I posted something similar several weeks ago but we have now reconsidered the inclusion of size of dog we would look to as a companion for our current little girl Sheltie.  We are now including all breeds of a similar size to the Shetland Sheepdog and below.  We are looking for something that will be happy with approximately 40 mins out-of-house walking a day, play time in the house and outside play in a medium sized fully enclosed garden.  Grooming wise we are used to the fur of the Sheltie so would consider the longer haired breeds.  There is a (just) 4yr old child in the house who can be boistorous at times but is very good with our existing dog.  There are 3 adults - me in my early 20's and the oldies in their mid 50's - and there's rarely someone not in the house!  Also we have a middle aged cat.

My Dad really likes Pomeranians (we know that the 'pet type' are approx. 4 inches taller than the 'show type').  My Mam likes the Norfolk Terrier and I'm in love with a long haired Chi which I keep seeing in my local PAH (my son was on the floor playing with it and was so gentle - I was really proud :D )  Obviously our concerns about dogs of a 'tiny stature' are the fact that our Sheltie girl is very playful, we fear tripping over it every 5 seconds and know they are pretty fragile little things so would fear it getting 'hurt' - or sucked up by the vaccuum cleaner ;) *hmmmmm*

Currently on our 'definite list of breeds to consider' are Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Tibetan Spaniel or another Shetland Sheepdog.  We would like one of a different breed this time (we've had a male and female Sheltie together previously) as the only Sheltie we would consider would be a Blue Merle and we're all very fussy about the 'marble effect' :rolleyes:  However, my Mam kinda dislikes the look of the CKCS and would rather not have one even though she knows it is highly suitable for our family *double* :rolleyes:

So, breed suggestions please?

I can tell you, that from what i learned here... not to buy your dog from PAH.. it's equal to buying from a puppy farm.

(SO PROUD OF ALL I'M LEARNING!)

Erm, PAH don't sell dogs :) I think that Peewee had just seen one visiting PAH :)

Daisy

Huh!?  PAH don't sell dogs   I keep seeing a long coated Chi with its owners doing there doggy shopping there thats all :D  Bless ya being so proud of yourself but I have never had any intention of getting a dog from a pet shop or irresponsible breeder

I think in the USA they do, or at least many pet stores do.

I know they sell dogs in pet shops in Spain and quite possibly do in other European countries.   The only 'store' that I know of over here which sells dogs is Harrods which I think is plain wrong :rolleyes:

Sadly there are others includign at least two large superstore type places in the North of England.

They sell dogs, cats and other small animals as well as reptiles in pet shops in Australia too.

being bia's i would have to say a cavalier :)

Pomeranian's are brilliant but dependant on your Sheltie.  We used to have Shelties years ago and we had one gorgeous youngster and he was just too rough with the Pom's so we finished the Shelties at that time.  We had Rough Collie's and they were great with the pom's and my parents Pom's definitely rule my Spanish.

Tibetan Spaniels are a lovely breed and quite sturdy.

We used to know 2 Poms when we had our previous 2 Sheltie's and they were all brilliant together   Our current girl is a little overzellous with the 'ol play - she tries in vain to get the cat to play with her - but I believe that to be more of desperation than anything else!  Around other dogs she is happy and a bit bouncy but not half as mad :)

Well I'm biased as I have one (I only had to wait 30 years to get him, LOL) but Papillons are fantastic dogs, so friendly and happy, easy to care for, trainable, small, don't need too much grooming but still nice and fluffy, very pretty, and very few health problems in the breed. I have a cavalier as well (have had 4 in total) but until they develop a DNA test for all the serious health problems I won't have another, which is why I got my Papillon.

Papillons are a bit bigger than Chi's aren't they?  I love they're 'butterfly ears' :)  What is the Pappy like with your Cavalier?

Yes my Papillon weighs in a 2.8 kgs but he's a bit on the small side -they can be up to 5. He and my cavalier are perfect together, always playing, great friends -in fact getting the Papilloin last year brought my Cavaleir back to life almost, he's old with a bad heart and had started to get a bit depressed, now he's a lot happier in every sense. :)

Aww thats great that your Cavaliers got a new lease of life :D  I was just wondering how they were size wise but thats reassuring.  I know that a Cavalier is a bit more sturdy than a Sheltie so if yours are ok together then I'm sure a Papillon and our girl would be - thanks for the info :)

If you don't mind the grooming how about a Chinese Crested Powderpuff? :D  They make fantastic pets and are ready and willing to do anything you want from hiking for miles to sitting on your lap in front of the fire :D They're also good at obedience and agility.  They get on well with any other breed too.
Debs

Japanese Spitz?

What about a Bichon Frise they are not as fragile as they look, and will play for hours until the tire out. They do need to be brushed each day though, but are dog friendly people friendly and cat friendly as well.
If you dont want a puppy why not try a rescue dog. If you do want a puppy then a Bichon would be great.

Yes I have to agree with you - we have a Bichon too and he's a fantastic little dog - can't fault him in any way :-) He will be two years old this Thursday. He is fantastic with my 5 year old and very dog friendly - all the dogs love him.

I'd vote for a Cavalier - loyal and loving, even a full show coat only needs a 5 minutes brush every couple of days, small enough to cuddle but big enough to be nicely doggy. Yes you have to buy from breeders who test their stock for hearts, eyes, SM, but if you do, they should live at least 12 years. :-)

Miniature poodles are happy, active little dogs, they would play with your sheltie for hours!!
Becky

We were considering both Toy and Miniature Poodles but the fact they would need professionally clipping to keep them in a pet clip every 6-8 weeks has put us off somewhat :(  We know several toys and several mins which are delightful!

You can learn to do it yourself. I only shave my poodles faces and the rest comes off same length all over (no 4 blade) including tail and ears and they have a small topknot. They look great and very easy to care for and something that you could easily do with only a days instruction.
Becky

I like it how you and Val have so much faith in me using scissors or a 'zizzer' - nobody I know does ;) haha  How often do you 'trim' your Poodles?

As with the Poodles we've been somewhat put off by the Bichon for the whole "regular professional grooming to keep it in a pet clip thing" :(  I know a few and they are lovely little dogs though!

No reason at all why you can't learn to scissor a Bichon yourself peewee! :)  They don't have to look like those awful "pet clip things"!!

If you bought from a breeder who shows, they will be delighted that you want their pet puppy to look like a Bichon and I'm sure will happily show you how to scissor.

It took my Dad 5 years to build up confidence enough to trim a Sheltie and he's the only one who has some natural flare with the scissors   Poor thing would end up looking like it had been put in a room with an octopus wielding hedge trimmers if me and my Mam had a go (remembers how my Mother used to cut my fringe *shudders*) ;)

remembers how my Mother used to cut my fringe *shudders*)
D'ya know, I could never cut MY daughter's fringe straight either, but great with dogs!! :D

"D'ya know, I could never cut MY daughter's fringe straight either, but great with dogs!!"

If I could give it a number 2 with one of them 'zizzer' things maybe I'd make a half decent job of it ;)

"why not try a rescue dog"

We trawled our local rescue centers for 5 months before we finally went back to the breeder of our previous Shelties.  Our main concern with rescues is that lack of background information.  With having a young son AND a cat we found it extemely difficult to find a dog that would definately suit our circumstances from the rescue centres.  From the breeder of our then 6 month old Sheltie we knew her temperament, what she was like with children of varying ages and cats plus to what degree she was housetrained.  You very rarely get this with rescue centres :(

We will put our name down on the Breed Rescue list of the breed we (finally) decide upon but again we would need to know the background of the dog and see how it was with our family and existing dog.  We were on Breed Rescue lists for a few breeds before we got our Sheltie but found that the majority wanted to just bring a dog which they thought would suit to us without us even getting to meet it first :rolleyes:

We are not looking for a puppy puppy - it would need to be between 4 & 7 months old or 1.5 & 2 years old around mid summer.

We're considering the German Spitz (Klein) as thats the 'next size up' from a Pom.  Hadn't looked at the Japanese Spitz but after some general research it sounds like a lovely little dog!  Shame it only comes in white though - although the thought of it "cleaning itself like a cat" is a nice one (maybe it could teach our Sheltie that! haha) :)

German Spitz are wonderful, a breed I coud well imagine having!

Aah but which one Goldmali?  My Dad loves Pomeranians.  I know that the Kleins are the 'next size up' from Poms, the Mittel the one after that and then they get a little too large for us - choices choices ;)

I like both Kleins and Mittels and I bet either size would go well with a cavalier. :)

"I like both Kleins and Mittels and I bet either size would go well with a cavalier."

Aaaah but which one for the Sheltie?  Seeing as my Dad likes Poms (my faves the 'wolf' coloured :) ) out of the two it'd have to be a Klein as they're only a couple of inches bigger but would be a tad more sturdy   Plus the Klein comes in a multitude of colours!

On Crufts how come that Pom in the 'final' had really fluffy legs cos every picture I've seen (thousands!) the dogs don't have fluffy legs?   The fluffy legs were lurvely :)

I'd go for a German Spitz over a pom - there is much less grooming on the German Spitz.

As for the size thing, I am sure a Mittel would get on with your sheltie, my mittel live happily with 7 vallhunds.

.....out of the two it'd have to be a Klein as they're only a couple of inches bigger but would be a tad more sturdy   Plus the Klein comes in a multitude of colours!.....

So do the Mittel, which would be closer to Sheltie size.

"So do the Mittel, which would be closer to Sheltie size."

We're not neccessarily looking for something the same size as our Sheltie (she's quite small by the 'breed standards' anyway).  We're looking for a canine companion for her thats no bigger than a Sheltie :)

Or German Spitz, two size choices there, and lots of colours.

"Or German Spitz, two size choices there, and lots of colours."

The Klein and Mittel are 2 of the 5 sizes of German Spitz

* Wolf (Keeshond - considered a separate breed in many countries)
* Gross (Giant Spitz)
* Mittel (Medium Spitz)
* Klein (Small Spitz)
* Zwerg (Dwarf Spitz also known as Pomeranian - considered a separate breed in many countries)

:)

Chinese Crested's get a big thumbs down from my folks I'm afraid - everyone likes the look of different dogs don't they

Chinese Crested's get a big thumbs down from my folks I'm afraid

Do you mean both varieties? or just the hairless ones?

The coated ones (powderpuffs) look like mini afghans
Debs

The oldies prefer the look of the long haired Crested's but really aren't too keen on the either I'm afraid.  I'm sure they're wonderful little dogs though :)  But like I said before every person likes the look of different breeds don't they and it needs to be something we all fall in love with physically as well as temperament wise etc (hence the rather short 'breeds to consider list') :rolleyes:

........

Having said that when we first saw our current little Sheltie girl we thought she was very odd looking!!   2nd time round (4 wks later) her face had 'filled out' a bit and she was very purdy :)

The coated ones (powderpuffs) look like mini afghans

Will have to read up on these

Now that sounds really interesting! An Afghan is my when kids have left dog i will have one! only another 9 years to go!

I would have to say the CKCS.  I have 2 and they are the most loving and loyal dogs I have ever come across (although I am biased too!).  They are so sweet and very trainable and always willing to please you.  They also like a long walk or are quite happy just snuggling down on the sofa. They are very good with children and other pets.  They are not so small that you risk tripping over them but they are not too big either.  I find my two to be very intelligent and I've never had a problem with them chewing furniture in the house.

what are tibetan spaniels like? temprement, intelligence? all i know about them is what they look like- x

I was just going to mention Tibetan Spaniels, because they are one of my all time favorites. They are really nice small dogs, but not too small for a child. They weigh between 5-7kg and are very gentle and very loving. They get along with all the animals and love children (obviously like all other breeds they have to be socialized properly) and don't bark too much, so they can also be perfect dogs for apartments. They don't need too much exercise, but if you do decide to go for long walks they'll be quite happy as well. They are a very healthy breed and don't need as much grooming, even though they have nice fluffy coats......

what about a PBGV?

What's a PBGV?

Petit Basset Griffen Vendeen (sp?) :)