Best dog breed for the 'outdoors'? (For new dog owner too)

[Asherah]

Labs absolutely have a ton of energy, but in my 20 years experience owning both labs and GSPs, nothing on earth compares to the energy output of a GSP. Obviously every dog has their own unique personality and situation, but my 5 year old lab looks like a senior citizen compared to my GSP. You cant go wrong with either of these breeds, im only bringing up any issues for the first time owner to be aware of. If youre committed to their happiness either breed will be amazing outdoors.

If you want a dog that's a big goofball go lab. I hold my 90lb lab like a baby on his back while im standing up.

I've determined I either always pick the hyper pup or I just fail at training labs. They make great working dogs for me, but don't know when to turn off their on.
I couldn't comment on a GSP, I have never owned one, they are however stunning dogs.

I think all the breeds suggested are great, and people are going to have their own reactions to how well the fit with each breed (obviously I'm the GSD lady! lol). Go out and check out several different types of dogs your interested in (a good breeder would let you come meet a few of their dogs) and then zero in from there.

[JoshSloane]

The best advice that I can give for people training labs and GSPs, is that you really have to train YOURSELF. These are incredibly smart, loving and affectionate animals that NEED your attention and input. They want to be part of the "pack," and wont do well without attention and guidance. Like I said before, if you want a dog that is going to be part of everything you do, and literally be on top of you, labs are the best bet.

[rabernet]

For what you are looking for, I would look for something along the lines of the GSPs, hard thing is that NONE of the dogs should be going on such long walks/hikes until they are at least 18-24 months old when the growth plates close, so keep that in mind.

Larger breeds like the labs, shepherds and mountain dogs are prone to having back hip/joint/back issues, and such vigorous exercise might exacerbate thoughs.

You also need to consider the type of climate that you live in, and remember that a lot of the dogs that might be considered usually have very high prey drive, so having on a long lead vs off leash might be prefered.

You basically said what was my concern about the growth plates. We have a Golden Retriever puppy - and another thing that we are doing with him is slow growth, for healthier joint growth, keeping him lean (most people allow their dogs to be overweight, even just slightly overweight can cause issues). We plan to keep Noah lean with a visible tuck in his waist. And slow growth as a puppy will NOT affect their adult weight - that is genetically determined.

Also - once you decide on a breed, look for some breed specific forums for breed specific health issues for you to be aware of. Sixty percent of goldens die of lymphoma or hemangio sarcoma for example. There is currently a study being done by the Morris Animal Foundation of 3000 goldens nationwide, that they are followiing from 6 months old until they die. Noah was born a few months too late to be part of the study, or he would have been enrolled in the study.

The Morris Animal Foundation has said that adding veggies to the dogs' diets may actually help reduce the incidence or significantly delay the onset of these cancers, as well as delayed neuter/spay, or keeping the animal intact. I've always been a spay/neuter advocate, but the more I learned about the health BENEFITS of delayed neuter, the more my thinking on that has changed. It also allows healthier joint growth - golden retrievers neutered by 6 months are taller than breed standard and double their chances of devoloping hip and/or elboy dysplasia than those that are delayed until 18 months to 2 years old. Also, the shorter goldens (delayed neuter) are living on average 2 years loinger than their early neutered counterparts. My vet gave me a high 5 when I told him that we were choosing delayed neuter, and may not neuter at all when Noah gets to 2 years old. He said it was so refreshing to have a client that didn't drink the spay/neuter kool-aid, and was concerned for the long term health implications for their animal instead.

In any case, I now advocate that if you feel you will spend the time training your dog, and managing him, that delayed spay and neuter are absolutely essential in large breed dogs for healthy joint development and not accelerating bone growth when hormones are removed, and in some cases, for delaying the onset of pre-dispositioned cancers. You can google "delayed neuter" to read more about UC Davis' findings on delayed neuter.

I know I'm rambling, but this has become so important to me in how we're chosing to raise OUR golden retriever boy. And in a sense too, I'm angry that the spay/neuter mantra may be compromising our pets' health. It's rare to spay/neuter in Europe, and they also don't have the stray problem that we have here in the States, because the owners there MANAGE their pets better than we do.

[JoshSloane]

You basically said what was my concern about the growth plates. We have a Golden Retriever puppy - and another thing that we are doing with him is slow growth, for healthier joint growth, keeping him lean (most people allow their dogs to be overweight, even just slightly overweight can cause issues). We plan to keep Noah lean with a visible tuck in his waist. And slow growth as a puppy will NOT affect their adult weight - that is genetically determined.

Also - once you decide on a breed, look for some breed specific forums for breed specific health issues for you to be aware of. Sixty percent of goldens die of lymphoma or hemangio sarcoma for example. There is currently a study being done by the Morris Animal Foundation of 3000 goldens nationwide, that they are followiing from 6 months old until they die. Noah was born a few months too late to be part of the study, or he would have been enrolled in the study.

The Morris Animal Foundation has said that adding veggies to the dogs' diets may actually help reduce the incidence or significantly delay the onset of these cancers, as well as delayed neuter/spay, or keeping the animal intact. I've always been a spay/neuter advocate, but the more I learned about the health BENEFITS of delayed neuter, the more my thinking on that has changed. It also allows healthier joint growth - golden retrievers neutered by 6 months are taller than breed standard and double their chances of devoloping hip and/or elboy dysplasia than those that are delayed until 18 months to 2 years old. Also, the shorter goldens (delayed neuter) are living on average 2 years loinger than their early neutered counterparts. My vet gave me a high 5 when I told him that we were choosing delayed neuter, and may not neuter at all when Noah gets to 2 years old. He said it was so refreshing to have a client that didn't drink the spay/neuter kool-aid, and was concerned for the long term health implications for their animal instead.

In any case, I now advocate that if you feel you will spend the time training your dog, and managing him, that delayed spay and neuter are absolutely essential in large breed dogs for healthy joint development and not accelerating bone growth when hormones are removed, and in some cases, for delaying the onset of pre-dispositioned cancers. You can google "delayed neuter" to read more about UC Davis' findings on delayed neuter.

I know I'm rambling, but this has become so important to me in how we're chosing to raise OUR golden retriever boy. And in a sense too, I'm angry that the spay/neuter mantra may be compromising our pets' health. It's rare to spay/neuter in Europe, and they also don't have the stray problem that we have here in the States, because the owners there MANAGE their pets better than we do.

Woah woah woah. Im not sure where in Europe you went to, but from what I have seen and read, Europe is drowning in feral/stray cats and dogs. Paris is one big maze for cats chasing rodents. Also, owning dogs and cats as domestic pets is far less frequent in Europe than it is in the US. The level of medical education for vets, quality, access and care in the US vastly outweighs that of any European country.

[KMG]

I don't believe any of the dog owners here are part of the problem when it comes to stray animals. I would hope that all the dog owners here are being responsible pet owners and not allowing their dogs and cats to get knocked up and have 15 baby daddies like has become so common in both pets and people. Its not just an animal issue. Let me stop before I get on a rant.

[rabernet]

http://labradorretrieverguide.com/ea...han-labradors/

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[Reinz]

To comment on a few things since my last post.

G/Shepards are awesome, one of ours saved my life when I was in diapers. I had wandered into the highway and he came and nugged me out.

JoshSloane is sooo right! GSP's have tons more energy and can outlast a Lab any day of the week and twice on Sunday. But I have found Labs to be more social with people.

My Golden Retriever was a great outdoors dog. Very loyal, but the dumbest dog I ever had in my whole life. And I've had many dogs!

[Spiritserpents]

One uncommon breed you might consider is the English Shepherd. They do tend towards being a bit independent and bossy as they frequently do flock guardian-type work, and they can become quite the know-it-all if you don't channel that tendency, but they learn quick and willingly and are usually very attuned to their person. They tend to be healthy but you do have to watch out for their penchant for hip dysplasia so a good breeder is a must, and they're extremely intelligent, but not usually hyperactive/neurotic like their cousin breed the border collie. Coat type ranges from super fluffy to fairly short with ruff and feathers. They are protective, but tolerant of strangers as a whole.

I had an ES mix who could have been a truly amazing dog... if he hadn't been extremely independent (I partly blame the cattle dog) and I living in a situation where such a breed was the *wrong* choice. And even with that extreme independence, he was still strongly bonded to me. I took him on a 7 mile hike once and he was more than ready to do it all over again immediately. Training him was a joy because he learned things with frightening speed. He also helped as a nursemaid to every bottle-baby kitten and foster-puppy I brought into my house.

[anicatgirl]

I would love to have a wolf hybrid. They are not cheap though.

Dude, I had a wolf/husky hybrid growing up. He was amazing. I want another one, but the restrictions where I live now don't allow them. I would recommend a hybrid to the OP, but we had to shave our boy in the summer to keep him from being too hot/shedding allll over the place.

I like Australian Shepherds, they're very pretty and reasonably smart, but IDK if they could keep up with you on those kind of treks.

The Morris Animal Foundation has said that adding veggies to the dogs' diets may actually help reduce the incidence or significantly delay the onset of these cancers, as well as delayed neuter/spay, or keeping the animal intact. I've always been a spay/neuter advocate, but the more I learned about the health BENEFITS of delayed neuter, the more my thinking on that has changed. It also allows healthier joint growth - golden retrievers neutered by 6 months are taller than breed standard and double their chances of devoloping hip and/or elboy dysplasia than those that are delayed until 18 months to 2 years old. Also, the shorter goldens (delayed neuter) are living on average 2 years loinger than their early neutered counterparts. My vet gave me a high 5 when I told him that we were choosing delayed neuter, and may not neuter at all when Noah gets to 2 years old. He said it was so refreshing to have a client that didn't drink the spay/neuter kool-aid, and was concerned for the long term health implications for their animal instead.

I will have to look into the research about the spay/neuter. That is most curious, I read something else brief on this subject before, but I need to do research now, and look in relation to cats too.
Also, there is much worse Kool-Aid, like the PETA drink...

I don't believe any of the dog owners here are part of the problem when it comes to stray animals. I would hope that all the dog owners here are being responsible pet owners and not allowing their dogs and cats to get knocked up and have 15 baby daddies like has become so common in both pets and people. Its not just an animal issue. Let me stop before I get on a rant.

Agreed.

[KMG]

I had a couple Australian Shepherds growing up. They are very smart. My mom could come out and ask one of them "where are the boys?" and she would point her body in the direction of the part of the woods we were in.

I don't think one would have any issue keeping up with a human on a trail. Ours kept up with us on horseback just fine.

They are very sweet though and neither was much of a guard dog. Not that the labs my friend, dad, and brother have are either. They will all show the burglar where the silver is.

That's one thing I really like about my OEB. They are standoffish and do not warm up to strangers right away. She takes a good ten minutes before others can pet her. She has never bit or even snapped at anyone but I also tell them to leave her alone.