Suggest me a dog! or another pet, please!

[QSthevampireslayer]

We are considering getting a dog. Our youngest son (3 1/2) loves animals, and dogs in particular. (I am not adverse to dogs, though I am more of a cat person.)

This is our family:
Me, dh, ds1 (7) and ds2 (3 1/2).

-We live in a semi rural area.
-We like to be active. We walk, we cycle, we go skiing.
-We like wildcamping, and sleeping in tent, we consider getting a campervan/boat
-We have a big house with wooden floors and not much in terms of soft furnishings.
-We have a garden, and live on the outskirts of the neighbourhood, backin onto the woods
-We like foreign travel, staying away for upto 6 weeks in summer

What dog (or other pet) would suit us? It goes without saying it needs to be child friendly with a nice temperament. It should not be a very small dog, so a yorkie is out.
It will need to fit in with/enjoy an active lifestyle.

Any suggestions?

cavalier king charles spaniel,i did a lot of research before we got a dog and these are the best for us

LOL at QS - my springer is forever crashing into walls and doors and knocks a lot of things over.

I love springers as a breed but they're not easy dogs unless very well trained. I've had 2 (still have one). My first was totally neurotic (and very intelligent) and was incredibly hard work. Even with lots of training and help from a behaviourist he was still a constant worry; he could not have lived with children at all. My other one is as thick as two short planks, wonderful with children (will tolerate them pulling his tail and ears and dressing him up) but is hard work around other dogs.

Starry, we recently got a border collie from a rescue centre and , omg, I'm so in love.

She is quite broken although gaining her confidence and is extremely gentle and sensitive, the love and loyalty she demonstrates towards us is remarkable and she's just the best companion for an early morning/late night walk on the beach.

Good Luck in your quest and hopefully you'll find the right dog.

They say a dog chooses you and I think that's very true, this dog set her cap at us and has fitted in brilliantly.

I refuse to use your new name, lol! I love border collies, absolutely adore them. My dream as a little girl was to have a white brown black collie. Like Lassie! It must be wonderful to snuggle into all that fur....

I am smitten with the Norwegian Elkhound, but I dont think we provide the lifestyle it requires. There were some puppies advertised from a local breeder, and he is planning to come into town to show them (not like in a dog show, but for potential buyers) next week. EEEEKK. elkhound

But I think a labrador retriever is a more family friendly choice?

At the risk of sounding really negative, wouldn't you expect a breeder of such a specialised breed to have a waiting list for puppies? And wouldn't you want to visit them to reassure yourself that you were buying a puppy from a good environment and friendly healthy parents?

Sorry, I don't mean to be on a downer about it, I just frequently see people get into a mess because of unscrupulous breeders or because a bit of excitement overrides their common sense

Thanks FM. Can you see I have never even thought about buying a dog before???