13/10/2025
I've talked before about considering your dogs breed traits and what they were bred to do when picking the right dog for you, but something you should also consider is energy levels.
Both my breeds are working dogs. Both need a job to do other than walks. Both love to do things with their humans.
After an hour's run at the field followed by an hour at the vets both Labradors are curled up next to me on the sofa content to snooze.
The Dobermann is another beast entirely. He's still running around the garden, loving life, but very very busy.
It's not enough to get an active dog like a Dobermann because you want to go on long walks. I could walk Duke all day and he'd still be raring to go.
I train all my dogs daily. We do enrichment.
But Duke's needs are often much higher. Without the training we do in the week, at home and in classes, a dog like Duke just wouldn't have a fulfilled life. If anyone has seen him do hoopers, you'll have seen the pure joy he gets from it. He's not just having fun, he has purpose, he's really using all that power, stamina and speed.
In order to get the gorgeous cuddly boy that sits with me on the sofa on an evening I invest a lot more into him than just a long walk.
The other dogs are more than capable of keeping up with him, but they don't need as much in quite the same way.
Think about your lifestyle. How much time and resources do you have to invest in that dog, other than long walks?
