Smallish – mid size dog breed advice for active but working family with kids

Looking for some breed advice for a smallish but not tiny family dog. Me and the Mrs are both animal lovers and had dogs whilst growing up, and would really like our two kids (9 and 11 year old) to experience the fun we both had growing up with dogs.  I want a fairly active breed, so not a toy dog. We are an active family walking and camping as much as poss.   however we both work full time, so it would also need to be happy with a few hours of solitude mon-fri.  Many people I guess would criticise our plan of Dog ownership if we are out in the daytime, but there seems to be many happy dogs living in this situation. 
I have found getting advice for a suitable breed akin to asking “what tyres” in that all you get are the negatives, and you end up with a recommendation of one dog which is always the breed they own ! Of all the breeds we have considered I swear you’d have thought we’d have suggested a wolf 🙂
Have wrongly or rightly been advised against all our early choices (jack Russell’s, spaniels, cairns, beagles) “don’t get a terrier (too active and destructive if not exercised) ” 
“don’t get a working type dog or hound type” i.e spaniels, beagles, it will run off or be unsuitable for kids. 
Which when you look at it eliminates all the smallish / midsize dogs available ! So if anyone’s got any advice that would help…

Small lurcher.

+1 ^ or a Whippet

It’s STW, so someone’s bound to mention it. Dare I suggest a Border Terrier? 🙂

Tibetan Terrier (not a true terrier) or whippet/small lurcher.

Ok, sounds interesting. My parents have a Tibetan/poodle cross and he’s ace. I’d steered clear of the suggestions above of lurchers and whippets as I suspected there was some tongue on cheek 🙂 based on them both being bike frames from on-one. I was waiting for someone to suggest a pompino 😉

Some of the intentional cross breeds like cocker poos could be worth a look too. Have a Tibetan and she is pretty chilled if not much happening, good with the sprog and will happily walk miles too. Not great at running with bike but ok if you are pootling along. Mother in laws one is pretty similar too.

Whippets can be a bit mardy esp in wet/cold weather.

It’s STW, so someone’s bound to mention it. Dare I suggest a Border Terrier?

He’s right you know. Seriously pondering one as my next hound as well, as it happens. Cracking dogs.

Black lab..

We’ve a Working Cocker, and when we got him was pretty much in your situation.

Not small but great with kids and can also pull your car if you get stuck 🙂

He’s a black goldendoodle!

Get two, they’ll keep other company when you’re out.

It’s STW, so someone’s bound to mention it. Dare I suggest a Border Terrier Cat?

We have a springer spaniel. She’s amazing. Very intelligent, easy to train, and totally devoted. Children love her. She tends to chew electrical cables more than is either necessary or healthy.

Those niche jack Russell’s with longer legs – stw terrier or something

Those niche jack Russell’s with longer legs – stw terrier or something

Parson Jack Russell?

(disclaimer: happy owner of loopy Springer)

We have a springer spaniel

we both work full time

Not really a good idea.

as said above small lurcher or a whippet

Whippet

might suggest a sporting lucas terrier, we have got two great little dogs, bright clever dogs, love good walk in woods etc but happy to chill if needs be , dont moult, quiet chilled out little chaps (only bark for good reason) ,I belive originally bred as biddable terrier.ours dont run off at first sight of big outdoors as some breeds do. google them at sporting lucas assoc.

What about a boxer? Would tick all your boxes and are fantastic family dogs which don’t need hours of walking every day and can be left alone-at least our can.

Cocker spaniel. Perfect small to medium sized family dog. Springers are great too, but the energy levels!!!

Spaniels are great dogs! Would love one but in the same position as yourself so have resisted the temptation 🙁

Staffordshire Bull Terrier, forget a lot of the nonsense in the press, it’s the owners not the breed that is the problem, brilliant dogs,
PJ.

It’s STW, so someone’s bound to mention it. Dare I suggest a Border Terrier?

He’s right you know. Seriously pondering one as my next hound as well, as it happens. Cracking dogs.

Ted (our border terrier) heartily endorses the above comments 🙂

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Ted.241010.001[/url] by chris1968[/url], on Flickr[/img]
old shot – really should add more to flickr account…

here you go… settling in nicely….. 🙂

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IMG_1117.web[/url] by chris1968[/url], on Flickr[/img]

last one……

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Ted_120212001.web[/url] by chris1968[/url], on Flickr[/img]

not the first of breeds you would think of but a dalmation.

http://puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/dalmatian.htm

(just a pic not ours) but ours is realy relaxed, loves kids friendly but loves to run when out.

my other suggestion would be a weimaraner. can run for days! but a good family dog if trained in such a way, also very little hair to shed.

http://weimaranerdog.org/

“don’t get a working type dog or hound type” i.e spaniels, beagles, it will run off or be unsuitable for kids

Its amazing the cr@p people say. A working spaniel (with a decent pedigree) should absolutely not run off – they always want to stay near their ‘boss’ as it’s pointless if it puts a bird up 200m away from the gun!
We’re on our third spaniel (working cockers) and they’ve all been brilliant with children.
On the other hand I would stay well away from ‘show’ dogs.

If you can get a sensible springer then you wont go far wrong……but that can be a bit hit and miss!! Luckily we’ve got a 18month old fantastic springer who can walk and run all day but never seems bothered when we’re both at work. As long as he gets good run in morning then he is fine alone during the day.

I do have to add though that we got him to keep our other dog company…maybe the ss wouldnt be as calm and happy if alone?

Great with our kids (18 and 16 so not really kids anymore) and friends kids, easy to train, loyal and obedient. (but the lawn is a tad wrecked now!!)

6 month old Springer here. Loads of energy when out, he will chase a ball more times than I will throw it when out in the fields but he goes into lazy mode indoors. Now that he is toilet trained he is our perfect pet. Can’t wait until he’s old enough to come on the trails with me. He came from working parents, pulls like hell on the lead but is great off the lead.
He’s fab with my 2 kids and around other dogs.

May be a bit big, but I would +1 for a boxer.

We had one when I was growing up & she was awesome…

Montague Hercules will sleep all day following 15 minutes high speed rock chasing in the field, or happily trot along with family walks all day long. He’s been known to go for a 10k run with me and then handover the lead on the driveway to the wife fr a 5k. Also great with kids. Probably not what you’d consider a medium dog tho. He’s less than 40kg but very tall.

Patterdales are great family dogs, ours is a tad smaller than usual being the runt of her litter. The bitches are better for being left any period of time.

Since getting Tilly, 2 family members now have them (from the same breeding pair) and a neighbour went & found one too.

@crush83:

I’d seriously doubt a Weimaraner would be suitable. From the site you linked:

…their strong bond with their owners and socializing instincts make them extremely susceptible to separation anxiety. If they are far from their owner for a long time they will grow increasingly anxious and aggressive.

I checked this as I’d love one myself but I’m in the same position (empty house for much of the day) and there’s no way I’d get one.

Small lurcher or whippet has been recommended to me also.

We’ve a Beagle, great dog. Lazy and happy to lie around in the house but if you want to go for a right long walk he’ll be there til the end, looking for more: superb combination of stamina and laziness – if that’s not an oxymoron… They need an experienced owner and lots of patience as they have a reputation for being difficult to train, but ours is great. Loads of character, kids adore him and apparently they don’t get lots of health problems associated with other over-bred dogs.

I’d avoid anything too bright (collie, poodle, spaniel) as they need lots of stimulation and if left alone while you work they’ll wreck the place.

Good luck!

@hunta

hi there, my parents have had weimaraner’s for many years and they get left for 6 hours a day (sometimes) without problems. we just make sure they have something other to chew on other than furnature , shoes, curtains lol

i always take what is writen in those articals with a pinch of salt.

it also depends if its lernt behavior. if it is used to being left alone from a puppy it wont be out of the norm when its older.

but i do see where your coming from.

they are magnificent dogs, magestic and handsome well worth the time and training. i want a German wirehair pointer next or an italian spinoni.

German wire:

italian spinoni:

As lots of people have suggested Boxers and Spaniels, I’m going to suggest a Boxer/Spaniel cross (mainly because that’s what I’ve got and everyone else is just suggesting what they’ve got!).

He’s not destructive in the slightest, perfectly happy getting a few hours kip during the day whilst we’re at work, great with kids (goes for playgroup walks several times a week during the day with next door’s two terriers and 4yr-old girl, and she has total control over him), will happily run 10 miles with the bike, is a proper rough-and-tumble dog that you can playfight with but will also switch it off and be calm in an instant.

Only downside is that he can occasionally have selective deafness where squirrels, rabbits and deer are involved! And an inability to know his own limits in terms of trying to uproot and carry small trees… 😉

Patterdales are great family dogs

I was stroking a lovely one on Sat. It struck me immediately that it had ‘character’- he was also trying to nip my fingers when I was stroking him. Lovely. Definitely on a future shopping list for me.

We have a beagle x cocker and she is about perfect for us.

Will run all day if given the chance (especially if a rabbit is involved) easily able to outrun me on singletrack for an hour (not really a yardstick for dog athleticism to be honest, a pug would give me a run for my money). Her general obedience is really good and she’s like a sponge when you spend time working with her, but if she’s not in the mood you’re wasting your time. The negatives are she needs to be kept active or she can get destructive, she digs everything out of the garden given half a chance, she’s quite ‘mouthy’ which can be a bit scary for non-dog owning visitors and she sheds a lot of hair. We’re getting another dog soon and it will be either the same again, a beagle, a cocker or a vizsla

Staffordshire Bull Terrier, forget a lot of the nonsense in the press, it’s the owners not the breed that is the problem, brilliant dogs,
PJ.

Totally agree on that one. My parents had three staffies, one after another. I’ve now got one and they are great dogs. Brilliant with families.

If I had another dog, I’d get a rescue greyhound. Monumentally lazy dogs, but very worthwhile to rescue them.

hora – Member

Patterdales are great family dogs
I was stroking a lovely one on Sat. It struck me immediately that it had ‘character’- he was also trying to nip my fingers when I was stroking him. Lovely. Definitely on a future shopping list for me.

Sounds about right.

They are originally working dogs but becoming more popular so the number of breeders around is increasing. The best advice I can give is to try & find one from working stock if possible – their instincts are awesome.