OT - Help me pick a dog!

[Jim]

My daughter keeps asking for a puppy, luckily for me I want one too! But, my wife, the puppy hater, put restrictions on what we can get.
So, what would be a good dog that's:
A) Nice to kids
B) Likes to stay outside most of the time, (with a doghouse of course!)
C) Won't grow too big.

[Redmouse]

Lab?

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Redmouse

Lab?

Don't those get rather large? I was looking more for the medium sized, child friendly breed.

[shobson]

Our son's family got a Brittany pup for Christmas... she's real cute and also quite smart. They're a medium size dog, and can definitely live outside. This one doesn't though - she's quite content to sleep in the bed with them.

This is where they got her: http://www.flyingodog.com
She's out of the litter born on 11/6/2006.

And this is a picture of her that our granddaughter took - she got a camera for Christmas and has been wearing it out on the dog. My only complaint is that her face is so dark it's hard to get a good picture of her.

[darktiger]

These dogs are awesome. My friend has one, great with people, have a cool spine going down it's back, fangs and talons.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...ian+ridgeback+

[josphy]

Beagle. Absolute classic. Very good natured smallish dogs and excellent with children. Also, shouldn't be too hard to find or too expensive.

[Gambit]

How about a Sheltie?

BTW, if Wes sees this post he'll likely say "Daschund." Achtung!

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

I agree with Beagles , they stay pretty small, are good outdoors.

If you want one a bit bigger with a deep vocal bark try a basset hound, tend to be pretty good natured, they don't get to tall but they are a bit long and full bodied so can pack some weight and their barks are deep and loud so as a guard that is pretty good. Have known a few basset hounds,neighbors dogs etc and they have all been pretty good natured.

[Wes]

Gambit is right - Dachshund's rock. However, I would never recommend one to be kept outdoors. They are inside dogs that definitely need human companionship.

A beagle would be a good choice. Just be careful, though.... they're diggers and will get out of your back yard pretty quickly.

[josphy]

Shelties can tend to be a little on the hyper side and like to herd children. Dachshunds are prone to back injuries.

[suzyjazz]

Originally Posted by xmenporsche

Gambit is right - Dachshund's rock. However, I would never recommend one to be kept outdoors. They are inside dogs that definitely need human companionship.

A beagle would be a good choice. Just be careful, though.... they're diggers and will get out of your back yard pretty quickly.

Beagles are extremely social animals and I don't know that I would recommend them for a single outdoor pet. They were bred to hunt in packs. Also, Wes is right -- they are great escape artists and prone to straying. They LOVE to dig. We had one when I was a kid and my dad had to dig a trench around the fence and insert chicken wire. That kept her in our yard, though!

Please think about adopting a young dog from an animal shelter. They have all sorts of dogs there, even some less than a year old. Breed rescue groups are a good source, too, if you decide you can bypass the puppy stage. I plucked a beagle mix from the street and he was housebroken but pretty much acted like a puppy otherwise -- so playful! He also dug out of our yard in 10 minutes flat (while fostering him, we let him out to do his business and didn't watch him) and luckily my husband caught him. That was the last time we let him out without watching.

I understand about wanting a puppy though.... They are pretty irresistible.

[Rahb]

Corgies (Corgy) are very kid friendly. they are basically a Collie with short legs. They get medium size. They are easily trained and well tempered. We had two, one was a friends while he was moving allot, and the others was ours. He finally took his back, and ours was hit by a car when my mother inlaw let him out. They are loveable dogs.

We just got a Schnauzer/Terrier mix....he's cute but a handful. Defidently not an outside all the time dog. Always has to be around us for some reason.

[suzyjazz]

Sorry about your dog Robert. I will echo that corgis are ADORABLE! They're one I would be interested in if I decide to get a smaller dog. Won't get too big and a great friendly dog.

[DragonFly]

Cairn Terrier

Had a female as a child. They are very good with children and hardy enough to stand the weather outside.

They run about 13 pounds

http://www.akc.org/breeds/cairn_terrier/index.cfm

[kenw]

Bassets aren't always small, ours was unusually large at 70lbs, but hounds are wonderful around kids. Even tempered, loyal, durable and fun. Our Bogart has been gone for a bit over a year, but he provided almost 12 years of absolute joy for our family.