going to be alone a lot don't get one. The dog would be miserable.

We have an Australian Miniature Labradoodle. He's hypoallergenic and has a beautiful nature. BUT, he's very energetic, needs at least an hour's exercise every day and barks when he hears unfamiliar noises or is "protecting" the home from deliveries, squirrels, a plane flying overhead...you get the general idea.

Think long and hard about it because if you both work it's incredibly unfair to leave a dog alone (often in a crate) for 8-10 hours.