Best family dog?

[dh8892]

We are looking at getting a dog for our family.

I WFH 3 days a week, the rest of the time it’s me & our DS (with DH at work during the week).

We would love a dog to add to our family and to give our DS a pet to grow up with (he’s 2).

We are an active household, enjoy walks and bike rides but also don’t think a breed that requires hours of exercise a day would work either because we could only give multiple hours at the weekend (weekdays would be walks twice a day).

Any suggestions/recommendations on breeds before we start doing our research?

TIA 🙂

One that doesn't bark & annoy your neighbours.

We have a Rough Collie as our first family dog, this was after I did a lot of reading and research and she has been fantastic. She loves to be out and about but at home is calm (not hyper at all).and just likes to hang out with family members. I was also surprised to find Rough Collie's are very clean and don't shed a lot. She was spade so now only sheds once a year, but it's in tufts of fluff rather than single hairs everywhere.
RCs have a very sweet nature and are fantastic with children and other pets. They are intelligent and can be house trained quickly and taught plenty of commands. She does need to be walked daily, really twice a day, so if that's an issue that could be a problem with many family breeds. As a herding breed they like to check everyone is ok and are very good at reading emotions, coming over to comfort someone who is sad for example.
My personal preference was for butch dogs (bull terriers etc) but most of those breeds aren't good with other pets or strangers.
Now we have a Rough Collie we love the breed so much we want another and I think I will have them all my life.
They are great as a first dog for a family as so easy to train and gentle with children, very livable and great to cuddle. She is also a great watchdog and will bark if a stranger comes to the house but isn't a guard dog so won't be aggressive.

P.S. be prepared for strangers coming up to you wherever you go to tell you how beautiful and glamorous your dog is.

The Kennel Club site has a starting point - Breeds A to Z | The Kennel Club - after that speak to as many owners as possible.

I was about 2 when my parents got our first dog, and grew up with a dog in the house, it was lovely! A constant companion that was always ready to go exploring (or eat whatever got left over!), and I spent many hours as I reached my teens out and about with my sidekick 😀and a great sounding board as a teen as they would listen for hours as I complained about how unreasonable my parents were...!

You need to establish ground rules with your DS (I grew up knowing that if our dog was in its basket then I wasn't allowed to approach them, it was their quiet/relaxing space), and supervise carefully initially.

To add, our dogs have always been strays (apart from the first, which was a Lab X from an unplanned litter) so I can't recommend breeds, but I have friends who have always had miniature poodles, and they are lovely dogs - chilled at home, enjoy a walk, enjoy a fuss but will then settle and snooze. But do need a regular appointment with the groomer.

Labs tend to be good natured and affectionate, but they are large, shed a lot of hair, and are often boisterous.

I often meet a Manchester Terrier (and owner) out on walks, and they are very positive about the breed as a pet, plus they are a rare breed so there are owners clubs and meet-ups all over the country!

Try the Kennel Club site, and go from there

Miniature poodle. Not a cockerpoo or any doodle cross. You want a full poodle. Standards also fab but miniatures will be easier in terms of size. They come in three sizes and minis are the middle ones, toys are the smallest but they can be a bit fiesty so minis and standards are better options. Only from a breeder who does genetic health testing (look on the Champdogs website).

But I’m going to join the chorus saying to wait a bit. A puppy is like having a toddler, but with really sharp teeth. Every single puppy owner out there thinks that their puppy bites to an abnormal degree and might be aggressive. None of them are correct - puppies really do bite that much, relentlessly, for the first nine months or so. And their favourite things to bite are small children, which are fast, noisy and unpredictable - all things that puppies find exciting and arousing. Wait til DC is at school, then you’ll have time to focus on the puppy. My youngest was 8 when we got our pup and even that was a bit tricky with the biting tbh.

A staffordshire bull terrier.
Genuinely a people dog. They adore being part of the family, and really do have a special way with children.
They're plenty active, but equally love chilling on the sofa. Pick up that lead and they're ready for action.
Mine can do 10 mile walks or days in bed, they're not fussed as long as they're with me.
The breed is ridiculously clever, very trainable and respond well the positive training that makes things fun.
They are also pretty healthy, robust and nothing really phases them.

I would wait until your child is older as a 2 year will not be old enough developmentally to understand that they mustn't grab at the dog, or do other things that a dog could find stressful. I would also consider if you want a puppy as well as a young child at the same time as this could be difficult. If you have the budget you can pay for someone else to train the dog for you so they are house trained and know a lot of commands and how to behave around kids and in public before coming to your family.
Some breeds (especially some small dog breeds) can be harder to house train so that is something to take into account.
I would take your time to find a very ethical breeder or rescue organization, so you know the puppy has bèen treated well and has received all health tests, shots and screening and their temperament and personality is known. Don't get a dog if you are on a very tight budget as there can be expenses such as grooming, vets fees etc. and of course the expense of dog food and potentially boarding when you are on holiday.
It's a big responsibility and is worthwhile doing plenty of research before you bring a new pet home.

@ToBeOrNotToBee I love Staffies and really wanted one but understand they aren't good with other dogs and animals. I used to walk my friends Staffie, Ollie, and other dogs would cross the street to get away from him (and he wasn't aggressive and was generally lazy and a couch potato, but I still adored him!).

We have always had spaniels and they are amazing family pets. BUT they do require a lot of attention and mental stimulation.
Ours goes to work gardening 5 days a week and can still be mad as a box of frogs at times. Avoid a working breed.
Even we wouldn't take on a collie though we can take one to work. They require so much mental stimulation and can shadow chase if these needs aren't met.
Goldens and labs are just great all rounders but do need lots of training to turn them into those well rounded lovely dogs you see who walk nicely and love everyone.

My biggest advice is please keep in mind it's like having baby no.2. No joke. I was up 4 times in the night toilet training for the first 3-4weeks. The hours we put in to train him and he's still not perfect. Any distraction makes the training inconsistent and you can have issues.

Good luck! Just be prepared for the work. My advice take 2 weeks MINIMUM annual leave for those first two weeks. It's a constant cycle in an hour of pee, play, rest, pee again and then it's that on repeat 24/7 til they're bigger. You'll be knackered!

Staffies from a decent breeder are wonderful family dogs. But they have been hugely overbred and there are a lot of idiotic irresponsible breeders who are focusing on looks not temperament and breeding big chunky dogs with a nervous disposition. Not a good combo. I wouldn’t get one, very sadly.

A border terrier (we had one when ours were 6&4, and new born. absolutely dream dog)

A malteser

A King Charles cavalier

All good with small children / newborns and good Temperamented dogs

Labrador.

Trainable. Placid. Great all round family dog.

Seconding border terriers & lurchers. Usually have amazing temperaments, good with children, no general health problems.

For the love of god, do not even consider a border collie! They are loyal, but far too intelligent & energetic when you have a toddler. We inherited one who had never been trained properly, so had to put in hours of work to get her used to DS when he arrived a few years later. They can be terribly destructive if they're not getting enough exercise both physical & mental.

Another who says to wait, trying to train a puppy while looking after a toddler and wfh sounds nuts! If you do I’d say stay away from cocker spaniels, amazing dogs but very very bitey (nickname crockerdiles), also are very very high energy