What dog would you recommend for us?

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

Family of four, DC 10 and 8. Both calm, gentle kids; used to dogs as they spend a lot of time with their grandparents' dog.

We live in a small house with a small garden in a small city centre, so need a small-medium dog (but not toy breed). We live very near three parks, and are a 10 minute drive from open countryside.

I am home most of the time, the dog would very rarely be left alone and never for more than a couple of hours. I am fit and very active, and happy to give a dog as much exercise as it needs.

We also have a confident, dog savvy cat who's unphased by visiting dogs.

We've tried rescues, but haven't found one with a suitable dog, so we've decided to register with a reputable breeder and wait for the right puppy - we aren't ready to get one till autumn, as we have a holiday booked, so have time.

We want a hardy dog without congenital health issues. We are not keen on dogs with squashy faces like pugs and bulldogs, (nothing personal, my mum has a Frenchie and she's a sweetheart, I just worry about the health issues) and DH isn't keen on "fluffy, fro-fro" dogs like bichon frise (sp???), although I wouldn't rule them out.

We're financially secure and can afford vets bills, insurance, training, etc.

Initial research has thrown up miniature schnauzers, Cairn terriers and Australian shepherds as strong contenders, does anyone have any experience of those breeds? Or have another suitable breed they'd recommend?

We'd be perfectly happy with a scruffy mutt, but they seem surprisingly hard to find these days! Thanks in advance.

Oh, I forgot to say DH and I had dogs before - I had a Staffie in my 20s, he had a Brittany spaniel as a teenager.

A standard dachshund?

I absolutely love wirehaired dachshund, but would worry about the spinal issues. Gorgeous wee dogs though.

Hi, we have a Tibetan Terrier - Betty, she’s beautiful. They are lovely dogs, non shedding (we have allergies in our family).

We have a mini schnauzer. obviously they all have their own personalities, but they are intelligent and very trainable - as long as you start straight away.
They can be stubborn and have a high prey drive, but nothing we haven’t been able to manage with good training. she’s brilliant off lead.
They are very loving and sociable, ours adores everyone and every dog! They have bags of character too. Don’t need hours of exercise but they do enjoy a good walk. They also love a snuggle on the sofa with you.
people will try to tell you they are yapping or bark too much. Any dog will do that if you don’t train them. Ours was taught not to do it.
You do need to think about the grooming though, it can get very expensive, I’m about to learn to do it myself as I’m fed up of paying £40 every 6 weeks!

A Boston Terrier if you want to spend that much (they're expensive) or a Beagle. Both don't grow too big, need medium exercise, aren't too fluffy so should tick the boxes for your husband! And lastly they're both extremely familiar friendly dogs with lovely temperaments.

That was meant to read family friendly!

You sound like a good candidate for a rescue/puppy born at a rescue - it's worth talking to smaller ones who are less prescriptive about children and cities. A mixed dog is generally less prone to health issues

Cocker spaniel (show, not working)?

We have a worker x show, he's good with the cats (although 18 months on, older cat still avoids him).

Most puppies will not cope with being left for a couple of hours, so be prepared to arrange things around them / pull in favours for 6 months or so. Better to take it slowly and build up gradually as a puppy, than end up with a stressed dog who can't be left at all.

Thank you, I shall look into Tibetan terriers and beagles as well, not keen on the Boston terrier appearance.

I've realised I meant Australian terriers in my OP, not shepherds.

Anyone know much Norfolk and Scottish terriers, as they seem like possibilities?

I think Norfolk terriers are an endangered breed so it would be fab if you had one. The ones I’ve met have been lovely. I really like miniature schnauzers too, enough dog to go for proper walks but still compact.

Oh I absolutely wouldn't leave a puppy alone, any more than I would a human baby! That's another reason for waiting till autumn, tbh, as I'll be able to "pause" some commitments then. And if it was anything unavoidable, my mum would puppy sit.

I've had a home check with a local rescue who've said they'd be happy for us to adopt a dog from them, it's just got to be the right one. They've actually got a litter of medium sized mixed breeds pups at the moment, but it's just not the right time for us for the next few months, we've got too much on. I want to be able to properly devote myself to our newest family member when they arrive!

Cairn terriers are fantastic little dogs - hugely underrated IMO.

I would also look at miniature poodles, cocker spaniels and beagles.

Beagles generally get a bad rap on MN but they are fantastic with children and sadly, are used in labs precisely because they are known for being even tempered and incredibly tolerant.

Ours is four now and he's very low-maintenance as long as he has company and plenty of exercise. He doesn't need grooming, we don't need to worry about his coat getting matted, he's fine with an hour of exercise per day - but equally he can go all day if you need him to. He's fantastic with children (and people in general), very food motivated so easy to train (recall aside, lol) and exceptionally cute 😍

We were first-time dog owners when we got him and although the teenage months were tough, they were so worth it. They are prone to barking (baying) and separation anxiety but if you put in the training when they're young, it really pays off. Just make sure you really work to nail their recall and be careful in places with lots of nice smells!

Jack Russell- cheap and best!
They’re also generally “open pollination” (not sure of the correct term for that in animals), ie non pedigree, thus healthier.
Or look for bitzas on gumtree, but you need to be a bit more circumspect about temperament as they can be more of a crap shoot.

I've never met a Jack Russell that wasn't absolutely nuts, tbh! 😆

I still smile when I remember the Jack Russell puppy that was determined to take on my very strong and fit Staffie, Poppy. She tolerated it's barking and snapping for ages, then got fed up and pinned it with one paw, which it wasn't much bigger than.

Poppy's there, looking down on this puppy with an expression of "when you've stopped being silly, I'll let you back up", and it's still going absolutely ballistic. "I kill you!! I KILLLLLLL YOU!"

MIL had a cairn terrier. He was a chirpy little thing, small but solid. Wasn’t phased by DS as a young child.
However, he had awful detail problems so make sure that you get the dog used to have its teeth cleaned daily.

Having said that, I've just found a Jack Russell cross on a rescue's website who's adorable and could live with dog-savvy kids and cats! 😍

@AwkwardPaws27 , can you tell me more about Cockers? DH loves a spaniel. I always thought of them as a bit neurotic, is that not the case? I like a bold, slightly cheeky personality in a dog.

Working cockers are pretty much on "go" mode all the time. Our dog's mum is a worker, her owner (an old friend of ours) has horses and she goes out for miles every day and is still wanting to keep going. Lovely lovely dogs but if we got another in future I'd look at a show or another worker/show mix as I don't think I'd be able to keep up with a full worker.

They are often described as "velcro" dogs, they want to be with their people and involved in what you are doing - but from watching our dog and speaking to other cocker owners it's more through FOMO (fear of missing out!) than insecurity.

They are very fun dogs, and generally seem to get along well with other dogs on walks etc. We've only met one similarly aged rather bolshy show who took a bit of a dislike to our more submissive boy.

They do have a tendency towards "stealing" items (being gun dogs they have a really strong instinct to have something in their mouths) & this can sometimes develop into resource guarding if not handled well (you should never forcibly remove items from their mouths).

I'd say they are generally quite hardy - one of the reasons why I chose the breed - although I'd recommend clipping their paws to make checking for grass seeds easier. We have been quite unlucky with our boy - he developed a rare autoimmune condition called IMPA at 9 months - but its not strongly linked to the breed and the rest of his littermates have been very healthy.

I was going to suggest either a patterdale terrier or a whippet especially if you are active and outdoorsy.

A have several friends with one or the other and every single one I've met of both breeds was chilled out/laid back, non yappy, just as happy pit on a run as they are cosied up on the sofa!

I have a chihuahua Jack Russell cross. He's so clever and he's good with kids and other dogs and our cats.

He's quite low maintenance. Walked once a day for five miles.

I also have a pure bred chihuahua who we adopted. He's 8 months so still a baby. He's so vocal. He does this whine yap thing all the time at nothing.

They keep each other occupied. He also goes on a five mile walk but not off the lead just yet.

He's also good with kids etc but he's much more territorial over us if we are out

So following a discussion with DH it looks like beagle is the front runner - and there's a KC breeder very near us, so I've emailed her and asked to go on her waiting list for a puppy.

I was rather keen on a Norfolk or Tibetan terrier, but DH prefers short-haired dogs.

I have had a Cairn and a Norfolk.

Both brilliant little dogs with enormous personalities.

Regular stripping keeps their coats in order.