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

Thanks, everyone, for those who provided constructive advice. I definitely need to rethink our criteria and drop the protectiveness element, I think more of a dog that would alert us to an intruder. The children's safety is foremost, and the well-being of the animal, that we could meet their needs. I will take a look at all suggestions and see what may be a fit for us.

My dog does! He's a Spanish rescue podenco. I think that was more luck than planning enough.

We've got a cockapoo and she's a real family dog. Loves walks, bright, is wary round the cat rather than gets on with it. She does have an allergies though and needs groomed (at the groomers) every 6 weeks.

I'd get a lab or retriever in your postion.

I think if children are your focus as long as you’d find a breeder that really extensively health tests and are willing to go on a long waiting list you just cannot beat a Cavalier as a family pet.

I second this. I have a Golden Retriever and she’s very friendly, around 35kg and makes an awful racket whenever someone enters our front garden (I’ve never met one that didn’t).

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

depends on the terrier. I’ve had yorkies and cairns, they can have a strong prey drive but it’s almost exclusively aimed at rodents. I’ve had one or two that went hunting with the cats.

jack russels and patterdales, no 😂

Maltese, golden retriever or labrador.

Sure you can chance it but they might not know it was the wrong choice until it's too late for the poor cat. It sounds like OP wouldn't want anything as tiny as yorkie though.

Where on earth do you live that you regularly get "intruders"? Do you want a pet or a guard dog, because those are completely different things.

Tbh op I grow up with labradors my dad used to puppy walk them. We got one of our dogs back as she was too anxious she was amazing girl she just wanted her family back. She was a gentle soul wouldn't hurt a fly and loyal. One time I was playing fighting with a bf and she stood between us and was on guard so to speak. I bet my house she would have protected anyone of our family had we been in danger. My current pup would roll over and expect a belly rub. Each dog has there own unique personality.

There's a lot to consider OP, how do you feel about shedding? Labs and Goldies could be out if you don't want hair all over your 6 bedroom house. A poodle could be a good choice but poodle crosses are so popular and there are huge numbers being bred in puppy farms so you need to be very careful if you're thinking of one of them.

What I'd do before any of that though is look after someone's dog for a week or two so you get a real feel for what it's like to have a dog. Be aware that dogs won't exercise themselves in a garden, they might enjoy a pootle around out there or like my two they might stand outside the door barking for you to join them.

Absolutely, they come in 3 sizes. They are cheerful, friendly dogs, but the Standard is large, with a large, impressive bark. They don’t shed, unlike cocker/poodle cross breeds. Poodles are also generally healthy dogs when obtained from health tested parents. Cockerpoo often have nightmare coats, half fur, half wool in a lot of cases (ask any experienced groomer) and are prone to serious health problems because they inherit genetic vulnerabilities from both breeds (ask any vet).

I wouldn't suggest any dog as you don't really want to look after it

I really like poodles but I don't think it's right for the OP's circumstances. Firstly because they have a high prey drive and they have two cats, secondly because they are very intelligent and need stimulation in order to not become destructive. From what I can see they want a dog that can function well with little stimulation whilst they work from home and they also have young kids who take up a lot of time.

I take your point about stimulation, but for someone who is around at home most of the time, that probably wouldn’t be an issue. I have had 3 Standard Poodles (sadly gone now) and I currently have two Toys. So long as they are with their humans, checking out whatever they are doing, they are happy. All of mine have been raised from puppies with my Siamese cats and they are all happy together. The prey drive in a Poodle is often overstated. They were bred as water retrieving gun dogs, so are not as sharp on land as other gun dogs. Also most other gundog breeds are more close to their working instincts, including in the show lines. It’s a very long time since Poodles were used as working gun dogs in most countries. As an aside (not really relevant to the current question), Toy Poodles were bred simply to be lap dogs, not working at all.

Rough collie (lassie)

I agree that the smaller poodles would work better than a standard poodle in this family. I haven't owned a poodle myself, but my aunt has had 3 (I think) over the years, they were all standard poodles and they would not have been happy to spend 8 hours a day watching her sit in front of a computer even with a lunch break. It may also depend on how you raise them to an extent, she was very engaged and did agility training with them every day, went to shows etc.

I would say not a lab or golden retriever because they need a lot of exercise and stimulation. Those breeds would not be happy on 1 hour a day exercise and you would probably end up with a bored and destructive dog.

If you want okay with cats and moderate exercise requirements, then a shitzu could work well. They have a lovely nature and are great with children. They have a decent bark but I don't think they would scare intruders away! 🙂

I'd just say re prey drive that if a puppy is brought up with cats, it learns to see them as members of the household and is fine with them.

I've had a JRT and working-line gundogs brought up with cats, and one cat ruled the roost, while the other snuggled up quite regularly with one of the dogs.

It doesn't always work. I had a friend who bought a rottweiler who had been around cats at the breeder and then also when he moved in with my friend at 10 weeks old as she had two cats. The dog was fine with the cats until he reached the doggy teenage years, at that point he started to chase the cats relentlessly and he got really stressed and couldn't relax at home at all. She had to give the dog up shortly after as none of the animals were enjoying life at that point.

I wouldn’t choose any dog with “protective” in its job description as a pet dog, personally.

I think you have to remember that breed specific traits just weight the odds in your favour, they aren't a guarantee of a particular behaviour.

My lab has never barked at someone at the door.

This. Ignore anyone talking about dog/human hierarchy.

Your criteria are all about what you want from a dog OP, you don't mention what you can offer a dog except 'not too much exercise'.

Just because you're working from home doesn't mean you'll have time to devote to all the training that's required: house training a puppy, for example, requires the puppy to be taken into the garden around every 40 minutes or so during the day, also several time during the night, and after meals - a new puppy needs to be fed 4 times a day.

There's a lot of general training and playing required throughout the day, every day, if you are to end up with a well rounded, well trained adult dog. It's not just about the amount of actual exercise.

Breeds do have certain traits, it's true, but dogs are all individuals so it's best not to make too many assumptions based purely on breed, or be too rigid about what you require from a dog, because you're likely to be disappointed once you find you that the dog you've ended up with isn't a machine and has a mind of its own.

Some kind of lap dog

Look up breeds bred for the lap

That's not much exercise so definitely start away from terriers and working dogs of any kind.