What dog would you recommend?

[theresroomonmybroom]

Hi, we're looking to rehome a dog next year.

We have 3 children, youngest will be 4 at time of rehoming and we also have a cat. House space and garden space isn't an issue, also have 6ft fences around back garden.

Exercise wise, we will be looking to walk around an hour a day but also have a decent garden for fetch etc.

What breed would you recommend for a family dog? Small or large, we don't have a preference. Thank you!

Ps, photos of your fur babies are also welcomed

Thanks so much everyone, you're all very helpful!
Yes it'll probably be a puppy we're looking at to be honest.

All my children have been around all kinds of animals, including a few different breeds of dog so I'm not worried in that department, it's a very valid question though.

A Golden Retriever. I had a show line GR. He was exceptionally good with small children and cats. My children were 8, 7 and 4 when we bought him (puppy).

Small DC here. Unpopular on mumsnet but we have a minature labradoodle (both parents had dna checks before breeding for health issues).

He’s fabulous. Doesn’t shed (clipped every 5 weeks and brushed a bit in between). So eager to please and easy to train. Needs about an hour a day but on a v wet day happy with games inside so long as walked the following day. Velcro dog but can be left (we built it up slowly).

My main tips would be to have a ‘safe space’ from young children. We have a run set up in the kitchen as he didn’t like the crate despite positive reinforcement. The kids aren’t allowed into it even if the gate is open. I spend more time training the kids than him 😂. But it works for all of us. The kids are never left in a room unattended with him still.

As a puppy we did use a crate to give him time out and that really helped with preventing nipping. Like a baby he got over tired easily and that is when the nipping would happen. That and a lot of chews. He was never destructive but I was told to make sure he only ever had the chance to ‘win’ and do the right thing.

Good luck !

Rough collie is an option. Need less exercise than a GR or lab, an hour a day should be fine. Gentle, friendly temperament, love kids. Need to keep on top of the grooming or can tangle particularly behind the ears.

You’ve ruled out Golden Retrievers, so probably Labradors as well, but I just wanted to say that we adopted our Lab when our kids were 5 and 8. We were fortunate that she had lived with even younger children before with no problems so the rescue were happy to rehome her with us. So it can happen! She was 5 at the time, a lovely age I think as she was a properly adult dog, still lots of energy but so much less work than a puppy.

Also, we had a 4 year old who was slightly wary of dogs, and our puppy and he absolutely adore each other. I remember meeting a man in the vets who used to breed rough collies and now had labs, and he said that a lab puppy would be too much for a cautious child.