we (myself,hubby+2 kids 7+9) feel that now is the right time to get a dog i am at home all day and can't drive so the dog is going to get plenty of exercise ie: scool run is 2 hours a day and i am totally willing  to taake dog out more if needed. we both grew up with dogs a goldie and a rescued x however this will be the first time of being totally in charge of training etc so what would be your recommendations on breeds that are excellent with kids and easily trained ( i know thats relative but i'm sure you get what i mean ) i dislike the small breeds and long hair is also of the list

 

Have you thought about a Rottwieler. Apparently, the are a very intelligent breed and easy to train (go for a female though). The breeder I am getting my pup from says they are great with her kids.

It's like most breeds, if the children are brought up properly with the dog and taught how to treat them then you shouldn't have problems.  Hope you find the right dog for you and your family.

Kipper,

Keep in mind that if you want to stay away from long hair because of shedding, short hair dogs can be as much if not more of a problem as long-haired breeds.

Stacey

I agree with you Stacey I have Beardies and they obviously have long coats but I dont think they shed anymore than a short haired dog and you can see the hair short haired end up in your drawers and carpets and are more difficult to clean up after.

not neciserily as i have a long haired mini dacs and she dusnt molt that much:),but i see wat you meen as some long haired breeds do molt alot and are quite high maintinence.:dbut i wudnt say theres much difference in a long to a short,if enything short haires tend to stiick more to your clothes ive found.:)
my best advice would be is wat ever breed you decide to get make sure its from a repritable breeder! :)

Hi Kate, there are so many breeds of dogs that it's really best IMO to think hard about exactly what you're looking for from your proposed companion and what elements of your family's lifestyle need to be addressed.  For eg. any puppy, regardless of breed, will not be physically able to cope with 2 hours a day for the school run ;)  so you will have to factor in that for at least the first 12 months or so of your new dog's life with the family, it won't be joining you on that trip.

Try visiting the Discover Dogs section on the KC website http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk where you will be able to see photographs of all the breeds and read descriptions of their characteristics and requirements.  Then, if you can come up with a shortlist, contact the breed clubs for each of your chosen ones and gain further details from them - a chat on the phone at this point with an experienced owner will be a lot more useful to you.  Also, if you can find any local shows where you stay, a chat to several different owners of breeds you like will be worth it's weight in gold.  HTH.  regards, Teri :) 

i know that a puppy will not be able to walk that far to begin with but obviously a dog that is going to want to spend its adult life like a couch potato isnt going to be suitable.the long hair thing is really just a preference nothing to do with shedding. i have been advised by my local vet that a gundog would be the best bet however when i have researched these i have been told that a weimeraner or a gsp for ex are not dogs for 1st time owners. maybe i should ask if as a first time owner  there are any dogs you really shouldnt have

How about an Irish Setter ?? they are great fun, love excercise and being part of everything.  They are not necessarily the easiest breed to train but they are trainable if you attend classes etc.  They dont have really long hair (well sometimes their feathering can get long but that can be trimmed)

Maybe im a bit biased but I think they are great :)

Labs are great family dogs, however they do have an amaizing amount of fur! So how about a standard poodle? THey are actually gun dogs and you dont have to have them cut in to 'pom poms'.

Gundogs are divided into different sub groups as the job they do and therefore their characters are very different.

Spaniels
Retrievers
Pointers/Setters
HPR

The latter group contain the most independent of the gundogs and the "strongest".  You have been rightly advised that a Weimaraner is not a breed for the first time owner in general, however of course many ARE first time owners.  They are considered the "hardest" of the gundog group as they were originally bred for bringing down wild boar, tracking wounded stag, exterminating vermin (in their case foxes and cats) and protecting their owner. 

A well trained weimaraner is, like most dogs, a joy to live with, unfortunately many are a lot smarter than their owners and get a very bad reputation.

Dalmatians are brilliant with kids provided they have been bred in the right atmosphere and need lots of excercise.  They are short haired but shed a lot and can be trained provided you are willing to put in the time to do so.   I have got 3 kids 12, 11 and 7 and we have had them since the youngest was 18 months and they have never as much as given the kids a dirty look. 

I am afraid one mans meat is another mans poison and you will find most of us think our breed is the best, can't hink of a better breed than mine with a family but not for everyone. :D

You need to make a list of must haves and must not haves. 

For example for me the dog had to be a decent size a coated dog but not long haired.  Not nervous or aggresive, had to be good with other dogs and tolerate/love people.  I also didn't want anything to clingy, actually prefering a dog with a mind of it's own, though this does then lead to a challenge when training.

Things I couldn't live with would be floppy ears, slobber and Jowly gobs, wet whislers etc.  I also don't like smooth coated dogs. 

I ended up with a strongly built medium size spitz breed with thick double coat that gets everywhere when moulting, but the pluses outweight the minuses. :D

does anyone have experience of pointers or curly coated retrievers ?

It's funny i can't recommend any type of dog their all great especially wiemariers, dobermanns, rots, bullmastiffs and dogues.  I love all the big breeds and find there the softest of the lot, most small breeds have a chip on their shoulder.  Big dogs in the right hands go far.  The best thing is you haven't got children at that age where they dont respect dogs as living animals.  Good luck with hunting your new best friend.

Warm regards Susan

Susan you can't have met a Pomeranian then.  No chips on their shoulders, just a big dog in a little dogs body, obedient, active and a lot of fun :d

Hi no i haven't to be honest when i lost my dobermann at 14 years old and he was with me growing up, i decided i wonted to have smaller dogs, so i got a Westie phew they get so wound up about the littlest thing, give me a larger dog any day.  Their more layed back, speaking about my two Westies only.  Luicy only has to hear someone walking upstairs and she's off and then Charlie follows suit, while Nina my big baby is fast asleep lying on the sofa pushing zs out.

Warm regards Susan

I lived in a house with a curly coat about 10 years ago and he was without doubt the soppiest dog I have ever met. He was afraid of anything that went bang though so not much of a gundog. They are fairly big though, maybe that's just the dogs, don't know about bitches and most people thought it was a poodle x lab :-p I've never met a bad natured pointer but I have met a couple that were very sensitive and lacking in confidence although that could be due to the way they are brought up? Have you checked the breeders list on this website? you could try e-mailing some of them, I'm sure they would be happy to help you. :-)

most people thought it was a poodle x lab

I must admit i made that fo par the other day :o  My dogs were playing with this big,black curly dog and i was wracking my brains trying to figure out what breed he was,so i blurted out the breed i thought it was,'labradoodle'! I should have kept my mouth shut,but i didnt want his owners thinking i didnt know my breeds,DUH They were really cool about and said they were used to people getting his breed wrong,this dog was lovely in every way...non-aggressive,obediant,sweet natured and beautiful to look at.
Ah well now i know how the people feel when they tell me how lovely my bull mastiffs are,and after the 20th time i snap back and say 'theyre bloody boxers' :p The shoe was definately on the other foot today :D

So if curly coated retrievers appeal to you,judging from what i've heard about them and by the one i met the other day they make fine pets :)

I could well imagine that a Curly Coat owner would be rather miffed that a proper breed of dog was not recognised but a recent cross breed came more eaily to mind.

Maybe it is people in the numerically small breeds (my own is a case in point) that they are so busy protecting them that they don't do what the breed clubs purport to exist to do that is PROMOTE the breed for fear of them being exploited, but the ones who want to make a fast buck and puppy farmers have no trouble fueling popularity.

My own breed isn't British but the numbers in this country and most countries other than the country of origin (where it has also falen in popularity agains more fashionable breeds as it is seen there as purely a working dog) are small, only 120 registrations las year.  We once had registrations near the 400 mark in the 70's and competition was strong and there were many more breeders especialy in Scotland where there are none now.  Thing is that at that time there were ones getting into the puppy famers hands (still the case now but only a litter or two a year) and rightfully a Rescue was set up and the breed devotees got insular, bred less etc.

We really need twice the number of breeders and registrations to keep the breed viable as a gfene pool, as we are having to import fresh blood every other generation, and of course by the time type is stabilised from this we have to do it again.

i have thought of getting a lab but there are 2 in my local park who are both pedigree but 1 has much longer legs than the other would this be because they are from working lines rather than show.

maybe, but not neccessarily. There is a breed standard with height restrictions, and all should come within these max and min bands. All my Labs are show bred and along similar lines. One of my bitches is quite stocky and short legged but overall body depth and height ratio are correct. Another of my bitches is tall and elegant again overall body depth and height ratio are correct. one is just inside min height and the other is borderline max height, both have same grandparents on mothers side, but different sires. 

If you are considering purchasing a Lab, please make sure you source from a good and reputable breeder, reseach the breed well in advance of you purchase. Take your time making your decision. Ask as many questions about the breed as you wish. A first time ownership of a Labrador is not for the fainthearted!!!!!!

:-D  :-D  :-D  I must admit that if collies hadn't "got me" first then I would have seriously considered a curly coat. People in this village don't make that mistake with the boxers though. There is someone here who used to have 2 boxers and 2 BM, they have no been reduced to 1 of each but there are obvious differences and they have such lovely temperaments too. :-D

american cockers are excelent family pets males i find are layed back more than the bitches

what ever breed you chose make sure you go to a good breeder alot of people on here could probibly recomend some im sure they will pm you.

good luck with your hunt let us no what you chose
do you have any idears??
fiona

we have decided to go to the southern counties dog show at newbury at the begining of june we live just down the road so we can go on a couple of days  to get a better idea.

That is a fantastic idea.  I will be there on Hound day with two of my Elkhpounds, just ask for Barbara but be warned I chat a lot. :D

Excellent idea going to a show.  All I can advise is walk round, when you see a breed you like find somweone to talk to, but not someone who looks like they are too busy or about to go in the ring!  Make a list of the breeds then do your research on the net, or ask on here about the breeds you have put in the "possible list!"

I would recormend a red and white setter or an australian shepherd for a family pet, however not for someone houseproud or wants an obedient dog.  Both breeds take alot of work in training, however the results are worth it!

It would be the Australian Shepherd for me to :D But having said that I am VERY biased!!!

Natalie

I think ASD are extremely obedient dogs, there are plenty working well in obedience and Working Trials and Suzanne Jaffa made up the first Obedience Champion.  They seem eminently biddable to me.....

Tohme,

I think Icequeen was meaning the setters when she said about obedience, but obviously the part about both breeds NEEDING training, from what I have learned, are very true!

Natalie

IME ALL breeds NEED training, unless of course you are lucky enough to have one that pops out of the womb ready made.......... ROFLMAO :D

LOL @ Tohme

Sorry I should have made it clearer, I meant that yes, while every dog needs training (for safety and good manners), some breeds such as the Aussies need continuous training over their life time, to be happy and fulfilled - some dogs don't like to be trained, they are too lazy and would rather sit on the couch then run after a ball and bring it back! If you left an untrained Aussie on the couch, you will be likely to come back to no sofa, and a very full dog!

Natalie

Tohme, as Natalie has said aussies need continuous work.  Yes they do work in trial and yes we have one Ob champ aussie and many others working well (we also have a extreamly good obedience red and white who competes against BC's in the breed)  Suzanne put alot of work into Dee Dee and it shows, an aussies though is not always biddable, although they can be trained, they also have a mind of their own, if either of my girls (half sister to Suzannes) see a ball I can forget recalls!  OK maybe if I worked them 3 hours + aday, EVERY day they would. But does a good obedience dog mean they are easy to train?  To me it means the handler has been dedicated to training that dog, any dog can be obediant IMO, just some need more work, Do you agree?  Again IMO ASD's and IRWS both need alot of work, they are both independent (IRWS more the ASD) but that is my experiance of owning and training the two breeds!

What I was manily getting at is the aussie ( and IRWS) will not be obedient with just tellng them the basics!  It's only taken my male 3 years to learn how to stand still in the ring.......Won't be doing that again!!! :D

Absolutely Ice Queen.

Fed up with hearing that x breed is easier to train or that "yebbut my dog is a ........." as an excuse for bad behaviour.

You only get out what you put in, unfortunately most people want maximum return for the minimum of investment :rolleyes:

Tohme, we haven't got our dog yet, but the thing I am most looking forward to, is when we can start 'proper' training! We have no plans to show or compete in any events, but I still want to do some obedience and agility in the back garden, I really can't understand why any one says they want a puppy, and then expect their puppy to be fully house trained in a weekend, and some how learns to sit, down, come, stay, etc. all on his own!

Sorry OP going off the subject a bit :D

Natalie

I think it must depend on the Aussie :) Tara is at her MOST obedient when the ball comes out :D She retrieves it every time and returns, doing a beautiful 'present' - she would play ball all day. The funny thing is that she tries to catch the ball either in her mouth or between her front legs :D

Daisy

But Daisy thats when the ball comes out.  taking our 4 aussies

Sonja will play ball day and night, all balls have to be locked into the shed ontop of the tumble dryer that is at eye level with Nan so she doesn't have to bend down to get to tumble!!!!!

Rhea (sonja's sister) will play ball for awhile but thinks while everyone is playing with sonja she will run off and find something to eat!

Sonja and Rhea are half sisters to Dee Dee...Oh the dreams I have.....If only....

Perry thinks balls are no fun and goes and finds another dog or the people having a picnic the other side of Vally!!!!!!

MissT thinks "wayhey I have a ball, why should I give it back to you!" She steals it out of the mouth of the one who's got it and goes to find another dog!  Oh she's the Daughter of Perry!

So yes all aussies are different.  :)  How I long for the one that gives me maximum return if I do bear minimum!!!! or even better the one that pops out trained!

Sorry OP going off topic alot but have you learnt something about dog behaviour? :D

>>Things I couldn't live with would be floppy ears, slobber and Jowly gobs, wet whislers etc.  I also don't like smooth coated dogs.  I ended up with a strongly built medium size spitz breed with thick double coat that gets everywhere when moulting, but the pluses outweight the minuses>>

LOL Brainless!  My thoughts exactly.  I spent far too long with Bernese before realising that I had grown out of the clingy, slobbery, floppy dog passion.  My Lapphunds are far more intelligent and just a bit independant, tho I think we have a bit too much hair for kipper...but if you are around our ring on Pastoral day at S cos, please come and say hello :-)

Julie

I think if the Finnish Laphunds had been around when I lost my Belgian I could well have ended up with them instead of the Elkhounds, though I do prefer the Elkhound size and slightly shorter coat.

Sadly we are never on with Pstoral at Championship shows which is a shame as having started in that Group it is nice to catch up with folk.

That is why I like the Nordic so, only time all us Spitz are together in number.

if you fancey a standard poodle, minature poodle or an anerican cocker spaniel i will be happy to talk to you on that day i will probibly be wearing a red dress suit with my hair up or a orange jacket, but it will probibly be red!!. All these breeds are fairly easy to train as they love to please there owner.
dont let the show trim put you off
fiona

A friend of mine has a Hungarian Vizsla, he is beautiful and a great dog. They do require alot of exersise but are very homely and people orientated and also fantatic with children. Have a look into them, I'm sure there are pups available on here if you do a search.This is their first dog and have coped ok with him, he is extemely clever and easy to train.Good luck.