OT: Dog suggestion

[buddybikes]

Friend of ours (tall, nice looking blonde woman) likes to hike and has taken her companion for 12 years now. His arthritis and other issues will limit him to walks around the yard. She is now looking for a dog breed that is mid to large size, that is just a "bit" protective looking, enough so when she is alone (she is paranoid), weird people won't approach her. Also one that doesn't mind hanging at home during some days. I suggested our dog, American Eskimo, but too yappy. Any dog ideas here? Yes she could search the rescues like her current dog...

[superbowlpats]

Labrador Retriever. maybe not protective looking enough but no better breed IMHO. happy to run. happy to lay on the sofa all day. most happy when eating

[William]

Boxer

Lots of energy, funny, protective, very loyal to family, and can be somewhat intimidating.







William

[djg21]

Anyone who approaches her will be slobbered to death and confronted with a tennis ball.

[Bentley]

I'm sure this won't go over well but a Pitbull is a loyal and very energetic dog that loves to do things outdoors and definitely will keep the weirdos away. Overall they get a bad rap, they are well behaved when trained and also do well just hanging out. Won't be hard to find a pup or young adult at a shelter.

Best

Ray

[LeadoutTrain5]

Labs are great dogs. Very loyal.

[christian]

I have some sort of pitbull, boxer, lab, something mix. She likes to hike. She's from a shelter obviously. I would, ergo, recommend a shelter dog.

[William]

Originally Posted by christian

I have some sort of pitbull, boxer, lab, something mix. She likes to hike. She's from a shelter obviously. I would, ergo, recommend a shelter dog.

...or rescue organization. The Boxers we have adopted have all come from a Boxer rescue. Our Basset from a Basset Hound rescue, and our retriever mix from a local animal rescue organization.




William

[dancinkozmo]

+1 shelter dog

[adampaiva]

no dog is the wrong dog.

but another vote for boxer. My fav breed.

[JasonF]

Disclosure: my wife and I have (had?) a lot of preconceived and negative impressions of pit bulls.

But we know lots of people with pit bull & pit bull mixes.

My wife's personal trainer rescues them and has nothing but great experiences while training at this woman's home.

Our "go-to" sitter for our autistic son has a female pit bull mix and we have ZERO concerns while he is there.

That said, I realize there's a lot of controversy regarding the breed so I would second some of the recommendations to look into a Boxer. We also have experience with the breed and they are great dogs.

[cmbicycles]

Leonberger, very good family dog and protective instincts. They are large so that alone is a deterrent for many people.

I worked at a shop where the owner had a Weimeraner that was about 90lbs, he was the shop dog. He was a great dog for outdoors and would frequently go mtn biking with shop groups... he would run up the trail til he was way ahead, then look back and dive off into the woods to chase squirrels or something. Then we would ride a bit past where he jumped off trail, and he would stick his head out of the woods back to the trail a little while later, run us down, pass us and repeat that pattern the entire ride. He needed daily exercise of a more intense variety to stay out of trouble, but was a great dog.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by christian

I have some sort of pitbull, boxer, lab, something mix. She likes to hike. She's from a shelter obviously. I would, ergo, recommend a shelter dog.

Oh i dident know you had a dog. She is beautiful!

[mcteague]

Herding dogs are a good choice. I have a Belgian Sheepdog who loves to hike but hates the car! They are not a common breed but worth searching for. They come in 3 "flavors"; Groenendael/Belgian Sheepdog, Malinois and Tervuren.

Tim

[Willy]

Labadoodle - great attitude, very smart and does not shed.