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

[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.

[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.

[John1982]

I have a bit more time now to share a few of my favorite breeds which have been part of the family over the years.

Australian Shepherds were a staple to our pack of yard dogs growing up. Ours were excellent watch dogs, yappers through and through, with extremely strong herding instincts. Every other animal in the yard, including people, were pretty used to being nipped on the heels when straying too far from the rest of the herd. They have a rather unruly, long coat that will pick up any and every thing they trek through. Instead of constant grooming we simply sheered ours a few times a year, like sheep. Very smart, loyal, plenty of energy but probably not the best choice as a hiking companion.

Akitas were another constant growing up, also our main protectors of family and property. They have extremely strong hunting and protecting instincts so care must be taken around other animals. This also makes them unsuitable hiking partners if off a lead. Ours were never overly aggressive towards people and seemed to adopt our general attitude in any given situation. When friends were over, they would be loving and playful even with kids they had never met. When we weren't there though, or if a stranger we were unsure of approached, their natural instincts to protect would take over. The dogs would split, one always staying between family and threat while the other stealthily(amazingly so for a large breed) circled around to take position out of the intruder's line of sight. None ever attacked, bit or even so much as barked at a stranger - they didn't have to - as their general presence and behavior were plenty enough. Probably not the best choice for a first time dog owner as they can be strong willed and resistant to training but I have never met an animal more naturally inclined to protect, or suitable to the task, in all my years.

Standard poodles were our indoor/outdoor dogs and it's hard to explain how great these animals are to those who haven't personally experienced them. My folks produced a few litters over the years and probably 9/10 of the people who bought pups explained that they had one growing up and wanted the same experience for their own kids. They are loving, protective, playful, high energy, reserved, friendly, goofy - basically they are what you need them to be and then some. Just don't give them those ridiculous show ring cuts and you have the perfect, all around companion. If you do end up getting a standard poodle I'll just go ahead and say this now. You're welcome.