Choose a breed for me

[Happymiraclemorning]

Hey, so we would like a dog to join our family. 1 child age 8 and 1 cat.
Husband is home all the time and I work part time. Would be left no longer than 4 hours when we sometimes pop out shopping on a weekend.
House is medium size and garden small.

Walks will be 30 mins a day
Weekends longer about an hour (sometimes longer)

Husband is moderately allergic so would need to be something that doesn’t shed too much although I can deal with some hair as I vacuum everyday

We live in a terrace house so nothing too barky!

Would need to be a dog that likes other dogs , cats and kids

I just can’t find something that ticks every box

Any suggestions?

Havanese. Non shedding breed, quite happy with half an hour a day. Great family dogs, good with kids and cats. The coats look high maintenance (show dogs are worn floor length and are high maintenance) but my family (We have 3 throughout different family households) have them cut short in puppy cuts. Really sweet natured little dogs

Keepinganopenmind - there are many pugs/bulldogs in rescues that surely deserve a good home?

When you say 30 minutes walk is that all the time you could commit to giving attention, or just actually taking them out? So games, play in the garden and training? Just because you’re not leaving them for long periods they do need enrichment in other ways.

As username suggests we have a pug too. Huge personality in a little dog, incredibly friendly and playful. Not yappy, does full on big dog barks but only really when the doorbell goes or someone gets too close to the house. Moults like you wouldn't believe. Eats anything - utterly food obsessed (though I am super careful and measure everything) to the point she's a danger to herself - goes after stones, paper, tissue, random crap off the street etc. And 100% needs more than 30 mins walk at a time. Sure, can go the occasional day without a walk if weather is truly dire (though isn't bothered about rain once out and loves nothing more than a muddy puddle and splashing/swimming in river) or if I'm very unwell, but as someone else on this thread said, it's very obvious she's not been walked in that case.

@PugWhiskers Awww so cute 🥰

I think regarding shedding there is a big difference between fawn and black pugs. Black pugs are single-coated and don't shed very much at all. I can barely notice any shedding.

Ours is also food-obsessed, but that makes him very trainable. He knows so many tricks and learns them very quickly. All he needs is a treat to be held in front of his nose

@XelaM I've been told the same thing about blacks/fawns too.

She's not one for tricks, but being so food motivated has made teaching recall and 'drop' pretty easy.

@PugWhiskers my boy is the same, we have had several vets trips due to him eating stuff, one was a poisonous caterpillar, that was scary but as soon as we were home he went back to where he found it!! Very easy to train though, he'll do anything for some cheese

The shedding is awful, our new pup is long haired so will be even worse!

Would be left no longer than 4 hours

That's an eternity to a dog.

There are lazy breeds. I know a young chowchow. She has to be dragged out for short walks. My much younger BC literally runs rings around her.

I have 2 Chihuahuas and fit every criteria apart from the fact they are barky bastards,well my male is anyway.They are amazing dogs though

@PugInTheHouse lovely photos! Yikes at the caterpillar - mine is fond of snails, it really worries me. Mine loves cheese too, I'm often seen at the park with a tube of Primula - my recall trump card!

I've got a chihuahua and he gets 40 minutes a day split across 2 walks. Sometimes he has another wander round the block in the evening if we have time. He will happily go for a longer walk at the weekend too. We also do lots of brain games and training with him, it's not all about walking for hours. He's a healthy happy boy. I'm also allergic to some dogs but not to him.

With the pug and bulldog breeds, can people think twice before enriching breeders, as these poor dogs are overbred and often suffer breathing problems. If you are an animal lover please don’t support this.

^^ This. A thousand times this. Why anyone would find a dog that can't breathe properly 'cute' is beyond me 😞

I feel sorry for flat faced breeds. Same with cats bred like that. It is cruel. We are mutilating them. They can't breathe properly. Nothing wrong with rescuing them, but please no buying from breeders!

If you can manage 2x walks a day we have a very lovely friendly standard poodle that would meet your other criteria but may be a toy poodle if your house is smaller.

I wouldn't recommend an Italian greyhound or a chow chow if you're a first time dog owner. I have an IG and a chihuahua and my parents have a chow chow, whilst all lovely, neither an IG or chow are straight forward dogs.

Those suggesting "a rescue breed" - why? The OP has a child and a cat.
The PP suggesting a rescue greyhound - a serious danger to the cat.
OP we spent some time volunteer dog walking at the rescue centre which was useful for learning more about dogs.

It also convinced us to get a puppy. Our dog is perfect for us, but I wouldn't ask on Mumsnet.

Personally I would give rescue Staffies, greyhounds and other pointy dogs a swerve to keep your cat and child safe.

@MoreHairyThanScary

If you can manage 2x walks a day we have a very lovely friendly standard poodle that would meet your other criteria but may be a toy poodle if your house is smaller.

Miniature poodles are a good size (about the size of a cocker spaniel), low shedding and very clever. Need plenty of exercise though.

I agree with @axolotlfloof with no rescue greyhound. They can be very sensitive. A child in my family got bitten. Neither child nor dog were left alone together or anything, but it appeared that the greyhound had a 'sleep startle' response. He was a very gentle and loving dog and fine with children otherwise.. it's not something anyone could have predicted. They are so calm and gentle, but they can be very troubled dogs.

Italian greyhounds are a completely different kettle of fish which is why I recommend them as a family dog.

Those suggesting "a rescue breed" - why? The OP has a child and a cat.

Why not?

I volunteer with a breed specific rescue. A lot of the dogs have issues (2 of my own rescues certainly do) but the dogs, their existing and their prospective homes are all very carefully assessed. Sometimes they are in foster care before being permanently placed which helps us to really know their temperament. We offer ongoing support and advice and if things do go wrong, will take the dog back.

When you buy a puppy you don't know what its temperament will be and the breeder is unlikely to be available for ongoing advice.

@StrawberryPot

Those suggesting "a rescue breed" - why? The OP has a child and a cat.

Why not?

I volunteer with a breed specific rescue. A lot of the dogs have issues (2 of my own rescues certainly do) but the dogs, their existing and their prospective homes are all very carefully assessed. Sometimes they are in foster care before being permanently placed which helps us to really know their temperament. We offer ongoing support and advice and if things do go wrong, will take the dog back.

When you buy a puppy you don't know what its temperament will be and the breeder is unlikely to be available for ongoing advice.

Because rescue dogs and children can go very badly. Because the OP has a choice, and choosing a rescue dog with children and a cat is risky. I think rescues should go to adult only homes.

Those suggesting "a rescue breed" - why? The OP has a child and a cat
Why not?

• Because you don’t know the dogs history.

People lie all the time about why they are giving the dog up.

• Because a lot of dogs find children unnerving but put up with it because it’s ‘their’ children.

They might not be so tolerant with strange children.

• Because dogs behave differently in a Kennel environment so a dog that appears sweet and placid might just be shut down.
• Because it can take up to 6 months for a dogs ‘true’ character to come out in a new home, unless it’s been in foster for at least that period of time what you see might not necessarily be what you get.
• Because some rescues do rehome dogs with bite histories. I’ve seen post after post of people on various threads over the years claiming to foster/rehabilitate dogs with bite histories with a view to rehoming.

I’ve seen bite histories mentioned in some breed specific rescue websites too.

• Because dogs are predators and cats are prey, dogs vary in their degree of predatory interest but it’s there to some degree in most dogs.

Getting an adult dog, unless it’s truly tiny, with a cat, is not in my opinion a good idea.

@axolotlfloof - rescue dogs are not always those that have been badly treated and are potentially aggressive you know.

Sometimes they are much loved, well-trained, good-natured family pets whose owner has died or is no longer able to keep them for a range of reasons. Why do you think a tried and tested dog, that may have lived harmoniously with cats and children, is a worse choice than a puppy of unknown temperament?

Sometimes they are much loved, well-trained, good-natured family pets whose owner has died or is no longer able to keep them for a range of reasons
But you only have the previous owners word to go on.
And the opinion of the rescue as what the dogs temperament appears to be in that moment.
Unless the dog had been in foster for a long time the rescue might not be seeing the true extent of the dogs temperament.

People lie all the time; ‘I need to get rid because I work too long’ when they really mean this dog has severe separation anxiety and cant be left for a minute or it pees, poos and destroys the house or ‘he’s a bit boisterous with other dogs’ when they really mean the dog is savage and will lunge and growl and bark whenever it sees another dog or ‘he could do with a quieter home’ when they really mean the dog is seriously uncomfortable around kids and has bitten their five year old.

I think it’s irresponsible to have a rescue dog with young children, I agree with the OP who said adult homes only

**PP