Dog for a family with 5 year old child

[Lynsey5]

Hi all. We are family of 3.. me, OH and our 4 year old daughter. We are looking to get a dog once my daughter is 5 years old. I would like a dog that will help my mental health and that will be good friends with my daughter. My daughter is a calm girl and listens us if we tell her to not touch a dogs back etc.. We have family that have yappy jack russells and a chihuahua. My daughter doesn't like those dogs. She will tolerate them but she tells me she wants a calm dog that does not bark all the time. When she pat the chihuahua a few times in the past it did growl at her which didn't help so now she just either ignores those dogs or keeps her distance where possible.

Anyways me and OH work full time. I work 4 days a week. 2 days of them i work from home. Once we have a dog the dog will go to doggy daycare when i go to the office 2 days a week. I love the look of a poodle and i read great things about them but not sure if it is right for us still. I read they a prone to seperation anxiety and they can be yappy too. Below is what i am looking for in a dog. Is there such breed that meet my criteria do you think?

1- not a yappy dog
2 - calmer the better. I don't want my daughter to get grief when the dog is a puppy.
3- minimal shedding
4- i don't like short haired dogs. I need a dog that has a bit of hair on them
5- minimal drooling
6- fantastic with kids
7- i don't mind grooming. I am touchy feely so i would probably enjoy grooming to be honest.
8- i don't want a strong dog that is capable of killing a child if it loses it. The news of dogs that attack children scare me . I want my daughter's friends to come to our house without being scared or getting growled at. Also that will be my first dog so i want to know that even if i read the dog's language wrong one day noone will get serious harm.
9- I am a novice owner but i want to take the dog to puppy classes, obidience classes etc. I love the idea of agility too. I want to go to all kinds of classes with the dog. I want teach lots of tricks to the dog as well. I am hoping we will be best mates.

We can provide the dog with 1 to 1,5 hours a day of exercise. We live near countryside so we can do off lead walks daily.

I narrowed it down to miniature poodle and miniature schnauser based on my criteria. I like bichon frise too but they seem to be difficult to toilet train also prone to seperation anxiety ?

What do you guys think ? Am i being realistic on my expectations and do the breeds i picked sound right?

Thanks for reading !

Our Labrador is a sweet thing, but as a puppy she’d jump and bite every time she saw me. Teeth like tiny razors! Even now as an adolescent she’s still bonkers at times. I separate her from kids most of the time.

That’s a real shame about your niece, sounds like a cat would be perfect. I’ve had both, and there is no doubt dogs are more demanding, although I do find they give more back too. I’ve just had a puppy with a small toddler and although she was a very good puppy (in retrospect, too good 🙁 as she’s now been diagnosed with health problems - another risk), there were still moments of knocking my toddler over, poo on the floor etc (though never any problems with her and the 5 year old).
Maybe you could look at adopting an older dog once your child is 8? That seems to be the min age for rescues.

@PoinsettaPrincess

I don't want my daughter to get grief when the dog is a puppy.

Also, all puppies are bitey sharks and after owning labs for over 20 years I’ve never met a calm puppy, labs or other breeds.

This.

Puppies are arseholes.

It is totally normal for puppies to bite when teething. It is normal for puppies to chew. It is up to you to manage this behaviour and redirect it to appropriate toys - which will likely mean keeping your DD and puppy separate for most of the time.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We have one and he is exactly as you described.

And although all dogs are of course different and ours may be the outlier here, he was not a very mouthy puppy and didn’t bite or nip the kids.

waiting another 10 years and then getting a retired dog

Why 10 years? I assume you mean a rescue dog?

Many rescues will home suitable dogs with children from around 8. Some younger, so worth checking with them. There's the big ones like Dogs Trust, Battersea etc but check out smaller ones too - Pro Dogs Direct, Many Tears, maybe Oldies Club if you are willing to consider an older dog.

Yes, it might take a year or so to find the right dog - but it would also take a year or so to find a good breeder, wait for a litter and get through puppyhood.

The issue here is that your requirements contradict each other. A calm dog won't need lots of exercise and agility classes. Those are for high energy dogs like border collies. A dog with long fur will shed. Puppies will always bite and any dog can attack.

If you want my honest recommendation though, golden retriever.

If you want my honest recommendation though, golden retriever

They are the bitiest sharks as puppies though.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

If you want my honest recommendation though, golden retriever

They are the bitiest sharks as puppies though.

Oh I dunno. I see your golden retriever & raise you a cocker spaniel

What about a couple of rabbits?
Not being flippant at all but I know someone with a house rabbit and it kind of meets your requirements.. apart from not being a dog of course..

All puppies are bastards. Cute and lethal.

@Claudia84

What about a couple of rabbits? Not being flippant at all but I know someone with a house rabbit and it kind of meets your requirements.. apart from not being a dog of course..

Rabbits shed loads (sometimes it feels like they never stop lol!), can be particularly destructive and my previous rescue pair HATED kids, one would happily bite them if they came near, current rescue pair one will be near kids if they have snacks, the other hides until the noisy tiny human goes away. Pretty sure my friendlier girl was found straying as she was really aggressive before she was spayed, she's definitely done some biting in her time.

I agree your expectation for dogs is extremely high which just sets you up for a fall.

Read the puppy survival threads on this forum to get a picture of the trials of young dog ownership.

The best dog I have owned was a Golden Retriever. We got him when my children were 8,7 and 4.

He was a canine dandelion clock though.

No one would have puppies if they weren't so cute. Little lunatic a-holes.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

All puppies are bastards. Cute and lethal.

Yep, teeth like needles

Just an addition-my son is allergic to cats and gets horrible bad hay fever when around them. After our dog died, I really wanted a pet but with the children off to uni, all the dog care would be down to me and my working hours just wouldn’t have been good. I did some reading and read that Bengals we’re really good for cat allergies and saw a breeder was retiring a breeding cat-took him along to see her and stroke her and play with her and not even a sniff. So we adopted her and she’s such a loving, funny part of the family who loves to be with us-like having a dog who’s a cat!

@TitoMojito

The issue here is that your requirements contradict each other. A calm dog won't need lots of exercise and agility classes. Those are for high energy dogs like border collies. A dog with long fur will shed. Puppies will always bite and any dog can attack.

If you want my honest recommendation though, golden retriever.

Any dog can do agility it's not just for border collies. Even the laziest dog will probably enjoy a regular agility class.

Plenty of dogs with long hair are non or low shedding - tibetan terriers, shih tzu, havanese, bichon, lhasa apso, maltese to name a few.

I also think a Cavalier King Charles spaniel is a good option. Not many other dogs meet your requirements. You’d be better with an adult dog, puppies are crazy and bitey and a LOT of work. You are honestly describing a cat. Could you just make sure the cat isn’t allowed in any bedrooms and just make sure everyone gets changed before visiting niece?
Dogs are fantastic but I don’t think they’d suit you at all.

There you go

@Juniper68

There you go

What a wee cutie

Get an Arabian Mau cat… you can rescue from Dubai. No moulting and low allergy.
More active than a usual British moggy but less so than a Bengal.

We’ve recently got a puppy and it’s hard work. Yes, she’s cute and my children adore her, but standing in the garden waiting for her to poo at 5am when it’s freezing is horrible. I’d have got another cat but our road is too busy and it didn’t end well last time. Secretly wish I’d got a hamster or guinea pig.

@bunnygeek

No one would have puppies if they weren't so cute. Little lunatic a-holes.

Ain't that the truth.

The cuter the puppy, the more like the devil they are

Many thanks everyone. After reading all the comments i did a bit of googling and it turns out there are hypoallergenic cats. I am leaning towards a cat now. I remember my cat had a bitey and hyper stage as a kitten but it was not too bad and did not last too long. I think my daughter could cope once she is a bit older. OH is not so keen on cats. He says cats come and go as they please but he never actually had an in house cat before so he doesn't know how loving cats can be. Maybe we will revisit the idea in a years time and see what we think then. Thanks for all the responses and opening my eyes to the reality of having a dog/puppy.

Cavalier King Charles spaniel - but make sure parents fully health tested. Have a look at the cavalier matters website

A cavvie will be your daughters best friens

@Lynsey5 there is no such thing as an allergenic cat. I’m presuming your niece doesn’t live with you. So just get a cat and meet elsewhere.