Suggest a puppy breed please

Steve30x

I am looking for a small puppy but am not sure what breed is best. I prefer cross breed dogs because there is less healt problems with them and they are easier to train. I know exactly what I am looking for in a dog and its kind of a long list.

Heres what I am looking for in a puppy:

* Easy to train
* Small breed that fits on my lap (Looking for a small lap dog)
* Friendly and playful
* A little independant
* Nice tail (I dont like short tailed dogs)
* Not too much fur (Im not fond of those walking mops)

* I know all dogs have health problems and I dont mind that but some breeds have more health problems than others but saying that I still would like a King charles or Chi

I like the king charles but they have health problems and they are very clingy. Also I ave been told that its very hard to potty train the king charles. My parents have a cross breed Minature Jack Russell / Shih Tzu and its a great little dog. It fills every need I have for a puppy. Pictures attached of my parents dog and the type of dog I am looking for.

Do you guys have any suggestions for me?

ziggy23

What about a pappilon? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papillon_%28dog%29

They don't seem to have many health problems. They could be hard to come by though. Maybe someone else could give you a bit more info

Steve30x

To furry. It looks like a beautiful dog but I dont ant a walking mop lol. I would look silly as a 36 year old man walking one of those up the road also.

peasant

Steve30x wrote: »

* Not too hyper
* A little independant
* Not too clingy

The above really depend on training rather than breed

ziggy23

Steve30x wrote: »

To furry. It looks like a beautiful dog but I dont ant a walking mop lol. I would look silly as a 36 year old man walking one of those up the road also.

Haha I don't know if there are too many manly looking small dogs around:D

angeldelight

Steve30x wrote: »

I am looking for a small puppy but am not sure what breed is best. I prefer cross breed dogs because there is less healt problems with them and they are easier to train.... My parents have a cross breed Minature Jack Russell / Shih Tzu and its a great little dog. It fills every need I have for a puppy.

Do you guys have any suggestions for me?

Yes, a miniature Jack Russell/Shih Tzu is clearly perfect!

Steve30x

peasant wrote: »

The above really depend on training rather than breed

I have a Jack russell here and he is very clingy , He is hyper no matter what excersize or play he gets and is very independant but he is also very very hard to train and very destructive. He is nine months ole and I got him three weeks ago like this.

ziggy23 wrote: »

Haha I don't know if there are too many manly looking small dogs around:D

Most of them arent manly but that dog is way too furry for me. I like the short to medium coat type

angeldelight wrote: »

Yes, a miniature Jack Russell/Shih Tzu is clearly perfect!

They definately are but are very hard to come by.

ziggy23

Or maybe a bichon? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bichon_Fris%C3%A9

The one in the pic is very curly but you can get different cuts for the breed. I personally love the afro though:D

Whispered

Steve30x wrote: »

I have a Jack russell here and he is very clingy , He is hyper no matter what excersize or play he gets and is very independant but he is also very very hard to train and very destructive. He is nine months ole and I got him three weeks ago like this.

3 weeks is a very very short space of time to say he's very hard to train. Also a dog at nine months old has obviously been living elsewhere where being clingy might have been accidently encouraged. You certainly don't have him long enough to make a call on the breed based on an almost adult dog you have less than a month.

Steve30x

helena.ryan wrote: »

3 weeks is a very very short space of time to say he's very hard to train. Also a dog at nine months old has obviously been living elsewhere where being clingy might have been accidently encouraged. You certainly don't have him long enough to make a call on the breed based on an almost adult dog you have less than a month.

My brother has a jack russell also and she is exactly the same. She is clingy , Hyper as hell ,impossible to train and destructive.She is two snd a half and he has her with just over two years. I'm sure its in the jack russell breed.

ziggy23

One of my fave dogs is the miniature schnauzer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_Schnauzer

They have an excellent temperament and very little health problems. The only thing though is they have a docked tail.

Sorry I'm not much use am I

Steve30x

No bother Ziggy. You are trying to help. Those Schnauser are not to my taste. I like the sort furred Chihuahua but I am not sure about them and people seem to ask a lot of money for them.

EDIT. Just looked up the Chihuahua and theres too many health problems with them to even consider owning one.

ziggy23

here is a good website with all the breeds on it http://www.justdogbreeds.com/dog-breeds.html

Steve30x

Thank you for the link but the only dog that interested me was the Chihuahua. I didnt realy lok at any others on there. I will look more tomorrow. The only two things putting me off the Chihuahua is health problems and the price people ask for them. The cheapest I have seen is 300 euro.

00112984

Steve30x wrote: »

Thank you for the link but the only dog that interested me was the Chihuahua. I didnt realy lok at any others on there. I will look more tomorrow. The only two things putting me off the Chihuahua is health problems and the price people ask for them. The cheapest I have seen is 300 euro.

Bet you know this already but please be very careful with Chihuahuas if you're looking at websites for a breeder. I was considering one last year and the amount of scams involving that breed were huge- much more so that any other breed I've ever seen. I think it's because the market for Chis tends to be younger girls and I think they're seen as an easier target than other demographic.

Another thing about Chihuahuas- my friend has had several over the years and she once told me that they like nothing more than barking. Ultimately, that's what put me off getting one. That and the fact that my 6' 4" husband would refuse to be seen out with a Chi in public

BanzaiBk

From your list albeit 'friendly and playful' I'd recommend a West Highland, as long as you have no children though. I'm not saying Westies aren't playful and friendly by any means, they are quite playful and friendly...on their terms only though.

They are exceedingly independent for a terrier from my experience (currently we have 4) and make excellent house dogs as long as you train them. Saying that I don't think any dog can be trained effectively in 3 weeks. They need to be put firmly in their box from day one otherwise they'll drive you up the wall.

Health-wise look out for symptoms of "westie jaw" and dry skin.

Steve30x

I dont mind the barking too much once the dog is quiet at night. Also I live alone in s small one bedroom house but my garden is very big @ 46FT long x 36FT wide. I read that the Chi is a good watch dog which is what I need also.

I might have a problem with a westie because my sister visits me often with her kids which are boisterous. Both kids are 4 years old and two years old. Also my sister has very little control over her kids.

BanzaiBk

Westie deff. out of the picture so. Kids perceive them as being "white and fluffy and cute", big mistake tbh.

star-pants

I'd mark out LhasaApsos too then, don't think they're overly fond of being played at by kids.
Fairly slimline list you have there, you might have trouble finding the right dog. Dogs are going to have health problems down the line, and not all dogs are problem free forever.
Also being clingy etc, has been said by a few - is a lot down to training. If you're not the pack leader, you can't leave the pack, hence the clinging and the crying when you go. You've had your current dog 3weeks, which isn't long enough to have got it used to your house/your rules, you need to be strict and train hard with them.

AlanSparrowhawk

Steve30x wrote: »

I am looking for a small puppy but am not sure what breed is best. I prefer cross breed dogs because there is less healt problems with them and they are easier to train. I know exactly what I am looking for in a dog and its kind of a long list.

Heres what I am looking for in a puppy:

* Easy to train
* Small breed that fits on my lap
* Friendly and playful
* Not too hyper
* A little independant
* Not too clingy
* Nice tail (I dont like short tailed dogs)
* Not too much fur (Im not fond of those walking mops)

I like the ling charles but they have health problems and they are very clingy. Also I ave been told that its very hard to potty train the king charles. My parents have a cross breed Minature Jack Russell / Shih Tzu and its a great little dog. It fills every need I have for a puppy. Pictures attached of my parents dog and the type of dog I am looking for.

Do you guys have any suggestions for me?

No offence mate but I reckon you should get a PS3 or an xbox.

star-pants

AlanSparrowhawk wrote: »

No offence mate but I reckon you should get a PS3 or an xbox.

A more helpful post next time?

Steve30x

star-pants wrote: »

I'd mark out LhasaApsos too then, don't think they're overly fond of being played at by kids.
Fairly slimline list you have there, you might have trouble finding the right dog. Dogs are going to have health problems down the line, and not all dogs are problem free forever.
Also being clingy etc, has been said by a few - is a lot down to training. If you're not the pack leader, you can't leave the pack, hence the clinging and the crying when you go. You've had your current dog 3weeks, which isn't long enough to have got it used to your house/your rules, you need to be strict and train hard with them.

I have two dogs. The small one is the clingy unobediant one who is 8 months old and the bg dog is independant and very obediant. I have the big dog with just over a week and she is training very fast. Also the JAck Russell is 9 months old where as the Border Collie x Golden Retriever is 4 months old. Also I know dogs will have health problems from time to time and more frequently when they get older , but a dog breed with less health problems is best because they will have less health problems er the years.

AlanSparrowhawk wrote: »

No offence mate but I reckon you should get a PS3 or an xbox.

I have both already.

star-pants

The older dog - have you had him from a pup or just recent?

Steve30x

star-pants wrote: »

The older dog - have you had him from a pup or just recent?

I got the older dog 3 weeks ago. He is 9 months old. He is the one who is giving me trouble. The 4 month old one is the cross breed which is a great dog and I got her just over a week ago. She comes inside for two hours every night.

star-pants

You leave the 4month old outside most of the time?

The older one, might not have been trained as a pup, and thus he's a little older, so a bit more stubborn about getting his way. We got our older dog Lily when she was almost 2. We had to retrain her with some stuff. She'd never been played with / played with toys, didn't know what they were. Took a while but she learnt.
Obviously if you've reached the end of your tether with the older one, not much anyone can do to change your mind, but I think 3 weeks if a very very short space of time to expect results from a dog who hasn't been with you from the start.

Also, why are you looking for a puppy when you can't handle a dog you have at the moment? (no offence meant btw) but just that you can't predict a pup, you can try and get the best dog you can, but half of it comes down to good training too.

samantha2000

AlanSparrowhawk wrote: »

No offence mate but I reckon you should get a PS3 or an xbox.

I could not agree more. OP, sounds to me that you don't want a living animal that will become a part of your family...you want an ornament...try Woodies

star-pants

samantha2000 wrote: »

I could not agree more. OP, sounds to me that you don't want a living animal that will become a part of your family...you want an ornament...try Woodies

I will say this once more - helpful posts please
I get that people think he's being very very strict about what breed of pup he wants, but that's his choice.

Steve30x

A younger puppy is easier to train when got young enough which is why I am looking for a puppy. My parents had a jack russell before also and they were telling me how much trouble they had with him and how they couldnt train him so between this jack russell , my brothers 2 and a half year old untrainable jack russell and the jack russell my parents had I have come to the conclusion that they are extremely stubborn and not easily trained.

Ive trained two other dogs before with no problem. I trained a pure breed Border Collie and my parents cross breed Jack Russell x Shih Tzu. So I am not bad at training dogs. Its just I cant get any good from this dog. I mean he will not listen to me what so ever. I know three weeks aint long to ask of him but he just isnt listening to me.

samantha2000 wrote: »

I could not agree more. OP, sounds to me that you don't want a living animal that will become a part of your family...you want an ornament...try Woodies

I have a Border Collie x Golden Retriever which is the greatest dog in the world. I wouldnt give her away or sell her if my life depended on it. I didnt think what I am looking for is that strict. I just know what I am looking for. Im not jumping in to this unsure as to what I want like a lot of people do.

samantha2000

star-pants wrote: »

I will say this once more - helpful posts please
I get that people think he's being very very strict about what breed of pup he wants, but that's his choice.

I'm sorry if I may have caused offence, my point was simply...if you have those high standards..why not buy an ornament, problem solved.

star-pants

Well it is up to you at the end of the day if you feel you wish to give your jackrussell a new home.
Would you try and get another breed like the cross you currently have? the younger one

Steve30x

samantha2000 wrote: »

I'm sorry if I may have caused offence, my point was simply...if you have those high standards..why not buy an ornament, problem solved.

Thank you. Maybe I wont aak for advice on this forum next time. Next time I will make a mistake all on my own. I didnt think I was asking too much in what I was looking for but its obvious I am. Maybe this thread should be locked then.