Thinking about getting a dog but don't know where to start...

[Playfortoday]

I grew up with dogs, but have never owned one as an adult. We're a family with three children (youngest five), I work from home and the longest a dog would be alone would be from 9-3 and this would be infrequent. We live in London, but have a garden and lots of parks nearby.

I have so many questions and I'm not sure where to begin. I'd be so grateful for any advice or steer especially about breeds.

1. Breed? I'm very taken with miniature schnauzers or something similar. That sort of size. Anybody know of any good reason not to get that breed? There are a lot of them about (every well-dressed man in my neighbourhood seems to have a grey one), which is both a good and bad thing. Or any similar sized recommendations very welcome.

1. Bitch or dog? What are the reasons for choice?

1. Where to get from? I presume I should go to a registered breeder. What websites are reputable (I keep coming up with various when I search). How best to approach this? How to plan a visit? What to look for etc? I obviously don't want to encourage any dubious puppy farming.

1. Why shouldn't I get a dog? I'm worried this is some sort of fur baby (am not going to have any more children) that I might regret.

1. Some of the hybrid dogs (e.g. schnoodle, jack-a-poo) are very endearing looking but is a bad idea to get a hybrid? Are they a fad? More likely to encourage puppy farming? MOre or less likely to have health issues?

1. What else should we be thinking about before embarking on what hopefully will be a happy and long relationship?

Thank you so much in advance.

The puppy vs rescue choice is a tough one. There are no guarantees either way, and in either case you need to find a trustworthy breeder or rescue. A trustworthy breeder will have bred for family temperament and will have gotten to know the puppies over the 8-10 weeks before the are rehomed. They should be able to suggest which puppy in the litter would be most suitable for a first time dog owning family - not too hyper, not too timid, not too bolshy, etc.

A trustworthy rescue will have its dogs assessed by a behaviourist and placed with a foster family long enough to get a good picture of the dog's temperament. They will then be honest about the issue you may need to overcome with a particular dog - I have a pet hate for rescues that only give tear jerker information about the dog's past and nothing about its actual character and suitability for different kinds of families. Of course many dogs have a sad past, but their future will be even sadder if they are rehomed with the wrong family. I also don't agree with 'no kill' policies, sometimes you have to be realistic, some dogs are too damaged to be safely rehomed.

By far the most difficult combination is a rescue puppy. Usually nothing is known about the dad, the bitch cannot be properly assessed while still with her pups as their character can change considerably with the hormones, the pupps may well be in a kennel not home environment and they won't have the attention spent on them that a good breeder should spend on them. I am sure there are exceptions to this this general rule, but they may be difficult to find.