Hi there,

I do rescue and fostering work with dogs, and i would alway reccomend a cross breed over a pure. I have a 10yr old Papered Jack russel, who has cost me thousands in vet bills over the years with different medical things that his breed are prone to, but my Mongrel is as fit as a fiddle (she's a pit, staffy, lab mix, and AWESOME with my girls)

Most dog breeds will adapt to suit most homes, as long as their needs are met.

I do reccomend a rescued dog if you can as i see far too many good dogs put down due to lack of homes. I'm currently hand raising a pup (unknown breeding and no clear guesses yet) and she was a rescue. Such a lovely wee thing, and so cute at this age!

Border Collies! Two of them. They are FULL ON! We got them when we lived on a farm, and now we're back in town...it's madness. We have a dogwalker to help keep them happy.

They're lovely, good looking and cuddly, but unless you have heaps of time or money (to pay someone to spend time with them) it's hard work.

I would second the rescue dog as a good family pet. The best dogs I have known all have a bit of 'mongrel' in them and I think they take the best of the breeds they're made of (and cost heaps less at the vet!).

I haven't read all the posts, so please excuse me if I am repeating someone!

lizzle wrote: I really really would like a beagle, but all the literature says they are far too energetic.

Lizzle, we have a beagle -- he is almost seven years old now! We love him to bits and he's been great with Emma Rose from the first. He was our original "baby" so there was an adjustment period where he had to be reminded he wasn't top dog, but now things are okay.

He is very, very, VERY motivated by food, which has been the one thing that drives us nuts -- when there is food around, there is no stopping him. We usually gate him in the kitchen at dinnertime so he doesn't try to snatch food off our plates. This is just bad parenting on our part, though -- we never bothered with obedience classes (and it shows). All of the breeders we talked to when we were in the market for him said that beagles need a firm hand in terms of training and discipline. Oops.

He is very energetic, and we don't walk him often enough, unfortunately. Your walking plan sounds like it would suit a beagle perfectly. Another thing to watch out for is that they can get ear infections quite easily, because those long floppy ears are breeding grounds for bacteria. And they shed. No matter what the books tell you, they shed!

A fully-fenced yard is a must, as is training your beagle not to bark or howl (when beagles howl, it's called "bugling", ha ha). Walks can be a pain as they like to sniff everything on their way and can meander rather than charge ahead. Because they're so led by their noses, you always have to make sure they stay on their leads when walking -- although I know my husband surreptitiously takes our dog off the lead and lets him run in a reserve near our house, which I pretend to know nothing about because it annoys the heck out of me.

Still, he's the most lovable, sweet-natured boy I could ever have hoped for, and he makes a great footwarmer in bed in winter. (Yep, he sleeps in our bed, on my side.) He's very gentle and thinks he's human. If you can invest some time into training a beagle in the first year, I think it would be a good choice.

I could recommend some breeders to you if you would like, by the way! :) But best of luck with whatever choice you make. I never had a dog growing up, and I love that my daughter is growing up with a pet.