Small, child friendly, low shedding breed?

[Cantstopthinking]

Hi I looking for a small, child friendly, low shedding breed who will be happy with 30 Min walk a day and won’t bark incessantly. We have had a dog before but a larger breed. Any recommendations. I quite like small cuddly teddy bear types.

Not a cavalier - they need an hour of predominantly off lead excercise, to be healthy.

And definitely not a cavalier crossed with anything. The breed health problems are severe. Not only do they require extensive health testing but the breeder needs in-depth knowledge of the lines to avoid the heart problems. Crossing them solves nothing and is usually from unhealthy lines, so actually increases risks of health problems.

If you were happy with the higher exercise than your op said and are prepared to spend a long time looking and willing to travel for the right breeder, then cavaliers are fantastic family pets (they are a spaniel in excitability though).

I can't think of any dog that would be happy and healthy with 30 mins exercise a day, unless very elderly :(

I recommended a grey as she wants a dog that barely needs a short walk, which i presumed was the most important point as its the only thing thats about the dogs needs, rather than its inconvenience.

Someones recommended a bloody chihuahua. Might be small but they yap non stop. My neighbour has two. We hear them constantly. Horrible little fuckers. I cant even go in my kitchen or garden without them raising the alarm. They also bite if you get too close.

Good with children, small, doesnt bark, diesnt shed, and doesnt need much walking. You might be better off with a cat

Cavapoo. Low exercise requirement, mostly non shedding, child friendly and cute. They do need grooming though.

How does a 'cavapoo' have a low exercise requirement?

Check out Australian mini labaradoodle. They get to the size of a cocker spaniel and are non shedding, great with kids etc. We just got one and love her! Its been a week and she is such a joy.

Cavapoos crave company more than exercise. A 30 min off lead run daily plus longer at the weekend would be sufficient for most. Unless
you've owned one and know better yourself.....

A mini labradoodle sounds like a recipe for disaster with the joints - labradors are predisposed to joint problems, and then that's put on a small frame... some will get lucky, others will be deeply unlucky - which is the gamble of crossbreeds.

I wouldn't get a poodle cross anything if you want a low energy breed; they're known for being active little dogs and are often used for agility competitions.

A couple of dog groomers I know socially have told me that any dog owner that rings up and tells them they have a 'poo' breed strikes fear into their hearts. They're not easy dogs to groom.

30 minutes really is very little exercise - in that amount of time, we'd only manage to get to the park at the end of the road, 10 minutes off lead and back again. I don't know many dogs that would be happy with that - unless you're willing to look at elderly dogs in need of a retirement home.

I agree with the advice about puppies. I am 12 pairs of shoes down from the pooch's puppy days. Plus the accidents were a nightmare and we don't even have carpets downstairs.

But here's a lovely breed for you OP and not well known but all the owners are in love with them. Just the right size - not too small that a rough and tumble tot could hurt them and not too big either. Loyal, kindly loving and protective. You'll need to get them hand stripped though!

www.bassetfauvedebretagneclub.com/home

Basset fauves are indeed very cute and fairly low shedding. They are also hard core scent hounds bred to hunt all day....

I did really have to work on his recall - they are scent hounds (bred to hunt hares originally, I believe) and they can get distracted. But his recall is just fantastic now, he's back like an arrow.

Where are you planning to walk the dog OP? Is it a gentle meander around local streets? Or do you have fields and woods nearby?

Googled Basset fauves as never heard of them. What a cutie.

Really doesn't sound like the sort of dog OP is looking for tbh though. If they're bred to hunt surely they'd want quite a lot of exercise. And being scent hounds must mean you'd have your work cut out stopping them running off after every bunny in the park

PDSA have written a guide to the amount of exercise they say dogs generally need,
which is quite interesting

Aurea - since both cavaliers and poodles need at least an hour walk, I don't see how a cross of the two could be happy, fit or healthy on less exercise. Plus a cavalier cross is asking for health problems (heart, syringomyelia, etc don't disappear when you've crossed them with another breed and are more likely since the limited number of cavaliers that can pass the health tests and come from healthy lines simply don't get used for crossing)

Another vote for a miniature poodle. Ours is now 10 months old. She is great with our children and always has been. She went through a bitey phase as a very young pup but she soon stopped (we followed the ‘yelp and ignore’ method of training her to stop).
She goes to the groomers every couple of months but other than that her coat needs no input really. She doesn’t shed at all.
She loves long walks but equally is happy to have a quick walk around the block (even that is a push if it is raining as she hates getting wet!)
I despair of all the negative posts about getting a puppy on MN. Neither dh or I ever grew up with dogs. We did our research re breeds, we took her to puppy trading classes and we talked to friends. It’s been perfectly fine and nothing like as difficult as some people on here like to make out. We love having a dog in our family and think it has been a really positive experience for our children.

Jennifer.
Lovely dogs but not on 30 minutes walk a day. Totally inappropriate choice.
Yelping is actually bad advice. Puppies do mouthe. You shouldn't stop that. Just redirect to a toy.

With respect Jennifer yours is only 10 months old. She'll need more exercise when she's fully grown or she'll get bored and destructive. No dog is happy or healthy on a wander round the block once a day!

Whichever breed you choose OP, I'd suggest that you check out the type of health conditions they are prone to. Some dog breeds are healthier than others.

Wolfiefan it seems like it was actually very good advice- she quickly learned that it was fine to mouth toys but not fine to mouth ankles.