Best small family dog?

[kitchendevil]

Love to hear what small dog we should get. We have a small garden, children 8,6, 5 and 2, and don't like dog smells or hair. Other than that, we love them...

We had a westie and it was a bloody nightmare - don't get one of those - ran off eventually and we never saw it again.

Cocker spaniel - there's a reason they're so popular, not too big, brilliant with kids, intelligent and easy to train, a little bit daft... I always think of them as having a big dog temperment in a small/medium dog's body.

We must have been lucky then, our beagle is always off the lead and has never run off. I've never heard her howl either. My dd is 14 months and she climbs in and out of her bed over the top of the dog and everything, the dog doesnt bat an eyelid. Gentle and soft as they come

Cockers - well all spaniels IME stink to high heaven!

thanks rebelmum - don't want to do huge walks each day. (15 minutes walk to school plus a bit). was thinking of a terrier but frankly don't need another stubborn creature in our house. no, never had a dog but used to dog walk anything that would come with me as a child. had been thinking of a wheaten terrier...

to be honest I wouldn't worry too much about the smell! you soon get used to it

Please check out a whippetwww.onyxxwhippets.com/whippetinfo.htm. Someone has to get one, I had one and it died and now I have two mental collies. I want a whippet. (singyswife throws tantrum and stomps off in the huff).

I think I'd steer clear of terriers then!

Here are some of the breed selectors - remember though, they are only a guide! But once you've got some breeds you can go and find out more about each one and decide whether it might suit or not:

purina breed selector

animal discovery selector

iams selector

select-smart

And again, I just want to say that these things are not perfect, but might get you thinking about different breeds!

HTH

singyswife....whippets look so weird....

www.msrnorthwest.org/ I have one of these. He dosen't really smell at all, he dosen't shed hairs and is great with the children and so lovable.

a Miniature Schnauzer

Am def in a strop now, Whippets are gorgeous. I will leave the whippet mentioning alone now and go tidy dd's room.

schnauzer, hmmm. you have to ask why there are so many up for adoption. they look good, I'll give you that.

singswife is right, you need a whippet.

A whippet is the one for you.

weird?. How can you say that?

That's an american site. I have been looking to adopt one for a couple of years and haven't found one. .

I only want to adopt because I can't aford to buy another. Since they win at Crufts all the time and have become popular the price has shot up.

I want a chiauah (sp?) or a Pug they are sooooooooooooo cute!

That Wippet looks so cute.

...and look at this lovely gentle face