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 !

As the owner of a young pup and three children, the youngest of whom is your daughter’s age, with the greatest respect your wish list is hugely unrealistic. Puppies are a huge amount of work and all puppies are excitable and will nip/bite/jump up until trained. Have you read a puppy training book yet to give you an idea of the work entailed in raising a dog? If you hope to train a pup whilst working from home, that’s a big ask. I couldn’t do my job well whilst caring for a young puppy all day, or train a puppy well whilst managing my job. You sound like a household that might be better suited to a different pet than a dog.

@Lynsey5 the perfect dog for you!

Fun and bunter asside, why don't you wait a bit longer until your daughter is 8 or 9? She will be that important bit older and have more awareness/ understanding for a puppy and it's needs. She can also be more actively involved in dog training and build a good relationship with the dog.

We waited til kids were 8 and 12. They come to training classes, and are involved in day to day care and training of the puppy.

They're all bitey, cheeky monsters. Come and have a look at the puppy survival thread for the reality! Gorgeous....but hard, hard work.