merricreek

I've put in an enquiry! I'll let you know how we get on....

Bella is gorgeous thank-you, I will look into her. Pet Rescue has also just put a load of terrier puppies up too that are sooo adorable. Also a lab cross. If it doesn't rain it pours! Our neighbour has a miniature fox terrier/jack russell cross and my daughter likes her, but I do know they have the tendency to be a bit yappy and as we found when we walked our neighbours dog - not good with other dogs. hmmm I had to look up Fauves, I'd never heard of them before - gorgeous! Thanks Scrappy and Monty for the links to the books, they look fantastic. I will get hold of them. My girl was scared of dogs after being jumped up on by a lab when she was little, but in the past year she has grown in confidence and loves dogs. Almost too much at times, so learning dog behaviour is a good idea!

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! I'm working through the great links suggested too. I regret a bit saying that my 5 year old is timid - she just spent 3 weeks with my sister in law's 3 lurchers in England and they all got on like a house on fire - she was very confident with them and they enjoyed each other's company. Being an only child, whatever dog we have will have a lot of attention and love from her (under supervision of course) and the whole family.

Hi all, I am going around in circles trying to choose a breed of dog for our little family, and hoping for some suggestions. My husband and I work from home so the dog would rarely be alone and we have a 5 year old girl who would love a companion. We live next to Merri Creek in Coburg Victoria with our backyard opening onto a dogs off lead reserve so we don't have any excuses with regard to going for walks! However we do have a fairly busy life so can't be doing hours of walks each day which rules out working breeds. I would have liked to get a rescue dog but after months following all the dogs that come up, they don't seem to be suitable. Would like a small to medium sized dog. Would be keen to do obedience training and intelligence is a must. I grew up with a Labrador and that would be one of my first choices but worried it might be a bit too big and boisterous for my little girl who is a little timid, although if we got a puppy I guess she would get used to it as it grew. Other ideas I've had are Cocker Spaniel or Beagle. Any advice you can give gratefully received!