Reply With QuoteCavalier King Charles Spaniel.
My two daughters (4 & 8) are dog mad, and my wife and I arent against the idea either. My wife took redundancy last year so she is home full time and we are going to start planning to add a canine addition to the gang.
We have a reasonable garden (but not massive) and we are walking distance close to probably the best local park for dogs in the vicinity (and we are generally an active lot).
I love retrievers but i dont think we have enough space for a large dog if im honest. Also we are neat freaks so the reality is a non shedder would probably work better.
Our two favourite breeds are cockers and retrievers but that nots to say either are suitable for us,
any recommendations and yes we will look at rescues as well!
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
We’ve had/have cavalier King Charles spaniels and are great with young kids (from when my girls were about that age)- my daughter, now 30 made a change to a show Cocker - she’s lovely and a great dog - very calm ( read that as lazy) and fits in with her life very well as did the cavaliers
Being retired it’s my ‘job’ now to take her out during the day - not a hardship
Untitled by biglewie, on Flickr
My cavalier ( now resides with my wife) she’s the Benjamin Button of the canine world - just turned 10
Girls by biglewie, on Flickr
Last edited by lewie; 3rd February 2023 at 13:51.
I wouldent be without one, there is plenty to think about when having a dog and one is remember grooming and the costs involved, our Malshie is done every five weeks and its not cheap but he does look good afterwards :)
a cross known as a Shichon, from my experience they dont molt, they dont growl, they dont bite, they dont destroy your house and they eat far less than a big dog
ah your cavalier is a beautyOriginally Posted by lewie
We’ve had/have cavalier King Charles spaniels and are great with young kids (from when my girls were about that age)- my daughter, now 30 made a change to a show Cocker - she’s lovely and a great dog - very calm ( read that as lazy) and fits in with her life very well as did the cavaliers
Being retired it’s my ‘job’ now to take her out during the day - not a hardship
My cavalier ( now resides with my wife) she’s the Benjamin Button of the canine world - just turned 10
I’m kind of minded towards them, my aunt used to have them and they were lovely placid dogs and not over the top energetic
You might struggle to get a rescue with kids that young. Dogs trust wont give any dog to people with kids under 13 or so, just covering their backside
I know they're not small, but Boxers are great with young kids
Bichon Frise or Bichon cross, something like Bichon x Maltese (Maltichon) or Shih tzu (Shichon)
Theyre total lovebugs, great with kids, really sunny dispositions, love walks but equally at home snoozing on the sofa. Theyre not high maintenance at all.
My old dog bette (top) was a Bichon x Papillon and Vinnie (bottom) is a Bichon x Maltese.
MrsV's son is autistic and was afraid of dogs, he adored bette and loves Vinnie.
condolence poems
Mavis is MrsV's and a shih tzu Maltese cross. She's also bloody brilliant but way more stubborn than B or V.
condolence poems
Basically im just here to sing the praises of small white fluffy things
Last edited by verv; 3rd February 2023 at 14:15.
French Bulldog. They are amazing with kids, super funny. But go to a good breeder as the breed can have medical issues due to inbreeding at kess reputable breeders
We have a Portuguese Water Dog who is fantastic with our 3 + 9 yr olds. 100% non shedding, but may be too large for what you are looking for.
We had the same requirements as you, with the exception of wanting a medium/large dog. The PWDs are considered a medium size dog, but are at the upper end of that. They also need a good amount of exercise.
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Miniature schnauzer. Mine are both 14 years old, great peaceful wee souls, good alarm dogs and don't cast which is a big bonus, especially is anyone has any allergies at home.
Another nice bonus is their poop portions are very small. My friend had a golden retriever, and he'd need a bin liner to clean up after it :-)
On the plus side he is very cute, basically a larger cockapoo
You’ll struggle, I think, to find a rescue dog with a young family plus to find a non-shedder isn’t easy.
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Cockers and labradors will be nutters so bare that in mind. We have a cavapoo which is a cavalier King Charles / toy poodle. Very bright and easy going
Last edited by awright101; 3rd February 2023 at 14:44.
Thanks for all the advice so far ,
good point re being able to take a rescue with a 4 year old probably a non runner.
Hi
Lots to think about and a massive choice of dogs out there....we tend to favour cross breeds as less flaws & long life too !
I also think you will struggle with a rescue due to the age of children and your garden will need to be secure ( 6ft fence ).
We've owned both non-shedder & shedder varieties....small dog budget Ł35-40 every 5x weeks at the pooch parlour or just lots of hoovering for a shedder - like twice a day !
Good luck with whatever you do , a very rewarding pet & family member are guaranteed.
Best Neil
Flatcoated Retriever, job done.
Yorkshire terrier or a miniature schnauzer.
Both don’t shed and they are small but full of character.
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Miniature Schnauzer would be my choice for a smaller dog too.
When we first got our dog I thought he was large for a puppy but then I took him to the vets and out came a Giant Schnauzer my god he was huge. Beautiful looking dogs though.
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Dont forget the Dog rescue places too.
Lots of Dogs out there wanting a loving home to go to.
Westie’s great family pet brilliant house dogs, they live to good age, in fact ours is 16 this year. They don’t molt either .
Cockapoo or Cavapoo are a good all round dogs. We have a cocker spaniel.
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Working Cocker Spaniel, nuts but very smart, non destructive which cannot be said for some other breeds.
i saw once recently and admired it, when you say nuts what do you mean? non destructive is important, do they shed much?
My son has a cockapoo bitch,good around the children ,more biddable than a male.As with all dogs care around small children is paramount.
Labrador
we had a beautiful golden lab growing up but probably a little large for us at the moment.
This.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
With younger kids: a dog with calm and collective parents is a must. And go to a proper puppy training.
Today I heard that a one year old ‘boulab’ (Swiss sennen dog x labrador) bit off the top half of his owner’s RH ring finger! She wanted to correct him because he was begging for food. She pushed his nose away and ended up with one finger less.
In the past, the owners had skipped puppy training etc. ‘… because the stress od being forces to do what the owner wants, will frustrate the dog…’ No kidding! They went to dog reiki healing instead when he started to behave badly when 6 months old.
The dog was put to sleep by a vet two hours after the incident.
We’ve had all sorts from boxers to mastiffs to German shepherds to Tibetan spaniels and many many more but I think I can honestly say our two cockapoos are the best all rounders for want of a better phrase, they really are lovely dogs.
Great temperament, nice size, non shedding, intelligent and bags of personality.
We gave up trying to rehome which is a real shame but with kids and other pets it was all but impossible.
Yeh definitely a show cocker unless you want to be walking it for hour after hour
Obviously factor in Vet insurance because these days any visit to the vets can be costly, insurers seem to like cross breeds, they are perhaps considered tougher.
^^^Definitely this^^^^
As someone who owned a working cocker for 14 years. Their drive to work is phenomenal. And trying to drag them out of a rabbit Warren when they're in the red zone (working) is a challenge to say the least.
If you are able to source one, may I suggest a first cross Labrador / Spaniel maybe suitable .… This cross has the placidity of a Labrador and the bid ability of a Spaniel , & depending on the parents size these are not always big dogs, however are in my experience both loving and loyal .
Good luck with your quest & congratulations on your reach out and research bodes well .
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Last edited by Norbert; 3rd February 2023 at 21:07.
Good to see they`re tucking in to a bottle of `Shed.[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oeZyA9]
Love that stuff!
(wine snobs: i don`t care what you think of it!)
Italian Spinone
We have a Lhasa apso, he’s 11 now, long lived dogs and really loving intelligent dogs.
Believe it or not they are actually good house guard dogs and were originally bread as such by Tibetan monks (apparently) don’t malt, love kids and if trained properly really well behaved
Well trained
We got 2 maltipoos after always having English Bulldogs. They are absolutely brilliant family dogs. Low shedding, cracking personalities, great companion dogs and small enough to sit on your lap and keep you warm in winter.
Never know what you're gonna get first cross.
Whatever you decide make sure to socialise, socialise, socialise. With people, adults, children, every conceivable scenario. It's hard work but well worth it in the long run.
Without doubt a rescue/retired greyhound.
Quite a large dog.
Very chilled indooors though, much easier than an exicitable smaller hound.
I have two cockapoos.. boy 6 and girl 2.. brilliant family dogs.. friendly, ideal small-medium size.. don't drop hair.
Sadly no longer with us but "Ellie" was a mid-sized retriever that really did not cast a lot... well perhaps a bit, but she was brilliant with the kids when they were lads. Not the brightest star in the firmament but very affectionate and docile. Be prepared for the long haul - she was almost 17 before we had to say "so long"
If you like retrievers then maybe ....
last pic in our garden... it can get cold up here!
Last edited by stiglet; 3rd February 2023 at 23:06.
Staffie…….
Great with kids, equally happy going for long walks or just cuddling up on the sofa all day .
HiyaItalian Spinone
Spinone....now that's a breed my wife loves !
Someone within a half mile of us has one....appears to like eating/chewing French doors and/or sofas ( 2x so far ) 😀
Best Neil
Beautiful dog, bumped into a couple who had a pair of them. Interesting background to the breed.Italian Spinone
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I agree. Sighthounds have a “presence” when they’re running around doing their thing, but they fold up quite small on the owner’s sofa/bed/armchair for the other 23.5 hours of the day, and generally have wonderful temperaments.
This is Ralph a Lagotto who is an absolute joy!
We’ve had him a month, he’s now 17 weeks.
He’s given George our 15.5 year old a new lease of life after loosing Gus our Border last year.
Last edited by Snoodles; 4th February 2023 at 08:42.
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