So today I was talking with Talented Hubby about Christmas. Specifically, presents for the children. I’m over the ‘lots and lots of stuff’ thing so this year I thought we’d just do a stocking plus one or two larger items. Top of the list (well my list anyway) was bikes for all three kids (they have been dealing with ‘too small/rusty’ for many years…we’ve never really done the ‘bikes for Christmas’ thing), desks for their rooms (J currently has his own room, but Boof and Moo share and we’re looking to get Boof into the spare room by Christmas….hopefully) and Guitar Hero World Tour.
Talented Hubby may have had a smidgeon of influence on the last one. Myself too, LOL.
Then suddenly (right about the time I was thinking to myself “We really should get to Ikea. They’ll have basics desks for, like, fifty cents”) TH pipes up with,
“I was thinking maybe we might get the kids a puppy.”
Now, for my subsequently shocked reaction to mean anything at all, you have to know that the kids have been actively campaigning for a dog for YEARS. Must say, me too. We’ve had logistical problems that have prevented us from doing the ‘dog thing’ to this point but the ‘one day we’ll get a dog, but not right now’ movement was more or less spearheaded by Talented Hubby. Me? I could find a way to keep a dog just about anywhere. Mr Practical? Not so much.
After picking myself up off the floor, we talked about breeds. Whenever we’ve spoken of a puppy in the past, it has always been with a larger breed in mind - a Lab or Golden Retriever. For smaller dogs, I was always partial to Beagles, but one time TH found an article referencing them as being one of the stupidest breeds of dog and that was the end of that (stupid huh? Bet those airport drug mules don’t think so! And quite honestly, the thought of a dog being able to sniff out drugs did rather appeal to me as we head into the scary teenage years).
So I have a question for you all. What recommendations could you give me for a breed of dog that satisfies these points:
MUST be a breed consistently good with kids (ie, it is one of its main characteristics)
needs to be small to medium in size. Not a chihuahua, because TH says he needs to feel like a man if he walks it. Preferably not a fluff-ball either.
Short-haired if possible, as we’re not keen on the shedding issue.
In an ideal world, non-yappy. You know how some breeds are just annoying? Yeah, not one of those.
Suited to a smaller yard. Not a tiny yard, just small.
Suited to moderate activity level. Aussie Sheep Dog clearly not on our agenda (though sometimes I’d love to round the kids up like sheep, so perhaps not a deal-breaker? LOL)
Any help you can give us would be much appreciated. We definitely don’t want to foul this up and we’ve NEVER had a dog (or any pet for that matter, not even a goldfish) in all the years we’ve been together, so this will be an entirely new experience for the kids as well - but we’re excited about that part of it. And I should point out (because no doubt TH will tell me this over and over in the next few days) we have not fully decided to go ahead with the dog-buyin’ plan just yet. But knowing we have certain options in regards to suitable breeds for our needs will sure help to make that decision.
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