Spottydog0

Shar Pei so we'll be looking at $7k to $10k for two and the breed has a number of known health issues most of which can't be tested for hence wanting to see the parents. Plus they're definitely a dominant breed and can be difficult.

Most definitely I would, and if I was buying from interstate I'd happily do a facetime type call to show them, and let them see my personal facebook feed with my non-staged photo's of the previous dogs. I'm also happy to answer detailed questionnaires as a buyer but I guess I'm in a minority as a buyer wanting to verify a seller personally looking at the responses here. When I sell things that aren't cheap I always expect buyers to come into my house to assess me and check I'm genuine and not hiding anything and I do the same.

When we got our last pups a long time ago we didn't go for registered/show breeders and to be honest I saw some really dodgy ones. For me the main thing I want to know is how the puppies (and their parents) are cared for (i.e. not in cages and living in a family home) and general interactions the puppies have had with kids, visitors and other pets. The ones we had turned out to be great, their breeders, whilst not registered, clearly loved them and their dogs were definitely members of the household, both sides were comfortable that there were good pups going to a good home Most postings for puppies seem to show them with a very specific background (such as grass or a blanket) and almost staged making it really difficult to know how they are kept. I totally expect a breeder to ask me a lot of questions, am I wrong in wanting to ask a registered breeder to see the environment the pups are brought up in and be informed about any tests/health issues for the parents so that I am comfortable with it before putting down a deposit? As there are a lot of breeders on this site I thought I'd ask.

I've recently bought a holiday home in Mudgee which is fully pet friendly (but not in the bedrooms or on the furniture please). The yard is fully fenced although some bits are metal pool fencing so very small dogs may get through. https://www.facebook.com/DumplingsDen/ Were also on Trip Advisor, AirBnB and HomeAway (was Stayz) We can also recommend pet friendly wineries, pubs and even wine tasting transport so you don't need a designated driver.

I have the iRobot, the roomba picks up the hair then scooba cleans the tiles with water rather than a damp cloth. It's a war of attrition against the dogs and they aren't as good as manual vacuuming and mopping but my robots can be switched on every day when I walk out the door. Not sure if any other brand really competes when dog hair and dirt is involved.

Thanks for posting this, I live in the area although (luckily) don't tend to use Mort Bay park

THanks everyone, we are going to head to the Royal Easter Show and take a look at the different breeds there.

Regular walks on a leash definitely won't be a problem as we tend to do half an hour every night just enjoying the neighbourhood, I was planning on twice daily exercise for the dog on top of this

Thanks for all you help and suggestions, definitely food for thought I think I'm tending towards some sort of spaniel, the dog would be with us and inside the house when we are in (including at night) just in the garden when we go to work since there would be a lot more space for the dog there than in the house. Whippets, I don't like the body shape of as they always look starved to me and I don't particularly like the butchness of the bulldog shape either. We don't really need a guard dog, just really something that barks when someone comes to the door (just to put off chancers really) but is otherwise sociable as we are planning on taking it wherever we go except work.

Thanks for all the suggestion, my biggest concern is would these breeds be happy on their own all day as we both have to work all day Monday to Friday?

We certainly plan on exercise morning and night daily but being inner city will be mainly be limited to park so ball games rathe than runs for miles at a time, I was certainly thinking about puppy training classes as a starting point. We will want to socialise the dog as soon as possible so he gets used to being around people and strange things, bars & cafe's in our area seem to have pups there from a pretty young age. Some grooming is fine and expected, I just don't want to be spending half of every Saturday grooming or having to make sure the dog avoids getting dirty on a work day. CKC Spaniels I quite like but the OH would prefer something that could be a bit of a guard dog rather than one who would lick a burglar to death :D

Hi Newbie here, I'm hoping you can point me in the direction of a good breed of dog for us. Neither of us have owned a dog before and initially were thinking about a sharpei but are unsure if it would be correct for us given what we have read about their style. Our Situation is: - Live in Sydney (fairly central) - both in our late 30's, no kids and no plans for kids - both working Monday to Friday 9 to 5, unfortunately no chance of taking the dog with us to work - house has a reasonable back yard (big for inner city), secure and with suitable space for a kennel/shelter & water for the dog to be outside whilst we are at work - want a puppy where we can at least meet the mother before buying, don't want a rescue dog (seen to many friends with bad experiences) - need a dog that is happy on its own during the day (or otherwise 2 dogs that will keep each other company, although I expect 2 puppies may be a bit much of a handful initially as we don't have any experience) - We are planning on a week off work each (separately) to look after the dog on its arrival with us - must be friendly natured and happy to sit with us outside cafe's and bars enjoying being stroked by passers by. - dog no bigger than knee height (body) at adulthood, but at the same time not a dog you can trip over by accident because it is so little - prefer not too hairy and needing lots of grooming Any suggestions?