the dog of the future

[Sharpcattlegridheavyhat]

Hi everyone,

We recently lost our beloved cavapoo, who was so good with our 1 year old twins and our toddler who adored him. We live in the country and life very much revolved around activities with him so life feels kind of flat without him.

We’ve since decided to move to a house in the town. To cheer myself up about losing him, I’ve thought about the type of dog we could get in a couple of years when the twins are about 3ish. But do requirements change when you live in a town with a smaller garden? Should I be looking for quieter breeds that don’t bug the neighbours- are there any?!! The dog would be with us all the time but our other one would bark when anyone arrived and if he saw new people! Should I look at less energetic dogs? I of course would still walk him/her a lot.

If you live in a town, what type of dog do you have, and is it a different choice to if you were living rurally?

I would say as you had a cavapoo before, a cavachon might be a good option. Not massively different but quieter.

Cavalier x Bichon frise? I didn’t realise they were quieter- thanks that might be a good option! I’d love to go for a rescue dog but am unsure with not knowing it’s background if that would be a good fit for young children.

Just been to whitstable for the weekend and everyone was walking their dogs, I really miss him!!! The past few weeks I’ve found it a good distraction just imagining what we could have.

Can't say I chose my dog! He rather found me...

I see a surprising number of Great Danes and Leonbergers, and even a couple of Irish Wolfhounds on my walks in inner London. I have no idea where they're putting them!

I'd look at less energetic dogs, but only because you've got young children. The exercise requirements of my JRT x simply wouldn't be compatible with having young children who can't walk for miles, for instance, but that's not a town/country thing, it's a time / how far can children walk thing.

That’s true. Dog walks were always dependant on how many adults were around- just me was double buggy down the country lanes with dog on the lead or if two of us with the twins in the backpacks across the fields. If my older one was home there’d be more challenges!

So yeah I hear Great Danes don’t need huge amounts of exercise- but yeah might be a bit massive for us! Love them though!

To be honest any breed has the possibility to be noisy, it's all in the individual pup's temperament and training. You also have to be mega careful if you choose a fashionable crossbreed that you don't end up with an expensive health nightmare of a dog, there's too many super dodgy breeders out there.

A regular Cav who comes from a sensible breeder whose done all the health checks and trying to avoid all the normal Cav health issues might be one route. They are great little family dogs if you can get past the health issues.

I work in Central London and see everything from Chihuahuas and Pomeranians to Ridgebacks and Golden Retrievers. When I lived in Camden there was someone who would walk a massive elderly Great Dane.

By the way can I ask how you found yours (or he/she found you) Avocados? Was he a rescue?

I think many dogs bark when people arrive, when they're being playful etc. The difference is if they bark constantly when left.
I'm in a flat & have had several different breeds (fosters). If they're exercised well & have plenty of mental stimulation it's not really a problem. Obviously I wouldn't have a giant breed in a small flat, but energy levels tend to match owners not houses

Yeah I’d definitely be happy with a scruffy unfashionable little dog... as long as the neighbours didn’t hate us! I assume the rescue route favours families with much older children...

Yeah maybe I’m overthinking it. I work from home so it would be my companion all day when everyone starts school, I have the odd occasion I have to go to meetings but nothing much.

Bit of a lengthy story as to how he came to be with me, but in a nutshell he belonged to a friend who was emigrating to another continent and it was decided that he'd be better off staying with me as I'd been doing the vast majority of the dog care anyway.

He's an unfashionable cross I would never have considered, and I've spent a lot of time working on his behavioural issues, but he's coming along very nicely and I wouldn't swap him for anything.

London living person here! 2 pugs and a small garden. They don't want to go for a walk every day twice a day but I do take them. They're content with a little stroll round the block for 15minutes twice a day but we do go to the park for longer walks on the weekend - they're very old now but when younger they'd go for an hour or so if you were worried about lack of outside time with your children. Though they refuse to fetch and tend to be happy running along with you rather than heading off by themselves on walks.

They're very relaxed with children and are patient and quite funny - they do moult though and need a decent weekly brush. There are always down sides to every breed and MN seems to hate these 'designer breeds'.... but they've been around for a very long time and my two are well suited to city life. They do like company though.

From your topic heading I thought you were asking what futuristic dogs would be like. I was thinking won’t poop, won’t bark and could go into a state of hibernation when you go on hols. Alas, was not the case.

My sister has a cavachon and is certainly not quiet. My rescue only barks when the postman dares to post something through or a stranger comes in. She stops barking after a few barks so is quiet compared to the cavachon. My mum has a poochon and barks at everything that moves

The problem with a lot of ‘city type’ designer breeds is that they can’t breathe properly, their eyes protrude more than is healthy and they often have other problems on top.

Yeah crap heading isn’t it! And now I wish I’d started a futuristic dog thread too. Anyway! I want all of your dogs, the JRT x, the pugs and the Great Danes...

Yeah I would be worried about the health concerns.

Rescues will generally prefer kids over 5-10 years old depending on the dog. Some may consider younger if the kids are dog-friendly and they have the right family dog in.

There's always a good ol'Staffy!

It would be great to get a rescue. I could look into what they’d allow. It would be madness to get a dog right now as everyone’s only just learnt to walk and stuff! But in a few years....sigh...

OP smaller, independent rescues tend to take family situations case by case i've found, so don't necessarily rule out younger children. Been a foster here since DD was 10 weeks old (she's nearly 6). I break all the 'rules' - flat, no garden, under 5, worked PT. Never had a problem 🙂

Ooh that’s good to know! Thanks!

Any rescue, big or small, SHOULD work on a case by case basis rather than a blanket rule. You do have to prove yourself though as they'll get a lot of idiots through the door who want the moon on a stick but have no idea what they're doing. If your kids have already been around dogs and understand not to stick hands in mouths or mess with a sleeping dog, then you're already a step ahead. Dogs who are small child friendly tend to be reserved and rehomed within days and may not even be there long enough to get online.