What breed of dog makes a good family pet?

[McDreamy]

My only stipulation is it mustn't smell as much as a labrador but must have the same temprement - is that possible?

cocker spaniel,not sure what you mean about labs smelling though

border terrier - cutie pies.

rescue greyhound
Boxer - known for being very docile dogs, and especially good with children.

This is me saying that and I don't trust any dog! My fave would be a border terrier though. Small dogs are less likely to as much physical damage as larger dogs, having smaller jaws and all.

ANY breed can make a nice pet. There are no hard and fast rules, which is a pain in the bum for you but good for the dogs. Depends how you treat them, how they've been bred and how they have been treated in the past, amongst other things.

I'm a rescuer and past and present GSD owner and past SBT cross owner and have fostered both too. They were/are all perfect pets, yet some families wouldn't touch them and consider them risky. I also know some very un-family friendly dogs which people might normally consider ideal breeds.

I'd advise that you do the following:

1. Decide if you ALL really, really want a dog and can cope with one/are prepared to put in the effort for many years to come/ can afford one/have back up for holidays and illness etc. Sounds obvious and patronising, but all too often this isn't done and dog and owners suffer the consequences.

1. Decide what suits you and your home/set-up/finances. Take into account free time, working hours, willingness to commit to things like daily grooming if necesssary, ages of DC, other pets, size of house, location (town/village?), willingness and ability to train or whether an older rescue dog who is already house trained and behaviour trained is for you, food/vet bills etc.

1. Look at breeds you like which fit your criteria. Read up,consult breed rescue for advice (you don't have to adopt from them, they'll help anyway), ask questions of other owners and breed and rescue forums, consider a mongeral or crossbreed too. Then write a shortlist and whilst still keeping it in the back of your mind, rip it up.

Why?

1. Go looking with an open mind. I've said it loads of times before, but when I lost my collie X girl at age 12, whom I'd had since she was 8, I went off looking for a similar girl of about 6.

I ended up finding my perfect dog... a 9yo long haired white GSD boy!

As I said, there IS no hard and fast rule as to what makes an ideal family dog. It's really all about what would make the ideal dog for YOU and what YOU can offer HIM.

1. Take your time.

HTH, a bit, at least!

Val

Agree with Val.

We have a Jack Russell and if you read the books they are not recommended with small children. We chose the breeder carefully and met both parents. The breeder helped us chose the pup with potentially the best temprement to be a family pet. He is very true to his breed in some respects (yapping...) but is otherwise very soft and interacts nicely with the kids.

Dashchund, gorgeous dogs, beautiful temperment, really long ears

Retired Greyhounds are great pets. Very docile and placid. Great with kids.

Most breeds make good pets if you have time and commitment to train.
I breed and foster, go to see the breeder and if they don't ask you lots of questions don't get the dog. The best breeders are the ones who want to make sure that the dog is going to a good home.
Same applies to rescue centres.

daschund

border terrier

Golden Retriever.
Lots of hair, tho.

We had a Belgian Shepherd (Terveuran) who was fantastic with our children and very protective.