Best Dog Breeds, Choosing a Dog Breed For Children, Blue Tick Hounds
In this section we will provide a guide to which are the best dog breeds – so that choosing the best dog breed for children and family is easy and fun if you follow our advice.
Discover each breed group including, blue tick hounds, Gundogs, Pastoral breeds, Toy dogs, the Utility group, Working dogs, Terriers and Cross breeds.
We will go into detail about how to a train a dog from a particular group including dog training methods, techniques, tips, advice and problems you may face with a particular breed of dog.
Top Tips
When choosing the best dog breed to be around a family or young children it is important that you ask the breeder lots of questions.
Go and visit the litter and observe the young puppies and ask if there are any behavior problems or other issues that maybe of concern.
A recommended dog breeder will not have any problems answering any of your questions.
Best Dog Breeds
The Hound
Below we have given a detailed guide regarding the Hound breed group.
- Hounds are also hunting dogs and were often used to catch certain prey until the owner would arrive on horse back.
- A Hound is not one of the best dog breeds to own if you are not going to use dog obedience training as part of your dog training regime as they can have obedience problems due to there natural urge to hunt – so you may find them chasing wildlife in the park if let off their leash and not following basic dog training commands.
- Hounds are gentle with children and should be introduced to them early as part of your puppy socialization regime. Hounds are also quite trustworthy when meeting other dogs.
- Hounds need lots of regular exercise and plenty of stimulation.
- Hounds are also quite happy to relax at home but as a consequence they can suffer from weight problems that can put pressure on their long and elongated back.
- Within the Hound group are the:
- Afghan Hound
- Greyhound
- Whippet
- Basset Hound
- Beagle
- Daschund
Pastoral Breeds
Within the Pastoral group are two groups – in part
(A) we will cover the herding group and in part
(B) the protecting group.
Part A: The Herding Group
- The herding group consists of dogs that have been bred specifically to work with animals that graze on pastures.
- The pastoral herding breed are one of the best dog breeds for dog obedience training as they are very reliable, bright and easy to train.
- The herding breed can suffer from behavior problems if they are not mentally stimulated and become bored.
- This breed are often used by the Police and are one of the best dog breeds to be used for agility training and agility competitions.
- They have very keen senses which can make them susceptible to noise phobias and may develop a nervous disposition if they are not well socialized with other people, children, dogs and traffic.
- Among this breed group you will find the:
- Border Collie
- Bearded Collie
- Corgies
- Old English Sheepdog
- German Shepherd also known as Alsatians.
(B) The Protecting group within the pastoral breed group.
- These dogs are very keen to guard and patrol areas around the House and to protect the family.
- If you don’t start socializing this group early they can show aggression to other dogs.
- With regards to dog obedience training this group can be a little stubborn and strong willed.
- They are not as active as their herding counterparts.
- Within this dog breed group are the:
- Samoyed
- Pyrenean Mountain Dog
- Bergamasco
- Komondor
GunDogs
- Gundogs have been bred and are one of the best dog breeds to use to flush and retrieve specific game when out on a hunt.
- This group are very intelligent from birth are quite sociable and are quite an easy dog to train.
- This breed have been bred and trained to use their mouths and jaws to retrieve game without damaging it.As a consequence behavior problems that may occur in the House include an insatiable need to chew certain objects around the House.
If you want to conquer this problem you should be constantly giving your dog or puppy a mixture of interesting toys that will engage them and keep them stimulated.
This breed is well known for becoming very obsessed with certain toys that they like to chew.
- Gundogs have an almost unlimited amount of energy so need regular exercise.As well as their love of toys this breed also have a love of their food.
Consequently, as a dog trainer or owner you need to make sure that you balance the amount of food you give your dog with the correct amount of exercise otherwise your dog may start to suffer from weight problems.
- Gundogs love being around people and are a very friendly breed that need lots of affection.
- Among this breed group you will find the:
- Labrador
- Cocker Spaniel
- English Springer Spaniel
- Golden Retriever
- Irish Setter
- Weimaraner
Toy Breeds
- This breed are one of the best dog breeds if you are looking to own a dog that is regarded as a wonderful companion.
- The name of this breed gives away that they are very often quite small and as a consequence of their stature they can be easily frightened by other dogs and children.
- The toy breed group are very keen to please you as the owner and as a consequence it is very tempting to spoil them and this can lead to weight and health problems.
- They are not a particularly active group and prefer to be spoiled at home rather than go for a long walk
- Among this breed group are the:
- Pug
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- Bichon Frise
- Chihuahua
Terriers
- The Terrier are independent and can be very energetic. This breed were initially bred to catch and kill small vermin.
- Due to the fact that this breed have a natural urge to hunt they will also take this natural instinct into the home.Terriers have been naturally bred to hunt, chase and bite so if you own a Cat or small animals they may be chased around the House.
To avoid these behavior problems you should start puppy socialization early.
It is important that dogs and children are introduced at the earliest opportunity.
- Terriers have a natural instinct to protect and have a lot of energy – they are also very keen to play with toys.
- It is important that you play puppy games with your dog as it is a good way to stimulate him and keep your dog active.
- This group are quite noisy and can be a little vocal when someone comes to the door.
- Their behavior towards other dogs can be temperamental.
- Within this breed group are the:
- Jack Russell Terrier
- West Highland White Terrier
- Fox Terrier
- Bull Terrier
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Utility
- This breed group are known as the non-sporting group and include a variety of different dogs bred for a mixture of different tasks.
- Due to this mixture, the dogs can come in a variety of different sizes, shapes and differing coats.
- This breed group are one of the best dog breeds to use when guarding and also excel when used to herd.
- They have often shown great bravery and immense valor when using their natural instinct to be very protective of humans
- The utility group have a variety of different temperaments due to the mixture of dogs within this breed group.If you are after a specific utility dog with a specific temperament it is better to research individual dogs rather than look at the group as a whole.
- Within this group are the:
- Shih Tzu
- Dalmatian
- Bulldog
- Schnauzer
- Poodle
The Working Group
- This breed group were initially bred to be used as guard dogs due to their large stature and do need allot of space.
- They are one of the best dog breeds to use in search and rescue – like the St Bernard.
- Working dogs need an average amount of exercise but due to their large appetite they can be expensive.
- Working dogs are very loyal to their owners and family but it is important that as an owner you start puppy obedience training from an early age.If you fail to do this you may have problems with leadership and due to their large size you may find your dog running the House.
- This breed group are one of the shortest living amongst all of the breed groups.
- Working dogs tend to have shorter coats so are much easier to groom although they do need more specialist input regarding their care.
- If you are getting a dog for the first time, the working dog group is not one of the best dog breeds to purchase as a first time owner.
- Among this breed group are the:
- St Bernard
- Bullmastiff
- Dobermann
- Great Dane
- Boxer
- Rottweiler
Crossbreeds
Quick Tip#
A mongral is a dog where you are unable to define a particular breed.
Mongrals are a great dog to choose if you are deciding to get one from your local charity as you are not only getting a fantastic companion, you are also giving a dog who has not had the best chance in life – a new start.
- Some dogs are a mixture of two breeds or more and are known as crossbreeds so when choosing a dog breed you should ask the breeder.
- Due to the fact that crossbreeds have a mixture of genes they are much less likely to suffer from inherited problems normally associated with pure breeds.
- As a consequence of their mixed parentage crossbreeds come in many different shapes and sizes.
- The temperament of crossbreeds can also vary from dog to dog.
- Crossbreeds make excellent companions and tend to live longer than pure breeds.
- Popular among the crossbreed group are the:
- Puggle
- Labradoodle
- Cockerpoo
