Male puppy, black or nearly black in colour, wanted as a companion for my 8-year-old son in Battersea. Needed asap. Any medium-size breed considered, provided: (1) it is good with children - we have 3-year-old twins, (2) it has short hair - my wife has asthma, (3) it doesn't need lots of exercise - we live in Battersea, and (4) it is intelligent enough to learn tricks. Can anyone sell me the perfect pet?
John 07850-401005 or lawbyter@talk21.com.

"it doesn't need lots of exercise - we live in Battersea"

Does Battersea Park not allow dog-walking then?

Short hair doesn't always mean an asthmatic will not react to it - it's often the dander (or skin flakes) from a dog that causes the asthma, not the hair..........  Have you tried Battersea dogs home?

I reckon a toy shop would be a good place to start!  If I had 3 year old twins to take care of, I wouldn't have the necessary time for a puppy - but then I'm not much good with children!!
A dog only becomes perfect when time and attention is given to training it.

Hi puppies need to be taught to be good with children and children need to be taught to be  good with puppies.It will be like adding another baby to your family so it would be better to take your time and find out as much before you buy a pup as you can.
All dogs are intelligent enough to learn tricks and quite often get into trouble because they aren't stimulated enough.So lack of time to spend exercising and more importantly training is not ideal for any dog,puppies especially
As to the asthma, your wife would need to spend a little time with any dog you may wish to home as it can be differing factors that trigger her asthma.I am the only one in our household that isnt asthmatic to some degree but my OH, son and daughter are all fine with dogs, however my daughter does have problems with some cats and suprisingly it seems more often than not they are short haired.
Gillian

i dont think it is fair getting a dog for a companion for your son why dont you get him a micro pet i dont think they need much excersise, they wont mess your house up, you wont have to clean up after it, and if anything happend just replace the batteries and restart, you should get a dog for you because if it is only going to be a companion for your son, then your not gonna have a lot of interest in it, i think you maybe phrased it wrong,

Yeah I think he probably phrased it all wrong too, not his fault.

But I still wish I had somewhere as huge as Battersea Park to walk my dog!  I've been in Battersea Park at about 11 o'clock at night so its not just beneficial to people who are at home during the day either!

Now people are going to wonder what on earth I was doing in BP at 11pm aren't they, lol!