A good choice would be a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Very low maintenance, hardy, all condition, and very athletic.
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And they look cool. Are they good with kids?
They should be, but being childless, I don’t have first have ridgeback + kid experience.
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I had a border collie and she was great with the kids and active. Needed lots of exercise… super smart dog. Very trainable. I miss her.
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We have three dogs. I’ve had dogs and cats my entire life. I tended to prefer cats until I got the last three dogs we have. I was always a big dog type person. I had labs or lab mixes in my life and loved their loyalty. My wife brought home the brown one in the first pic below about 11 years ago and I thought WTF. But there was something about him that grew on me. We got the black and white one a couple years later and I realized that little dogs have their benefits.
They will never be trail dogs but I don’t really want a trail dog. For me it would be too much to worry about with Lyme disease, getting hurt while running, running into wildlife, or running off. The little ones are also easy to pack up and travel with.
After having these three, I realized I will never not have a dog again in my life. I feel guilty if we leave them for an extended time period. There’s something about the way that they live their lives and makes you realize that most of the crap we worry about doesn’t really matter.
The first two were rescues from the same shelter. Both are about 15 years old and show no signs of it. The black and white one was in a shelter that caught fire and then transferred to a local shelter. The shelter said that she would be lucky to live but we took her home anyway and have had her for 8 years now.
Both have some slight mental issues which I attribute spending time in a shelter but I wouldn’t give them up for any amount of money.
This one was literally picked up off the street in Costa Rica 3 years ago. She was malnourished and covered in mange when my wife picked her up and walked 2 miles to get her back to our condo. We took her to a local vet and got her what she needed. We then got her a “ticket” and paperwork and brought her back to the states with us. She is probably the chillest dog I have ever had in my life.
My advice would be to rescue a dog, but as a new dog owner try to get a puppy and take it to puppy classes. Not for him but for you and your family. You need to understand how canine behavior works in order for it to be successful. The breed doesn’t really matter. My stepdaughter got a pitbull puppy last November and it is one of the sweetest most docile animals you’ve met. I trust it more than our black and white dog, but the reason I do is because my stepdaughter took it to puppy class and learned about canine behavior.
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+1 for rescuing a dog. We have an amazing Great Pyrenees that we rescued after he spent the first few years of his life crates up at a puppy mill that finally got busted. He’s big (about 110 pounds) but very chill. And a great deterrent for potential robbers given his size and bark. The downside is he sheds a LOT!
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Pip is a German pointer collie cross, loves long runs in the forest and deep muddy holes. Check your local dog rescue centre for training companions, most breeds that don’t fit in a man bag will love an active home
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She was dumped as a puppy near my in laws house, pretty sure it was a fighting litter considering the area. She’s pretty harmless these days and just takes selfies with me; we send them to my wife when she travels for work.
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We adopted these two doberman sisters together and they were our pals for 7 years until they passed away within months of each other at the age of 12 back in 2012. We got them when we were homeowners and they moved halfway across the country with us during a career change. We started renting again, which was a huge pain because no one wants to rent to dog owners, especially a large breed which has a bad rep for no good reason but we found a place to settle, but within a few months they got ill. We’re still renting and so no dogs, and honestly with the way our life is and the stuff I like to do, it would be really hard to have dogs again, but they were very good dogs. I joked around with them and called them hardly working dogs (a play on the fact they are classified as working dogs), but it’s ok, they deserved the easy life!
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I’ll start off by saying that I too never really had dogs growing up and me and my girlfriend got a puppy this year. Man. Dogs are A LOT of work.
You, your family and your daughter especially should sit down and really have a heart to heart about training and responsibility. Figure out who is going to do what. Think about how all you’re lives are changing. I’m not sure we thought it 100% through and there are moments where we are crying and thinking about rehoming him. There were moments where he was resource guarding his food and toys and growling and snapping at me where I was like crap - how am I supposed to let him around kids?
We still have him of course. 
he’s a fun dude. He got over some stuff with some outside training help. Don’t mean to be a downer here. Just didn’t want sugarcoat the experience.
Also we’ve spent way more on our guy than we were ever expecting too and I watch way more dog training articles and videos than bike videos and podcasts right now.
Good luck!
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Here are our two current dogs Gambit (Borzoi - Russian Wolfhound) and Loki (Australian Cattledog - Basenji mix) hanging out at Rapha
Gambit is a sprinter, and Loki is a diesel - he just goes and goes.
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We have a 2 year old Golden Retriever (Riley) and I don’t know what I would do without him. He is the sweetest dog I’ve ever met.
He loves going for “rides” for 1 lap around the neighborhood. He is too lazy for anymore than that. This is very sketchy but with practice he has gotten good at staying by the side of the bike. Too many cars in our neighborhood to not use a leash.
This summer we got him a sister, another Golden Retriever, and they are best friends. If they aren’t asleep, they are playing. As a poster above mentioned, I forgot how much work a puppy is. We got Riley when he was 9 months.
If you can deal with the fur, Golden Retrievers are fantastic dogs.
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I have two Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers and can heartily recommend them. Great fun loving dogs, they love our kids and size wise are sturdy 20kg beauties. The big deal is THEY DON’T SHED HAIR!
They are always happy to go for a run with me regardless of the weather.
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We’ve boarded one a few times and i can attest, they have a good amount of energy! Very playful.
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"'Scuse me! Would those be Soft Coated Irish Wheaten Terriers?*
“No chance in hell I could run along with my hoomin… too many things to chase, chew or piss on”
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Wow, that is great to see and hear how happy your dogs are making you, really confirms our wish to own one one day! Thanks everyone for commenting and keep the pics of all ya good bois coming!
This is Pete. He is one of an ancient and noble breed, the Black Yergis – as in “yer guess is as good as mine.”
We got him at the Oconee Humane Society shelter. He’s smart as a whip, and super food-motivated. We haven’t really trained him for crap, but he comes when called, fetches a mean stick, and goes to his place when we’re at the table or on the couch. Just one a hell of a fella.
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