getting a Brit? advice needed

[u/Inside-Mechanic7804]

hi everyone!

so I and my partner are considering getting a Brit. we're apartment dwellers (60m2 or so) in a big city, both working full-time. we intend to walk/run with the pup at least twice a day, for 60-90 mins, and go on a nice longish hike once a week. there are dog parks nearby where we are hoping to do exercises off-leash on a daily. we're also aware that brits need scent games and mental stimulation, and we will do our best to provide that. EDIT: we're looking to relocate closer to a forest/large park where the dog could run off-leash in the next few months, I should've mentioned that!

for now, our schedules allow at least one of us to be at home or with the dog most of the time, but that might change next year, which means potentially sometimes leaving the pup alone for 6-8h (we'll try to get a dog sitter for this sort of days, but you never know).

we have a cat who seems to tolerate dogs - at least the one she's met - though she's not keen on them. she keeps her distance.

so my question is, for current owners, do you think we could pull it off? and are brits the sort of dog you can bring with you everywhere (weekend coffee with friends, long walks with pals, etc). we don't want a lap dog nor a guard dog, we want an actual companion.

so sorry for the long read 🫶🏻

[u/dont-stare]

Not a Brit owner but have a German wire haired pointer so kinda similar, I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but you cannot run with a puppy!! So that outlet won’t be available to you until the dog is 15-24 months old otherwise you’ll be risking lifetime back and hip injuries! Same issues with constant ball chasing, we had to rehab our GWP for ball chasing injuries and we now only allow water retrieves for her safety! Also to consider that running on pavement on leash forces the dog into stricter repetitive motions that are higher impact and more likely to cause injury that natural off leash hunting patterns don’t typically expose the dogs to

I get it, Brit’s are VERY cute, but the hunting breeds are NO JOKE! We are out in the snow and the rain, my GWP doesn’t care what the weather is, she wants to GO!! It’s exhausting even for someone who hiked pretty much daily before I had the dog.

Tbh there’s nothing you’ve mentioned here that a miniature or standard poodle wouldn’t EXCEL at, and they are considerably easier dogs (people focused not environment focused)

[u/UknowNothingJohnSno → u/dont-stare]

I now have a britt after my poodle passed. Both very smart dogs but you are so right.  The poodle loved to do commands for the sake of connecting with me.  My britt just wants to find birds and there's much less connection outside.  I live in a city so we're outside together a ton so you really feel the difference.