Dog breeds ideal for first time dog owners:
Cavalier King Charles spaniel
Labrador, if bred from pets, not working lines.
Golden retriever
Greyhound
Whippet
Bernese mountain dogs
Wheaton terrier
Show cocker spaniel
Cavalier KCS
These cuties can have serious health conditions, so it is super important you find an ethical breeder, but personality-wise, they are PERFECT for first time owners! They are chilled out, relaxed, friendly, cuddly, and pretty easy to train too! Their size is also a huge benefit for first time owners.
Labradors and Golden Retrievers
Labs and goldies are the ultimate family dog, and they are so popular for a reason! They are known for being affectionate and friendly, and although they love long walks, they are also more than happy to chill at home on the sofa! I tend to find that out of the two breeds, goldies take a little longer to calm down, but labs can be just as excited in their younger years too.
Greyhounds and Whippets
Despite being bred for speed, they are the ultimate couch potato, especially greyhounds. As long as they have the opportunity for a good run, the rest of the time they will be snoozing! One thing to be cautious of is that they are a sight hound: They are bred to chase anything small that moves, so if you have cats or rabbits, this might not be the best breed for you. Training-wise, you will have to perfect your recall because of that chase instinct, but other than that, they are pretty easy dogs!
Bernese Mountain Dogs
If you are looking for a bigger breed, these are adorable, friendly, and affectionate dogs, that calm down quickly and enjoy training. Exercise needs are moderate as they do like to lane around. Plus, they are super fluffy! As long as you can manage the grooming, the rest should come easy!
Show Cocker Spaniel
Show cockers are beautiful dogs who love to train with you, and be close to you. They are playful and excited in their younger years, but still fairly calm, and they tend to be affectionate and friendly, but they are getting more common, and with that comes unethical breeders. Make sure you get a great breeder and you’ll have a lovely companion!
Wheaton Terrier
If you’re after a more energetic, but still easy breed, and don’t mind the typical terrier traits, a Wheaton terrier could be perfect! They are pretty calm, a nice size, easy to train, and friendly. Bonus: this is also a hypo allergy dog.
Dog breeds I would never recommend to first time dog owners:
Belgian Malinois
Border collie
Husky
Any shepherd
Dalmatian
Chow chow
Akita
Most Doodles
Belgian Malinois
Aka. The T-Rex dog. Named this for a very good reason, most trainers would agree this is probably one of the worst breeds for a new owner to get. They are super high drive, very mouthy, tough to handle in the home, and need a lot of work to train them.
Border Collie
Border collies are bred to work all day everyday, so they have a very high energy level, and on top of that the work they do requires them to be very intelligent. When you put those two things together, you have an incredible dog for work… but most first time dog owners aren’t going to want a dog for work, and they won’t have the time or knowledge to be able to give border collies the energy release they need in a home environment.
Husky and Akitas
These guys have SO much energy. They will need hours of exercise every single day, and will develop behaviour problems if they aren’t given it. They also tend to be very vocal, which can be difficult for new owners to deal with if they don’t know how to handle barking. Husky’s in particular I find are just some of the wildest temperaments to handle.
Shepherds
Most often bought for their cute looks, Shepherds can be difficult to live with without intense training. They tend to have some traits that make life difficult, including being protective of the family, barking, mouthing and biting, being very sensitive, and very territorial.
Chow Chow
I know 5 groomers in this area alone that will not take any Chow Chows due to aggression problems. It is also very common for vets to automatically muzzle all chow chows because of aggression issues too. I personally have never met a chow chow without some kind of aggression issue, and though I am sure there are some lovely ones out there, the amount I hear about aggression in this breed, it is a common problem.
Dalmatian
Dalmatians are very popular dogs thanks to the Disney movie, but don’t forget that they were actually bred to work, and have very high energy levels. If those needs aren’t met, they can become destructive and even aggressive. The other reason I would not recommend this breed is because 30% of them are deaf in at least one ear. This means that you may need to learn how to train a deaf dog, on top of learning how to train a dog normally.
Most Doodles
This may be surprising, but the reason is actually just because for doodles, ethical breeding just not exist. There is no breed standard and even if health tests are done, generally they are only bred for profit. In addition to this, when you look into the traits of the mixed breeds, most are not easy dogs! The most common doodle is the cockapoo: The working cocker spaniel (energetic, intelligent dog that is bred to work daily, not live in a home) mixed with a poodle (very intelligent dog, also bred to work). If the dog’s parent is a show cocker, you MIGHT get a slightly calmer dog, but you still have the ethical breeding issues.
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