Thinking of getting a dog / puppy

[coolmum123]

Hello all,
Hope everyone is well :)
I would like some advice / thoughts please. (Apologies in advance for long post)

We are at the beginning stages of thinking about getting a dog. I grew up with a German Shepherd and helped to walk, play and feed him but it was a very long time ago and he died of old age when I was about 15. So I consider myself to be a novice pet owner.
Kids are 22 and 16 but we do have visitors with children from aged 2 and over.
We are lucky that we do have a park round the corner and actually quite a few within a very short driving distance so variety isn't an issue for walks. Walks will be twice a day min 1 hour (split over twice a day) weekdays - longer walks at the weekend. I work from home part time currently but may have to go to the office in future and plan that the days I am out dog would go to a sitter
So basically I am looking for a dog that is suitable for new owners, easy to train, is welcoming and gentle of visitors and young children, likes a walk then chills at home, a calm temperament, not yappy or bitey, doesn't bark loads. Do you have any suggestions of breeds that would suit this so that I can research further and talk to breeders before committing? Are there other things we need to think about (apart from vet bills, food, training etc as these would all be considered anyway once we knew what breed we were looking at)
I spoke to a cockapoo breeder but after that conversation I'm not sure that a cockapoo has the right temperament for us.

Thanks in advance.

I have a Bichon Frise. He doesn’t shed. He thinks he’s a Labrador (loves walks and mud and flomping all over my sofa). He’s great with my kids (daughter, niece and nephew) but disinterested in other people’s. He doesn’t bark at anything except the postman and Tesco delivery guy. He’s good with other dogs. I work from home so he is rarely left but he does cope fine (just lies on the sofa) if I have to leave him for a few hours.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and advice. I have spent time following up on advice given here, created a shortlist and spoke to the various breeders. So your guidance has been really appreciated. We have decided on a lab and have contacted a breeder found through Kennel club so conversation is ongoing. Having now decided on breed, am now looking at pet insurance! The research never ends. I will most likely create a new thread for that so feel free to guide me on there as well. 🤗 Thanks again.

Parents have a large say in Gentic I knew my lab would need a job as both parents are worked with ground keepers .
We do scent work and obedience and often walk miles but for us that was fine .At home he is very calm and is well behaved in and out
Good with my young niece and nephew though always supervised

He is Differnt to other labs I have met locally with the amount of excescise he needs mentally and physically

Should add we had very little of the bitey shark behaviour which I put down to Gentics and good amount of sheer luck

I came on to say poodle - mini or standard.
Here is my mini pup 😍