What are the best dog breeds for active, social people?

If you tend to lead a very active social life that involves spending lots of time going out and about visiting friends and having them visit you, as well as being keen to meet new people and try new things, dog ownership can be challenging – if you pick the wrong dog.

Not all dogs thrive on lots of activity, new stimulus and meeting lots of other people and dogs on a daily basis, and of course even within a single breed, every dog will have their own individual temperament and personality that can affect their lifestyles and how they interact with the world around them.

However, there are also a large number of dog breeds that share breed traits of being confident in new situations, highly social with other dogs and people, and that actively enjoy doing new things and meeting new dogs and people – and if you like to travel, keep active and spend a lot of time outside of the home and want a dog that will enjoy all of this too, these are the breeds you should be considering.

In this article, we will share our picks of five of the best dog breeds for people that like to keep busy, try new things, travel, and socialise with other people and dogs.

The Siberian husky

The Siberian husky can fairly be described as a breed that can be a challenge for the first-time or inexperienced dog owner, and one that can soon become unruly or hard to manage without the proper care and training. However, given the right type of owner and the right type of living environment, Siberian huskies can make for excellent companions that thrive living a social, active life.

Siberian huskies are intelligent, quick-witted, and very mischievous dogs that tend to get bored easily and that require a lot of exercise and stimulation. However, they are also highly social and actively enjoy meeting and spending time with other people and dogs, and tend to be outgoing and confident without being pushy or inappropriately dominant.

Also, while the breed has a reputation for being very switched on and alert, which can lead to a low boredom threshold, they also tend to take change in their stride and not feel out of their elements in new situations or when outside of the home.

The Border collie

The Border collie is ranked as the world’s most intelligent dog breed, and their working ability and capacity to learn and repeat new skills and commands are second to none, which is why they are so commonly seen in high-level working roles today, as well as why they excel at most forms of canine sport.

They are smart, analytical dogs that learn things quickly through observation, and they also have very high energy levels and need lots to do to keep them happy and occupied. An active, varied lifestyle that involves introducing the dog to new stimulus, people, dogs and situations will help to keep the Border collie happy and manageable, and if you like to travel, take part in outdoor activities and spend time with others, this may be the dog for you.

The Labrador retriever

The Labrador retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds in the UK as well as potentially the most versatile dog breed of all, which makes them excellent pets, working dogs, sporting dogs and much more.

They are outgoing and confident about new situations and relish having a new challenge to get their teeth into, and they also love to play, socialise and make new friends.

Whether you wish to spend a lot of time out and about with other people or both people and dogs, the Labrador is an excellent choice of dog if you are looking for a social, well-mannered and very friendly dog breed that loves making friends but will always remain loyal.

The Springer spaniel

The Springer spaniel dog breed is another breed that has high energy levels, bags of intelligence and a very social, outgoing nature that translates into their interactions with both other dogs and people. They actively enjoy being outdoors, doing new things and having fun with others, and they tend to be calm and laid back about trying new things and moving outside of their comfort zones.

They are also very versatile in the size stakes too, being a medium-sized dog breed that is well suited to all types of active homes.

The Poodle

The poodle is one dog breed that is less common in the UK today than they were historically, but to balance this, there are also a huge number of hybrid dog types that have one poodle ancestor too. The same traits that make the poodle such a good choice for hybrid crossings (in combination with their non-shedding coats) also makes the poodle a great choice for people that live social, active lives – a confident, outgoing personality, high intelligence, and a lively and social nature.

Additionally, the poodle breed encompasses three size variants, being toy, miniature and standard respectively, providing a lot of choice when it comes to finding the right size of dog to suit your home!