We have two children aged 10 and 7, and two pet chickens!  My husband works full time but for himself so flexible, I work 15 hours per week, the rest of the time from home.  We are keen walkers so need a dog that can keep going for a good few hours.  Temperament is everything as far as we are concerned.  The breeds we are considering are cocker spaniel, field spaniel and standard schnauzer.  We want to be sure the dog will be OK to be left alone for the times we are all out, I think that some are better than others in this respect, though I appreciate you need to get them used to it from being little.
We also want our dog to be friendly with other dogs, so we can let it off the lead without it fighting (or running away) so we have pretty much ruled out terriers or hounds.
As our children are not very old, we would not want a very big breed.

Hope you experts can help us.  Websites and dog books so far seem contradictory.  Some say cocker is perfect, others say it has problems with aggression (particularly noted in Gwen Bailey's book on choosing a breed!)

Thanks!

There is a saying onew mans meat is another mans poison.

For me a Cocker would be the last choice of dog on this earth, whereas other people wouldn't dream of having my Elkhounds.

Both are Medium size family orientated breeds who like to hunt and are generally sociable, but oh so different!!!!

You really need to meet good well bred examples of the breeds you like.  See them in their home environment and also get to see them out and about off lead.

I also wouldn't rule out particular groups like you have done with Hounds andterriers.  In fact the Schnauzer can be quite terrierish and some terriers are quite socaible and dog freindly (Borders for example).  Whippets can make super pets.  Some of the Working breeds, Gundogs etc can also be very independant and inclined to run away if not trained well, so it is not good to generalise.

I would suggets attending a Championship show near you on all the days and get a good look at lots of breeds especially the less common ones as you are more likely to find a pup who is typical of the breed.  Sadly many of the over exploited popular breeds you can have pups that vary widely from the breed standard in temperamtn and looks.  Hence why many poorly bred Cockers are agressive, but typical ones should be anything but.  the same goes for many popular brees.

When You have your shortlist choose a breeder who checks out as reputable by the breed clubs.  You can find a list of breed clubs on this site and also on the Kennel Club Website at the end of each breed standard.

Hear hear, Brainless -it doesnt just depend on the group or the breed - mainly the breeding. Any gundog from a working background could well fill his time retrieving your pet chickens, and the pastoral group dogs could be "herding" them as a pastime! Mini Schauzers are classed as terriers in the US. There are dogs in all the groups that could be suitable or not suitable. All terriers do not fight and all hounds do not run away - that is down to socialisation and training in the main.

Hiya,

have you looked into getting a shetland sheepdog (sheltie)? I grew up with 2 of them and they are wonderful family dogs, very sweet and people oriented, also about the size you are looking for. We never had any problems with recall and I would imagine very very few come from working lines they are much less likely to go harass some sheep. We now have a lab (great dogs) but i presume that would be too big for you?

Sarah

I'd agree that a sheltie would be a good choice. They are very playful, biddable and easy to train, But many of them DO herd. Oh boy do they herd! One of mine even herds my sighthounds. :)

Yes, my O.H. recounts tales of one he had when young that herded EVERYTHING - he came from a large family, and she used to "herd" the kids in for tea :D

That's funny! I think maybe ours were too lazy to herd!

Sarah

I've a great cartoon picture titled 'Look out, sheltie about'. It shows a family crowded together as their sheltie zips in circles around them. :)

But the fact that they herd doesn't mean that they are difficult to train with sheep. They are easy to train, full stop, and I'll happily walk my two through sheep off lead. Now if only I could train the older one NOT to herd hounds ...... :D

One of my Spanish that I sold to someone used to herd all the local children in the park!!!  Ones that tried to escape were promptly herded back to the rest of the group.  Her mum is the only one of my Spanish who also moves as though she's herding.  She always goes round in a circle, then lies, down, then she's off again, and lies down.  Isn't it weird how they still follow instinct as they've never been trained to do this?

Yes, the herding instinct isn't quite so strong in Flame but Marble was herding her toys at 8 weeks old and now she'd herd biscuits dropped on the ground! She has the sheepdog routine off pat - down, creep, circle, run in - and with the hounds nip at the hocks (She does herd people but doesn't nip at them and fortunately the hounds ignore her.)

What about a Boxer, should imagine it will like lots of walks, havent met one yet that is bad with other dogs,it's not very big ?

sarah
x

A boxer's bigger than a labrador, for instance, and way bigger than a schnauzer or cocker spaniel.

One dog you may like to consider is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; they are lovely dogs, very gentle and friendly but quite capable of doing long walks, agility etc We had one doing working trials training with us - he was excellent, but the owner gave up due to lack of time!

They can have a few health problems though, so do check these out and speak to reputable breeders about that if you are interested :)

Lindsay
X

No suppose your right a boxer is quite big, when shesaid very big i was thinking, newfie or great dane.
I havent a boxer myself
I will have to get my thinking cap on !

Boxer bitches can be pretty small though, as small as 20" I'd say.  They're great family dogs though.  I'll also support the Sheltie idea.  I've had them all my life, have 2 right now.  Very intelligent, loving with their family, VERY patient when it comes to being harassed.  My older one was at a dog show with me, and a young disabled girl wanted to come pet him.  She layed on him, smothered him, poked him, and he took it all.  Any of my other ones I know would do the same, so maybe a breed to consider with children in the home.  They can be reserved around strangers, but its family is its best friend.  Of the 5 I've had, not one has ever herded children or people.  I know it does happen, but I've had no experience with it. 
While I don't have any personal experience with Cockers, I would tend to advise against them.  I have known more than one with temperament problems (possibly from being over-bred without consideration for temperament, I don't know), but with children around, I don't know it's worth the risk.  In the ones I have known also, they tend to have more than their fair share of health problems (again, maybe from bad breeding...).
Anyways, just my 2 cents.

There are good points and bad points to every breed of dog but the most important thing you can do is research the breed thoroughly (shows, books etc) and start in its socialising and training the moment you get it. As long as you train/ socialise your dog the right way it will be a great family pet.
Also ask good breeders about their opinions. Im sure they can point you in to the right direction and tell you why their breed is or is not the breed for you :)

If you search the CD website there is information on the different breeds of dogs, you could also look
here
http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/ you will also find links to the breed clubs on breed pages.

Not all terriers are fighters/hunters it very much depends on which terrier breed you are looking at, eg. bedlingtons are usually very good with other dogs and not as noisy as most of the other terriers, in fact they can be almost hound-like.
As has already been said some spaniels can be really willful and difficult and not all of them are good with other dogs.

There are upsides and downsides to all dog breeds, some more than others and individual dogs within the breed will vary, as will the effects of different people bringing up the dog.

Ask yourselves, what type of coat do you want? High/low maintenance - some breeds can have very thick/ long coats needing extensive grooming.  Do you want a high energy breed?  or a breed that will be happy with whatever excercise you can provide.  Some breeds are easy to train and others can be more of a challenge.  Some breeds are very noisy others are more inclined to be quieter, which do you prefer? If you have the answers to questions like this you will find it easier to decide on a shortlist of breeds.

Whatever breed you decide on get it out and socialising straight away (hopefully a good breeder will have already started this) with dogs and people, traffic etc.  Unvaccinated puppies can be carried ;)

She's put Standard Schnauzer, now there's no way that they are smaller than a boxer !!

So do you think a boxer would be a good choice?..i do !

Try to discover what the breed is bred for, or what it "does", as that can help with choosing. Sometimes instinct is very strong in an individual dog and may need to be channelled somehow (eg BC owners doing agility with their dogs, and so on).

Lindsay
X

Please be advised that if you are considering a field spaniel, these are dogs who do not cope well with being left on their own for any length of time-be warned that they will show their unhappiness by either howling through the walls to entertain your neighbours or by chewing anything that might take their fancy..  They adore being part of the family and hate being shut away, although they would enjoy all the walking you do! However nor are they naturally obedient.. :)  Naturally I would recommend either cockers or springers, but that's just because I am biased! :)

As an owner of boxers, there is no other breed (for me) they are great family dogs, they will make you laugh at least once a day.  The girls can be quite small and more obedient in my opinion, but you aslo need to be aware that "Yes" they are friendly with other dogs, but a lot of people you meet out and about on your walks are a bit wery  of them, and do not like them playing with there dogs, especially small dogs, simply because they can be so exuberant and boisterous  in there play, and sometimes there recall can be none existant, but if your kids love the out doors and lots of rough and ready games ,then they are a wonderfull choice, but make sure you do lots of reseach into the breed first, meet some first, as some kiddies can be put of by there exuberance of life, to many end up in rescue every year.

what ever breed you choose, i am sure you will have many happy years with  a faithful friend.

jackie

The Kennel Club doesn't list 'Standard' Schnauzer, spanishwaterdog! ;) There's Miniature Schnauzer (13" - 14"), Schnauzer (18" - 19") and the Giant Schnauzer (25½" - 27½") ... I'm guessing that the OP's using the word 'standard' to mean the middle-sized one.
:)

I think the standard is slightly smaller than a boxer - although theres not many around. The giant is much bigger.

Yes the 'standard' Schnauzer is much smaller than a boxer, both in size and weight :)

Hi Guest,  I can only talk about my own experience with dogs, but my family had an english cocker (Amber) until I was about 6, when she died of old age, and she was great with my younger sister and I and a lovely family dog. We also had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel later on, and he was also very sweet and placid,
good luck!
Carol