Puppy choices

[Snakeskinbritches]

Hi, we have decided to get a puppy. I've worked from home for the last 3 years and am now hybrid working with only 2 days a week in the office. We are planning on using dog daycare for these 2 days.
I've been researching which breeds may be best for us.
At home, we have one son who lives with us who is 16. Our other son is 25 and has a 2 year old so we particularly would like a breed known to be good with children as we do sometimes babysit for the 2 year old. They do actually have their own dog, a collie/lab cross so she is used to a dog but we obviously want a dog who can happily live alongside kids.

We also have a cat to consider so it also needs to be a breed who accepts other pets more easily.
The breeds I seem to be coming up with are either Boston terrier or golden retriever/golden/lab mix) -a massive size difference I know, but these 2 seem to be fitting the requirements we have.
My main issue is, I've looked at so much stuff online and so many different websites and sometimes I'm finding wildly contradictory info. For example I'll see on several sites, Boston terrier is happy to be left alone sometimes and isn't likely to be too stressed about that, then I'll find another that lists the same breed as being in the top 10 dogs likely to have separation anxiety.
I will be at home most days and as I say planning on daycare for my days in the office, however, it does worry me that I'll obviously have to nip shopping and things now and then and one of the things that's stopped me getting a dog before now is that I can't bare the thought of the dog barking and crying for the 1 or 2 hours we'd be out of the house shopping or whatever.
I'm fully aware I'll have to put in the training to try and avoid that, and that it could be something that any breed could end up with if not trained well, but at the same time, I don't want to set ourselves up for failure by choosing a dog who is more prone to this issue.
Are there any experienced owners who have these breeds who can tell me first hand whether either of these breeds might be suitable for us?
The other traits of these breeds do tend to be pretty consistent over most sites I've been on ( easy going/friendly with kids/cats/not too barky)
but with being our first dog, I don't want to be making mistakes.
Thanks

Golden retriever all the way (definitely over a Boston terrier but also over a Labrador tbh). They’re quite reliable in their temperament and good family dogs - although will be boisterous in the teenage years - and they’re bred to resemble a functional dog which can’t be said of Bostons (I’m a vet and I’d never advise anyone to get a brachycephalic breed, I see far too much of their issues!)

Thanks, yes I definitely think the Boston being brachycephalic is putting me off somewhat. I've not been able to find much about the % likelyhood of issues due to that, so it's really good to get this advice from a vet who sees this type of thing so I really appreciate that.

What are you going to do about daycare when the puppy is too young for it? That would be my main consideration at this stage.
I’d go for a Border terrier if that can be worked around

Labrador. Mine is only noisy in her sleep 🤣
Not a German shepherd. Barks for kicks and giggles.

Another one here for a golden retriever. We have two and have had one before these. Perfect family dog if you can get past the malting. Very even tempered and eager to please. Ours can be left up to four hours happily if walked beforehand. They could probably go longer but we wouldn't feel fair leaving them so they tend to come along with us. Both adore the attention in dog friendly pubs without being overbearing. Highly intelligent, easy to train and just so loveable.

If you want something smaller than a golden, look at Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever - they are collie size and have brilliant temperaments. Only downside is they are quite hairy when they moult but ours was great with children and other dogs

I love my golden retrievers, but they are super hairy (and wet and muddy in bad weather), so aren’t great if you are house proud. I’ve had to stop buying black clothes, as the dog hair is just constant.
However, they are great with cats and children. Although I work from home I do go out to the shops, cinema, for meals, etc and once out of the puppy stage they are happily left for up to 4 hours.

Thanks all, some great advice here. I'll take a look at the other breeds mentioned too.
I did wonder about what age they can go into daycare. I have had a look at the closest to me, and will contact to check ages. I did have a look on the Facebook page of one though, and they seemed to have photos when they'd welcomed new customers and a couple said name, breed and age- I did notice there were a couple a young as 14 weeks so they must take them younger than id have thought- I'd been assuming it would be older than that.
I do flexi hours at work so can go into the office later in the day just before my partner arrives home so there wouldn't be much alone time if we couldn't use the daycare yet, so hoping that won't be too much of a problem.

Please consider what you would do if daycare turns out not to be suitable. Puppy is likely too young initially, some dogs find it overwhelming, if they're ill e.g. kennel cough they won't be able to go, if you have a female how will you manage seasons, if male many daycares won't take uneutered males etc.

I know at least two people whose dogs got expelled from daycare. Neither are terrible, untrained dogs but exhibited behaviours at daycare that were problematic.

I know high drive working terriers and lurchers who live happily with cats and toy breeds that are sods. Cats are about management and training so I’d forget that. You’d need total separation to begin with. A puppy brought up with a cat is more likely to be a pest than a threat.

Alone time - again they’re individuals to a point. Generally the more anxious the dog is the more likely SA is. So raising a calm, confident pup of any breed puts you on the right track.

Daycare doesn’t suit all dogs even good ones. A sitter would be better.

So may be worth considering other breeds. My last dog was a terrier hound cross and when she was an adult lived happily with three different cats. Current one is a border terrier (11 months old) and still thinks our very laid back cat is so interesting but with management and training she’s improving. Last dog was left 6 hours a day in two blocks work days with zero issues as she got loads outside that. Current one is too young for that and we’re still building her up to any length of time but we’ve had to consider quite a lot of FOMO with her being part working in her genetics. Husband WFH 99% of the time so it’s not been an issue so much and we’re taking our time.

Are you absolutely sure about daycare? Have you looked into the pros and cons for dogs?

We thought of doing the same until our pup came home after the first session like a different dog and behaving appallingly. Barking none stop, stressed, hyper stimulated and unable to settle, we noticed a huge difference in him on walks too. He was fine previously but all of a sudden had no boundaries with other dogs, thought every dog was a friend and stopped noticing cues that they didn't want to play. He was 100% toilet trained but came back from there randomly weeing and pooing inside. We sent him twice and never again.

It's taken months of training to get him back to where he was before and he only went for 8 hours total.

The actual people and daycare were lovely, but daycare itself was not good for our pup.

I would also add I HATE daycare. It’s really too much for a lot of dogs and can create issues like barrier frustration as they are never in a situation they can’t go over to dogs and say hello.

I sent my young puppy to daycare and in hindsight I really wish I hadn't. They're generally not great environments for puppies and many find them incredibly overwhelming and overstimulating.

The other thing to add about daycare is if you do use it, what will you do if you have a female in season or a male that they insist on being neutered?

They also can't attend daycare if they're sick or injured so you'll need plenty of back up plans in place.

Personally I would use a dog walker or sitter as they can look after your dog in their own home and will still be able to come and do visits if your puppy is unwell or injured etc.

I agree with others about rethinking daycare. Some dogs tolerate it but many really don't. A dog sitter or walker would probably be a better option, but you can't just send a young puppy off with a dog walker and expect it to go well. Also, don't underestimate how much attention and training a puppy needs before they are toilet trained in the house, ok to leave alone in the house for short periods etc. Even though you're home for 3 days a week, presumably if you're working you won't have the time to devote to this stuff.

Right, seems like I'll have to give the whole thing a re-think. I'll have a look into walkers/sitters. I'll be at home 5 days a week and as I said on the 2 days I go into the office I can go in later, so there'd maybe be an hour or so before my partner would be home after I'd left. Maybe I should just give up in this whole idea. I've been looking into it for a few months now and what would be involved/ensuring I got the right breed etc. But maybe I've got it wrong and its only suited to people who don't work at all and are home 100% of the time. Thanks all for advice and suggestions. I'll have to continue my walks alone.

If you're going to be home five days a week and the puppy will only be left for an hour or so, why do you feel like you need daycare in the first place or that you have to give up the whole idea?

Golden Retriever
You have to like mud and hair though

I should also say that a few friends/relatives use daycare and have never had any issues so it hadn't occurred to me there might be issues with that. I certainly wouldn't want to put in all the work training to have that undermined in such a short period of time. Also it could cause stress for the dog and create an issue that maybe wouldn't have been there to start with. 🤔 A lot to think about but maybe it was just a pipe dream.

Would you consider an older dog? Some breeders do occasionally have them. While I’d not be willing to take on a bitch that someone was discarding as it’s probably just giving money to a puppy farm, good breeders do occasionally have adult dogs returned to them due to a change in circumstances. Ie my sisters dog was returned to the breeder after the previous owner had a massive financial change in circumstance due to divorce.
He is a rare breed so she had given her details to a few breeders asking about this sort of scenario should it ever come up. She didn’t want a puppy because puppies are jerks.

I think she had to doctor her work a bit so she wasn’t really leaving him for the first two weeks or so to allow him to get settled but since then she’s been able to crack on as normal. He can be left for 4/5 hours and she has a lovely dog that she knows the full history off but got to skip the crying all night, pissing everywhere and biting everyone phase.

We'd initially thought about daycare as although i could continue with the work pattern of going in late on my 2 office days, I'd have to work till fairly late in the day to get my hours in, so although I could continue with it if i had to, I'd prefer to be able to finish as early as possible on my office days to have a nice long afternoon walk, especially once it's later in the year. So I was planning on doing this at first and then going back to earlier starts once we had sorted something else for during those days
My boss used to have a golden retriever and pre-warned me about the hair 😄

We have a working springer and she's the typical crazy springer for the first few mins that someone comes to visit but then is the laziest and most cuddly dog you can imagine! She does enjoy a good run around though, so not the dog for you if you're not an especially active family.

I've got 2 young children and after the initial puppy shark teeth phase where she ripped tiny holes in clothes etc 🙈 she is amazing with them and nieces/nephews.
Springers have wonderful temperaments and make great family pets.

Ours is crate trained and she often wanders into her crate for a sleep on her bed as we just keep the door open throughout the day and is perfectly happy being left whilst I go out for a couple of hours, school run/shopping etc.

My husband works away for long periods of time and I'm in a self employed professional role so work from home a lot and have a lot of control over my diary which helped a lot in the first 6months of having a puppy. We now also use a dog walker who is wonderful and very flexible thankfully!

It's perfectly doable to get a puppy in your situation but you may need to take some time off during those first few months until the pup can be left for longer periods of time.

Hope that helps and good luck!

It does appeal to me getting an older dog really and being able to miss all the puppy stage. The only thing putting me off is being able to know the full history. Although we have a son still at home, he's 16 so nobody living here who's too young, my granddaughter who is only 2 visits and I'd worry whether an older dog had any issues from it's previous home that might make that a bit unsafe.
I know someone who took on an older dog and to be honest I think she'd been misled as to his history and it didn't go too well when children were there, so I'm just so nervous about that.
I could look at breeders though as maybe more reliable on history then.

Your puppy won't be able to do long walks for at least a year anyway and by then, they'll probably be fine to be left with a dog walker popping in a couple of times a day, especially if you're going to be home with them the rest of the time.

We also didn't think we had a daycare problem until he stopped going and his behaviour improved dramatically within about 48 hours 😬

A well-run daycare is an amazing thing but many are just like big soft plays for dogs with no chance for the dogs to have any peace or respite.

Hi! Just to give a different view point. I have a golden retriever. Best dog ever, best addition to our family. I 100% wfh but as it's just me I wanted options for cover incase I needed to go into the office or something happened. So use doggy day care - I had also wanted to find a dog walker but they are like gold dust in my area and could never find one I trusted.
Daycare have been brilliant. I was wary of behaviours that everyone has said above and prepared to deal with it. It's been fine and she actually goes in once a week now for a play. When allowed to meet dogs off lead she has great manners and does the whole playbow routine.
Hope you find a solution. I love my goldie.