Mrs Jackaroo

Since deciding to move to Oz we promised our little girl she could have a puppy if we decided we wanted to stay - so the time has come for us to pay up!!

There are three of us (little 'un is 6 years old) so can anyone give me a recommendation for which breed might suit? I will be walking it every day (not miles and miles though!) and I would like it to be really affectionate. I dont want it to be hyperactive (although I know training can very often sort that out). I love the idea of a Staffy, little 'un would like something 'tiny' and OH would like a medium sized dog!! - I'll probably win on the size thing but not sure about a staffy. A friend of mine had one which was great with her daughter and used to sit on her lap etc (thats what I want!).

God I'm waffling now!

Any recommendations - iPOM perhaps?

Cheers

Rach xxxx

Deer Hunter

http://www.bmdcc.ca/photo_gallery.htm

The Bernese Mountain is a great family dog. We have one (Emma) and she is the most gentle dog I have ever met. Berners are pretty big but they are easily trained and don't need too much exercise as long as they get at least one good run around a day they are fine (we do two). Staffies while small tend to be a bit mental and destructive they also need quite a lot of exercise.

cresta57

King Charles Spaniel, most good natured dog you'll ever find. If we were responsible enough to own a dog that would be the one the wife would have

rossifumi

Selectapet

geordie mandy

i love those dogs , thats what i wanted but ended up with a mad springer that things its a king charles
Mandy

MrsDagboy

I wouldnt choose something tiny, most toy breeds dont fair well with small children.

Selectapet is a great tool for narrowing down the search, just be TOTALLY honest about the answers in there cos they can make a big difference.

My suggestions in smallish/medium dogs would be a Cavalier King Charles spaniel (not what Cresta suggested, there are 2 seperate breeds, although they are similar), a sheltie (as long as you dont mind the grooming, about 1/2 hr once/week), a staffy (as long as you are the firm type, most can be over boisterous especially when young) or something like a Jack Russell terrier.

If you are happy with a larger dog I have a different list with things like Golden retrievers, labradors & German Shepherds on it .

Anyway, try Selectapet & see what they come up with, you can then search on the individual breeds that are suggested.

One other point - please please PLEASE make sure you find a reputable registered breeder to get a puppy from, your chances of health problems will be lower with a breeder who cares & does the necessary health checks on their dogs. Dont ever ever buy from a petshop (who mainly sell crossbreds bred in appalling conditions in puppy mills at hugely inflated prices) .

If you need any other help or have more questions just ask.

Edited - sorry, instead of selectapet you can also try this link for selectadog http://www.pedigree.com.au/select/ I prefer their interface & they give a better description of the breeds

Deer Hunter

I absolutely second that!! You only have to look in the cages that puppies are kept in in petshops to see how appalingly they are kept and treated!

Dogs need proper human-dog and dog-dog socialization from day one.

Mrs Jackaroo

What a great response! Thanks guys. I'll check out both those websites now. I had actually planned to go to a rescue centre when we were ready to get one - do you think this is a good idea Mrs D or should I head to a breeder?

Thanks again

Rach xxxx

Fiona&malc

We've got two labradors that i love to bits they are fab for families with kids, but they do need a lot of excersise and attention, so not ideal if you work full time or dont like being out much. If you dont givethem lots of exercize etc, they tend to develop behavioral problems like barking or digging up your back yard. I love them, and love spending time with them, we usually take them down to the river for a swim or a game of soccer with the kids at the weekends.

MrsDagboy

If you dont mind an older dog then by all means head to a rescue place, there are hundreds of dogs out there every day looking for new owners. iPOM got hers from rescue last week. She can probably give you some suggestions of places to go, if not Im more than willing to give you some people to contact. Many dogs in rescue are temperament tested & fostered out, so you will have a very good idea of what they are like with things like on-leash, with cats, other dogs etc.

However if you are looking for a young puppy & want something purebred or a certain size my suggestion is to go to a breeder. You can get puppies from rescue, however they are mostly crossbreds & you will have no real idea of how big they will grow, what sort of temperament they will have or the chances of them having health problems later in life.

harveyhare

Have to agree
We asked our vet in the UK about certain breeds of dog and he said the Cavalier king charles is the best family dog, they love people, other animals and are loyal and easy to train, we got ours on his recommmendation, He's now 5, Sadly he hates travel containers and got really stressed out, the airline would not allow him to have any form of sedation, relaxation treatment so he is in the UK with my sister
He is spoilt rotten and my parents have him for sleepovers

Still sad and we miss him, if we ever get another dog then thats the breed we would go for.

Di

Mrs Jackaroo

Thanks very much. A breeder is the way to go I think. We really want to have a good idea of what sort of termperament it will have and the size etc.

Very much appreciated.

How are you such a knowledge on this Mrs D? Do you work with dogs? You certainly seem to know your stuff.

Cheers

Rach xxxx

Mrs Jackaroo

OMG they are gorgeous!!!!!

Deer Hunter

I think so

My fav is the one of all the puppies in the sled awwwww.

MrsDagboy

Di, just to make sure other people are aware - King Charles spaniels & CAVALIER King Charles spaniels are a completely different breed. Cavaliers (like you had) are very good family dogs & are great with kids, King Charles spaniels are more suited to adult households.

Glad your Cavalier King Charles gave you so much pleasure .

Just so people can see the difference the first one is a CKC, the second is a KC