which breed?

[BetteDavis01]

Hello

I'm very excited because DH and I have decided the time is right to introduce a dog to our home to become part of the family!

But we need to decide on a breed, can you offer some advice?

Our situation:

• two DC's, age 6 & 4

-small house
-big (ish) garden (100 ft)

• I'm at home during the day to give the dog attention & walks

Thank you x

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Well your situation sounds great for lots and lots of types of dog

Why don't you narrow down what's essential and what would be nice to have - don't just go on looks (all puppies are cute), think about behaviour traits, what was the dog originally bred to do, how much exercise do you want to offer etc

There are various online questionnaires which can give you a starting point - the kennel club do one

Be very careful if you're thinking of buying a puppy as you don't want to end up supporting puppy farming by mistake

And please don't get a 'desighnrr' crossbreed with a silly made up name

[WienerDiva]

Exciting times ahead!

You need to work out some of the finer details, do you kind shedding or would you rather have a non shedder that needs regular trips to the groomer?
Do you mind a stubborn dog that won't learn to do lots of tricks but is very calm?
Or a dog that needs a lot of mental stimulation and gets hyper if not walked or stimulated?
What size?
Lap dog or one more independent?
How long do you want to spend walking everyday? Some dogs are happy to walk for hours AND are equally happy to just curl up and snooze.
Do you want to get involved in the agility classes/movement to music/obedience etc?

I have a 5 year old dd and and nearly 1 year old miniature dachshund, she has fitted into our life perfectly.

Don't be fooled though, I can't tell you how much hard work it is having a puppy for the first year or so.

[ConkersDontScareSpiders]

When I did all the questionnaires on this (kids, lifestyle etc) it came back with Cairns terrier.Good for families, likes a walk but doesn't have to be walked for 20 miles a day, playful etc...does anyone have one and can advise if that sounds about right? We had Labradors growing up and would love one but would be too big for us in our house.
I'm soon going to be working from home more so will soon be getting a dog.So excited!

[MaynJune]

The only Cairn terriers I've known have been owned by older people and they've been quite stubborn and a bit aloof, not playful. Maybe that's because they weren't living with children, but they wouldn't be my first choice.

[MeadowHay]

Whippet. Westie. Staffy.
Some of my faves that you could look into?

[insan1tyscartching]

Poodle, clever, playful, good fun, like a walk,no shedding.

[MaynJune]

The miniature schnauzers I know are lovely family pets, nice size and happy dogs.

[FarrowandBallAche]

There's so many different considerations.

How much exercise can you give?
Do you want a dog that needs grooming ie not just brushing but a professional trim/strip?
What breeds do you like the look of?

I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to talk to the specific breed secretary about the breed you choose about all the pros and cons and to go and meet them in a real life situation.

Take your time. Read as much as you can.

[Lokibuddyboo]

What's wrong with a cross breed just because people give them what you call a silly made up name doesn't make them any less suitable as a family pet.
In my opinion they are healthier than some pure breeds what with all the inbreeding and health problems alot of pure breeds have.
I have a chihuahua cross jrt who is a great family dog he's great with kids and other dogs and both his pedigree parents had the relevant health tests for their breed.
So OP please don't discount a cross breed as long as the parents have the relevant health tests they make just as good a family pet as a pedigree whose parents have had the relevant health tests.
But with regards to good breeds to consider:
Whippet
Cockerpoo
Shih tzu
Cocker spaniel

[HildaFlorence]

Or you could say that you just get double the inherited diseases.

[MaynJune]

I have lurchers, not whippets, but don't they need somewhere safe to be let off the lead? My lurchers have a strong prey drive and I can only safely let them off at a beach far from roads or in a very safe garden. I'm sure some whippets must be the same.
Much as I love hounds, that is a disadvantage (the only disadvantage) but it's only fair to point it out.

[Wolfiefan]

Sorry but cross breeds aren't generally bred by people who health test their dogs to check for problems.
Avoid.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

There's nothing inherently wrong with a crossbreed per se, but there are a lot of potential problems with the majority of crossbreeds which people are buying at the moment

Most, not all, but most are being bred for money - and people are charging more than the going rate for most pedigree breeds at the moment

Very few have had appropriate health tests for both parents

You could get the best of both breeds but equally you could get the worst - there can be such variation in a single litter with first generation crosses that you really don't know what you're going to be getting

Maybe eventually if thoughtful breeders get involved mating a really good example of one breed to a really good example of the other then in time there might be standardised cocker/poodle crosses, but that's not what's happening at the moment

Some of the big kennels are doing it on an industrial scale, churning out hundreds of puppies - already these are getting rid of their standard poodle studs and bitches as labradoodles are no longer as fashionable as cockerpoos, maltipoos, cavachons etc etc are currently more popular

[Lokibuddyboo]

I agree that alot of unscrupulous people are just breeding two pedigrees without doing the relevant health tests just to make money and in alot of cases are charging more than the price of the pedigree parents.
But then there are also alot of unscrupulous pedigree breeders too who don't health test and are only in it too make money as well.
They both have breeders who are good and both have breeders who are just in it for the money.
My point was that cross breeds make just as good a family pet as pedigrees.

[Kingfisherfree]

I would go for a Standard Poodle. Calm, loyal, intelligent, fun and not too hyper. I cannot understand the craze for Labra doodles etc even the guy that introduced the cross thinks it's a bit of a mistake.

[CMOTDibbler]

Maynjune, my lurchers otoh are able to be let off the lead anywhere any other dog would, and don't have a prey drive problem. In fact ddog1 has no prey drive at all and is bullied by chickens

[MaynJune]

CMOTDibbler I know some are fine but it's worth mentioning. A lurcher belonging to a neighbour nearly caused an accident here the other morning, dashing after a rabbit over a fence and across the road in front of a car.
And there is a thread here about a whippet running off, and when they do it's at speed.
I love them anyway, and they have many other qualities that make them fabulous pets.

[harryhausen]

Op, last year got our first family dog too. We got a Border Terrier. He's bloody ace!

Affectionate, clever, tough, playful. Needs a good walk at the moment (11 months old).

Most people will recommend their own dogs, but on my walks I've become find of

Minature Schnauzer
Norfolk Terrier
Cockapoo
Jack Russell
Westie

(These are the dogs I've met and liked the most, dogs played well with mine and I've liked the owners).

[CMOTDibbler]

Mayn, my point would be that there are lots of dogs, of lots of different breeds who can't be trusted with small furries or off lead, and you can't generalise. For instance, I know 4 springer spaniels very local to me who have been on long lines till they were 3 as they wouldn't recall. And plenty of Jack Russells who can't be let near anything furry

[1frenchfoodie]

We had minature poodle when growing up ( kids were 6,8,11 when we got him). Smart, chilled (except for when he saw postman) and no shedding which was necessary with asthma and excema in the family. My mum, and sis both have cavalier x poodles now - the trendy/tragic 'cavapoo' and my sis' is fab with her 2yo. They were from a contact who bred poodles for decades then moved to the crosses and they saw both parents, they were brought up in the family home etc - all the basics you'd expect to check with any breeder. No health problems and great temprement though my mum is rubbish at enforing rules and you can see it in her dog (jumping up, bugging other dogs).

We have labrador now, super chilled but sheds all year round - worse than usual for the breed - and a cocker x lab who at 12 weeks old is a work in progress. I've had good experiences with minature schnauzers and staffies too.