Hello

I am new here and I hope that some of you will be able to give me some suggestions for a breed for us.

I will start by giving some information on our lifestyle. We live in the country in a larger than average house (but not huge) with a garden that measures 150 feet by 60 feet. I work 2 mornings from 9 til 1 ish, and 3 afternoons from around 4 til 7, sometimes less, so would be able to have a nice walk in between those times. Hubby comes home at around 6.30.

We have wanted a dog for a few years and now we have moved to a more suitable house we have been thinking about it seriously and looking at different breeds. Also, last week my sister and her family went on holiday and we looked after their chocolate Labrador, the house now seems empty without her!
We would love to get a Lab too, but wondered if there were any other breeds with a similar temperament. As hubby is mildly allergic it would be nice if it didn't drop quite as many hairs, but that is not top priority for us. What we MUST have though is a dog which can be trusted with young children. Of course I would never leave a dog alone with children, but you know what I mean. We would also prefer something slightly smaller than a Lab, but not a lap-dog.
The breeds that we have been thinking about are Border or Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, and Brittany, Welsh or Cocker Spaniels. I would really value your opinions on these breeds. I must say though that we may still go for the Lab, mainly because my grandparents have always had them and I know they have such good temperaments.

I hope I haven't bored you all with this long message!

Thanks in advance
Rachel

Well I like the Welsh springer. Have been friendly with quite a few and had them to stay. They are a nice size, do not have as heavy an ear as English or cocker, and less coat! They also look very smart in their red and white colouring.

The disadvantages are those with all hanging eared breeds, must pluck the inside of ear flaps, and not neglect ear hygiene!

I find them less busy and frenetic than cockers or Englis (working bred) Springer Spaniels/

Hi Rache

I would have to go for a Cocker everytime and would always recommend one, unless allergy was a high priority as they do shed their coats quite a bit.

They are wonderful medium sized dogs which are not too big and not too small either, and will take as much exercise as you are willing to give them from when they are one year old.

Yes the coat does need regular grooming and trimming, but they are well worth all the effort. As mentioned you do need to pay particular attention to the inside of their ears and the underneath of their feet, but a grooming parlour could do this for you or a Reputable Breeder could show you and you could do it yourself, it doesn't take much time really.

They are great with kids and love nothing more than to be cuddled up with you in a chair or on the sofa :D :D

I am bias though as I have three :)

A breed that is absolutely fantastic with children and which has very short hair is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Again they are wonderful dogs on the medium size with bags of energy. No trimming or grooming required just an occasional bath, although I do know of people that don't even bath theirs :) :D

HTH

Dessie

Thanks for your replies you two! It would be nice to have some other opinions too though, anyone else?

Rachel

May be you should look up some breeds on the net to get a better pic? I have rehomed a Rescue Boarder collie Molly who comes with her problems as I am home all the time we are there for her all the time. May be you should look into rehoming a rescue? Good luck.

Julieann

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels would fulfil all your criteria but may be too small for what you want. They are very friendly and good natured, excellent with children, easy to train, will take as much or little exercise as you like, and do not shed as much as labs. They are categorised as Toy dogs but are most certainly not lap dogs.

I think it is important to test drive a breed. contact the breed club and visit a breeder or preferably a willing pet owner (especially if they are a similar family to you), go out for a walk with the ownwers, and see how life with one is at home. You will need to allow at least half a day, as you have to assess the dog after it is over the first initial excitement of visitors, and it goes off about it's business.

Try to see a household with a youngster and an oldie, so you know what they are like at both ends of their lives!

I have found through experience that this is very useful to potential puppy buyers who have no experience of the breed.

Hello Rachel,

Welcome! There are lots of super people here with loads of advice and opinions.
How old are your kids? I have an almost 4 year old daughter and we have a 15 week old Boxer puppy who is fantastic! They are a short coated medium size breed with a fantastic temperment and are fab with kids. She is tons of fun and really loving and sweet. She can also take a bunch of insanity from my girl and her pals!
I would not rescue with young children. We looked into it and you just never, ever really know what a dog has been through and suffered. It's just too risky and not fair to the dog or children if things do not work out or worse... But if you've got teens go for it!
Best of luck to you. Research those breeds you like and e-mail some breeders.
Megbel

Rachel, I echo everything that has been said about the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They are active little dogs and will take as much or as little excercise as you can give them. Ours enjoys a cuddle but doesn't view herself as a lap dog (well not all the time anyway). She is trustworthy with our children and other sensible kids....but if your husband suffers from allergies you may find that they do shed too much for you.
At the risk of sounding disloyal to our Tiff, have you considered a Min. Schnauzer ? Although a "handy" size they are tough little guys with a good temperament and they do not shed - you have them stripped or clipped. Or how about a lurcher? The list of possibilities is very long and we all have our favourites. If you do decide to go for a pedigree dog please take time to find a good breeder - someone who is in it for the love of the breed and not the money. Their advice will be invaluable, and they will be there to support you throughout your dog's life. Lots of contacts on the forum. Good luck.

Hi Rache

Why don't you pop along to a dog show and have a good look around at which breeds take your fancy? There'll be a lot of proud owners on hand to tell you all the advantages and disadvantages of that particular breed. They could also meet you and suss out your suitability for their breed.

Definitely Springer Spaniel - excellent with children, very loving and effectionate, good size as dont tend to be as boisterous as a lab, in my opinion - which is totally biased as I have two and two children!

Hi Rachel
This may help, but before I decided on the breed I would have, I spoke to my local vet, dog trainers and a grooming parlour.
I used to work with dogs, and when we dealt with nice examples of a certain breed, we would always ask about where the dogs were purchased, we did the same when we had bad examples.
I found the only downside to buying from a breeder, was that I was not able to get a young puppy, which is what I really wanted as I had young children.
I hope this does not cause offence, but I never handled a nice natured soft coated wheaten terrier.
Maisie

I am a little puzzled by you saying the disadvantage of going to a breeder was not being able to get a young puppy??? This is where one would expect to be able to purchase a young pup???

I have looked after a very good natured SCWT, :D

It's certainly where I got a 7wk 5 day old puppy from I think she had about 8 puppies actually:D Have you got your post mixed up a bit:D :D

I'm biased so I won't suggest a breed for you- I will tell you I've got two kids aged 4 and 7 and a lovely German Shepherd puppy- they are defignately not for everyone- shed alot and as she's a pup still plays and chews, bites etc and due to the size already she's somewhat a handful also a breed needing a lot of exercise and mental stimulation:)

Stacey x x x

Well, I seem to remember a thread not so long ago about breeders not selling pups to parents with young children.

Lara- not sure if that post was aimed at me or not My opinion is that I personally wouldn't sell a puppy to a family with young children- and I'm now speaking from experience:( The breeder I got Kassie from won't sell to families with children under school age either.

Stacey x x x

Well, I'm going to sound hugely biased here but I think the Munsterlander is a great family pet for an active family. Yes it does shed hair but it needs no trimming, a good brush once a week, great with kids, friendly nature, real characters, will bark when anyone comes to the door but isn't vicious with it.

It's about Lab size depending on what lines you buy from, the genepool is smallish but there's only about 100 pups registered at the KC each year, which doesn't make for a lot of litters when you consider litter size (8+ average). Plus they are all different in markings which makes them a bit more individual. :)

Lily

Stacey was a general comment as I can't remember what the thread was about originally, aimed at anyone wondering why breeders wouldn't sell puppies to families with young children. They had all their reasons on it. It wasn't personal :)