Please recommend a dog for our family

[abairliom]

Good morning
We have decided to welcome a dog to our family.
I never had a dog at home growing up so I'm not used to dogs but am
Looking forward to our new addition.
I live in a modest three bed semi and there will be someone at home all day at all times for the first six months . We also have a small back garden with a big shed and I will get a solid gate at the side to prevent escape and enjoy safety.

I would prefer a dog that does not shed , enjoys children with a gentle temperament that does not require huge specific training or long long walks every day.

Please respond as if you were talking to an absolute beginner. I appreciate all advice and support as i believe that a dog would be a wonderful and much loved addition to our family, thank you.

To be fair, mine doesn’t do out in the garden completely unsupervised, I don’t follow him around or anything but I stay in earshot because he’s prone to barking his head off and I’ve got a lot of close neighbours.

@abairliom so as your finding out all dogs need training - ongoing training is pretty much re-enforcing good behaviours, rewarding for recall, good lead walking it kind of becomes second nature but counts as training even though your not going to training school etc.

In relation to your other queries you would need to be careful about the 6 months element if you are then due to leave the dog for extended time periods. Again you would work on this gradually and increase time away to avoid separation anxiety. Rather then 6 months someone about then straight to time away.

It depends on the age of your children to if a rescue charity will rehome. I would say a sight hound breed probably fits what your looking for as they like to sleep most of the day and have short bursts of energy. My sight hound gets 1 walk a day of less then an hour and refuses point blank to go out in the rain.

Your probably better going to a sight hound specific charity however which fosters the dogs first. The reason being that they tend to assess how dogs deal with different scenarios better and gives you a better understanding.

Your children will also need training on how to be around a dog, how to give them space etc sight hounds can be particular about their legs for instance.

I've been training my children since a few months old 😂

*A very experienced dog person said when asked about Temperament and training said:

What was your old dog like?
this one will be like that”*

Ahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa

For us it was more like:
'What was your first child like? The next one will be the polar opposite.'

I think that is a bit of a myth, we have a neighbour who is a guide dog puppy raiser and tells a very different story about the pups that don't make the grade - the guide dog website says -

We often receive applications from people looking for a ‘perfect pet’. But the reality is that our dogs available for rehoming often will have health conditions or behavioural needs that need to be monitored or managed.

These health and behaviour needs can range from mild to severe. Health conditions can include skin issues, joint problems, eye conditions or epilepsy. Behaviour needs can include poor recall, being easily distracted, being reactive to other dogs, separation anxiety, issues with travelling or being too strong on the lead.

Leaving a dog unsupervised in a garden is like leaving a toddler unsupervised in a garden... they might be fine and some people do it, but its not what you should be doing.

They dig, they eat plants, they get their heads stuck places, if they work out how to get out they can decide to take themselves off got a walk.

I once had to rescue my (now deceased) Rottweiler from a tree - he jumped up after a bird and then couldn’t get back down and, that was with supervision.

And on top of that you’ve got things like delivery people leaving gates open and dog thieves to worry about too.

H

@tabulahrasa very sound advice my old eBay friend!

I've reported the nasty comment made to you by bingoringo4.

@abairliom ignore the batshit crazy comments on here. Everyone has to be a first time dog owner at some point!
Your situation sounds like mine did a few years ago, we got a cockapoo. Lovely dog, albeit a bit clingy! But he got him during Covid so he always had company, kids now off to uni and DH and I do hybrid working. He can go 3 hours on his own when we are both out and when we get home the welcome is awesome! No shedding which is the biggest bonus.

The unsupervised in a garden thing - I have to agree leaving them completely to their own devices and not being kept an eye on, even if it's from a kitchen or living room window, is inadvisable.

I always watch mine in the garden as she's prone to shouting at pigeons, or the neighbours or the neighbourhood dogs, and barking excessively is not acceptable and she has to be taken indoors. Many dogs left to their own devices, especially young dogs, will go about finding their own entertainment - whether that me looking for escape routes, digging up the lawn or pulling plant pots apart, or just reacting and barking to every thing they can hear or smell.

I had to rescue a neighbourhood husky twice after she kept scaling the fence of her garden when she was left out and not watched and going for a walk around the area, including a very busy road. I think the chap that owned her must have moved as I've not seen her for a while now, or he's just got fed up of paying the dog warden fees to get her back and stopped leaving her out.

Well now I wish I’d seen it 😂

But the point is, if the OP thinks supervising a dog in the garden is batshit then maybe they do need to do a lot more thinking about whether a dog is for them, because it’s pretty normal.

You don’t need to follow them round 3 feet away or anything, but even the most placid staid dog can suddenly do something unexpected just because, so ideally you’re close enough to see what they’re doing fairly regularly and get out there quickly if there’s an unexpected noise or suspicious silence.

This 100%
Never leave a dog unsupervised in a garden as it REALLY encourages barking.
A woman in Australia used to leave her poodle x to yap endlessly in the garden and the poor dog was poisoned to death.

They came home to her dead.
A post mortem showed toxin in her system.

Dog poisoning from barking is rare, but it does happen.

People are very intolerant of barky yapping dogs generally.

Cavadoodle
West Highland Cavadoodle
Jack Russell
Tried and tested rehomed bitser,medium, from LDH.

You will love living with a dog.
Take dog to your local Vet for it's yearly shots and checkup. Join the Vet's newsletter group. Commit to wising up, being an active dog owner and caring for your dog. The better you train your dog, the more places you will be able to take it

Enroll in obedience school, make friends with dog owners, go on dog walking outings with others. Make a space in your home for a new dependent member.

Supervision in the garden depends on the security of the garden, its contents, how much you value it looking nice, and the dog.

Our old dog would lie out there in the sun, no problems. One of the current two, not a chance.

It doesn't sound like you have really any idea about the reality of having a dog. They are a massive commitment They have to be walked every day and even a small dog should have a good walk each day without fail for their mental aswell as physical health. You don't just get a well behaved calm dog you have to put a lot of work and training in to mould them that way. Please think about this carefully

They are gorgeous. We also have a lovely lurcher rescue. Would never have any other dog from now on such lovely dogs and very easy to look after sadly so many needing a home that just get overlooked for this obsession with cockapoos and such like

how old are your kids? if you have a son 10 or above who is ahead of his grades you will be able to get labrador or bigger, especially in the 12-15 range ex parte observer's paradox the son will naturally grow physically to adapt to be able to handle the dog on a leash

if your kids are behind in studies or wherever you'd like them to be i'd maybe get a smaller dog anyway

The back door is open 3/4 of the year. Ddog goes in and out 24/7. Occasionally i have to get up in the middle of the night because she is barking at foxes on the other side of the fence.

Explore small scale rescues near you, where dogs are fostered before adoption.

I applied to several big names and got no response. The small scale rescue placed us with our wonderful overseas mongrel, who is the most wonderful and loving character, and suits us perfectly

I was closely supervising our current digging, jumping, chewing nutter in the garden when she snapped a bumblebee out of mid-air, got stung in the throat and was very unwell indeed. I'll count it a triumph if I manage to raise her to adulthood (clutches grey hairs).

Why the unpleasant answers? If OP doesn't ask, HTH is she supposed to learn?

I'm a cat owner because of my lifestyle but one day would love to have a dog when I can devote the time. I know now that I will not be asking this forum for advice, because...sheesh.

Tbh op i didnt realise that dogs need ongoing training either.

If you get the basics right at the beginning it's more just a case of topping up the training.

We got a terrier mix, he's been a great dog in that he's quick learner, toilet training was a pretty easy, he's eager to please and extremely loyal.

Downside is he can be a bit prickly with other dogs he doesn't know. We've put in a lot of effort to get him to ignore other dogs.

I'd look at the small breeds like toy poodles, bichon frise, Maltese as they would all fit your requirements.

Day to day requirements of my (fairly easy dog) is at least an hours walking (this can be two half hour walks or one long walk), playing with him and 10-15 mins training.

I think if you can't realistically do the above you're probably not ready to have a dog.

I completely understand the frustration of some at a poster like the OP who initially gives the impression she has little understanding of how much training, exercise and supervision a dog needs, but come on, when has a response like "you're clueless" or "FGS don't get a dog" ever made anyone change their mind? All it does is get people's backs up and makes them double down.

Spell out in detail, like @BrokenWing has, exactly what's involved and hopefully you'll get the person evaluating for themselves if their lifestyle is compatible with a dog or not.

All dogs need training, but after a certain age, they're trained and the training keeps going just by being consistent, so it's low effort. It might need readjustment, but it's not hours everyday.

All dog owners have been first time owners, there's nothing wrong with that, I really don't get the gatekeeping here.

Puppies are hard work though, and can be very frustrating, we all have this image of the snuggly puppy but the reality is more one of a furry terrorist with sharp teeth who finds many creative ways to get into trouble.
In puppy stage, everything requires training. Toilet, being alone, jumping on people, biting, barking, walking on the leash etc...
People often confuse training with commands (like sit, go to your bed etc...) Commands are useful, but training is much more than that, it's about shaping the dog's behaviour. Most aspects of training won't have a command attached to it.

Is it hard? not really, it's not rocket science and there's loads of very very helpful resources (professional trainer, books, podcats, videos etc...) but it's relentless, it feels a bit like a game of whack-a-mole, there's always something new to address. And it requires full household alignment. I personally always trained my dogs alone, so I never had that issue but I can imagine it creating tension in the family!

This said, as hard work as puppies are, they grow into dogs, which are fabulous companions, so it's 100% worth it!
My puppy is not a puppy anymore, 18 months old, his training is still ongoing, and I foresee it'll be for a while, but the bulk of it is done, and he's a joy to be around, when I look back at how much of a dickhead he was 12 months ago, I have a hard time wrapping my hear around the fact that it's the same dog.

And yes, they are not cheap.

Breed wise, I'd say a border terrier would be a good candidate, they are fantastic little dogs, compact but sturdy and generally very well natured.
Same for cairn terrier or westies.

OP I cannot believe some of these ridiculous OTT replies! We have had dogs since our children were about 6 .
We have had a Westie and 2JRTs.
Westie had problems with eczema but the JRTs have been absolutely brilliant dogs .
Can honestly day that if you have a secure back garden they really are absolutely fine unsupervised in the garden as long as they can run around,have a 2 min yap every few hours
Dog walking can be anything from 2 half hour walks a day to all day hikes.
Training really was minimal because they were walked on the lead and training treats used for recall which I did in an enclosed field.Youngest JRT unfortunately was attacked by a retriever so we now have to use the lead at all times otherwise she will run and now will not come back.
Both dogs can be left unsupervised for about 5 hours but generally they have company for the best part of the days.
Only draw back is that they do shed their hair .
They are the best company,love a lap to sit on and a bed and I really recommend a JRT as a family dog.

Did you seriously just criticise the OP for specifying that she will have a secure garden? Would you prefer an insecure one?

Honestly, it’s no wonder there are so many shit dog owners out there, when people get this response for asking questions. You lot turn people right off asking for help.