Suggestion for 1st time dog owner? Breed?

[scottmel]

Well DD11 might be wearing us down on her arguement for wanting a dog. We are cat people so dogs are all new to us. She really wants a King Charles Cavilier but I have read about their heart condition issues and am a little leery but could be convinced othewise....Any great breeds out there that are great with familys? DD11 is only child. I am home most of the day as well....She was hoping for a small/midsize dog. Cavilier size....1o pounds and up. Nothing TOO tiny....All suggestions welcome!!! thank you!

UPDATE 5/24 - you guys are FANTASTIC!!! the tips you have offered and advice. I went from clueless to somewhat knowledgable in a week!!! thank you ever so much!!! i have posted on the last page with our breed.

 

[paintnolish]

We have 2 Shleties and love them. They are a good size- are younger is 25 lbs. and the older is 30 lbs. (he is fat, though). They are smart, good with kids, and easy to housebreak/train. The only downside, which is manageable, is that they tend to be barkers, since they are herders.

 

[mjkacmom]

Whatever you do, do not get a dog from a petstore, because it will have come from a puppymill. We plan on rescuing a dog after our next vacation, but will try to find one that has been fostered, so I can find out about it's temperment (my gf fosters).

My only dog was one I foolishly purchased from a puppy store. It was never fully housebroken, because it grew up in a cage (and was a toy breed).

 

[Sarah_Rose]

We have 2 Shleties and love them. They are a good size- are younger is 25 lbs. and the older is 30 lbs. (he is fat, though). They are smart, good with kids, and easy to housebreak/train. The only downside, which is manageable, is that they tend to be barkers, since they are herders.

I LOVE shelties and grew up with them, but would not recommend them to a first time dog owner. They are small and cute and fluffy, so they often get treated like toy or non-sporting dogs, however they are an extremely intelligent member of the herding group. That means that without adequate exercise, training, and mental stimulation, they will become destructive and can often be snippy. I recommend to people that they shouldn't get a sheltie unless they're willing to put in the same amount of work that they would put into a larger herding dog, like a German Shepherd or a Border Collie.

A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel can be a great choice, as long as you look into breeders very well. The breed was "protected" for a long time, and so many of the lines are very inbred. Other spaniels, like Brittany or Cocker Spaniels could also be a great first dog. If you're sticking with small dogs, the "curly white dogs" like Maltese, Havanese, Miniature Poodle, Bichon, or Shih Tzu's can also be a good choice.

Whatever breed you choose, make sure to look into the breeder carefully - all breeds have the potential to be a problem, if they are not well-bred. Look for genetic health screenings and puppies whose parents have been shown for conformation. Or, better yet, look at shelters for a small adult dog - you'll have a good idea what you're getting by buying an adult instead of a puppy.

 

[jacksmom]

We have a Cocker Spaniel and love her! She is almost 4 years old and weighs 29 lbs. She is a great family pet! She loves kids and is very playful and friendly! She has a very sweet temperment and loves to be "loved" on! She is super cute also!

 

[susykt4]

A puppy can be almost as much work as a human baby. Housebreaking, training them not to eat/destroy everything in sight, basic obedience, etc. They also tend to cry a lot at night. But puppies are sooo stinking cute and fun! We just adopted an older dog (4 years) because my husband and I both work fulltime and it's just not a good time for a puppy. She's housebroken and doesn't destroy anything, but she has some bad habits we're working on such as jumping on people and getting into the garbage.

Dogs are a lot more work than cats, but I think they're totally worth it! I LOVE cats and thought I'd be done with dogs when my old shepherd mix died at the end of last year. I have two great cats, but they're just not dogs and the kids and I really missed having a dog.

As far as breeds go, pretty much every breed has some kind of issue. I made a huge point of getting a mutt to avoid genetic issues and wound up with a dog with hip dysplasia and panosteitis. Plus, he had parvo as a puppy and blew out his knee when he was 4. Then he lived to be almost 14 with no real problems in his old age.

 

[ElizK]

Be sure to check www.petfinder.com . You can put in your zip code, and any breed you are interested in. It'll show you all the rescue dogs available near you. Most will be mixed breed, but it has been my experience that unless you are willing to spend BIG bucks to get a puppy from a reputable breeder, mutt is the way to go.

All 3 of our dogs are rescues, the last two were found on petfinder.com. Good luck!

 

[TheZue]

Whatever you do, do not get a dog from a petstore, because it will have come from a puppymill. We plan on rescuing a dog after our next vacation, but will try to find one that has been fostered, so I can find out about it's temperment (my gf fosters).

My only dog was one I foolishly purchased from a puppy store. It was never fully housebroken, because it grew up in a cage (and was a toy breed).

I don't think this can be said enough. Our first dog was from a pet store and he never was fully trained either. When we had our son we just couldn't keep him because by the time Adam was 2 it was clear that he was going to attack him & it's just not healthy to have dog pee all over everything; and it wasn't fair to the dog to leave him outside all the time to avoid the problems. It was literally one of the worst experiences of my life. Plan on giving your animal a forever home by making sure you are getting a dog that will be capable of fitting into your family; puppy mill dogs make that extremely difficult.

When you pick a dog you want to see where it was raised or like the previous poster mentioned was fostered. Don't get a dog shipped either, you never know what conditions a breeder keeps their animals in if you don't go visit them. We once saw a crazy breeder of maincoon cats and she literally had around 50 cats in her living room; it STUNK! A good breeder will have a fairly normal house with the animals exposed to the family.

Once you've decided on a breed research research research, and plan plan plan before you bring them home. The worst thing you can do is get a dog on a whim.

We have a Cocker Spaniel and love her! She is almost 4 years old and weighs 29 lbs. She is a great family pet! She loves kids and is very playful and friendly! She has a very sweet temperment and loves to be "loved" on! She is super cute also!

That's what our dog is too. She's wonderful. Now that she's old she's totally deaf (I had to run across the street and stop her from pooping on my neighbor's lawn earlier since she can't hear me yelling anymore), and really just sleeps all the time. But she's made it 12 years and is still very healthy, other than being completely deaf. Some cocker's have behavior issues, avoiding a solid colour can help with that. Also I would never ever ever buy one without meeting it, and it's parents. They really have two distinct personality types, either luvy submissive gentle dogs (unfortunately a lot of these piddle when they are scared or excited the first few years), or snarky dogs from hell. If you are familiar with them it's obvious almost imediatly from their body language what type it is. But I wouldn't recomend a cocker unless you can really tell.

 

[StacyMarie]

I have two Shih Tzus!!! LOVE THEM! They are my boys. I work at home so I am with them 24/7 and whatever room I am in, they are right there with me. They are great. I would have more if I had the room, lol!! I have had then for 8 years and my girls were 4 and 6 when I got them. They are great with kids! I will never own another breed of dog! Good luck in your search.

 

[WDWBarb]

I vote for a shelter dog Take DD and let her find her doggy soul-mate. Mutts tend to have fewer breed-specific health problems and make great additions to the family.

And they are forever grateful for the second chance for a home and family!

 

[scottmel]

you guys are great! I would definately definately do a breeder simply b/c DD so wants a puppy. We have also rescued adult cats but DD really really wants a puppy. I plan to have her trained by a professional (I have a recommednation from a friend for this) but I am at a loss of what to look for. How do you know the breeder is good? are they registered somewhere that you can see their credentials? So if we don't opt for a "fancy bred" dog - but DO want a puppy - do you still go thru a breeder even for this?

 

[scottmel]

I just want to make sure you guys understand I won't go to a petstore - so if not pet store - breeder only or friend of a friend type of thing? I really don't want a barker...So I will certainly do my research on the proper dog but oh boy I do feel like a puppy will be like a baby but at least the baby stage isn't forever...right??

 

[TheZue]

you guys are great! I would definately definately do a breeder simply b/c DD so wants a puppy. We have also rescued adult cats but DD really really wants a puppy. I plan to have her trained by a professional (I have a recommednation from a friend for this) but I am at a loss of what to look for. How do you know the breeder is good? are they registered somewhere that you can see their credentials? So if we don't opt for a "fancy bred" dog - but DO want a puppy - do you still go thru a breeder even for this?

I would avoid any breeder that sells anything as "teacup" or "mini"...it just means they aren't following breed guidelines and those animals are usually not that healthy. I would also want to go see the breeder and where they keep the animals. If it's bad you'll know. It shouldn't smell, they shouldn't be kept in cages, and it will seem humane. I personally avoid breeders that ship dogs. They should be checking you out just as much as you are checking them out, and if they ship they are just looking for money which makes me wonder what else they are willing to sacrifice for profit. A lot of breeders breed because they love the animals, they don't necessarily make a ton of money from it.

 

[SpecialK]

Just in case you aren't aware of this, shelters also adopt out puppies. Our local shelter just had six this weekend.

 

[swald91]

Shelter dogs can be great but just make sure you do research....we adopted one & didn't have children at the time-found out later she was abused by a kid-although she tolerated the kids, she much preferred to be with the adults in the house.
I love our english bulldog "Wilson" great with kids-you also have to take into consideration the up-keep -some dogs need to be groomed often & if you don't do it, it can be costly...good luck!

 

[mbarone54]

We welcomed a small, black Havanese puppy to our home in November. I can't begin to tell you how well he has fit into our family. If you do some research on the breed - you'll discover that they are a great family dog, super smart, easy to train, hypoallergenic (no shedding! Yahoo!), and small. He's all that and more! He has been a dream to train (potty train included -he rings a bell when he wants to go out) - he picks things up in a matter of days. He only barks when someone rings the front doorbell - I've read that the amount of barking can also be trained. I can't speak highly enough of them. I've owned other dogs in the past (pure breeds and mutts), and would recommend this one to anyone.

The only downfall that I have discovered so far is the grooming involved. Because he has HAIR instead of FUR - it grows like human hair, and thus needs to be maintained. Some people grow it long and use hair bands, ribbons, etc...but that's not my style. I keep him in the "puppy cut" - which requires a visit to the pet salon every 8-12 weeks. Who knew that grooming a dog costs as much as (or more sometimes!) than going to get your own hair done! Jeesh!

We found an excellent breeder in the area who answered all my questions (and I had a ton!), let us come and visit the pups before we had even decided to purchase one, and just generally gave me a sense of complete confidence. I think it's important to find out if the breeder does it for the $$ and churns out puppies regularly or if they have a love for the breed and are selective in their breeding program.

We also talked to the vet she uses (it happened to be a client of my husbands) who gave her - and the breed - a glowing review. That pretty much sealed the deal for us and we went ahead with our purchase.

...so that's my 2 cents (and then some!) and vote for the Havanese.
Good luck!
~Michele

 

[ElizK]

you guys are great! I would definately definately do a breeder simply b/c DD so wants a puppy. We have also rescued adult cats but DD really really wants a puppy. I plan to have her trained by a professional (I have a recommednation from a friend for this) but I am at a loss of what to look for. How do you know the breeder is good? are they registered somewhere that you can see their credentials? So if we don't opt for a "fancy bred" dog - but DO want a puppy - do you still go thru a breeder even for this?

You can find puppies through Petfinder! Our dog Grace was 7 weeks old. Mandy, our newest addition, was 10 weeks old.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We adopted a 3 year old King Cavalier Spaniel Mix.

Basically, she's a mutt but is mostly King Cavalier Spaniel. Great dog. Fabulous with the kids and cats. Her only issue is she hates squirrels and would spend all day barking at them if I let her.

She is definitely a people dog. She hates being left home alone.

I'm a fan of mixed breed dogs. When I grew up we had a collie/beagle mix that was wonderful. I missed her when I moved out on my own.

 

[starann]

Often times you can find puppies on Petfinder!

We did. We were looking for a dalmatian (we both had them before and were aware of the breed issues) and found puppies....infact Pokey was 4 months old when we got him. He is now 7!

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I just want to make sure you guys understand I won't go to a petstore - so if not pet store - breeder only or friend of a friend type of thing? I really don't want a barker...So I will certainly do my research on the proper dog but oh boy I do feel like a puppy will be like a baby but at least the baby stage isn't forever...right??

The first thing I would do is find a local AKC sanctioned dog show and just wander around and see what breed appeals to you.

Different breeds are shown throughout the day, so you might want to check the schedule and see what time breeds you are interested in show.

Then ask questions of the breeders there. But quick hint - do not ask while they are waiting to go in the ring. Always wait until they are done showing. Most handlers and breeders will be willing to talk to you, but some are snippy. A dog show is a lot like the DIS. Most are willing to help, but some are cranky with newbies. Don't let it bother you. Just move on to another breeder.

You can find out about local shows by contacting a local all breed club. You can start by looking on the AKC site. Click on the Events Tab on the home page. Then click on "Events and Awards". Click on your state to find things that might interest you.

If you are interested in finding a good breeder, and that is the best way to find out about the breed, you can also use the www.akc.org site. Click on breeds, click on King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and then click on breed club. This will take you to the national breed club and you can go from there.

FWIW - I have always found that a puppy from a reputable breeder will cost you far less than a pet shop or backyard breeder. Reputable breeders are into it for bettering the breed and not for as much profit as possible. If you breed correctly, such as doing all the health screenings and all the prenatal care, it is pretty much impossible to make a profit off a litter.

Breed club rescues are great as is the previously mentioned Petfinder if you want to go the rescue route.

I would stay away from the designer dogs as these are usually two puppy mill / backyard breeder dogs being bred together for profit. No reputable breeder would allow their carefully researched and bred dog be used to create mutts for profit. So, they only place the designer dog breeders can get dogs without a spay/neuter contract is from a puppy mill. So, buying a designer dog is just really buying a puppy mill dog.

Good Luck in your search!