MrsCentaur
Well-Known Member
The children want a dog, we want a dog, and I am almost minded to capitulate; the only thing holding me back is that the sort of dog that I like and enjoyed owning and working with previously is not well-suited to our lifestyle now and I'm struggling to get excited enough about any of the breeds that might work. So I'm throwing it out to the audience: what dog would you place in this family?
One working parent (whom is working from home for the foreseeable), one stay-at-home parent, five small children aged 2-6 with a tendency to be squealy, play actively and a bit rough with each other but are usually very well-behaved around animals and have experience of dogs in their house from dogsitting. Average 4-bedroom house with a decent garden, a 10 minute walk from the downs and a 20 minute walk from the sea, ability to offer about an hour to an hour and a half of exercise/day during the week and super active weekends (we don't have a car and walk everywhere, and 99% of what we do is very dog-friendly - dog will be out of the house for about ten hours and much of that time will be spent off-lead interspersed with detours into coffee shops). Will probably pop dog in daycare about two days/week to give stay-at-home parent a break from additional responsibility; there is a lovely one locally and they will pick dog up from the house in the morning and return dog exhausted in the late afternoon.
Dog experience: I had a rescued Old English Sheepdog x Bearded Collie as a teenager, competed in agility, obedience and he starred in the school play! More recently, pre-children I spent six months living in an overseas dog shelter and brought home a literally feral Beardie-ish basket case because she was dying and needed treatment (she survived for 10 months before succumbing to kidney disease thanks to her chemotherapy regime) and a fuzzy saint of a 'carpet dog' (nickname because she resembled a manky old carpet) who trained to a reasonably high standard and achieved a Kennel Club Gold certificate in obedience; she died two years ago and it's still raw. My preference in dogs is clearly highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and very active herding things with a lot of hair - this doesn't quite work with our current lifestyle (two out of three of mine would probably have eaten my children had they been around now!). I've never bought from a breeder and my inclination is to spend a few weeks living at a dog shelter and pick the one that feels 'right' but that probably won't work with children at home! I'm not keen on rescuing a dog unless I can spend some time (days, not hours) vetting it first.
Preferences (we don't expect to get ALL of these, but we probably don't want a dog that ticks none of these boxes): typically good with children and non-suspicious of strangers, NOT a hound (the ability to train a good recall is essential - I don't shout more than once for my children and refuse to do it for a dog!), minimally shedding, not particularly slobbery, not unethically bred (no brachycephalic breeds, to the fury of one of my daughters who is desperate for a pug), a manageable size, not terribly barky, probably not a terrier.
Accommodations: willing to pay for additional exercise or training if we struggle to keep up with the needs of our dog, willing to pay for professional grooming.
Breeds that are interesting to me: another Beardie or Old English Sheepdog, a Pyrenean Sheepdog, Newfoundland, Whippet (but worry about their delicate little legs in our madhouse), Pekingese if we can find a rescue one - we absolutely will not support these being bred but I do find them sweet and intriguing, toy poodle.
We are most excited about: the training and shaping of a dog, which is something that I really enjoy and my six-year-olds are keen to play with, the companionship at weekends and in the home, there is a suggestion that my autistic daughter will find pet-ownership therapeutic. We are least excited about: juggling dog ownership and the school runs!
I think we'll probably go for an OES and just engage a professional dog walker to fill in the gaps, but I wonder what everyone else thinks? What sort of dog do you think might suit us? Or should we just wait until the small folk are older?
One working parent (whom is working from home for the foreseeable), one stay-at-home parent, five small children aged 2-6 with a tendency to be squealy, play actively and a bit rough with each other but are usually very well-behaved around animals and have experience of dogs in their house from dogsitting. Average 4-bedroom house with a decent garden, a 10 minute walk from the downs and a 20 minute walk from the sea, ability to offer about an hour to an hour and a half of exercise/day during the week and super active weekends (we don't have a car and walk everywhere, and 99% of what we do is very dog-friendly - dog will be out of the house for about ten hours and much of that time will be spent off-lead interspersed with detours into coffee shops). Will probably pop dog in daycare about two days/week to give stay-at-home parent a break from additional responsibility; there is a lovely one locally and they will pick dog up from the house in the morning and return dog exhausted in the late afternoon.
Dog experience: I had a rescued Old English Sheepdog x Bearded Collie as a teenager, competed in agility, obedience and he starred in the school play! More recently, pre-children I spent six months living in an overseas dog shelter and brought home a literally feral Beardie-ish basket case because she was dying and needed treatment (she survived for 10 months before succumbing to kidney disease thanks to her chemotherapy regime) and a fuzzy saint of a 'carpet dog' (nickname because she resembled a manky old carpet) who trained to a reasonably high standard and achieved a Kennel Club Gold certificate in obedience; she died two years ago and it's still raw. My preference in dogs is clearly highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive and very active herding things with a lot of hair - this doesn't quite work with our current lifestyle (two out of three of mine would probably have eaten my children had they been around now!). I've never bought from a breeder and my inclination is to spend a few weeks living at a dog shelter and pick the one that feels 'right' but that probably won't work with children at home! I'm not keen on rescuing a dog unless I can spend some time (days, not hours) vetting it first.
Preferences (we don't expect to get ALL of these, but we probably don't want a dog that ticks none of these boxes): typically good with children and non-suspicious of strangers, NOT a hound (the ability to train a good recall is essential - I don't shout more than once for my children and refuse to do it for a dog!), minimally shedding, not particularly slobbery, not unethically bred (no brachycephalic breeds, to the fury of one of my daughters who is desperate for a pug), a manageable size, not terribly barky, probably not a terrier.
Accommodations: willing to pay for additional exercise or training if we struggle to keep up with the needs of our dog, willing to pay for professional grooming.
Breeds that are interesting to me: another Beardie or Old English Sheepdog, a Pyrenean Sheepdog, Newfoundland, Whippet (but worry about their delicate little legs in our madhouse), Pekingese if we can find a rescue one - we absolutely will not support these being bred but I do find them sweet and intriguing, toy poodle.
We are most excited about: the training and shaping of a dog, which is something that I really enjoy and my six-year-olds are keen to play with, the companionship at weekends and in the home, there is a suggestion that my autistic daughter will find pet-ownership therapeutic. We are least excited about: juggling dog ownership and the school runs!
I think we'll probably go for an OES and just engage a professional dog walker to fill in the gaps, but I wonder what everyone else thinks? What sort of dog do you think might suit us? Or should we just wait until the small folk are older?
. My mistake.
