how do we find a little, child-friendly dog (up to 1 year old) in Wimbledon area?

[ErnesttheBavarian]

My sil is keen to get a small dog, ideally one that doesn't shed hairs as she has a cat allergy and wants to avoid this. She has 2 small children (age 3 & 5) she has never had a dog before, but has been thinking about this for a long time.

She was looking at a cavadoodle/cavapoo. (?) (I personally am not keen on pedigrees, though I know as it is a cross, this type isn't a pedigree, but I think it falls into a similar problem of inherited health problems - I am no expert though. I encouraged her to look more at a rescue dog, a little mongrel).

She has looked at Battersea Dogs Home, but there weren't any dogs there that seemed to meet her family's needs.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for her? What does use need to look for, be aware of as a first time dog owner, and where does she find this little dog? Thanks

If she's considering a rescue, she might want to try the Dogs Trust centre in west London (out towards Uxbridge), they usually have more variety of dogs than Battersea.

I am very allergic to cats and for that reason got a bichon frisé dog. Small, very intelligent (so training was easier), doesn't shed, and my bichon was very very good with children. They do not like to be left alone and are very much a lap dog, so if the dog would be left alone for long periods of time, then this is not the correct breed for your SIL.
I know some pedigrees can have health issues, but if you go to a reputable breeder hopefully the risk of too much inbreeding will be reduced.

She died in March at the age of 9

best of luck with the search.

My dp has a cat allergy, but is fine with dogs.

If she is considering a rescue, she should be prepared to go to lots of different rescue places to find a suitable dog, it is very rare to walk in to one and immediately find the perfect dog that will fit your requirements (just as getting a dog from a breeder will also take a long time).

When we got both of our dogs we spent a lot of time looking at dogs from many different rescues until we found dogs we were happy would be a good match for us.

Battersea btw is a pound, not a rescue, so whilst they do behavioural assessments, should the worst happen and you need to return the dog, this would not be an option there as they are not no-kill.

I would say go in with a completely open mind about the type of dog you want, but be completely honest about what you need i.e. children, working hours, likely changes in circumstances etc etc and listen to the advice from the rescue staff. I know someone went to our local greyhound rescue and wanted a specific dog because it shared her birthday, despite the rescue telling her the dog was too boisterous for her, they agreed to let her have an overnight home trial with the dog, who was returned to the kennels within 3 hours!

What do people think in rescue vs pedigree debate?

Sorry, meant to say thank you for advice so far, and takingthestsirs, Sorry about your Little dog :(. Our Hamster is suddenly seriously poorly and I am devastated. I should talk her out of it, it's devastating:(

As a potential adopter with no previous experience of dog ownership and a child under 4 your sil may have a job tracking down a suitable rescue. It's by no means impossible but it may take a bit of time and some patience before the right dog comes along. She also needs to be prepared to travel to widen her options.

DogsBlog is worth a look, you can select to view by age or breed which is very handy.
Also The Mayhew they do have lots of Staffys but don't let that put her off, other dogs do come in to and they look at each family on an individual basis.

If she decides against rescue she needs to do her homework and make sure any breeders she goes to have done the health checks required for their breed as an absolute minimum. Breeders of the fashionable crossbreeds rarely do even this much. Also there are a lot of scams and puppy farmed dogs out there so she needs to stay clear of the classifieds at all costs.

I would say that most of the rescues in the London/South East area have an overload of staffies and similar breeds, not that I have anything against them but not what you're looking for. Look on manytears.co.uk - they have hundreds of dogs - all types and sizes - and they seem to give very honest assessments of temperament, what sort of household would be suitable etc. They also have loads of puppies, some pure-breed, some crossbreeds. For example, they're got a lovely chocolate labrador puppy on there now who wasn't sold because it has a white "flash" on its chest - unbelievable! Also some sweet little Bichon Frise puppies. They charge £180 for their dogs so a hell of a lot cheaper than buying from a breeder. You also get a feel good feeling because you're taking a rescue dog! I would also look at Sirius Dog Sanctuary - they are based in Cyprus but fly dogs into the UK. They can advise on costs but I would imagine around £300 for smallish dog. They have some wonderful puppies at the moment (I'm a sucker for spending hours on those websites!). They have a lovely papillon mix called Weston, a lovely small dog called Cherry and a miniature lab retriever called Snowy. Have a look and good luck!

Oops, forgot to mention Pro Dogs Direct (prodogsdirect.org.uk) They are based in South East and have a real mix of dogs to choose from. I'm sure you can register with most rescues and then they can contact you if a suitable dog comes along...