Dalmatians? (What breed should I have?)

Gordon setter!

That is all.

I think a Vizsla might be a little bit to high-energy for what she's looking for.

I always love to give out this youtube video - is it crazy that it makes me want my Vizsla even more? :lol-sign:
Are you fit enough for a Vizsla ? - YouTube

Not that Harleigh is the normal Lab, but V's are generally more energetic than her. Especially when they are younger-younger adults.... energy galore!

Someone who has had Labs was asking me about a Vizsla not long ago and here was a bit of what I gave her - maybe it'll help you! (will not you miles_mommy, I'm talking about the OP lol)

However, compared to Labs they aren't THAT much different. They are more prone to be nervous and they ARE really energetic. Even a tad more energetic than Harleigh and she has some energy.

They are also like a Lab in the fact that they are definitely a "velcro" breed. They absolutely LOVE their humans and generally love everyone else (but do require a TON of socialization - more than many other breeds).

Overall, they are a pretty healthy breed. However, seizures and epilepsy are concerns for many. As well as hip and eye, bleeding disorders, skin problems and cancer. I'm not sure just how prominent they are, but they are a concern.

They are also a very CLEAN breed, meaning that they most times don't stink and they just keep clean.

Plus, the one thing that I absolutely LOVE about V's is that there isn't much of a "spilt" between the show/field world... generally all the breeders have tried to maintain the true Vizsla look and maintain what they were bred for.

One major difference between the two is that they aren't AS biddable as a Lab. However, they aren't as stubborn as many other pointer breeds and they are a VERY, VERY soft dog.

Here are some resources if you want to read a bit more about them (and just take a look at how gorgeous her dogs are - OMG ♥).
Annian Vizslas - A Small Breeder Of Excellence (the breeder I've been in contact with for a little while)
Vizsla Information » Moonlight Vizslas
Vizslas: What's Good About 'Em? What's Bad About 'Em?
Vizsla Health, Care & Health Problems

This is long, but very thorough. If you get the chance to read it, it is a very good read (and interesting... at least to me ).
http://vcaweb.org/download/Vizsla-Health-Survey-Analysis_Final-V3.pdf

(sorry for the novel, lol)

Thanks so much for all the help, and in-depth info!!!!

I'll definitely consider everyone's input! Thinking about it lately though, I think I want to stick with smaller dogs, for Chloe's sake. I said originally that I didn't want to do that, because it would limit what kind of dogs I can have in the future, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Chloe's my heart dog, and one of the main reasons I want another dog, is so that she can have someone to play with, because she loves Violet and wants to play with her, but isn't allowed because of the size difference. So I think I'll probably end up going with a Chihuahua, or a small-breed rescue pup. (Around here there are tons of Chihuahua, Jack Russell, and Toy Fox Terrier puppy mixes in rescue.)

I think that if you got the right medium-sized dog, there would be no reason Chloe couldn't play with them. I know you're nervous about her being hurt especially after she was attacked, but if the larger dog is socialized well with small dogs and is a breed not known for DA, prey drive, or being an extremely rough wrestler, I don't see why they couldn't wrestle, chase, or play bitey-face with a smaller dog. I know plenty of families with big X small dog combos, who play together very well (I also know a few who need to be CLOSELY supervised or who aren't allowed to play, but those are largely families with bully-type breeds, or dogs who wildly play with dogs their own size and don't have much experience with the little ones).

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Especially if it's a dog that's medium SIZED, but doesn't weigh much/has a lighter build, so it's not like...stepping on her and rolling over and crushing her when they're wrestling. XD

Yeah, Harleigh is 62-65 pounds and she absolutely LOVES small dogs. I just dogsat my friends Yorkie/Poodle mix and all they did for 3 days was play. lol

I think it not only depends on the breed, but also the personality of the dog.

I know I say this all the time, but what about a whippet or LHW? They meet all your criteria. And likely safer than a lot of the terrier mixes with Chloe.

I was just going to say the same thing. A terrier mix is smaller, but they have a very different playing style. At least I know mine do, and they dont put up with alot of crap.

When Teagan plays its very rough playing, she can easily dish out what my 85 pound Bouvier does when they play.

Actually, a Whippet or Long haired Whippet sounds perfect! I think they're beautiful, and they do fit my criteria. Thank you Dekka!!!

Nikki: That is so cool! Yeah, Violet loves to play with Chloe, she just gets too rough. She does a lot of pawing while playing, and is very mouthy.

I think a "larger" dog could work just fine. Juno loves playing with small dogs and she's always been very gentle with them. Some breeds have distinct playing styles, maybe try to stay away from the ones that tend to like body slamming. It's not a guarantee--even Juno greatly prefers chasing over wrestling or other physical play--but its something to consider.

You'll probably find that your wish list will change though. The dog I thought I wanted a couple years ago is not the same dog I would want today.

Isn't that the truth?! When I was where you were I thought I'd never be able to keep up with a BC/ACD/Mal, but now that I have a job with flexible hours and discretionary income suddenly it's not that hard! :lol-sign: I also thought my Maggie was high energy and boy was I wrong - she was pretty low compared to some of the dogs I've met!

There is always a risk of predatory drift though.

That said how small is Chloe? If she's a larger MinPin , a Whippet or Whippet sized dog might still be within a reasonable size to be relatively safe. If she's a 2-5lb type MinPin though, probably not so much.

Viszlas are CRAZY :yikes: IME they are quite different from Labs, more similar to GSPs and Weims but more even more high strung. They can be great dogs for the right people and are very attached to their family. I'm not sure I've ever met another breed with so much constant nervous energy though. And I have Belgians and a PyrShep LOL

Which is weird to me... all the Vizsla's I've met have been a lot like Harleigh. However, Harleigh isn't a well-bred Lab.

The Vizsla in my agility class is not nervous at all and is very much like Harleigh... the only HUGE difference I see is Harleigh is extremely food-motivated while the V does just fine with praise.

It's funny people's different impressions of breeds...and I think a lot of it stems from their popularity in certain areas and the commonness of backyard breeders or a good breeders in a certain area.

The vizslas I know are slightly sensitive, but they aren't nearly as nervy or anxious as the handful of GSPs I know. They're also high energy, but lower energy than some of the wild lab puppies I know, they have a good off switch and aren't totally insane, especially as adults. And they're quite biddable, not as much as a lab, but definitely moreso than a husky or dachshund. I only know one weimeraner, but she is NUTS compared to the vizslas I know. And like 1000x more anxious. I have a pretty good feeling weim people would have a heart attack if I judged all of them based on her, though.

That's true, but there is always a risk of anything. And the same could happen if she owns a cat. It'd be a bit more concerning if she were looking at something, like, Great Dane sized, but a dog in the 30 or 40 pound range is not such a large jump. If I had to guess based on pictures I'd say Chloe is probably 10-15 pounds.

Not that you've mentioned the energy thing. I will say one thing about Labs vs Vizslas that I remembered... all the people I've met/talked to about their V's have said that once they have their exercise they are content to just "chill" in the house. However, Labs (in general) will get the same amount of exercise, but will continue to go all day and never really get "tired". If that makes sense, lol.

Southpaw's right, Chloe's 12lbs I believe. She's pretty small though, because she's part Dachshund, so her little legs make her short.

The main thing I worry about with her is 1. Her back, 2. Her legs. Her back, because she's part Dachshund, and I'm always worried she could injure her back. Her legs, because they are REALLY thin, especially at the bottom. And for some reason, when Violet is playing with her, she likes to bite her legs, and that freaks me out, so I don't let them play.

Nikki, The weird thing about Violet, is that she's kind of like BOTH the breeds you described. Sometimes she goes out, plays what I call "hardcore fetch" (we either throw her rope toy, or kick her soccer ball really far across the yard 20-30 times, until she's too tired to chase it anymore) and when she comes in, she plops down on the cold fireplace hearth and falls asleep. And SOMETIMES after we play fetch, she'll come in, drink some water, lay down for a couple minutes, and then start doing circles around the living room.

The vizlas that I have met have been well bred dogs. They do agility or have come through training classes.

And while I know I couldn't live with a young lab (way to high energy for me lol and the wrong kind of energy) a vizla would make me insane. The ones I have met are not nervous, but 'on'. There are sooo many youtube vids out there of them running around liek lunatics far longer than any breed I have met.

As for prey drive. I think a normal well socialized dog is going to realize a small dog is just that a dog. The whippets and JRTs (who have shown they will run down and kill small animals) have no issues with puppies, who are smaller than the prey they hunt.

The JRTs seem to know the difference between a cat that is larger than them, which is prey, and a dog smaller than them, which is a dog, and a rat/mouse which is small and prey. I think size doesn't have much to do with what is 'prey' unless the dogs are conditioned as such.

In all honesty a nice show bred Dobe fits most of it. They shed, but not too bad, very trainable, good off switch but good on switch. The ones I know were fine with cats if they were raised with them. You'd have to be careful when they are puppies with playing white Chloe but I know lots of Dobe and small dog house holds. They are bigger than what you want though. Or you could get one from a rescue who is testing with small dogs and cats. They can be tolerant of strange dogs, females more so than males. Males are known for same sex aggression though, so if you spent alot of time at parks I would get a female. If you dont do dog parks than a male would be OK as long as you always had females and not another male.

Just something to think about, depending on how flexible you are.

Jenn, I do love Dobes. Someday I hope to own one, and it would be a good dog for me when I move into my new place, since it will be my sister and I alone and on our own for the first time. I'd feel really secure knowing someone would think twice about coming into my house if a Dobe was staring out the window at them. XD

I'm really liking the idea of a Whippet though. Oh well, like someone mentioned, by the time I'm actually ready to get a dog, a lot of things could change. I'm really grateful for all this info though, I'm really enjoying researching these different breeds.