What breed do we want?

[Richocet]

Looking for some puppy advice. We want a dog, a puppy, have wanted one for ages and feel we are at the right point in our lives to be able to accommodate one. Hoping that you guys could give some suggestions if I explain a bit about our family....

We are a family of 5. Me, DH, and 3 DS aged 6, 3 and 1. DH grown up with dogs and has experience with working dogs. Me, no experience.

DH: Works full time.
Me: SAHM for at least the next 18 months and will then be attending a part time college course, going on to University.
DS's: All confident with dogs.

We live in a largish house in the countryside. Surrounded by fields after fields.

We holiday once a year, to France, on the ferry (we are 30 mins from the port) so possibly will take doggy with us.

We have lots of family, one family member in particular will be more than happy to help with dig sitting etc if needed.

So... what do you think?

Richocet - We are coastal too! Lovely for labs and retrievers

I'm sorry MrsJB I'm not sure I understand you. Do you mean no person or no dog needs two hours of walking a day?

Looking at that website it does say two hours plus, admittedly, but I would include daily play and training stimulation in that.

Pointy ie greyhound/whippet/Lurcher I have a Lurcher he was a rescue and we got him as a 12 week old pup. They love to run but one good walk a day and my boy is happy to laze around the rest of the time. If you have a short haired one you have few hairs to worry about. Ours has bee moulting for the last week and it's the first time we've noticed hair on our clothes but it's already stopping again. They love people and are as soft as butter.

Having said that I wouldn't do it with very young dcs, not due to any breed but just how time consuming having a puppy is.

I agree with everything Do said! Rescues all the way, majority of dogs in rescue have a full known history and are in rescue through no fault of their own. Greyhounds especially are fantastic with children although rubbish at playing fetch! I have 5 children 17 months-6 years, and a 2 year old lurcher and 4 year old Greyhound. We also foster greyhounds for our local rescue. Our last foster was a puppy, and really was hard work, so much so we gave her back before she got rehomed as we just couldn't cope. Give me an older dog any day though! What do you plan on doing with your dog when you are back at work/uni fulltime? You are better getting a dog that you know is used to being left for long periods, and has had a full assessment of its behaviour/temperament. It is unlikely your puppy will adjust well from having you home all day every day to never being there.

We got our dog as a 9 week old pup when my three children were exactly the ages that yours are. It has been an amazing success; PeanutButterDog is fantastic with all children and adults and has blended into family life really well. I'm a SAHM too so wouldn't have considered it if I was working--it was hard work at the beginning but absolutely worth it. We have the most wonderful pet...she's really a member of the family and goes everywhere with us. I'd recommend a medium sized dog that doesn't need too much exercise...ours needs about 1/2 hour twice a day (our school run) but I usually take her for a longer woodsy walk mid-day. I'd personally go for a non-shedding breed too as then you won't have hair to deal with. Ours came from a very reputable breeder with children so the pups had lots of experience with small people before going to their new homes. You'll probably have your house baby-proofed so that will work well for puppy too. Gate-off your kitchen and have a crate too so that pup can have a little den to escape to.

Good Luck!

Gundogs do need exercise and more than a half hour trot around the park!

However, there a some kennels/trainers who compete at high level in the gundog world who do not walk their dogs. They only ever take them out for training. The theory is that without free running they are able to keep their dogs keener and therefore achieve better placings in competition. Maybe that's the type of trainer referred to?

Not everyone subscribes to the theory and even those dogs who only go out to train go out for a good whack of exercise every day while they're training. Of course, training with the concentration levels required is pretty tiring for a dog....

PeanutButter- you don't mention the breed?

Richochet-she's a Westie.

The posters who say having a puppy is like having a newborn are absolutely right; it definitely is as much work but the hard part is over much more quickly and then you end up with a well-socialized, trustworthy adult dog that is used to fitting in to busy family life.

I grew up with a Cocker too, Thunder, and she was really sweet. Cavaliers are supposed to be nice too.

I also had a Parson Jack Russell growing up and she was a HANDFUL despite her neat size. They need lots and lots of exercise and stimulation.

All this said, I'm definitely pro-rescue too and look forward to doing that when my kids are a little older.

Thunder - since getting my pup we've met some lovely dogs in our local woods. The most lovely have been the cocker spaniels and that is definitely my next dog (whenever that may be!). I guess they'll become popular now that William and Kate have one (though he's working type).

I would also say a labrador, they are fantastic family dogs. Lots of exercise required though. Dh takes ours out running in the morning, dh covers around 10 miles, the dog covers about 30! On the plus side he does sleep all day afterwards (the dog not dh!) He is incredibly easy going but without a good walk he is a total pain. Posted this on about a million "which dog" threads now but we got a 1 year old rescue, tried and tested personality so great with the kids. Passed the accidents inside/chewing everything/nipping/jumping up stage so perfect for our family. Well worth considering IMO.

I've just been looking at a rescue site in Norfolk. There was a lovely looking lab on there that would have been perfect. Sadly, scrolling down the page, it said at the bottom that they don't rehome to families with children under eight and dogs are not to be used for working. I can understand their fears but surely each household would be judged individually? I'm sure a lab would love to come out and do a bit of picking up. That is their natural instinct. My dd's are two and five so we'd have a bit of a wait.

We have a cav x poodle mutt. she's placid, playful, friendly, not destructive and gorgeous. She's also difficult to housetrain, sensitive to tummy upsets, needs grooming every 10 minutes and loves people a bit too much. She loves everyone. The postman, some bloke bringing his bin up the yard, kids, octogenarians...she makes no distinction and bounds up to them all with her tail wagging and her paws outstretched. Before I broke my wrist taking her for a walk when it snowed a while back, I was getting massive muscles in the tops of my arms just from holding her back!

She's not pooed in the house for a month now, but for some reason she stooped and peed in front of the piano last night for no good reason...ggrrrrrr. Worse than having a newborn she is, but luckily, equally adorable. Be prepared for a bit of an emotional rollercoaster!

Get a lion.

Richocet, I think you've been given some great advice on breeds and having a puppy and i'm sure everything will work out really well for you.

The only thing I would ask is if you plan on going to uni and then back to work and your DH works full time, do you plan on getting a dog walker or using doggy day care or similar?

Hello.

We got our whippet puppy when the children were 3 and 5 and there were no problems at all. Whippets are very chilled out and extremely tolerant of small children. He is even tolerant of our cats (although chases other peoples, any small fury 'prey'). He is very lazy during the day but races about all over the place during walk times and loves to play with other dogs.

My friend got her black lab puppy when her children were little (same sort of ages and she has 3 kids) and he has been brilliant too. He has more stamina than a whippet and can handle much longer walks (although the whippet is happy for up to an hour - if he's lucky to get that long).

In my experience, both whippets and labs have turned out to be really good family dogs from puppies with small kids. Mind you, when our dog was a puppy he did have the habit of chewing the eyes off soft toys which, as you can imagine, didn't always go down well!