I grew up with dogs, but have never owned one as an adult. We're a family with three children (youngest five), I work from home and the longest a dog would be alone would be from 9-3 and this would be infrequent. We live in London, but have a garden and lots of parks nearby.
I have so many questions and I'm not sure where to begin. I'd be so grateful for any advice or steer especially about breeds.
- Breed? I'm very taken with miniature schnauzers or something similar. That sort of size. Anybody know of any good reason not to get that breed? There are a lot of them about (every well-dressed man in my neighbourhood seems to have a grey one), which is both a good and bad thing. Or any similar sized recommendations very welcome.
- Bitch or dog? What are the reasons for choice?
- Where to get from? I presume I should go to a registered breeder. What websites are reputable (I keep coming up with various when I search). How best to approach this? How to plan a visit? What to look for etc? I obviously don't want to encourage any dubious puppy farming.
- Why shouldn't I get a dog? I'm worried this is some sort of fur baby (am not going to have any more children) that I might regret.
- Some of the hybrid dogs (e.g. schnoodle, jack-a-poo) are very endearing looking but is a bad idea to get a hybrid? Are they a fad? More likely to encourage puppy farming? MOre or less likely to have health issues?
- What else should we be thinking about before embarking on what hopefully will be a happy and long relationship?
Thank you so much in advance.