first family dog

[countrylifeorcitylife]

Hoping to get some advice about what dog to get for our young family. Our kids are 2 and 4 but we’re looking to get a dog in about a year and a half/ two years but want to find a trusted breeder and know some lists are very long.

I want a cocker spaniel, I like their size and their look and I think they’d fit in well

my husband wants a lab ( red fox lab ) but I’m not sure, they’re so big!

We’re a very active family so the dog would need to be able to run long distances.

any advice/ other breeds welcome. Unfortunately can’t get a rescue as the kids are so young. I’m a SAHM so have time to train/ walk. The dog wouldn’t be left alone for more than a couple of hours.

I haven’t read the whole thread so please don’t be upset if I’m repeating.

Don’t under any circumstances get a Red Fox Lab. Any decent breeder would not let you have one anyway with your family set up.

My DF has had labs and other working dogs for his entire life. All the dogs work and all are well exercised. His current Dog is a Red Fox and he very nearly gave up on her. It was only a trainer that specialises in working dogs that got things back on track and the cost was almost prohibitive.

This is a man in his 60, married so just the two of them with no DC to consider. Retired so has all day to train and exercise the Dogs and a lifetime of experience.

Shes a lovely dog now but my gosh, it’s taken a lot of work.

I think your dad has just been unlucky - there are loads of fox red labs around here (and I walk two of them through my business) and they are no different to any other kind - in fact, the younger of the two is one of the best behaved dogs I've ever met.

I work in a vets and the calmest labs are always the black ones .
Chocolate the worst !

I would wait until your youngest is at least 8. Puppies bite relentlessly for the first 9 months or so of their lives - to the extent that all first-time owners start to worry that they have bought an “aggressive” puppy with behavioural issues - they haven’t, this is just puppy behaviour. But it is awful and they are particularly attracted to children, who are fast, loud and unpredictable- all things which puppies find stimulating and exciting and make them want to nip more.

You also need to do a lot more research. Cocker spaniels are not really first-time dogs as they are extremely intelligent and need a lot of training. People make the mistake of thinking they want an intelligent dog when actually they want a biddable dog. The two are not the same at all. A cocker needs someone who knows what they’re doing to train it or it is perfectly capable of deciding for itself what it wants to do and then you end up with a dog that has no recall and is a nuisance - they are also notoriously hard to train to walk nicely on a lead.

Labs are better for first time owners as they are generally more biddable but it is a huge red flag that your husband is immediately thinking about colour as the priority. The colour comes bottom of the list - first is getting a puppy from fully health-tested parents (and for labs, hip scoring is essential - Google it) with a good temperament. Fox red just means dark yellow in any case. Purely anecdotally but the most biddable and best pet labs I’ve known have all been black, which coincidentally is the most traditional colour for labs and typically the colour most popular with working owners.

I would do a lot more research, read up on breeds and required health tests and then get yourself on breeder waiting lists - Champdogs is a good website to look at. Don’t go near Pets4Homes, Gumtree etc.

Sorry got my abbreviations mixed up. It’s a DFriend rather than my DF

We've got a springer spaniel. Got him when the kids were 5 and 6 so both in full time school. I was working 3 days per week at that stage and we had a dog walker come for those days. He's the best thing we've done for our family, he loves the kids and the kids love him. He's active and needs at least an hour of walking a day but he's also super flexible and will do 2 short half hour walks or 1 longer walk of up to 3 hours, probably longer but we haven't tried! He is 2 now and is very calm at home. He's so full of personality, fully recommend a springer

Thank you all. I didn’t realise we could be suitable for a rescue dog. I love whippets as well so I’ll deff look into that. Thanks so much for all your helpful advice!

OP just also be really aware that some dogs shed a lot! So also consider whether you are ok with that and it’s important to make sure no one is allergic to dogs in the house first. I did several visits to the non shedding breed we picked to be 100% sure after seeing sad re-home stories because of allergies.