Which breed to consider

[Aug12]

Hi all,

We are a good 18month to 2yr away from being in a position to welcome a dog into our lives but just thinking/researching which breeds might be an option for our family.. I know good breeding comes into play and you can never know exactly what traits your dog will have.

We have 3 young children (hence waiting a few year) so friendliness needs to be top priority. We can manage a daily walk of an 1hr per day and then playing in the garden. A medium or small breed would be preferred and due to having a cat and bunny, preferably with little prey drive/instinct. Someone is always home so bar popping to Tesco or swimming lessons on a Saturday, they wouldn’t be left home alone. My eldest is keen to try agility classes with their dog and we will have a trainer in place to help us along with it all.

thanks

All puppy’s are hard work but I’d really recommend a Lab. Ours is 3 now and we have a 5 month old baby, he took a lot of training (but all dogs do) and he’s the absolute perfect family dog, so loving, so gentle, and just amazing!

A little bigger than you were asking for but a golden retriever would be perfect in it opinion, OP.

Show cockers are a delight - just make sure you get the show line not the working line! Otherwise you will spend your life managing prey drive.

An hours exercise a day for a retriever breed would be cruel. They need 1-2 hours a day. Closer to 2. Anyone who gives their less than 90 minutes is negligent.

Irish terrier. Medium sized (12-16kg depending sex, bloodlines etc) minimal moulting, amazing with children. Are very much a dog of their family. They need consistency in training but that's the same with all dogs, even "easy" breeds.

Cocker spaniel without a doubt mini golden retriever without the size and half the fur! Amazing breed especially with young children! Not too small so they are robust my kids can be clumsy and dogs do like to get under your feet too small of a breed and a child falling over it or on it would have dire consequences for small breed dogs ❤️

Miniature poodle! Fantastic little dogs, very clever and they love to learn. The only downside is the grooming but if you keep them short, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep on top of.

my friend has a cavapoo and she is great with kids, happy with an hour walk each day and doesn’t really shed fur. They crate trained her straight away to get her used to being alone sometimes

Miniature or toy poodle would fit very well.

I would have said a labrador apart from the exercise. An hour won't be enough.

OP - you could do worse than get a small rescue dog. A Heinz 57 will likely have less health issues than a pure breed. They sometimes have a few issues, but these are usually easy to work through.

Also, a Yorkshire terrier may be a good option? I walk one, and have been really surprised. I completely underestimated them. She keeps up with bigger dogs on walks, has loads of personality, is easily trained, and is very portable.

I agree with show cocker. their only down side IMO is that they often don't like to be left - but if someone is always around it doesn't sound like that's a problem. Whatever breed I would always go for a girl personally, they're generally smaller, not so strong and easier IMO. Any puppy is extremely hard work though.

I'd be a bit careful about cocker spaniel as a first dog. The SpanielAid website is rather full of youngish cockers who were a bit much for their family or started getting possessive and snappy (aka resource guarding, I think).

We have one. She's beautiful, clingy, nuts, and didn't read the memo about low prey drive.

I second a young rescue mongrel. I’m an experienced owner, and my current dog is a poodle cross (no idea what, but he’s defo a poodle something!).

He will take as much or as little exercise as I can give him and is the friendliest, happiest little boy I ever knew. He does need grooming, but not excessively, and has quite the prey drive - which is managed really quite well by tennis balls and a chuckit. Not even squirrels are as sexy as a tennis ball, apparently.

Based on your needs I would say one of the cavalier crosses (cavapoo/cavachon) - I would actually just say a King Charles Cavalier but of course they can have health issues.

I'm unsure why people are recommending spaniels, labradors and goldies when OP has said they can only manage an hour of exercise a day

I’m in a similar position. Havanese currently in top position.

Is she working or show lines?

Show cockers are happy with half an hour twice a day.

Our Border Terrier was brilliant. Would walk as long as was on offer (with the occasional sit down strike).

Fun and affectionate with real character.

That's not a hard and fast rule - it hugely depends on the dog. I work with some who would be happy with two gentle plods, and others who need a good two hours of off-lead running each day.

They're really not a breed I would recommend for first-time owners with young children for all sorts of reasons, the amount of exercise only being one of them.

How much exercise does a lab need ?

I’d recommended a border terrier too. They’re wonderful dogs - big dogs in a small body, very accommodating, kind and friendly perfect family dogs.

An adult Labrador should be getting a good two hours of decent exercise a day. Yes, some might be okay on less but there's no guarantee, and the last thing you want is a bored, under-exercised dog causing havoc in your house.

Too many people choose dogs based on their looks or personality and don't seem to consider their needs and requirements enough.

I came on to say exactly this. We cut our poodle ourselves, it’s not difficult.

I’ve had a golden retriever and they never get tired. The shedding is also a nightmare.

Just to warn you, don’t get a poodle cross. They come from puppy farms and irresponsible breeders. You also have no idea what you are getting in terms of health and temperament.