1, whether you have had dogs previously Myself and partner owned dogs a long time ago. 2, Your circumstances - do you work etc? Partner works, but I am home all day apart from school run. 3, How much time you have for exercise An hour maybe more each day, we dont have too many places to walk though in my area and I dont drive, although partner does. 4, Whether you have children, other pets etc One child aged 8 and 2 cats. 5, What characteristics you are looking for A smallish breed no bigger than shih tzu size, no tendancies to be overly yappy and no high prey drives due to owning cats. grooming not a problem. 6,What breeds you have already looked at and your thoughts on them chinese crested, I have no experience of them which is the only thing that puts me off, I'm not even sure if I have seen a real life one, however I do like the look of them so they tick a lot of the boxes for me. Shih Tzu, we have experience of this breed and although lovely we are not sure if we want to own the breed. Bichons, poodles, We fell in love with a poodle but we are not keen on the groomer trips every six weeks. 7, Anything else you think might be relevant or important A dog which loves to cuddle up is a must, a good family dog is also a must, a dog which would be happy with an hour walk each day.
How about a Sheltie - a Shetland Sheepdog? They are a bit like miniature Rough Collies. Very good family pets and don't need excessive exercise.
As long as you keep the coat brushed through on a poodle you wont necessarily need to visit a groomer regularly, the amount of time between grooms is very much dependent on the style of trim you keep them in. Mine are in a variety of trims but soon most will be clipped off completely with a variety of poms, facial hair etc. Best dog you could have and no hair and no smell!! Intelligent, quick to learn and very loyal!! Becky
Shelties are lovely little dogs, our friend breeds them and takes them all over the world for agility. For a dog of that size, you get a lot of terriers springing to mind, but if you want a dog with a naturally lower prey drive they might not be the best idea - although if you are going to get from a puppy you can certainly "train" a dog to live with a cat. We got a kitten when our staffy boy was 6 months old and they are best buds. I think french bulldogs are fab little characters, or what about something like a King Charles spaniel? They are a little bigger than a ****zu, but not by far and good family dogs. I think Westies are lovely little dogs too.
aaw I see the Chinese Cresteds are there. wonderful breed! I think a Chinese Crested could fit in well, you could always come along to a show and meet a few - I would offer you to meet ours, although your a long way from us!
I think it would be helpful to go among to something like "Discover Dogs" or a large dog show where you can see the different breeds and speak to people who have them (though bear in mind that they may be giving you a biased opinion!). I am always very honest about my breed as I do get a lot of people talking to me about them and I tell them the negative things as well as the good but you don't always get the whole truth with breeders.
Even after you have decided on the breed you want you may end up with something different anyway. I met a lady in the woods today walking her dog. She told me she had decided she was going to rehome a Greyhound. What she had actually got from the rescue was a ....Lhasa Apso!
id suggest a crested, they are great little dogs, and mine live with two cats, they will chase the odd rabbit, but always come away when called. in fact asbo thinks he is a cat they dont moult too much, i only ever see the odd hair off daph on the bed or clothes, i get more of the cats than i do the dogs... they are great with children. my two both love them, yet we dont have any children in the house! they are fairly easy to train aswell. and will be fine on an hours exercise. other breeds i can think of are: pug miniature pinscher (my mind has gone blank of all dog breeds now im trying to think!!)
