Another vote for a retired Greyhound. Molly's boyfriend is a rescued Grey and I would love one! He is so laid back and only needs a good half an hour a day of exercise. Couch potato!

It's my understanding, too, that labs & retrievers are most often high energy dogs that need to work, some even more than gsd's.

Huskies, too ... they were born to pull ... thinking walks may not be so pleasant.

Wow, that surprises me, I thought they'd still want to run ... and run ... and runnnnn until they drop at an old age

Cocker Spaniels come to mind. There are I think the English and the American and I heard one is high energy the other not but don't remember which is which.

A bloodhound? Aren't they really lazy'ish and laid back?

Another greyhound here. Our neighbor rescues them a well as a family friend. Our neighbor is retired and takesnice leisurely walks around the neighborhood with their dogs...nothing more. Sometimes I am jealous! Lol

Ditto, I was surprised about the greyhounds too. I do lure coursing with my dog so all the greyhounds/sight hounds that I've met are super energetic and raring to go. But I have heard from various people (in addition to everyone in this thread) that retired greyhounds are a great, laid back pet.

Did anyone see 50/50? I never thought of greyhounds as cute dogs until I saw that movie, lol.

Actually, when I lived in Madison, WI a lot of people had retired greyhounds (there is a racetrack near there) and would bring them to the dog park. Occasionally they would zoom around the park but they'd usually just walk. I was surprised when I heard how mellow they were!

My problem with sight hounds and huskies is that they should never be trusted off lead- for me that would never work.

I think a lot of which dog is the right dog will come down to individual temperament. Going with an older dog should allow some personality traits to be known and they can decide accordingly.

Just reread original post, the children are older- you didn't say they wanted an older dog- what age dog are they looking for? I would think all puppies are going to have higher requirements in regards to exercise, socialization and training.

All the kids are teenaged or older. They were originally looking for a puppy (less than 1 year) but after we talked I think they agreed that an older dog might be better - more mature and calmed down a bit. I don't think they were looking forward to all the necessary training, housebreaking, socialization, etc. that came with a baby.

With an older dog, I think they could look at pretty much any breed or mixed breed rescue that has their dogs in foster homes and find a dog that has the right personality and energy level for them. That's what I suggested to them actually, and I hope they take that to heart - we have lots of reputable rescues in the MD/DC/VA area.