Group Guide
Dogs
The widest range of size, drive and need of any domestic animal — and the one where getting the choice wrong hurts most.
A dog is a ten-to-fifteen year commitment to somebody else's exercise needs. The gap between breeds is enormous: a Greyhound and a Border Collie are the same species in name only. This is the group where the honest answer is most often not that one.
At a glance — all dogs
- Lifespan
- 8–16 years
- Adult weight
- 2–70 kg
- Daily exercise
- 30 min – 3 hrs
- Trainability
- Breed-dependent
- Alone time tolerated
- 4 hrs is a common ceiling
- Shedding
- Nearly all shed
- Noise level
- Breed-dependent
- With children
- Depends on breed and dog
- With other pets
- Depends on prey drive
Purebred entries only for now. Crossbreds get a page when we can write one that isn't guesswork — the genetics are a coin toss, and pretending otherwise would be the dishonest kind of easy.
Breeds · 6 listed
Every entry below is a breed page with its own colours, costs and honest warnings.
Labrador Retriever
Genuinely easy-natured, genuinely hard work as a puppy, and permanently hungry.
- High exercise
- Heavy shedding
- Very trainable
Border Collie
The smartest dog you will ever meet, and the one most often rehomed for it.
- Very high exercise
- Needs a job
- Not for empty houses
Greyhound
Sprinter, not a marathon runner. Sleeps eighteen hours a day and asks for very little.
- Low exercise
- Very quiet
- Adopt an adult
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The loveliest temperament in dogs, attached to the breed's most serious health problem.
- Low exercise
- Very affectionate
- Read the health section
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Devoted to their people, robust, and frequently misjudged in both directions.
- Med exercise
- Great with kids
- Dog-dog issues common
Crossbred
No standard, no prediction, and for a lot of households the sensible answer.
- Not a breed
- Adopt
The questions that actually decide this
- How many hours a day is the house empty? That single number rules out more breeds than any other.
- Who walks it in July, in the rain, at 6am, for the next twelve years? Name the person.
- Every breed here has a health test regime. A breeder who can't tell you their dogs' scores hasn't done them.
Availability, registration and keeping requirements differ from place to place. Check the rules where you live before you commit to any animal — we describe animals, not law.