Which breed of dog is right for me?

I hate to break it to you… even choosing a breed is complicated. You can’t just pick a breed that you like the look of and a lot of what you read online will be wrong. Here is what choosing Clover has taught me…

1. Do your research.

Google may help, so might going out and actually buying books which have actual scientifically backed facts about dog breeds, or advice from a qualified dog behaviourist.

2. Remember that every dog is different.

Whilst the information that you find from your research would be helpful, you need to take it with a pinch of salt. Not everything you read online is true and the important thing to remember is that every dog is different. My mum has two dogs from the exact same litter who are polar opposites. Equally, I’ve met other French Bulldogs who can barely walk for 5 minutes, whilst I can take Clover out for 2 hours at a time and she’s still not tired.

I appreciate that some breeds are naturally more energetic than others, and some of them shed a lot more hair, but in terms of personalities, stimulation needs and entertainment methods, each dog will differ and there is no way of knowing exactly what sort of needs your dog will have- until you buy it.

A lot of your dogs behaviour, energy levels and social skills will boil down to the training you put in, how well it is cared for and brought up by the breeder, and how you bring it up after your dog is home. You also need to bear in mind the dogs genetics as these play a big part. You cannot simply rely on the result of a google search to tell you exactly what sort of dog you should get based on a quick quiz. Further, you can’t even be confident that the results found in your search is accurate (as I found out the hard way!).

3. Ask around!

Do you know someone with a breed of dog you might be interested in getting? If so, ask them! Ask them what it is really like owning that particular breed. Ask if they really only malt twice a year like Google tells you, how much food they eat, and how many walks they need a day. As mentioned above, every dog is different but if you’ve researched properly and spoken to other dog owners, you’re probably going to begin to have a clearer idea of what is right for you.

Do bare in mind, however, that if someone you know has an immaculately well behaved dog, it doesn’t mean that your exact same breed will behave the same. Just because Polly down the road has an calm, loving, playful and obedient Golden Retriever, doesn’t mean your Golden Retriever will turn out the same. Polly may make it look easy but she has probably spent hours a day training her Golden Retriever, has probably taken it to classes (which she’ll tell you about constantly), and she probably has far more hours in the day to do so than you do. (Yes, we all wish we were Polly.)

The point I’m making is yes ask around, but also ask about training involved and other sensible questions- don’t just ask “is it cuddly?!” because this should really be the least of your concerns. Equally, just because someone else you know has a difficult, reactive and disobedient dog, doesn’t mean you should swipe that breed off your list immediately.

4. My biggest piece of advice.

Just use your common sense. If you know you don’t have the time or the energy to walk for miles every day then I’d probably avoid a Collie. Equally, if you are a fitness fanatic and want to take your dog on adventures and up mountains , a Pug is probably not for you.

The bottom line is that, whilst you might be able to get a fairly good indication of most your queries online, you need to be prepared for your dog to differ from most of what you read. Take Clover for example…

The ‘ruff’ reality of choosing Clover…

I’ll never tell her, but Clover was a compromise. I grew up with Spaniels and Labradors. Working dogs with bags of energy who would walk for miles. A Spaniel was what I wanted more than anything… and then I met Joe.

Joe is my fiancé who had not grown up with dogs, didn’t care for them in any way, hates dirt and is slightly allergic to dog hair. (Yes, I have thought about dumping him due to these facts!) Anyway, after 5 years of being together, Joe begrudgingly agreed that we could get a dog, but that the dog must meet strict criteria:

• “It has to be small.” Fine by me, as long as I was getting a dog, miniature, small, medium or large made no difference.
• “No shedding.” ‘Easy’ I thought- Cockapoo. Part Spaniel and hypoallergic, an absolute no brainer. But no. See criteria three.
• “It can’t look too much like a teddy and has to have a bit of muscle on it.” Ok – perhaps a Jack Russell? A Whippet?
• “Nothing too energetic and it can’t be yappy.” I’m panicking. Does such a dog meeting all these criteria exist? I’m down but I’m not out. Hours of scrolling and research, hundreds of “what dog shall I get” quizzes taken and there’s one option – A French Bulldog.

Joe agrees to a French Bulldog. According to Google, French Bulldog’s are small, they don’t shed too much, muscly, sleepy and not really ‘barky.’ Tick, tick tick. We’re sold- if only we knew then what we know now…

Less than a month later, I’ve picked Clover up and I’m driving her to our house for the first time. I’m excited. The perfect addition to what is now our family of three. I’d researched everything there was to know about Frenchie’s. I knew exactly what to expect and I was totally prepared for dog ownership… let’s all laugh together.

Let’s revert to Joe’s criteria, shall we?

Number one – “Has to be small.” Clover is what Google would class as a ‘small dog,’ and I’d agree with Google. What I wasn’t prepared for was the fact that she is now 15kg of pure muscle. Cute and small but she’ll knock the wind out of you if she bowls into you full pelt- and I’ve been on the receiving end of that more times that I care to count.

Number two – “No shedding.” I mean, to be fair to Google here, it never said she WOULDN’T shed, but it said it would be fairly minimal. It’s not minimal. Clover’s hair is everywhere. She blows her coat fully twice a year and then the rest of the time it just seems to drop out at random intervals, sometimes heavily and sometimes not. Maybe it’s the food I feed her, maybe I don’t bath her enough, maybe she’s just naturally a bit more ‘malty’ than other French Bulldogs… either way, Joe’s allergies love it.

Number three – “Can’t look too much like a teddy and has to have muscle on it”- see response to criteria one above.

Number four – ” Nothing too energetic and it can’t be yappy.” This is my favourite. Lets look at a quote directly after a search on google. The search term “do Frenchie’s need lots of walking.” The response “French Bulldogs don’t require hours of exercise, however they do need to go outside for a stimulating walk at least 20 minutes each day.”

This could not be further from the truth. Clover, as mentioned previously, is best described as either the Duracell bunny, or the Tasmanian Devil. She very rarely stops. She needs AT LEAST two decent, one hour long, walks per day. Obviously, we are careful with her breathing and we make sure she is ok at all times (literally all I do is worry about her welfare!) but Clover has done 15km walks, has run on beaches and through forests and up hills- and still wants to keep going. So yeah, I guess you could say having Clover is a LOT more tiring than I thought it was going to be and she is not the ‘docile breed’ that was advertised. Every day is a brand new game of ‘what can we do to tire the Tasmanian Devil out today.’ Should I have done more research on this? Yes. Do I regret getting her? No. Luckily, having grown up with Spaniels, I am more than happy to take Clover out for as long as she needs (most days… you know, except when it’s raining, or snowing, or cold, or I’m tired…).

Now that this energetic, floppy eared, barking, malting Frenchie and I are stuck with each other, I thought I’d share the highs and lows of owning her.