Help choosing family pet

[mzcracker]

My husband and I have been discussing the idea of getting a dog for about 2 years now .He's a massive dog lover, I love animals but have always had cats, Dh is allergic.
We have 2 dcs, they are 11 and 3. I have had a few discussions with friends who are involved in rehoming rescues and have been told that many people won't rehome a dog with a family with under 5's.
So unless I've been incorrectly informed it's looking likely that we will get a pup.
I'm really just looking for some advice as someone who's never had a dog but had loads of pets.
What breed is best for families?
I have a large garden, live near lots of lovely areas for walking, I work from home so have time to invest in training, walking, grooming etc.
I'm just a complete newbie when it comes to dog breeds and temperament.
Any advice is welcome.

I'm not sure about rescue centres unfortunately as our puppy was from a breeder, however I can tell you about our lovely dogs breed.

She's a cavalier king charles spaniel. I have two young children (1 and 3) so a family dog was very, very important to us.

These are my positives and negatives from owning one, of course any breed needs lots and lots of research into, and chatting to as many people from the individual breed clubs as possible to get the best picture

Positives:

• incredibly affectionate and especially adores children
• easy coat matinanace
• Small breed, easy to take along with us where ever we go.
• loves to sleep on our laps when we're watching a film or sitting down
• not highly energetic so easy to take on walks with the children (although she is just as happy to go on long walks too!)
• easy to train, very obedient
• loves our cats
• settles down indoors very easily
• loves running around and playing with the children.
• outgoing never shy nor nervice
• she loves anyone and everyone
• amazing companion dogs

Negatives:

• health problems. The health problems in this breed are heart breaking. You must be so careful about selecting a breeder who does DNA tests ect and even then there's no guarantee against the heart conditions or syrengamyelia (sp?)

Good luck in your search!

Sorry I meant to upload this picture too

What an absolutely gorgeous dog!
That really does sound quite perfect for us.
I'm trying to do as much digging for info as I can, as for the health issues it's one of the things that I'm really conscious of.
I've read a lot of certain breeds can have serious medical problems due to overbreeding because they are 'trendy' at the moment, pugs for example. But I may be completely wrong!
Thank you for giving me a bit to think about :)

Some rescues won’t rehome with under fives, some day it on a case by case basis...how 3 is your 3 yr old because tbh if they’re 3 1/2 then you’d likely not be getting a dog from a decent breeder till they’re 5 anyway. Decent breeders have waiting lists for planned litters at least a year beforehand.

As far as breed goes if you go that route - are you having to factor your DH’s allergies in at all? Because that’s a hard one, some people do react more or less to different breeds, but it’s not usually related to whether they shed or not.

How much walking do you want to do? How much grooming?

What do you want from a dog? Fairly active and playful or something that will mostly sleep between walks?

Does size matter particularly?

Hi tabula my dd is 4 in November, she's fairly clever and very affectionate and used to being alone a lot of the time since her brother is quite a bit older.
I think my husband and I are of the opinion that a dog will be good for her, we both had pets growing up and feel it's good for children.
I haven't much experience of dogs but I would imagine 2/3 walks per day is realistic and doable for me.
None of us have dog allergies. It seems to be only cats my dh has problems with.
We are a fairy active family so walking and exercising an active dog wouldn't be an issue, my only consideration here is that my dd can be a little bit wary and nervous around over bouncy, excitable dogs but that's to be expected.
Personally I'd prefer a small/medium breed over a big dog.

You say you'd prefer a small dog but I'd really go with temperament over size. You can find some small dog temperaments aren't as calm as some large dogs - it does depend on each breed though and there are exceptions.

We've got two labradors with a three year old and nine year old children. Yes they're big, but they're also robust enough to be really confident around small kids and also calm. I love the way they're so nice natured, I've had to teach my kids aggressive dog body language via YouTube videos because they've never seen ours growl or snarl. They genuinely adore the children and vice versa. So don't rule out in terms of size, there's nothing like a big dog to cuddle up to! (Although my daughter has a single bed and prefers our ten year old bigger lab for a cuddle on there, it's a tight squeeze!)

You're right about over breeding, the short nose breeds are full of health problems. The pug I knew died at the age of eight, had skin issues because of the folds, and breathing issues. My dogs next to him looked really healthy in comparison - I feel really sorry for those fashionable overbred dogs. Our two year old dog is a result of an accident, and came from a much loved family dog, as did our eldest, and I think those early experiences are really important when it comes to having a well adjusted calm dog. Always see the mum or both parents if possible. It'll give you an idea as to what you're going to end up with!

Maltese are really cute and don't shed hair and are OK with people with asthma. They are people pleasers' and love children and are intelligent so can learn tricks.

@thecatsabsentcojones thank you for your advice! I've definitely not ruled out any larger breeds, like I say I have loads of space and a decent sized garden. I live semi- rurally I guess you could say..loads of open space and good walks and it's a really dog friendly area. The reason for my preference is simply iv never had a dog and so my thinking is I may be more confident with a smaller dog? Does that make sense?
Chocolate labs are absolutely beautiful though and that was one of our options when we first discussed it.

Definitely taking on board all the advice..really useful to hear from dog owners. There's only so much you can learn from google.

“my only consideration here is that my dd can be a little bit wary and nervous around over bouncy, excitable dogs”

That’s pretty much the default setting for puppies, though luckily they’re tiny so you can train them before they get full size, lol.

Staffies, labs and spaniels are pretty good for first time owners. Spaniels are usually higher in energy and obviously labs are bigger...

But they’re all biddable, trainable and energetic enough to be playful without being OTT.

Sighthounds are easier breeds to own as well but for different reasons, don’t need as much mental stimulation as some other breeds so less walking and training needed... they’re also cuddly rather than playful.

The popular breeds are popular for a reason tbh.

I love setters for their gentle nature; not barky... not as full-on nuts as a springer, and neater and less smelly than labs, cockers and golden retrievers.

As someone who’s had cats before you might like to look at whippets. They don’t smell doggy, have no grooming needs apart from nails ( mine grooms itself like a cat), track in minimal dirt and most rarely bark. Mine also loves children.

The negatives are they need to be kept out of the weather, have iffy recall, some aren’t great about being left alone, they are notorious food thieves and they tend to colonise the furniture.

Oh and my whippet is both cuddly and playful

I wouldn't say that size generally means you'll be more confident. I often see people with arsey terriers really nervous about their dog's behaviour. If a dog is laid back you'll generally have an easier time...
There was a program on ages ago where a family in your position got to borrow dogs to try them out (sounds weird doesn't it?). They decided on a golden retriever in the end despite starting out wanting something very different.
Maybe try out the borrow my doggy.com website, walk a few? Obviously not the same as having one - you don't have that same tuning in and affection from someone else's dog, they tend to be quite loyal - but it'd give you some idea.

So much to think about! Definitely needs more discussion, my husband has his heart set on a beagle but I've heard they can be quite hard to train?
The borrow my dog thing seems bonkers but for someone like me it's ideal.
Thank you :)

See if any local rescues will let you walk their dogs with kids, they all have different policies. Since volunteering with rescues I'm a massive staffie fan, esspesally as a family pet. Look around at different rescues online, crossbreeds and staffies can sometimes be homed to under 5s, esspesally if they are puppies or the history is known. We had a rescue lurcher growing up, they are great because they sleep so much but can also be flighty and accidently injure small children if startled. I'd be very careful about cocker spaniel puppies, king Charles and chiwawas. Make sure you get them from a good breeder as they can have seizures and have genetic aggression, look up 'cocker rage'. Anything that has been bred for deformeities I'd stay clear of as you might end up with huge vet bills. Personally I'm a big dog fan and my family have had English springers, id be careful with German shepards too as they can have bad legs and spines. Generally I think a medium sized dog is the most healthy and aware of its size. If i had to chose a faverate family breed it would be, labrodors (any retriever) , staffies, English springers, and boxers (allthough they are nutty 8 have a soft spot for them). And I've just got a rescue akita cross, gorgeous but high intelligence so difficult to train. With I 3 year old I'd probably not get an akita or husky. You also have to think about grooming. One more thing to note is bull breeds can actually be the most allergenic... It's the slobber more than the hair. Poodle crosses are supposed to be hypoallergenic but difficult to groom.

Pm me if you want to know about specific rescues.