I know you've decided on the 3 breeds you feel you would like to have but have you considered rescuing a dog?  There are lots of very good re-homing organisations in the UK who could match you to a dog that would suit your lifestyle.

What about retired greyhound? They can make very good pets, they dont take too much walking about 2 x 20 minute walks a day, usually can be left alone for a few hours, are gentle, loving, not high maintenance in the grooming dept and there are lots and lots of them at various ages from zero racers to the actual retired that need new homes.

The Retired Greyhound Trust can give you all the info @ http://www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk/

Good luck whatever you decided to do.

I was in exactly the same position as you in that it was to be our first dog and it had to fit in with all our criteria!!  I also have 3 children (15,11 and 7) and I also work for four hours a day.  I researched it for ages before we decided on a miniature schnauzer. 

They don't moult
They're brilliant with children
They obviously need exercise but are happy with a 15 minute stroll or a 45 min hike !! (she's still only 8 months, so we don't go far)
Easy to train
Happy to be left for short periods of time

.........the list goes on!!!

Just another idea for you!!

My personal family favorite is the Tibetan Spaniel. It was my 2nd choice after the King Charles and Cav. It won hands down, in the end, as they are healthy, very very few inbreeding health problems, long lived, easiely house trained, not jappy, small, little grooming, medium walks, love children, very loyal. DOWNSIDE...hard to get hold of and  not easy to re-call in open spaces and hate kennels.
But once you fall in love with a tibby your hooked.

I would reccommnd DISCOVER DOGS if you can wait that long. maybe someone can tell you when it is on next

ALSO search for a site that you can put your details into and it rates the dog that best suits your family, house, garden , spare time etc. It is only a guide but it can make you think about a breed that you have not thought of before. Especially some on our native rare varieties.

I have two goldens; 3 YO and 15 months. They get 1-2 hours offlead in the morning then usually 30 minutes lead walking in the afternoon. However they are fine with an hour in the morning and no afternoon if need be and don't bounce off the walls. They are both absolutely fine with being left a few hours. They are complete mud monsters. If it stinks a golden will roll in it. If it's muddy they'll jump in it. The stinkier the water to jump in the better. Even teenage boys laugh at my dogs coming back from walks in the winter. I often have to hose them off every day after a walk. Grooming doesn't take that much time though; 15 minutes every 1-3 nights in front of the tele. If you like big, hairy and good with children Leonbergers are awfully nice too.

Oh...just read you could do without 'moulting'..elkhounds MOULT!! But then to be honest so do most breeds unless you go for a poodle,schnauzer etc.You may find that many non moulting breeds can be quite smelly .Elkhounds have no goggy smell...another bonus,but you do have to put up moulting.

The lack of doggy odour (and the self-cleaning coat) is one of the great plusses about dals ... but the hair gets everywhere, and no amount of hoovering will get rid of it.

Yep proves that short coats are not less of a problem with moulting :D

The Elkhound fur hoovers up so satisfyingly, hairy rug one mo, then unhairy with the next pass over of the upright dyson.  I am sad ;)

I like this post - and for me - for many reasons - the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is the perfect family dog.  Beautiful temperaments - very flexible exercise wise - which with the growing demands of a family you may need to be adaptable with in the future - ie - fitting in walking with dropping kids off at clubs etc.

You do obviously have to be prepared that I think it is over 90% will develop a heart murmur at some stage in their life - there are plently of articles on that if you want to know more.

I have three Cavaliers now and they fit in perfectly with everything we do, everywhere we go and everybody that comes to visit which is a big big plus in my book   :)

I have a GR and his main walk is around 4-6 miles a day, which is all off lead - only on his lead leaving the car and returning to it from the woods. We do this whatever the weather and every single day. He has only missed 3 walks in almost 3 years due to circumstances that just couldn't be avoided. I usually do one long walk and another much shorter one at some point in the day and also daily playing and training.

He never stops running around whilst walking off lead and probably covers three times the distance that I do but is perfectly happy and chilled out indoors. He is a total mud magnet and will swim in any water he can find - the sea, ponds, streams, water filled ditches. He always returns home very muddy but seems to have a teflon coat as the majority of the mud just falls off on the tiled floor and is easily cleaned up. A daily brush removes any mud that sticks.

He has a wonderful temperament, is easily trained and is a great companion. He rarely barks and is a very sociable dog. He does dig in the garden although this is getting less as he gets older - coming up to 3 years old now - ate all the shrubs in the garden as a pup. Great tumbleweeds of hair are a daily occurrence but are easily hoovered up but clothing always has evidence that you have a GR no matter what you do or wear :)

Other things to consider are the size of car that you have - GRs can take up a fair bit of room in a car and of course a large breed dog will cost more to feed and in vets bills than a smaller breed.

I love having a GR and would not want to be without one. We also have a small dog whom, although cheap to feed, treat at the vets etc  is so much harder work than our GR and I have decided that I wouldn't have a small breed again - as much as we love this one he will definitely be the last small dog we have and the next dog will be another GR.

Well to be honest the only dogs I have ever had, and been brought up with is the Siberian Husky
My parents have kept them for years and now myself at the age of 21 have the privelige of owning 3 of my own and 2 fosters
I also have a 2 year old son who came after the first dog
I have to say they are fantastic around children and are real people dogs
Having said that they are hard work and probably not a breed suited to a family who cannot commit to them 100%
I've had to rearrange my life to fulfill my sons needs as well as my furry babies, but I wouldn't change it for the world

Replying to mad4dogs, would def. echo what you say about this delightfull breed. My only concern about them is that once you have one you want more.!!. I know as having become the proud owner of a Tibetan Spaniel cant wait to add to our canine family.
My one regret is that it has taken me .....years to find them.
Must admit that getting them are not the easiest, as they usually have small litters and the bitches only come into season once a year, but it is so worth the wait.

I'm with Sarah Willard on this one - mini schnauzers do it for me.  They fit in with family life brilliantly!  We also have 3 kids ranging from 9 to 15, a cat, a hamster and various fish.

Minis are big dogs in small bodies and full of character and love to play.  They love a long walk but are equally happy with a shorter walk on some days - especially if it's raining as they don't like water or rain too much!  They actually seem to keep themselves quite clean (apart from their beards which follow their noses into everything) and I don't find they get that smelly in between visits to the grooming parlour for a trim (once every 2 months).

They are immensely portable as well - you can pick them up under your arm if they get into trouble (or won't cross the river with you!) and they love travelling by car.  I have had dogs in the past that are sick within 10 minutes of getting in the car so this is a definite plus!

In Response to cardy

I agree that Tibetan Spaniels are a wonderfully charming breed.

Yes, and have to say that the owners whom I have met whilst showing mine have been nothing but helpfull and really friendly. So thats a bonus.!!

My granddaughter is 4 now and my cocker is 4 and a half, they are inseparable, granddaughter lived with us for the first few months of her life and he used to sleep at the foot of her moses basket and today he bounds in and stops right in front of her when he hears her coming, they go out in the yard together and she bosses him around but he loves her to bits and she loves him so much, we have a lab too he is 3 and we've had him a year, he ignores her, doesn't even notice she's there. 2nd grandchild born 27th Jan this year and he comes in his car seat and again lab ignores him, Dicksy the cocker lies beside his car seat, he's a real darling with young ones.  Our first dog so can't advise on what breed is best but my cocker is so gentle and loving with her it can bring tears to my eyes to watch them together, he's very good at playing schools!
'

Sounds like a wonderful family member. I hope any dog we get in the future will love our kids as much!