What dog to get for DCs 9 and 5 yrs?

[Twinkie1]

Right am going to lots of research into this - we have 18 months before DS starts school - that is when we have promised the kids they can have a dog - may keep me company alone at home all day and will allow me to train it (yeah ha ha) without the help of the kids!

I would like something not too big - can't be a toy dog though - DH thinks he will look gay walking it - so no yorkies or ratty type dogs - something I can over power if it goes on the rampage - something that doesn't slobber too much and something that will need a reasonable amount of exercise but won't want to do a marathon each day!

Ideally also something that doesn;t chew, bark, shit or leave hair everywhere would be great but understand this isn't possible. Just somethin clean would be nice though!

Ideas greatly received - will then draw short list, investigate further and go and view selected breds to make sure thay will never clash with decor or outdoor wear! (Ha ha not really!)

Ta ladies!

have put some pics of mine on my profile - obviously am not hijacking the thread is just for research purposes to help OP

forgot to suggest hungarian puli

picture of hungarian puli doing its thing

Have done the same - vacua you look ever so familiar!

me? do I? or is it the puli you just looked at? cos my hair looks more like his today

awwww she is nice

hmm - yes you do...how odd.

Your dog is equally gorgeous

well anyway maybe we know each other?

to OP: we have actually been very helpful with our earlier contributions haven't we?

oops -sorry!

I doubt it as I'm oop North, but I was very nomadic in my younger days so anything's possible!

Sorry for hijack OP but as vacua says we were trying to be helpful

I can deffo recommend a female border terrier, the perfect family pet IMO. we had one growing up. they are lovely, placid dogs. like excercise but don't demand it and are easy for children of about 8yrs to walk and are definitely easy to control and train.
i was devestated when ours died a few years ago.
i have a couple of photos of her in her old age in my profile (if it worked)so you can see how they look in a real life family home(yes it is a dog and not a burst bullrush)

Another vote for springers. I can't imagine having any other breed of dog. Great fun to walk, always doing something silly, generally brilliant with children (depending on breeding, training etc), look fabulous (and not at all gay), great sofa companions, very loyal.

Can be prone to food stealing, rabbit killing, cat chasing, and sitting in muddy puddles (or is that just mine).

NutterlyUts yes we have just recently got a Labradoodle, she is a lovely dog we've had her about 10 weeks and are first time dog owners.

You can get various sizes of Labradoodles depending on the size of Poodle that the Lab has been bred with.

You get various types of Labradoodle ours is a straight cross Lab X Poodle, they call this an F1, an F1 is more likely to moult than other generations but they will probably moult less than your average Lab, they then can breed them Labradoodle backcrossed with a Poodle, this is an F1b and has a far more Poodle like coat or breed Labradoodle with Labradoodle, obviously the further into the generations the more stable and predictable the coat etc.

However the best thing about our Labradoodle is her nature she is everything you would expect from a Labradoodle, friendly, loving, fun, bouncy, she just loves everyone and every dog she meets.

Being first time dog owners we didn't want a difficult to train dog and so far she has been fantastic they are very intelligent dogs who are eager to please and it doesn't take them long to pick up commands.

Crate training really helps with the chewing an despite initally misgivings (I thought it might be cruel to put a dog in a cage) I wouldn't be without our crate now, she goes in of her own choice at night and we put her in during the day if we are out.

The only thing I would say if you did decide to go for a Labradoodle would be to do your homework on the breeder this is a useful website. Hip and eye scores for both parents are important, also checking how often the breeder breeds from the female as this can impact of the health of the puppies.

Ooops! Sorry for rambling, I love my Labradoodle!

Oh and should also add that my DS1 was 8, almost 9, and DS2 5 1/2 when we got her, both of them at School, which gives the puppy a break from them.

Hi Mrs Spoon; am glad it's still going well for you

Thanks Wisteria, I've always wanted a dog and both DH and I are questioning why we didn't get one years ago, however it is still early days.

Soft haired wheaten terriers great dog look like old stieff bears don't shed hairs.Black cocker spaniels are a good in between sized dog and not as active as springers.

For a family dog, you can't beat Labs and Goldens - they love kids (if socialised and the kids are respectful), easy to train, and great fun.

Shetland sheepdogs are lovely- they do shed twice a year but not excessively and do not need grooming anywhere as much as you might think. They are not big dogs but not small yappy ratty things. Very intelligent, very playful, great with kids and need moderate exercise. I also find that they are really quite clean and never seem to smell. Think they are really gorgeous looking too. Look here

I'm teetering about getting a dog too, and would be a first time dog owner.

What is the verdict on those medium size poodles (is it the Miniature so not toy or standard)? Have always heard the mid size ones are not yappy, are extremely clever, don't need inordinate amounts of exercise, and don't drool/shed. Would it be a good family dog?

I imagine myself with a black or grey one with close clipped fur - NOT the carefully sculpted ones you see at dog shows...

I vote for a whippet, beautiful gentle dogs.

Mid size (not too poncy for hubby but small enough for you to control easily), quiet (ours never barks), gentle, great with kids, no slobber and short easy to clean fur which sheds very little. Contrary to popular belief they do not need loads of exercise as long as they get some free running and a nice reasonable walk each day, they are happy to curl up on the sofa and sleep all day. They are ok to be left home alone for a few ours (5hrs is the most i would leave him for) but i am lucky and get to take mine to work with me.

I wouldn't recommend anything collie related as these are super intelligent dogs that need loads of walking and stimulation.

Whippets forever!!

Oh good a dog thread.

There is a family campaign at 100 house for a dog. I am the person who is being campaigned AT rather than doing the campaigning.

Top of the list is a springer spaniel.

Just how much walking do they need?

Springer Spaniels are superb hardy little dogs.
I got my current one when she was 8 weeks old and the kids were 3 4 and 6.
I did nt appreciate how much muddy wet walking i d have to do each day and the paw prints id have to clean non stop , nor the kennel charges when we holiday or the not being able to be out of home for longer than 4- 5 hours a day!!!
However 12 years on she is still with us and has been a superb pet.
We now have 5 kids and 2 dogs , 7 pairs of wellies 7 pairs of walking boots and at least 20 old towels to dry them off especially at this time of year.
Be prepared and enjoy your pet !!!!

p.s at 12 years we still walk for about 40 mins to an hour in the morning and 30 mins in evening.
at weekends we go for a long walk when we can for about 2 hours and she keeps up even now and gives our 2year old dog a run for his money.

Another springer vote - mine gets 25 minutes off lead a day - he is mental.

he loves muddy puddles too

The cats sit on his bed and he doesnt even notice. When our godchildren came over they (unbeknownst to me at first) were putting Wotsits in his mouth and taking them out again. He just sat there looking at me to take him away (or give him permission to swallow the wotsits)

They do (mine does) tend to suffer with seperation anxiety so I rarely leave mine alone for more than an hour or two (he is very happy in the car). He sleeps on the floor at the foot of the bed and does not move all night.

They are generally useless with intruders (as they are very submissive to owner). They are very aware of their status in the pack and seem to need much less reinforcement of that.

And they can go a really long time without peeing

Extremely intelligent - when dog listener woman was on tv she showed how to see how intelligent your dog was by teaching it to 'dance' - my springer got it first time, once a year ago and if I say it now he still remembers it.