Best kind of dog for us - advice please

[Survivalofthefittest]

A bit about us:

• live in a city, have a garden, close to a park.
• 2 children aged 8 and 13
• Cat who is 2 years old
• Have never had a dog before (apart from as a child)
• Both dh and I work from home
• Happy to walk daily (obviously) but don't want to have to walk more than one hour per day

That's it I think. Any advice please? I'd been thinking of a cocker spaniel but as lovely as they are think they might be a bit high energy for us...

How big a dog do you want? How much grooming are you happy to do?

Medium sized. Am happy to do a bit of grooming but not masses preferably.

What about something like a a Miniature Schnauzer, bigger than they sound just not as giant as the bigger ones. Or a Miniature Poodle, not one of the smaller toy breed ones, or a Dachshund, again the regular sized ones rather than the miniature ones. They come three different coat types, smooth, wire haired or long haired.
Failing that something from the Utility Group, show classification, lots of descriptions on the Kennel Club website. Or a Staffie, brilliant family dogs, don’t be fooled by their tough looks.

An hour a day total? Or one hour, plus shorter one?

I'd say staffie! They are so loving and lots of fun, love nothing more than being around you. Cocker spaniels are ace but need more than one walk per day. All the staffs in my family are happy with one walk as long as they can spend the rest of the day pottering around the house/being with you. Great with kids, and the ones I know are fine with cats too as they were introduced sensibly (same with most dogs).

Look into TibetanTerriers. Quite some fun characters- often described as a dog with a sense of humour. They take quite some grooming (or you can get them clipped regularly).
The pupy stage can be challenging and puppy class/ training is essential.

But once they reach adulthood they are happy with as much or as little walking as you have time for. As long as they can be with you they are happy!

I was thinking something like 2 x half hour/40 minute walks a day.
As much as I like them, I’m not sure about schnauzers and cats.
And staffies, sorry but no.
Tibetan Terriers look cute but VERY hairy!

West Highland white (Westie)
Border terrier
Cairn terrier
King Charles spaniel

A couple of friends have greyhounds. They make good family pets.

Border terrier

Toy or Miniature Poodle would be perfect. We don't have a cat although he's very eager to play with his cat cousin but she won't entertain it

Hmmm, border terrier. And they're ok with cats (well, the ones they live with)?

Terriers are very yappy. Our Yorkie drove us mad barking at every passing stranger

I think you’d struggle to find many dogs that are happy with 2 lots of 30 mins. That’s not much. Many dogs like to sniff and their walk is their only outing.

Whippet or lurcher? They are happy with a good run as part of their walk but most dogs will need more than this.

I have a basset who is the most perfect family dog, gets 1-2 hours a day of walking and happy to sleep. Short haired but moult constantly, stubborn but not untrainable with the effort put in.

I have a similar brief and am currently on a hunt for a Eurasier

I have a king charles who is more than happy to do that type of walk a day but will also do 6/7 miles as well. She just loves company, cuddles and a warm knee, however she does need grooming!

In my experience Border terriers are not yappy, and can live with cats. They’re a less terrier-y sort of terrier.

An hour of walkies a day once they’re adults isn’t a lot unless you will also do lots of daily mental stimulation.

Staffies are great family dogs, very adaptable, don’t shed a great deal and a nice size. Also great players, so great for children the age you have as they’ll be able to have a decent amount of play time together.

My Yorkies aren’t yappy at all, hardly ever bark.
I still think a Staffie, what do you have against them?

Another fan of staffies here. Super family dogs, love and great with children (the ones I know).

Cavalier King Charles spaniel

Easy going, loves kids, very lazy... Ours won't go out for a walk at all if it is raining.
We have ours clipped so no grooming and little shedding.
They are small enough to put in car and take to beach for the day, or easy to go to dog friendly pubs or holidays
I think they are the perfect family dog..

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or a small cockapoo.

I would be wary as all the dogs I would recommend might not get on with the cat.
Anything Terrier wise and many other breeds can have higher Prey drive so will chase anything small and Furry and sometimes bigger than its self, its just instinct

Poodles are high energy, like the sound of their own voice and need grooming regularly. Also factor in the price and time of going to the groomers every 6 weeks.

I've had a staffy and currently have a westie and cocker spaniel. So on my sample size of one of each breed, staffies are beautiful dogs. When raised well they are lovely, friendly dogs. My westie is perfect and exactly what I wanted after losing my staffy. They can bark and have a reputation for westitude, which IME is just being a terrier - cheeky and rascally. I'm a terrier person so the cocker isn't quite my cup of tea. Not particularly intelligent compared to terriers who are smart. It could just be a reflection of her upbringing before I got her at 3 years old - I was her fourth home, so she had a rough start. That said she is brave. The westie has scared off interlopers with his protectiveness, but if the going got tough I'd say the cocker would be the one to look out for. I got the staffy due to having a stalker at the time. He sounded very scary, so always slept next to my bed.

Grooming wise the staffy lost the most hair in the house. The westie takes me 1-2 hrs to remove the coat (I don't clip ). The cocker takes 3-4 hrs. She's like a sheep. Her fur is super thick, which I think is the result of 3years of getting clipped. I now strip out the coat but she is very hirsute.

All dogs are happy to be in the house with me. As long as they can be with me they're happy. Love going out of course but not unmanageable if they only get one walk.