Which dog breed would suit us?

[Autumnpumpkin]

So as title says we are wondering what breed of dog might suit us, we are not new to dog owning but since getting our last dog things in our lives have changed. Mainly the fact we now have 3 children, I work part time, my husband full time but he can and does work from home. We are also lucky that we have lots of family close by that can help with doggy care while we are working if our days ever cross over.

We love dogs and would like to add another to our family.
We are a fairly active family and like going out for walks and in general do lots of dog and child friendly things.

If we are honest with ourselves we can probably give a dog a good hours walk everyday of the week plus extra at weekends. I'm guessing this rules out Labradors, Spaniels, pointers etc (all dogs we have had experience with before but I just feel that we maybe dont have enough time in the day for the amount of exercise and brain training these types of dogs would need)

We are interested in Poodles, Whippets, Border Terriers at the moment.
Anyone with these dogs think they would suit our family, any other recommendations for a breed that might suit us?

Thank you!

We rescued a greyhound and he is so lovely. They are very gentle natured don’t need lots and lots of walking but still enjoy a walk and they are so funny. A lurcher is also a good option. There are so many that need a home. And they love to sleep

You will find my thread here useful for the smaller breeds ...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4057477-Tell-me-your-experience-of-your-small-breed-please

My sister has a standard poodle and we always had them growing up. They are quite high energy and very high prey drive but she is the most loving dog i have ever met. She puts her feet on your shoulders and actually hugs you, snuggles in your neck, i love it. Shes wonderful. They can be a bit funny with strangers and they have a big dog bark. They are wonderful with children. My mums toy poodle bit my sister in the face and scarred her, cant comment on the miniatures as we never had one. I dont find the standards she 'that' big anymore so dont imagine a great big lolling dog, although a friends one is a thumping great big lad.

No reason why you can’t have a cocker spaniel provided it is not a working cocker. Our vet recommended cocker did irk to us to fit into our life - at the time similar to how you described your family life now (we had a cat at the time so terriers were out).

We’re now on our second cocker spaniel. Has worked out wonderfully for our family.

Yes I've been reading the small breed thread, it's very interesting.

I did research show cockers but the cocker rage I keep reading about worried me a little bit?

I do love greyhounds, lurchers and standard poodles but I dont know if they are too big for us...do you find large dogs work ok with kids too?

Well we have a giant breed (leonberger) and honestly they are the best dogs we have ever had including with young children so I wouldn’t rule out the bigger dogs if I were you if the dog fits the bill
Ours are so gentle they are used as pets as therapy dogs as well as a variety of other things! They also sleep most of the day so you learn to just jump over them and they take up less space this way

I often find the larger the dog the less crazy they are too.

I was meaning more the logistics of a bigger dog and children...like space in the car, bed space?
Also maybe should of said, we love to camp as a family. Would say a Whippet be ok with camping with a good coat, bed, hot water bottle etc?

Poodle's are pretty active & clever dogs so will require fair bit of mental stimulation too. My friends daughter does heel work to music (dancing with dogs) & agility with their mainly poo mix so depending on ages could be fun.

I always see lot of families at the greyhound & lurcher walks & shows, many with small children. They do tend to be fairly low maintenance for busy family lives, & calmer in home as like a good sleep. Lurcher's tend to have more stamina than greyhounds (bred to sprint) & depends more on the mix some are more active physically & mentally than others I.e collie x, if adopting an adult have good idea of what your getting but breed rescues have good knowledge on different types.

I think with big dogs it depends more on their nature as some are more calm and ploddy so much less likely to bowl the kids over than excitable types.

Out of interest, what sort of pointer did you have experience of previously? We have an English pointer - she gets a good hour each day, plus extra at the weekend and is fine with that. She’ll spend the rest of the day pottering and sleeping :)
Most of the German pointers/Vizlas I know do seem to need more exercise though.

Our lovely dog was A LOT of hard work as a puppy though.....

A close family member had German short haired pointers. They are such lovely dogs and they were at the top of my list but after lots and lots of consideration I just dont think I can give them what they need right now. Hence why I've started the search again....we are in no rush to get the new dog.
I still hope one day we will have a gsp but unfortunately just right now isnt the right time.

I will have a research in to English pointers. Thank you!

We have 2 Hungarian vizslas and we've just had our first child. They are great with the baby, so careful and loving but my god the house has become cramped! Never mind the cars! Haven't even attempted it yet!

I grew up with Whippets, I think they are lovely, family friendly dogs.
Why not look a bit more into them?

Do you think a whippet could cope with 3 lovely and very caring but noisy and sometimes boisterous children? They are great with dogs. We have firm rules with dogs and children and how they interact. They have been around dogs of all shapes and sizes since they were born so I arent worried about any effect of the dog on them but more them in the dog...hope that makes sense?

Ours did cope with me and 2 siblings... to be honest, for us as younger children, they were a bit boring. Ours didn't play fetch or do elaborate tricks! (They are hounds, it's beneath them!!) but we did some competitive dog racing (not UK), with them.

We had had Yorkies, a Mongrel and when the kids where small two Lhasas as we found them to be excellent with small children
When the last Lhasa died at 16 we where in a similar position, so we looked here as we felt it was the most accurate
dogtime.com/dog-breeds/dandie-dinmont-terrier
We needed a dog that could be left for a few hours if need be, non shedding, non barking, friendly, trainable, shorter walks but could do more if required, compact but with few ailments.
We had also had seen Dandies on the TV. Finally we met one in the flesh, what a content friendly dog.
So we spoke to three breeders and the rest is history.
www.donthibernate.co.uk/dummys-guide-to-dandie-dinmont-terriers/
The other thing to consider.
The breeder we went to will take any dog back at any age, she also taught us how to groom her we just keep on top of her and have her done twice a year professionally and also has her back for holidays, so think about Grooming, Holidays etc
If you take some time to look at Rare breeds too many are rare as the litter size is small so no money in breeding them
Some are excellent pets some are challenging some are pure workers, but less inbreeding so in general possibly less ailments
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog/are-you-ready/vulnerable-native-breeds/

Thank you! Lots of thinking to do.
Any other suggestions of breeds that would suit please feel free to suggest x

I have a whippet.

He adores children and is very gentle with them. To be fair though he is one of the most gregarious whippets I know. The other day he decided to jump on the lap of a complete stranger at the park