if you HAD to choose a breed of dog to be a family pet (plus a request for valhalla)

[thisisyesterday]

what would you choose?

I have been searching the archives like a good girl and found that everyone says "it's the dog not the breed", which is a very fair point.
however, i have to start somewhere

so if you were getting a dog and you wanted something that would be fairly calm, not too jumpy or excitable, good around children, smallish size and one that would be truly devoted to its owner..... what would you pick? or what would be your top 3?

I know I am asking you to generalise a lot but y'know, just humour me

o my god

i was looking on the many tears website after I saw someone else on her etalking about it

they have the most beautiful whippet/spaniel cross puppies... and 2 of them are curretnly being fostered in Crawley... which is where i live!!!!

that's SO meant to be right???
I am going to show them to DP in a minute and he will fall in love with htem and want one of them. won't he?

Definitely meant to be

Good luck.

how big do you reckon a whippet/springer cross would get?

When I am Queen I am going to make it a legal requirement that everyone has a Spaniel

My shorthaired dachs doesn't smell - I wouldn't think a whippet does either.
Its the ones with lots of hair, esp water lovers who get stinky.

Thisis, if you look on my profile I have a photo of our mutt. She is supposed to be springer collie x, but we (and our vet) think there is some whippet in her. I am 5ft4 and she come up to my knees standing, on a normal 3 seated sofa she curls into a ball and fits on one cushion, or if she is stretched out fully (dead dog!) she covers two. HTH.

Agree with Catinahairnet. A bulldog - sturdy, stocky, cute, loving, cuddly, appreciative. I adore my Bulldog, so does dh and he wasn't overly keen on having a dog.

He thinks that the dog has saved my sanity and given me something to look after.

The tantrum I had to get him was pretty impressive. The Georgian Restaurant in Harrods, 3 weeks before Christmas, packed full of Christmas shoppers and me throwing a Verucca Salt because they had Bulldog puppies in the pet department. Needless to say we didn't buy one from there, we found a breeder near us who takes Bulldog health very seriously.

Anyway he's 2 today and I love him sooomuch.

Do you know that, besides the myriad health problems inherent in brachycephalic breeds, bulldogs are all born by caesarean section because they are physically unable to safely birth puppies. So every bulldog puppy has resulted from a bitch undergoing an operation with all the risk and pain associated with it. :(

No doubt some breeders do take their business very seriously, but it is my opinion that the breed should not be perpetuated because of the impaired welfare of the dogs.

Yes, I am aware of that. Some bitches self whelp, lots more don't. For that very reason we had our boy neutered. Having said that I would have another Bulldog in a heartbeat.

I would have liked to have seen the Veruca Salt shrieking fit in Harrods

I agree with the poster upthread who said German Shorthair pointers are lovely. I had one as a child - it was the most beautiful dog, and was an angel in temperament. The best dog ever (sorry, Val, better than yours ). I would recommend one to anyone - I am always delighted whenever I see one out and about (they are pretty rare imo).

Greyhoinds, lurchers and salukis are also wonderful dogs, so beautiful and gentle. A friend has one - it owns her sofa and is all spindly legs! Adorable though.

I also like staffordshire bull terriers - such lovely expressive eyes and natures ime.

I don't really like small dogs - I think larger dogs have a gentler, less manic way about them in general.

I too would say a greyhound or a whippet!! lovey natured dogs! calm soft and gentle!

Can i also just say the this post (below) it the biggest load of bollocks i have ever read on this board!!

greengoose Wed 05-Oct-11 22:55:41
We have a German Shorthaired Pointer, and we got her as a pup when one DS was 6 and the other was 2. I chose the breed because the bite reflex has been bred out of them as retrievers, which means even if my now 4 yr old jumps on her tail, she will not bite. (She is meant to retrieve game without breaking its skin, and just WILL NOT bite). I would never trust a dog completely with children, but she has never done anything out of line. My 4yr old loves her totally, and although I am not a dog person, I also love her to bits.
Our vet says he is surprised that more families dont chose the breed, although they are not for first time dog owners perhaps, as they do need to be central to the family, and get sad if they are not fussed over.... they are also IMO the most beautiful puppy ever (huge ears)!

Any bloody dog can and will BITE HARD!!! if it needs to, say when a 4 year old jumps on its tail for example gundogs of ANY breed have not had there bite bred out of them no matter how soft mouthed they may be.

I would also say that even if it was 100% guaranteed that a dog wouldn't bite, it still wouldn't be OK to let children jump on their tail or otherwise hurt/annoy them!

We have had four Scotties now and all of them have been great with children, including two babies. The key is to be very firm when they're puppies about mouthing and biting and to include them in absolutely everything to do with family life. They love to nosey into all your family affairs, including babies' bath times, weaning (great favourite). They also need a lot of handing and schmoozing. But my children are both quite gentle, not boisterous types.

One of my loveliest memories is seeing one Scottie lying each side of my son, aged six weeks, who was lying on his back playing with his baby gym. The Scotties would nudge the bells to make them ring. When we put him out in the garden in his pram they'd lie beside him, just keeping him company.

Because they're small they are easy to put in the car and take out with children. They don't shed much or at all and you can get by with occasional professional haircuts and a bit of combing and cutting at home.

Now, the drawbacks. They are bloody-minded. Training them can be a long haul and you will never produce the same results as you would with other breeds. They are varminty dogs--bred to go off and do their own thing, catching rats and weasels without human intervention. That's what their instinct tells them you want. If a rabbit gets up on a walk every gene in their little black bodies will tell them to catch it. I keep my current Scottie on an extendable lead unless we are in open ground with no woods or crops. I would say you have to be a confident dog owner to have them. Even now, four Scotties in, we have had some BAD moments.

But they are amusing little dogs. They can give you looks like a maiden aunt or elder of the Church of Scotland would bestow on a badly-behaved hoodlum, and make you feel very foolish.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier!

Medium sized, low shedding easy care coat, hardy, very funny!

Perfect family dog if you ask me!

In response to RFS, for me the world would be a little duller place without bulldogs. They are fantastic dogs. It's also incorrect to say that ALL bulldogs are born by c section. Bulldogs do need owners that are aware of the potential health risks of owning one, particularly in keeping them fit and active, protecting them from excessive temperatures and keeping their skin and wrinkles clean. All dogs need a lot of breeder research, but bulldogs particularly so.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat. There is not one person who has met our Bully who hasn't fallen in love with him, such is his big personality and his wiggly butt! He's a joy to own and has been nothing but a huge positive in our family.

It's not that bulldogs aren't charming dogs. I have the good fortune of knowing several and they are lovely. I just have a problem with the production of animals which suffer because of the abnormalities which humans have bred into them. The vast majority are born by caesarean simply because the risk to the bitch and puppies is so great when the bitch is allowed to labour, not to mention the financial implications to the breeder of a litter of dead pups being the outcome of an expensive assisted mating. It's just distasteful. And I speak as someone who encounters bulldog breeders on a professional basis.

Cavalier
Cavalier
oh and a
Cavalier :D

TVRD

And have done this twice now, though not quite got the second one yet (tomorrow!). They both happen to have been/be lab crosses.

My brother has a German Pointer, and although he is annoyingly mouthy (aged 3) with adults, when excited, he is unerringly soft and gentle with all children, including 1.5 yr old who adores him. He's huge though.

OP - a whippet/springer cross will be approx a medium size dog. impossible to be more accurate.

i would say though if your dh is not as keen as you that a puppy will be a lot harder work than an adult dog. is dh up for all the toilet training, chewing, adolescence for 12-18mths? of course he has to be on board before rehoming any dog but an adult rescue may be less work/more appealing to him? it is for me

I do think there are people who love terriers, hounds, gun dogs, lap dogs, exotics, etc. etc.
It is worth you both deciding the breeds or x-crosses you like, and then researching. Mind you I asked the breeder of my Bedlington/whippet cross, which breed she would take after, said, 'I don't know could be either'. She is more whippetty than terrier. Her greatest fault is she still rolls in unmentionable things given half a chance. She frequently has to be doused in 'Parfum de disinfectant'! She is gorgeous, looks like a minature Deerhound, does not shed nor need clipping like the Bedlington. 2nd generation whippetty lurchers are also great. She is about to follow the Bedlington in assessment as a PAT dog.
My dogs were brought up with a Burmese, so are cat safe, too frightened to be otherwise. Her successor, a rescue tailless tortie has the same effect.
I really like Westies, Border Terriers, Bichons and Pugs because of their attitude: friendly, confident, and together.
Have you thought about walking dogs from the local rescue, it will give you an idea about types you like, and also flaws. You will need to be hard hearted though!
So: Bedlington or Bedlington/Whippet x, gentler terriers, Bichons.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Why would you have any other dog?

Staffordshire bull terrier. There is no other breed for me. Loving, cuddly, not smelly (they have their own special smell which is almost sweet) very tolerant of small children. Utterly loopy as pups but loads of fun. They will happily play all day then curl up on the sofa with you in the evening. Hardy health wise and no grooming, barely any shedding. Our old dog used to get pushed round the street in a dolls pram, he would jump in and wait for us when he knew we were going out to play.

I would never have a proper breed again. I love my mutt.