Trying to decide on small to medium dog for young family

[JennyKS]

Well I might as well suggest my baby! How about a west highland terrier? What a wonderful dog my westie is! I would love to have another. He was very easy to house break, doesn't shed, I only have to get him groomed about twice a year. Good with my daughter, he was here first. I love him to pieces!

 

[golfgal]

We love our little mixed breed. We were told she's a chihuahua/min-pin, but as she's grown we think it more likely she's a chihuahua/miniature greyhound. Shes 14 lbs. and has a huge dolly parton chest with a supper skinny waist and long, long legs.

I wish I knew how to post a picture! (Any advice would be appreciated.)

She has very short hair and long, long legs. She runs like the wind on the beach or the field, but can sleep for 16 hours a day. Yes, she is our baby and sleeps with us every night.

Advice for the OP, we previously only had silky terriers, a small, long-haired dog (hair, not fur). While we loved them all, the hair was a big maintenance. Go for a short haired dog (not anything with *poo in their name, they will still need regular trimming). You want a short-haired family friendly dog that doesn't need too much exercise.

That would be my dog!

Upload a photo to Photobucket or similar site, copy the URL address of that photo-click on the icon above the reply box that looks like a postcard and copy the URL address to that box--your photo will post once you hit submit.

 

[goofy!]

wow - I love readin all the responses. Yes, the more I read about dalmations, the more I am crossing that one off the list. Dachshund is considered because I had 3 in the home through my childhood. We never had problems with the temperament. May be my parents just made it look easy The thing I remember is having to be so careful on stairs with their backs and being so careful when carrying them for the same reason. I have read the stubborn trait with the beagle because they are highly nose/scent oriented. I wonder if this trait is diluted down in the puggle mix. Keep commenting. I enjoy your insight. A question I have with the "wire coat", is their coat oh.... not soft. We want a snuggle pup.... something that feels good to love. The sound of a "wire coat" does not sound that way. silly, I know.

You cannot determine that. Because a puggle is just a fancy name for a mixed breed dog, it will not breed "true" like a regular breed.

You can have any combination of either parent in your puppy. It is a crapshoot whether you would get all the best traits of the beagle and pug, or all the worst traits.

With a mixed breed like the puggle, all the doodles, there is no such thing a "breed traits." A doodle is only non-shedding IF it takes after its poodle parent. I have seen many, many doodles take after their lab and golden sides and shed like crazy. In the puggle, you could very well get the stubborness of the beagle combined with the breathing and eye problems that sometimes come with the pug.

Also realize that with the designer mutts, there is no such thing as hybrid vigor.

No reputable breeder is going to sell their carefully researched, carefully bred, healthy dogs to anybody who is going use them to create mutts.

So, the dogs being used as parents for these designer dogs are usually puppy mill dogs that already have health and temperament problems. When you breed two dogs with sketchy backgrounds together, you are going to get puppies with a higher chance of having health and temperament problems.

Because puppy mill pugs are bred for profit with little regard to how the litter will turn out, the puppies are more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. Now pair this with a puppy mill beagle, who also is more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. You are going to get a litter of puppies that now have 2x the genetic diseases or doubled up on the ones the two parents share and a much greater incident of poor temperaments.

Are there good designer dogs? Of course. But you run a much higher risk in getting a puppy with health and temperament problems by buying a puppy without proper health screenings on the parents and with no regard to the temperaments in the background pedigrees.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You cannot determine that. Because a puggle is just a fancy name for a mixed breed dog, it will not breed "true" like a regular breed.

You can have any combination of either parent in your puppy. It is a crapshoot whether you would get all the best traits of the beagle and pug, or all the worst traits.

With a mixed breed like the puggle, all the doodles, there is no such thing a "breed traits." A doodle is only non-shedding IF it takes after its poodle parent. I have seen many, many doodles take after their lab and golden sides and shed like crazy. In the puggle, you could very well get the stubborness of the beagle combined with the breathing and eye problems that sometimes come with the pug.

Also realize that with the designer mutts, there is no such thing as hybrid vigor.

No reputable breeder is going to sell their carefully researched, carefully bred, healthy dogs to anybody who is going use them to create mutts.

So, the dogs being used as parents for these designer dogs are usually puppy mill dogs that already have health and temperament problems. When you breed two dogs with sketchy backgrounds together, you are going to get puppies with a higher chance of having health and temperament problems.

Because puppy mill pugs are bred for profit with little regard to how the litter will turn out, the puppies are more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. Now pair this with a puppy mill beagle, who also is more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. You are going to get a litter of puppies that now have 2x the genetic diseases or doubled up on the ones the two parents share and a much greater incident of poor temperaments.

Are there good designer dogs? Of course. But you run a much higher risk in getting a puppy with health and temperament problems by buying a puppy without proper health screenings on the parents and with no regard to the temperaments in the background pedigrees.

Well said. (But you better put your flame suit on! )

 

[Karalea]

I would not recommended a dachshund for a home with small children and you will find that a lot of shelters/rescue groups will not adopt them out to homes with small children - like under 8.

Have you considered a Boston Terrier? My sister has a year old Boston. She is still a little hyper but a real love bug. She is my 3 yrd old nephew's best friend

 

[gillep]

We have a beagle now and had 2 beagles growing up. and we have 3 kids.

Honestly, I can finally say ~ what was I thinking ?

For as much as we love her, for being her, she is the most annoying dog !

Beagles, need a serious amount of exersize, a large high fenced yard, lengthy walks daily, activites to keep them interested, and they really really have to be seriously trained continiously to not want to kill em'

Our dog is an escape artist, you crack the door an inch and she is trying to dart out, she is the worst at getting out. then when you go to chase after her she just darts off farther. and now looking back, at the beagles I had growing up, they were the same damn way.

That and the barking/howling. They bark at everything

That and she is such a diva.

What I can recommend for a med/large size dog is an English Springer.

WOW my beagle is nothing like this, he does not bark or bay at all at home (we do hear that he can be vocal playing with other dogs at daycare). He also is very scent oriented but does not bolt from our house, we trained him to sit at our front door with the screen door wide open and he will not step one paw outside even if I am out there, or if his favorite doggy friend and I are playing. He also gets really excited when people walk in front of our townhouse but doesn't bark he just wags his tail a lot.

We take him for at least 2 15min walks a day and usually more if the weather cooperates (I love walking him). He also goes to daycare once a week. We have no yard at all so walks and fetch in the house are it for exercise and his weight is right on target.

He is mostly just a snuggler he loves to sit on my lap and lay across the keys on my laptop if I am paying attention to the DIS instead of him. He is certainly not the dog for everyone he is very mischevious (however he will stop doing something if I tell him to leave it or NO, except for paper and loose fabric that is a work in progress). He is also very stubborn (if he doesn't want to walk in a certain direction nothing will get him there short of carrying him). We rescued him when he was 9.5 monts old and before that he had never been out of a cage, had never been outside, or in a house. He has adapted to home life remarkably (he is 2.5 years now) but he still loves the security of having his own cage to sleep in. Of the 6 or so beagles in our immediate neighborhood only 2 are really loud (and they are really really loud).

Good luck finding the perfect dog below is a picture of my Riley

 

[Pea-n-Me]

WOW my beagle is nothing like this, he does not bark or bay at all at home (we do hear that he can be vocal playing with other dogs at daycare). He also is very scent oriented but does not bolt from our house, we trained him to sit at our front door with the screen door wide open and he will not step one paw outside even if I am out there, or if his favorite doggy friend and I are playing. He also gets really excited when people walk in front of our townhouse but doesn't bark he just wags his tail a lot.

We take him for at least 2 15min walks a day and usually more if the weather cooperates (I love walking him). He also goes to daycare once a week. We have no yard at all so walks and fetch in the house are it for exercise and his weight is right on target.

He is mostly just a snuggler he loves to sit on my lap and lay across the keys on my laptop if I am paying attention to the DIS instead of him. He is certainly not the dog for everyone he is very mischevious (however he will stop doing something if I tell him to leave it or NO, except for paper and loose fabric that is a work in progress). He is also very stubborn (if he doesn't want to walk in a certain direction nothing will get him there short of carrying him). We rescued him when he was 9.5 monts old and before that he had never been out of a cage, had never been outside, or in a house. He has adapted to home life remarkably (he is 2.5 years now) but he still loves the security of having his own cage to sleep in. Of the 6 or so beagles in our immediate neighborhood only 2 are really loud (and they are really really loud).

Good luck finding the perfect dog below is a picture of my Riley

Great story.

 

[badblackpug]

<<<<<<< PUG!



Actual real pug, not a pug mix. They are small without being delicate or yippy. They are great with kids. They have a generally happy personality and they are little clowns. Mine is 14 now, and never in 14 year have I even heard him growl. He loves kids, adults, seniors, other dogs, cats. They do shed like crazy, but their hair is short and easy maintenance. It takes about 5 minutes to bathe him. They are true lab dogs. They love to cuddle. Mine is on my lap now.

 

[goofy!]

Have you thought about a Miniature Schnauzer? My DS has one and its the sweetest dog they have ever had. We have a Yorkie that I love, but I wouldn't suggest them around small kids.

With the schnauzer, as with any breed you get, just make sure that the parents have had all the appropriate genetic testings done.

A PP in this thread mentioned that dogs that come from breeders that do genetic testing are very expensive.

I have found this to be very untrue. 2 reasons: a reputable breeder rarely makes money on a litter and is more interested in the home and the long term costs of a poorly bred dog far outweigh the initial costs of a well bred dog.

Most puppies in a pet shop are far more expensive than any puppy you can get from a reputable breeder.


For instance:
I picked on the miniature schnauzer because of our neighbor. She has wanted a schnauzer for many years. They went to a "breeder" who was certified as a "livestock" breeder. (Can you say huge red flags on puppy mill.). Passed this off to the naive that they were regulated and so their puppies had to be healthy.

Puppies were CKC registered, and not Canadian Kennel Club. Red flag #2. The CKC was started by puppy millers when the AKC began implementing stricter regulations such as DNA testing of stud dogs. Way too expensive for the puppy millers to comply and they couldn't anyway as their breeding practices were sketchy as best. So, the CKC was invented, along with a few other registries, that allowed the puppy millers to claim their puppies were "registered."

Third, the puppies were outrageously priced.

Naive neighbor:
Came home with a schnauzer puppy that is the poorest representative of the breed I have ever seen and I highly doubt it is a purebred.

Neighbor was very proud of the livestock certifications of the kennel and the CKC registration.

When some people questioned whether this was a puppy mill puppy, neighbor became incensed and said
1) a puppy mill wouldn't have let them see the puppy and parents in the house. Uh, wrong. This is a popular tactic of puppy mills - bring a litter into the house so that you fool people into thinking they are home raised. Try asking to see the back of their property or in their barns and see if you get anywhere.

2) Dog was registered, so it was a purebred. Uh, no. You can register a rock in the CKC as it does not require any proof of parenthood.

3) This was my favorite. If this was such a poorly bred dog, they wouldn't have charged so much for it. This is also a popular tactic, playing into naive people's beliefs that cost = quality.

Puppy is now almost 2 years old.

Dog developed juvenile cataracts at about 3 months of age (after the 7 day period they got vet check the puppy for health issues.)

Dog is blind. Canine ophthalmologist, which the dog has to see regularly, costs $250.00 a pop just to walk in the door.

2 or 3 visits of these ophthalmologist and they would have saved more than enough for a well bred, parents thoroughly health screened, healthy dog with a breeder that would stand behind their puppies.

Another neighbor purchased a doodle. Got a double dose of allergies and other shared diseases from both poorly bred parents. They spend a fortune each month on allergy and other meds to just keep their beloved dog healthy.

So, not only is going to a reputable breeder usually cheaper in the beginning, it is also usually much cheaper in the long run as you are not financing the local vet's next wing. You are going to fall in love with your puppy, so will do anything you can to keep it healthy. You may as well stack the deck in getting a healthy puppy from a reputable breeder (or a rescue that has already had time to show what health problems it may have inherited) so that you are not 2nd mortgaging your house to keep your beloved puppy healthy.

 

[lisamulls]

Hi OP, I know that Boston Terriers were not on your short list but they are great family dogs. They have short hair so very little grooming is required and they love to be around people. They are very energetic and affectionate dogs!

Good luck on your search

Lisa

 

[mjkacmom]

I got the best dog ever from a rescue group, who was fostered. She is 15 pounds, and when we got her, was 6 months old, crate trained, completely housebroken, super friendly, not hyper, and not a big barker. Please consider going this route, and save a life. The kids wanted to know what kind of dog we were going to get, and I told them a good one.

 

[goofy!]

Well said. (But you better put your flame suit on! )

done

 

[lakelandgal70]

I would never recommend dachshunds to someone with small kids. Older yes but not young ones. I have 3 doxies and was also in doxie rescue for number of years and they are very stubborn breed. They are hard to potty train and have back issues. And they will tell you when they have had enough poking or prodding. A beagle is a good dog for kids as is a Schnauzer, Boston Terriers are great dogs too for kids. Don't get me wrong I adore the dachshund breed they just aren't for everyone.

 

[tzolkin]

Ugh. I wrote a long post, but then my internet went out.

Have you considered a Boston Terrier? My sister has a year old Boston. She is still a little hyper but a real love bug. She is my 3 yrd old nephew's best friend

Our dog is a lab/Boston Terrier mix. We adopted her a few months ago. She has been easy to housebreak and train for basic commands and is great with my kids (5, 7, & 12). We have been working hard to socialize her (she was 7 mos and had never lived in a home when we got her). She is good in the car (which was important to us) and goes with us to parks, visit local relatives, and we even just took her on vacation with us. She has enough energy to play with the kids in the yard, but from day one she was content to lay around the house and sleep most of the day. She does still get nervous and will bark/growl when visitors come into our back yard, but we're working on that and are very happy with our decision to get this dog.

DH and I did a lot of discussing and researching when trying to find a dog that would be the right fit for our family. Personally, I do not have the patience for certain types of dogs (especially beagles). There's nothing "wrong" with any type of dog and there will be people who love them, but they may just not be compatible for you/your family.

I love my Sharpei's. They have been a great family pet for us and great with our kids. One of them was from a shelter and she is a sharpei mixed with lab and our other one is a sharpei mixed with a french bulldog. Our frenchie-pei is full size and weighs 32 pounds. She is our cuddler and very soft with short hair and doesn't shed that much. She is happy playing inside and doesn't demand a lot of attention. Very smart, and very easy to train. She will go on long walks if you want, but she is also happy just going outside.

The four purebred sharpeis that I have known (including the one my family owned when I was a child) all had to be put to sleep for viciously attacking/biting both adults and children or killing neighbors pets. Your mixes sound very sweet, but I don't think I could ever be completely comfortable owning a sharpei with children after my experiences.

 

[goofy!]

I think what the OP should realize that what is going to make their puppy the best for their family is the work they put into it. Even the sweetest, best puppy with children can become a nightmare without proper training. While breed is a big consideration, the training of the puppy is what will make it a good fit into their family.

You will get out of your dog what you put into it. Make sure you go to puppy kindergarten, continue on with further obedience training, remember that what is 'cute' as a puppy might not be so cute as an adult, and socialize your puppy to many different situations. If you put the work into your puppy, almost any breed is going to be a great family dog.

Some breeds are more work than others and some breeds are not suitable for first time owners, but with the most popular breeds, any one of them will be a good family dog if 1) you make sure you get one from a breeder that breeds responsibly and 2) you put the work and effort into the dog to make it a joy to live with.

Also, get to know everything about the breed you want. Join a local breed club. Get on the breed's mailing list. That way you know the pros and cons of your chosen breed. If you want a beagle, then learn about the beagle. Learn how to train around its nose so it doesn't run off every time it catches a scent. Teach a 'quiet' command from the very beginning so that you don't end up with a howler. And if training is unsuccessful in a very stubborn dog, at least you have the knowledge and can work around it. For instance, you will know never to let your dog off leash in a rabbit infested field.

If you are willing to do the work, breed becomes more a preference than a necessity. So, OP, go for the dog that you like the best and just plan on training it to be a good member of your family. With proper knowledge, work and training, any breed can be a wonderful family dog.

 

[Molliday]

Beagles are great dogs, but they can be knuckleheads and difficult to train. They are also slaves to their noses and if given the opportunity to get outside of a fence, it's nose to the ground, and they're off.

They are very, very sweet though. I brought my Beagle home when my girls were four and eight. She was a great dog and I never had any issues with her around my daughters.

ETA: My Beagle didn't howl at all. I think she was defective, lol.

 

[RachaelA]

You cannot determine that. Because a puggle is just a fancy name for a mixed breed dog, it will not breed "true" like a regular breed.

You can have any combination of either parent in your puppy. It is a crapshoot whether you would get all the best traits of the beagle and pug, or all the worst traits.

With a mixed breed like the puggle, all the doodles, there is no such thing a "breed traits." A doodle is only non-shedding IF it takes after its poodle parent. I have seen many, many doodles take after their lab and golden sides and shed like crazy. In the puggle, you could very well get the stubborness of the beagle combined with the breathing and eye problems that sometimes come with the pug.

Also realize that with the designer mutts, there is no such thing as hybrid vigor.

No reputable breeder is going to sell their carefully researched, carefully bred, healthy dogs to anybody who is going use them to create mutts.

So, the dogs being used as parents for these designer dogs are usually puppy mill dogs that already have health and temperament problems. When you breed two dogs with sketchy backgrounds together, you are going to get puppies with a higher chance of having health and temperament problems.

Because puppy mill pugs are bred for profit with little regard to how the litter will turn out, the puppies are more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. Now pair this with a puppy mill beagle, who also is more often riddled with genetic diseases and poor temperaments. You are going to get a litter of puppies that now have 2x the genetic diseases or doubled up on the ones the two parents share and a much greater incident of poor temperaments.

Are there good designer dogs? Of course. But you run a much higher risk in getting a puppy with health and temperament problems by buying a puppy without proper health screenings on the parents and with no regard to the temperaments in the background pedigrees.

We have a pug/beagle mix from a rescue group. We love her, but we got her knowing that there were no breed standards because she's a mutt and not a real breed.

She's the most stubborn dog. She sheds like freaking crazy. She barks at everything no matter what type of training we try. She has horrible recall even after years of training and tons of classes. But we love her. She's the most lovable dog. She doesn't need to be walked or exercised and she's in perfect shape.

But another pug/beagle could be the complete opposite.

 

[dizzy99]

How about a Corgi?

I haven't owned one but in terms of a medium sized dog, there's nothing cuter

 

[HelenePA]

What I can recommend for a med/large size dog is an English Springer.

I'd do just the opposite!! I have a (full bread akc) English Springer and he is a handful!! Wonderful with my kids but is very very hyper even at 6yrs old! He needs to be walked at least 3 miles a day to burn off some of that energy.. playing ball just does NOT cut it with him. He also has separation issues. He follows me EVERYWHERE... its bad enough having a 2 yr old in the bathroom with you but now there are 2 sets of eyes watching me pee...

Before him we had a corgi mix.. She was WONDERFUL! Her legs looked like chicken legs She was a great dog.. good with my kids.. didn't bark alot, no 3 hr walked daily. Didn't rip up the garbage when I'd go out to get the mail because she missed me...

 

[disneyfanforever]

I had 2 Beagles and 2 Cocker Spaniels growing up. I had the beagles when I was very little, and I remember them being very sweet. However, I do remember that they had an overwhelming desire to dig everywhere, including under the fence to escape. It was very traumatic for me when they ran away, but luckily we found them everytime.

The Cocker Spaniels I had in junior high and high school, and they were fantastic as well. One was a little nicer than the other, but they were both great to me and my younger sister. I do remember they their fur getting everywhere.

We have 2 Yorkies now. Our oldest has been with us before we had kids, and he is kind of a grump. Our youngest Yorkie, Sydney, is the best kid dog ever. She loves my kids and DH and I with everything she has, and she plays and follows the kids everywhere. She is the ultimate lap dog. She is 6 years old now and is just fantastic. Neither of our Yorkies are the very tiny kind, and they each weigh 7-8 pounds.