We are hoping to introduce a dog into our family this spring, so that myself and my daughter (age 6) will be able to enjoy the summer holidays with the puppy.

I would really appreciate any suggestions on breed. The dog will need to be left alone for 2-3 hours on most days (after the summer hols), but apart from that will be walked to school and back twice a day, with additional exercise in our reasonably sized garden.

My daughter is a gentle and patient 6 year old, who if anything can be nervous of some dogs, and therefore we would like a breed that is relatively calm and affectionate.

We definitely need a dog that sheds very little, as I have suffered from some allergies with animals in the past - we would also like to be able to easily wash paws and bath the dog reasonably frequently, as we are planning for it to live as part of our family having the run of most of the house!

It seems that the miniature schnauzer might be suitable for our requirements, or possibly the Welsh Terrier. I would really appreciate any suggestions of other small breeds and opinions on Mini Schnauzer vs. Welsh Terrier.

Thank you.
Karen.

Is there anyone who can help ?..I know very little about either breed I'm afraid :)

Melody

Hi,
I have owned mini schnauzers for 10 years now & i can honestly say that i have never had such a wonderful breed of dog they are very adaptable, the males i find are less clingey than females, but either dog/bitch make wonderful pets & are ideal for children they are quite hardy like a terrier but don't have the snapping tendency of a terrier & i find them very clean individuals who are easily house trained & highly intelligent.
As for bathing & grooming i do my own & they are bathed once a week groomed daily & clipped every 8 weeks (except one who is stripped for show so must be kept in good coat all the time:)
Hope this helps
Jenny.

Hi Karen,

I have a Mini Schnauzer puppy called Rufus, he is 13 weeks old today - and I can tell you he is the best thing that has ever happened to us (me and my fiance). We do not have children but have nieces and nephews and everyone just loves him.
We found out about mini schnauzers as our neighbour has two, and they are not only traffic stoppers but loving, friendly dogs.
He sheds no hair whatsoever, loves baths, absolutley loves walking and cannot have enough attention and cuddles.
we both work but he is never left longer than 4 hours. I believe mini schnuazers are renound for their creative minds and so with lots of toys and a spacious play area (until we are fully confident he is house trained), this causes no problems and he keeps himself well entertained.
He can be a little over excitable with strangers but I suppose this perfectly natural as he is only a baby.
At this stage, we are 99% there with toilet training, 100% with sitting and he is understanding alot of phrases. He is very clever and exceeded our expectations. I say go for it!! Post a message to let us know how you get on!
Louise
ps hope I don't sound too biased ;-)

Many thanks for replies so far - it is very encouraging. Howevery, any further views or advice would be much appreciated. The good news is that I have found a local breeder who is hoping to have pups available in May (bitch has only just mated!).

Really pleased to hear about the Mini S. who is almost house trained at 13 weeks - hope for us all!. Just one question regarding the Mini, how hard is the play biting - just thinking of how I warn my daughter about this and how I avoid her being hurt (she is almost 6, but sometimes a little worried about dogs)?

Thanks
Karen.

hi karen,
most puppies play bite as they see us as their litter mates for a while.My Douglas was fairly mouthy to begin with and was really bad at chasing the kids and nipping at the ankle.We bought "the perect puppy" by gynne(sp?)bailey which we found to be a god send ( and of course all the advice from the people from this wonderful board)
We looked into the min schnauzer but ended up with a wonderful cocker:).My oldest child was also very nervous around dogs, but this was over come by us going to the breeders house every week to play with the pups.( we were allowed to handle the pups from 4 days old) and the kids got used to the mom and dad..we were even able to rule out any allergies from these visits.
Im sure most good breeders wont mind you popping round as theyre just as keen that you end up with the right dog as you are!
Having a puppy is just like having a baby...you need to prepare( we had our puppy pen up with crate/bedding,toys ex for weeks in advance)its a really exiting time though...good luck and keep us posted on how things go:)
Chris& douglas xxxxx

Hi,

Just thought of something with regards to mini schnauzers I forgot to add yesterday. Make sure the puppys have been eye tested and that the breeder can provide certification.
Some breeders I contacted told me that they didn't eye test their puppies or that daft tales that it was not possible to eye test at that age - RUBBISH!
All puppies should be tested at 6-8 weeks and ask for copies of parents eye tests too.
There is an heridatory eye problem (equivilent to human cateracts) running through mini s that they are trying to eradicate.

Thanks - I have heard about the 'eye problems', so will call this breeder and check that the appropraite test results are available and that the puppies will be eye tested. One other thing, I went out and bought 'The Perfect Puppy' yesteday, as recommended by an earlier post and this was saying that ideally puppies should move to there families nearer to 6 weeks than 8, the books point being that these weeks are vital socialization weeks etc.etc. Any strong views on this - the breeder I have spoken to usually hands pups over at 8 weeks.

Thanks

Hi Karen,
most the breeders i spoke to thought that 6 weeks was a little to early to to leave the nest.We had our puppy at 7 weeks and 4 days:) as we were having his injections done at our local vets and not with the breeders.We could have waited of course until he was done a long with his litter mates,but we wouldnt have been able to pick him up till he was nearly 9 weeks...and we couldnt wait that long:)
.i dont think you,ll have too much problem socializing him/her at 8 weeks.We took Douglas for walks carrying him in our sons old school bag(lined of course) so to get him used to traffic,school ex noise (before his injections).We also can into a lot of contact with people so he got used to been fussed, though he still wants their attention but dosnt get much now ( to his great disappointment:( )

Thanks for that - in that case it seems that 8 weeks will be fine.