Which dog fits this criteria?

[Scoobydoobydoobydoo0987]

Family with 2 small children are thinking of maybe ( still on the fence) of getting a dog. It must be compatible, so here's the criteria. If anyone has any suggestions, please..

1. Good for children
2. Good with cats
3. Not too much exercise is needed ( Alstians need 2 hours walking a day, so big no no)
4. Nothing too yappy
5. Nothing too big that DH couldn't lift, if it was ill and had to pick up and take to the vets ( We like bull mastiff but they are around 90kgs!)
6. protective of family but not a guard dog
7. Nothing prone to medical problems

That's an awfully demanding set of criteria! And no matter how much research you do, it is likely that whatever breed you choose will present unexpected problems and advantages. It is always going to be a leap in the dark so the biggest thing you need to ask yourself it 'Will I still be able to enjoy caring for him if our life together is completely different from what was expected - and comes with unanticipated, worrying problems?'

Reprotecting family, I think almost any dog will provide some protection in that they will bark whenever someone comes onto the property, and will be a visual deterrant. Anything more than that isn't a suitable role for a pet dog.

Bla bla pack leader bla bla alpha

It’s an excellent point to raise OP. Anyone who spouts this sort of crap doesn’t understand dog behaviour and sadly there are still lots of people and trainers who think dogs are trying to climb the slippery pole one sofa at a time. Make sure whatever puppy classes you go to don’t ascribe to this outdated theory.

Agreed - there are a lot of contradictions in what OP is looking for.

Any dog trained to guard will be trained to bark first, otherwise they would be extremely dangerous, including to people you want on your property!

They may be able to be good with your children but would almost definitely need to be kept separate when new children visited. Dogs can't really understand "this new person is fine, but this one isn't".

I think it's better to ditch the idea of protection and go for a dog that fits all the other criteria. Or, if you really want a working guard dog (which is a controversial idea) then accept it won't be a family pet.

Most dogs raise the alarm when a stranger comes to the house, and that is all that any responsible dog owner should expect from a furry family member. A guarding dog should only ever be in experienced hands and please don’t take offence, it doesn’t sound like yours are.

If you want a fun family member that is reasonably easy to train happy with a 20-30 min walk twice a day and ball play in the garden with kids (longer walks also welcome too) which will adore your family I’d say cockapoo, I know many that fit that bill. All puppies are hard work and require a lot of effort for the first year-18 months as you house train and stop them chewing/ eating stuff!

Look at Schnauzers- miniature or giant.

Same, he has a big bark but he only uses it to get in and out of the garden and if there’s leftovers on the kitchen side that he thinks should be for him. Any intruder would get greeted with a waggy tail and a toy or ball 😂.

Not good for first time owners. Loads of cockapoos/labradoodles in rescues aged around 18 months as prone to resource guarding. Their cuteness has been their downfall and plenty of crappy breeders.

Agree. Avoid standard as very different personality.

They will need regular grooming.

Our Border Terrier meets every criteria, apart from "protective of the family".

If we ever got burgled, I very much hope she'd hide under a bed upstairs so as not to risk getting hurt.

A dog that's good with kids is docile. A docile dog is probably not great at protecting you.

You've e had lots of advice already and I'd agree that a guarding breed is not right for first time owners or where friends of teenagers may be coming and going. I've had a few breeds in my lifetime and all I'd say is once you decide, if it's a purebred, go to Champdogs www.champdogs.co.uk/breeds?mobile_site=1 as they are the best site for breeders who HEALTH TEST. This helps avoid genetic problems further down the line and the expense and stress that comes with that. Just being Kennel Club Registered means nothing and would be non negotiable for me, or contact the UK breed club for that particular breed. Avoid Pets4Homes and Gumtree / any online seller. IMHO these sites should be shut down. Good luck.

Staffy! Great with kids, loyal, easy to train, don't require that much exercise (mine was more into playing with the ball for a bit and then having a nap rather than lengthy walks), not yappy, short haired so limited moulting (I know that's not one of your criteria but it's still a bonus), no particular medical problems. Lovely happy friendly little dogs with so much personality and the best smiles EVER!

Mine wasn't great with cats when she came across them in the park etc because she didn't have any real interaction with them, but several of my friends raised their staffs alongside cats (or introduced them slowly as adults) and they were absolutely fine. My mate's cat used to sleep on her staffy's head and was just ignored by him haha. Mine also had zero interest in our guinea pigs and degus and would be quite happy lying on the sofa with a guinea pig cuddled up next to her.

I love staffies, can you tell 😍😅

Not a golden retriever as they shed a lot, & need walks so don't get one if you have limited time to walk.
Alternatives that spring to mind matching some of your criteria is miniature schnauzer, these are great guard dogs, protective & very bright.
Although all dog's need walking.
Miniature poodles clever little things & sweet natured if socialised well. , or cavalier king Charles spaniel - not great guard dogs but are perfect companion dogs & usually great with kids.

I have a miniature dachshund they are guardy but he'd never hurt any of us, sweet but they can be a bit neurotic, don't need a great deal of walking in fact I usually have to drag him out for a walk!

You can't leave any dog with children, I wouldn't anyway.

Actually also another vote for border terrier sweet little dogs.
Grooming is another factor you need to consider,. Grooming bills can be high if you need to go regularly

A common or garden cross breed will do the trick on all of those counts. Trainable and biddable. No need to go for a designer or pure breed and bolster that market.
Unless you are going for a greyhound expect to offer more than an hours exercise.
There's a local woman who uses two crutches to walk and even she spends an hour twice a day walking her teeny terriers.

Bichon
Poodle
Rescue greyhound
Jack Russell Terrier (get a puppy but you really do have to put the training work in)
Lhasa Apso

I think anything bigger than these dogs wouldn't be suitable for your family. Definitely stay away from bull mastiffs or any other guarding type breed

The fact that you don't even know what you're looking for besides a weird fantasy list shows that you shouldn't get a dog. You're "on the fence". That means you're not ready.

I was going to say Rottweiler too - we have a boy, the sweetest dog with great manners around cats and children - just make sure you teach them this from a pup.

I agree with cross breeds, you’ve no idea what you’re getting. Plus it’s really hard to find a decent breeder as they’re classic puppy mill fodder.

you don’t always with a pedigree either, but a better chance of getting the traits you want.

I also agree with getting an alert dog rather than a “protective” breed. Mine will growl and/or bark which would wake us up but I hope he wouldn’t actually take a burglar on.

terriers are can be a good choice -yorkie, cairns and the like are unpopular at the minute which means your chance of finding a decent breeder increase as there’s not the profit there is in crosses.

Doberman-Weimeranar cross we had when I was a child, ticked all of OP's boxes.

A Doberman or a weim for someone who doesn’t want to walk a dog much… thats a destructive nightmare waiting to happen

We are first time dog owners and tried to get a dog via a rescue, but got turned down everywhere as we have two cats. So we ended up buying a cockapoo puppy. It's worked out really well for us BUT we had to put loads of effort into his training. Luckily as a puppy he was completely food driven so training was made easier but it was still a lot of work. He doesn't resource guard and he is very sociable. But that's the luck of the draw.

I would never get a protective/guard dog. Not fair on the dog, and potentially dangerous if you have children.

Firefly2023, a very good sensible post. I wouldn't class a lot of dogs on here as "not too big",at around 5stone. I'm on my 3rd border collie (sitting next to me) nope, not recommended for first time dog owners. A puppy is a baby....it's 6 months graft, even if you do work from home. I have friends with a 2 year old lab,had them before and other quite big dogs. He was a dream to housetrain,did basic training, now gun dog training. He's a strong musclar dog,she's finding him a challenge. She lives right nextdoor to a massive forest. Dog gets 2 2 hour walks a day. They work from home,but are semi retired.

I second this suggestion. We have 2, and our daughter has been brought up with them - they are also called 'nanny dogs'.
They're as soft as putty with anyone we allow in the house, and friends and family.

BUT ...my DH used to ride a motorbike. One day he came home, put the bike in the garage and came to the back door (which he didn't usually do) in his leathers, wearing his helmet. Well! The dogs went garrity-barking, snarling, baring teeth, one stayed at the back door and the other kept running between me and the back door doing the same.
Then......he took his helmet off. Once they recognised him, all the barking etc stopped and they went back to their usual soppy selves!! All because they didn't recognise him, and couldn't smell him and thought he was trying to break in.
I firmly believe there are no bad dogs, just bad owners, so any dog you get will need to be well trained.
I'm very impressed at the though you're putting into this, too.

Airedale?

I think you need disregard some things on that list. You can't have a silent guard dog. You also shouldn't have a guard dog with children, especially not if you want your children to have friends over, ever.

You also have to exclude all dogs with a strong prey drive such as terriers, greyhounds, poodles because of your cats.

I think if you get a dog you should get one that is just there to be a nice family member, but are you kids old enough to handle a dog with care? There have been many threads on here lately where perfectly gentle and docile dogs have bit their kids because they keep tormenting them and not reading the signs the dog gives out. If your kids are very young, like 5 or under, then wait a few more years for everyones sake.