Aaah I see! *goes off to do some general research* They appear too high octane for us - require over 2 hours "out of house" exercise daily :(

What about my breed !! The Lancashire Heeler, they are wonderful dogs and coat maintanence really nothing. Bias I am but they are and make such great family dogs. So often over looked as they ain't fluffy or glitzy but they are such characters and now getting a real little following from America and the Scandinavian countries who have had them some years now.. They can be a bit hard to get hold of though. There were only around 200 registered last year here in the U.K. Heelers only average 3.5 pups per litter.. Did anyone see the Heeler short listed in its group at Crufts this year?

a really beautiful and loyal small breed is the dachshund.  i have miniature long haired but all 3 varieties are wonderful little dogs.  full of life and as long as children are gentle with them they are excellent dogs.

How about a miniature pinscher

Short coated, minimal grooming, does't demand lots of exercise, cost very little to feed.
In return you get a fun loving, always on the go little chap who's very loyal and affectionate.

If properly trained and socialised they are great with other dogs and cats.

Oh, I just love 'em :-)

Have just done a bit of general research on the Min-Pin - they look like teeny tiny Dobes bless 'em :)

A few questions based on what I've read on various sites (if you don't mind) seeing as you seem to know a bit about them :- Are they very head strong?  Will they 'escape' out of the front door at every given opportunity?  Do they tend to prefer older children to young?  Are they very 'noisy'?

Thanks in advance :)

Peewee, glad to answer your q's

1. They may be little but they will make sure they are noticed, everywhere you go :-) they mustn't be spoilt as they will try to be the head of the family. Firm (but gentle) hand and some obedience training will do the job :-)
2. Minpins are exceptionaly inquisitive, bold and full of self-confidence.....and always on the lookout for trouble. Thy are renouned (sp) to be true escape artists, as they always want to know what's on the other side of the fence, door, window etc. But with training this should not be a problem at all.
3. Peewee they absolutely love to play and provide hours of entertainment :-) you dont need a tv when you've got a minpin :-) and they do make an excellent playmate but for a gentle child. Ours is brilliant will kids of all ages but I must say I have noticed that he prefers older children, as sometimes would back off from small kids if they are not gentle with him.
4. Because they are excellent watchdogs, sometimes they can be 'bark-a-lot' but only to alert you that there is someone at the door. They can be a bit suspitious (sp) of stangers too, so early socialising is crucial (sp!again)

Hope the above helps :-) and good luck

MGR - thanks for the info its much appreciated :)

Yes we were originally considering a Dachsie - we particularly like the Miniature Wire Haired variety :)

Our concern with Dachsies is their backs.  Our little Sheltie girl jumps on furniture, bombs up and down the stairs and jumps on the bed (she sleeps on mine - I'm too soft ;) ).  I would feel it so unfair to be 'discouraging' a Dachsie from doing this as I know they shouldn't really be allowed much to prevent them from harming their spines.  Also, the hunting instinct and 'digging' is a concern - are they really that intent on it?  We've got a paved and pebbled fully fenced off garden so I wouldn't think it could dig its way out, but my Mam & Dad wouldn't be best pleased if it kept uprooting the shrubs etc

Ide have to agree miniture dacshunds hands down ,but then i am biased :d .
I liked the poms aswell but because i have children under 12yo no breeder was willing to sell me a pup,so im looking at basset artesian normande as my nxt dog :) .
looks like a basset hound but withought the extra skin & there not as big ether :)

"I liked the poms aswell but because i have children under 12yo no breeder was willing to sell me a pup"

Thats interesting - is it cos they're so small and quite fragile?

hi peewee,yes aparently its because they are so small & can be hurt easily.not good wen youve got kids.

"yes aparently its because they are so small & can be hurt easily.not good wen youve got kids."

That's understandable, however, some children are brilliant with little dogs so its a bit biased against them.  But I guess the breeders can never be too careful when looking for the perfect home for one of their pups :)

and with such small litters I suppose they can afford to be extra fussy for the very few pups that becoem available to per homes when they have such small litters.

"and with such small litters I suppose they can afford to be extra fussy for the very few pups that becoem available to per homes when they have such small litters."

Indeed!

We aren't looking for a puppy puppy anyway so a dog from a Breed Rescue or one thats been run on or needs rehoming for whatever reason is what we want :)

Yes we saw them on crufts - they are lovely little things!  They're a bit like a small, short coated Corgi aren't they?  Like you say though there are very few around so I don't think we'd stand much chance getting one unfortunately.

We are hoping to rehome a dog from a Breed Rescue (give it a "forever home" you know) but we're also going to be looking at breeders who've run pups on/have young adults they're looking for a home for like we did with our little Sheltie girl :)

peewee, the breeder we got our minpin currently has a litter AND she also has young adults (i know because i spoke to her yesterday as we are getting another pup from her....yupiiiiiii....

If you want to I can pm you her info :-)

"the breeder we got our minpin currently has a litter"

We're not looking to get another dog until aleast mid summer as we want to wait til our little Sheltie girl is atleast 1.  This is just more research into 'suitable' breeds but thanks anyway :)

http://www.bgvclub.co.uk/Home.htm they dont need that much i handle for a breeder and hers go out for an hour each day

We were originally considering the Beagle but because it's a hound who could go off on a wander following a scent and needs a good deal of exercise we decided it wasn't the dog for us.  The Bassett Griffon Vendeen sounds pretty similar from all the research I've done so far (including on the site you gave the link for).  Our Sheltie does 'go deaf' at times and we haven't let her off lead yet cos her recall is practically  non-existant :rolleyes: but we are looking forward to the day she can toddle beside us off-lead on the beach/by the river etc :D  From what I've read it would be quite risky to do this with a hound unless you wanted to have "your walk extended by four hours because their hound has gone hunting!"   Thanks for the info but I just don't think its the right breed for us :)

Wow that is nearly twice our registration figures, thought it would be a lot less than that, we had 116 pups registered last year.

"Wow that is nearly twice our registration figures, thought it would be a lot less than that, we had 116 pups registered last year."

Huh?

peewee email me