Would like breed suggestions please for our family.

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We have considered having a dog for a long while now and have decided to wait until after our holiday in June.
We have 2 children and 2 cats. I will be home all day and our 7 year old has already started reading about what dog care is

Im not happy with a dog like a staff (althought there are tons in our RSPCA place). Would like a collie but know they need a lot of exserice and think we would only get 3 walks in a day.
We go camping on holiday so need a dog that would be ok to take with us, so nothing too huge.

Any suggestions? Are we better to get a RSPCA one or we have a small local resuce centre nearby too.
Would rather not have a puppy, but one that is house trained would be good, so thinking between 6-12 months old?

Any hints? We grew up with dogs but this will be our first as our little family and certainly has had a lot of thought.
TIA

We have 3 labradoodles, they are absolutely fab, love everyone, dont shed and dont have a mean bone between them. BUT they do like lots of exercise and are very smart! If you want a bit less energetic and smaller my vet friend always said get a border terrier.

Other thing is if you get a rehomed dog make sure you know why it has been rehomed. Dog no 3 was a rehomed present and she ate an entire sofa before she settled down

ok good idea. I love the labado's they look lovely and love labs anyways. Im not keen on small yappy dogs as DD2 still only young and would like one she cant pick up

Its hard to advise on breed as each dog is so individual - for us, standard dachshund is perfect as its smallish, clean, good lapdog, exercise anything between dash round the garden to scaling a mountain. And if you want something to keep you warm in a sleeping bag, perfect, no awkward long legs sticking into you

Once you've got some ideas as to some breeds that might suit, can I recommend you look at the breed websites - we found our current dog aged 10 months that way, he'd not made show standard so needed a pet home but he was housetrained, very well socialised and used to kids by that point - young but a known quantity. So that sort of route might suit you well.

Why not a SBT? A proper rescue center will go through everything with you and ensure you are matched with a dog most suited to your family anyway. There is no point chosinga breed. You are best off to be chosing the dog that is right for you, regardless of breed.

Please don't turn down a Staff just because of the bad press they have had. Do a bit of reading about the breed (outside the realms of The Daily Mail) and you will realise that a SBT could be an ideal family pet. They are very good with young children.

Greyhounds and Whippets are also very good family pets. As are Labs.

we had a greyhound/whippet as kids she was lovely. SBT because ime they are very strong dogs and my DD was knocked over by one too. I know they are a good bred but I cant get passed my feelings towards them
Good idea about choosing dog that fits well, and tbh Im not in need of one with papers either, just a family pet.

I heart my bulldog! Loyal, cuddly and half an hour twice a day is plenty of exercise for them. They snore like a man though! I had flu a couple of weeks ago and he slept outside my bedroom door and guarded me till I felt better!

He has stolen my heart!

A rescue greyhound/ lurcher might suit you well. they are generally great with kids and soft lazy dogs who will walk when you want, but will be happy not to if it is raining, IME! Only problem might be your cats, but many of them are cat-friendly. Worth contacting GAL I think.

If that's not really your thing, definitely worth a visit to your local rescue centre. the age group you are looking is usually fairly well represented- ie the dog is no longer a little tiny fluffy puppy and people lose interest

Personally, I would avoid a collie, especially a farm-bred one, in a family with small children. I know loads of people will come on indignantly telling me how wonderful their collie was, but in 15 years of vetting I have seen more collies put to sleep/ rehomed for nipping than any other breed. I think the reason for this is that collies are hugely intelligent dogs which need a LOT of stimulation, not just exercise. They benefit from being able to use their brains at agility training or the like, and they often don't seem to get the attention and stimulation they need in a family situation. They are wonderful dogs, but are really at their happiest when they can work, IMO. I have known many of them who, never having worked sheep in their life, will automatically herd things- including small children! Years ago, I heard a story about one of my patients who went out one day and brought home a sheep into the flabbergasted owner's garden- tried to get it up her front steps! They need a lot more time and attention than other breeds- again just my opinion/ experience.

One last word of advice- DO NOT get a beagle! I have 2, and I love them dearly (they are 10 and 15!) but I doubt we will get another one- it's looking like a lurcher/ pointer for us next time round!

One other thing labradoodles can be pretty big! Eldest is 40kg much bigger than a lab, no 2 is about 30kg and puppy dog who is just 1 yr is about 30kg and as tall as dog one. They are all bitches, who are supposed to be slightly smaller. Thats a lot of dog if you have a smallish house. We live out in the country and have enough room for them all, but there is still an awful lot of dog action in my house

we have a puppy training school in next village and dog agility classes too. We also have a dogwatch group here too and we have a woods behide our house and a massive park at the front, with more huge woods.
Now a question for you, my sisters dog used to howl at night or whent hey were out, is that down to training or are some breeds worst at it than others.

We have a patterdale x, we got her at a year old from rescue. She is fantastic with the DCs, is very friendly/daft, puts up with all kinds on torture, in return she likes to sleep in my bed and moults quite a bit.

She was very timid at first but came on really well over the first year or so. Would definately get another. She likes a walk but doesn't like to go out in the wet and will happily just use garden for toileting.

I would say some breeds are more prone to separation anxiety than others- beagles are particularly bad (), but there are things you can do to combat it in. I wouldn't say it is a training problem, more a trait that some dogs are more prone to, but it can be helped/ minimised with training iyswim!

i have a staffy and they are, without doubt, the best breed in the world! ok, i admit i may be slightly biased.

anyway, if you don't want one of these wonderful creatures then border terriers are a great little dog, lots of character and make good family pets.

If you want a specific breed and don't mind waiting a bit (you would have to if you wanted a pedigree anyway, tbh) then the best place to look is probably the breed rescues in your area. They will have dogs that they may have picked up out of other rescues/pounds and also know of dogs that breeders are rehoming, either as they have been returned to them or because they kept more than one pup to show and decided not to keep one of them. 'Failed' show ring dogs are excellent to have, as they will have been well socialised, walk very well on a lead and they will have also been taught to stand nicely, which is helpful for vet visits etc.

As for breeds, if you like labs, why not look at labs? Or, (and I am biased!) Golden Retrievers? Goldens are wonderful family dogs and very, very easy to have around. You would be welcome at any campsite, or anywhere else, with them as everyone loves them so much.

I have a labrador and he is pretty big and active great with the kids and very sturdy with my boisterous 4 yo my mum has a cavalier king Charles and he is a bit big for a small child to pick up but he is not yappy great temperament.

So if you want a fairly big dog I would go or a Lab (although Labradoodle with no or little shedding sounds good) but if you want a smaller dog I would go for a spaniel and there are so many different spaniel's that they come in a range of sizes.

There are a few spaniel and Lab rescue centers around you could look one up and get one near to you.

It makes me to think people would turn down a SBT, they are the most wonderful dogs! They aren't all wide, huge muscular dogs, you children are just as likely to get knocked over by a boisterous Lab as a staff, Labs are big dogs!

We chose our SBT because of their affinity with children, their short coat, their medium size,high pain threshold (needed with a clumsy toddler!) etc, perfect family dog for us!

I absolutely adore mine!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, there are so many dogs in rescues, hope you find the right one for you soon!

We've just got a Collie Springer Cross from the Many Tears rescue centre and she is the best buy ever!

The intelligence of a collie (16 weeks old and already Sit, Stay, Wait, Fetch, Bring, Find and more) and the absolute madness of a Springer! She is a complete joy and my 5 yr old adores her.

She needs a lot of walking - she never gets tired - but throwing a ball for 1/2 hour seems to satisfy her.

Previously we had a Jack Russell Corgi Cross and she was great too - very possessive and protective over DD but got more grumpy as she got older.

Any breed really can be good with children and cats, it depends on how they have been socialized, it's hard to pinpoint certain breeds as everybody has their own preferences. Staffies do generally have very happy playful temperaments though, and are also robust enough to play rough with kids and not too big. How they are with cats obviously is like all other dogs, if they are used to them. I personally wouldn't leave any dog unattended with a cat though.

Most people would say terriers are a no no for cats with good reason as it is their instinct to hunt small things, but I know terriers who live with cats no problem, again it all depends on the individual. Same with greyhounds, lots of them do get on with cats, they definetly make great pets around children and all of the ones I've met seem to be good in the car.

I'd say check out your local rescues and see if they have any thing to suit if you haven't got a particular breed in mind.

Can't offer anything in addition to all the great points above. I think at the end of the day your future dog will pick you!!! (they have a way of weedling their way into our lives!)

Have you had a look on www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?

Dog rescue pages - they have pages and pages of dogs and also links to lots of rescues that might be in your area. Hopefully most responsible rescues will carefully match your families needs with your future doglet to find you the perfect one

I've got two collie crosses, and regularly do agility with them- fantastic fun, and lovely for the children too. Any breed of dog can enjoy agility - you wouldn't need to get a collie or collie cross to be able to have lots of fun with them doing training and agility etc

one final thing - whatever dog you find, be prepared for the first few weeks being a bit unsettled. Like any animal or person that we welcome into our lives they all take a while to settle into our families and adapt to our boundaries and expectations- however well they've been trained previously, and whatever their background is Just wanted to mention it so you don't feel dismayed if the first few weeks are a little bit crazy!

Good luck in finding you lovely new little doglet

I'd make a list of potential breeds, then contact their breed rescues to find out about the pros and cons of each. If you decide on a breed, meet lots of dogs of that type and spend some time with them.
All breed have their pros and cons, you just need to work out whats important to you as a family.

Also if you consider a rescue dog, try and find out as much as possible about the dogs background, as has been mentioned. It'll help you get the dog settled with fewer hiccups.

ok, we have made decision. We are getting a .... labadoddle my friend dog is preggy with these and my dh feels a puppy is better as we will know history and cats are less likely to be put off.
We will have him/her end of June so have loads of time to settle her in, make sure we are insurand and sign up for puppy classes very excited here

Congratulations! Has your friend's dog and the father been hip, eye and ideally elbow checked? It doesn't rule out future problems but is important.

Ours loves the three cats very dearly, unfortunately the feeling is mutual! But there is progress with two of them, there has been nose touching recently which is definitely a step forward.

Have a look at UK Labradoodle forum, there is a thread called 'Snuggles' which follows a litter from pre-birth to now (they are 10 months). Very long but worth a read as gives a good taster of life with a Labradoodle puppy.

she has the father and mother, and they are in good health

How very exciting, especially knowing both the Mum and Dad, roll on June! I know you can't completely generalise but they generally have lovely temperaments and are great with children. Mine has just been playing fetch with DS's friend who is 6. With me she is a bit prone sometimes to getting a bit excited and jumping for the ball before she should. With him she was good as gold as she was with a three year old who came to stay at the weekend, sat beautifully everytime she squeaked 'sit' at her.

my biggest fear is house training him/her? I remember my mum and dad laying down papers and slowly moving them to the door and then outside, but ensuring walks as much as possible, is that still best way?