Gentle family dog that will not kill the guinea pigs

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

Hi. We have one dog, a 12-year-old border collie x, and we are thinking about getting a puppy with a view to succession. Hopefully not for a long time; one of our last dogs lived to 18!
We have lots of guinea pigs and rabbits and therefore don't want a terrier type and lots of visiting children, therefore need something v gentle and bomb proof.
I know that you are going to say that it is all in the upbringing, but I am sure that some breeds are more amenable than others. My DD, who will be doing a lot of the training and care, is 7 ... and before anybody tells me, I know that that means that I will really be doing it all; we have a lot of pets!

[soddinghormones]

Our Toller pup is the most gentle soul imaginable - easy to train, loves our cats and takes most things in his stride

He met a little 4 month old border terrier puppy today and played beautifully with him, moderating his speed so the other puppy could keep up and letting the other puppy take turns in having the upper hand - they were wrestling but dpup was doing it so gently that the other puppy never felt that it was too much for him - I felt so proud of dpup :)

Any of the gundog breeds would be better than terriers with small furries (but would still need plenty of training on how to behave around them) but I think (and of course I'm biased) that Tollers are very special

Here's my boy at the beach yesterday

[snoggle]

I grew up with a Labrador, with lots of small furries too.

The dog was brilliant with animals and children, also other dogs (of course she was trained properly as well). She did on occasion "retrieve" an escapee rabbit or piggy, brought them back without a mark on them - just a little soggy :)

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

What is a Toller?
Our collie licks little furries until they are quite soggy ...

[soddinghormones]

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever - smallest member of the retriever family (looks a bit like a cross between a border collie and a golden retriever)

Lovely, lovely dogs :)

[Frangipane1976]

Our lab is perfect with the GP and the chicks we're hand rearing. She's always been good with our bantams, too.

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

Toller looks lovely ... yes, I have heard that labs are v gentle ...

[frames]

My terrier safe with cuddly pets, not even intrested, but wild bunnies will be chased, chased, and chased some more, can pet dogs tell difference between cuddly pets, and 'fair game' ....for want of a better term?

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

Probably ... as in some are members of the pack and other are not ...

[insanityscatching]

Eric our shih tzu poodle cross sniffs and then ignores rabbits and guinea pigs at a friend's house. In fact the only animal he seems to have a problem with is snails He has to knock them over with his nose, late night walks at the moment are interesting as he wanders from one snail to the next putting them on their sides
Our rabbit used to box another friend's yorkshire terrier and chase it round the garden The dog used to sit on our lap when he'd had enough and Mr Buns (house rabbit) would position himself so that he could intimidate from a distance

[Buttercup27]

Our lab is great with my 3 guinea pigs. They have free range of the garden 24/7. We often watch them sniffing each other and when they want to play the guinea pigs head but the dogs legs until he chases them to a hiding place- this can go on for hours it's very funny to watch. We had the guinea pigs first and the dog as a puppy.

[Buttercup27]

Our lab is great with my 3 guinea pigs. They have free range of the garden 24/7. We often watch them sniffing each other and when they want to play the guinea pigs head but the dogs legs until he chases them to a hiding place- this can go on for hours it's very funny to watch. We had the guinea pigs first and the dog as a puppy.

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

Have heard that labs are v gentle ... Quite like the idea of a dog that will solve the snail problem too!