What breed should we get?

[bluesky45]

We have been considering getting a dog for years but it has never been the right time (work hours, babies, toddlers, pandemic).
Towards the end of this year, we do believe it will be the right time. I have 2 young dc but both will be in school then, freeing up time for me to go on decent walks with a dog without having to drag 2 dc with me every time. The DC do like going on walks and do ask to go on them, but every day and in all weather's they probably wouldn't be too keen on!
Me and DH are both happy to walk, keen to train a dog and would like a doggy companion.
I expect my routine will be to take the DC to school (5min walk away) go home and collect the dog and take them for a long walk. Spend the afternoon at home most days doing housework etc, I will sometimes go out for the afternoon so would like the dog to be able to spend a few hours on their own. On days when I work (very very sporadic/rare) the dog will likely go to my parents as they would be doing any childcare.
I would like a small to medium sized dog, DH would like a medium to large dog so I guess medium would be best. DH loves German shepherds but I've told him no.
We want a dog with some fluff. My sister has a lab and I don't feel like it's fluffy enough (I grew up with a golden retriever) although this isn't an essential. I don't mind grooming but don't want to spend hours a day doing it.
We want to be able to take the dog on walks that currently last 2-3 hrs but we can see these getting longer as the DC get older and get more stamina. But equally, we want to be able to do a couple of half hr to an hour long walks on a lazier day.
And obviously, the key characteristic is that it is a family friendly breed.
Spending some time researching breeds but would love some personal recommendations. We have so far considered cocker spaniels and beagles. Not sure what else to look at.

Beagles and spaniels are working dogs and need a job

They won't be happy with 1 hour walks , you will end up with a neurotic Spaniel that drives you crazy unless you go for the King Charles of course. They are more suited to a family home.

Personally because of the young kids aspects I would recommend a staffy. They are the best breed with kids, or the King Charles as they are the KC top two family dogs.

Although the puppy stage of any dog is going to be full on with younger kids, puppies bite a lot and it hurts and they will target the kids.

The thing is that often the larger breeds, or more popular ones like Goldies or Flat coats are popular as family dogs for good reason. In my experience large, well bred retrievers tend to be excellent family dogs (apart from Chesapeakes). Spaniels, even the show types, tend to be higher energy and a bit more independently minded. I also know many Tollers. Some are lovely dogs but they definitely have a tendancy to be more nervy than goldies, I am not sure all of them would enjoy busy family life in the same way a labrador or goldie would be expected to. I love flat coats, they are wonderful dogs. But the cancer prevalence has always put me off. Setters have a similar look but are kind of beautiful but loopy.

What about a nice small goldie or flat coat? Our current lab is from smaller, working bloodlines and is quite an athletic, compact dog.

@bluesky45

Shetland sheepdog looks quite sweet. Kennel club website says Samoyed needs over 2hrs exercise a day, is this not really true in practice? We would be able to manage that most days but wouldn't want to be tied to it every day, especially while DC are younger and need someone to stay home with them or they would need to do long walks every day of the weekend. Duck rolling retriever is one I'm really keen on, very retriever in look aren't they? And seem to fit a lot of our criteria. You don't see many about though, I guess I would need to go on a breeders wait list for this breed.

You say you’re considering a beagle but they need FAR more exercise than samoyeds to keep them calm in the house.

We also seriously considered a Welsh springer spaniel, seemed like the less neurotic of all the spaniels and although a lot of the online synopsis of them say they pee when excited a breeder I spoke to said she'd never experienced it herself. Made me feel silly for bringing it up!

But they're quite hard to get hold off and didn't tick as many boxes as flat coats did

German Shepherd/Golden Retriever crosses can produce some cracking dogs. Just be aware that a pup won’t be doing those big long walks for the first 2 years.

[quote beggingforsleep]@DebbieHarrysCheekbones I think I'm converted to them for life now! [/quote]
My dad and step mum have had flatties for about 20years now. I'm not a dog person but the flat coats really are fantastic. When one of them started to struggle to get into their car, they got a ramp that was lightweight and folded up so she could walk up it into the car. Her younger sister is a lunatic and just hurls herself into the car 😂

They've all been quite different in personality, but all very loving and I'd say a bit smaller than a retriever (based on the ones I've seen while out with the flat coats)

smaller than a Labrador

I think a setter might work well for you. They are generally very family-friendly, and as fluffy as a golden retriever. Although they are quite tall, they have a lighter, tangier build than a Goldie, so would be easier to lift in and out of cars. They are lively, fun energetic dogs, but I think they'd thrive on the amount of exercise that you're suggesting.

*rangier, not tangier!

Wow, so many replies and breeds to research! Thank you all for giving me so much to think about. We really want to consider this and buy a dog that really suits our family so we don't have any regrets!
Yes, we saw beagle on a list of family friendly dogs and I've always loved the look of them. We were both keen but the more I've read about them, the more I think they might not fit in our family. We do love the size and look of them but we would like to be able to let them off the lead which doesn't sound possible for most beagles.