It's a Dog's Life

I've come into contact with four dogs in the last three days, and it's got me to thinking about how I'd really like us to get a dog. Having said that, I wouldn't want any of the dogs I've come across, although they do all have their good points. So this getting a dog business will take some serious thinking about. I thought I'd use this blog to make a list of pros and cons that I can then look back on once this whole having a baby lark is done and dusted (that's #1 on the list of reasons to get a dog, but not just now!).

Pros:

• Good companion while I'm working at home
• Loves its owner unconditionally, in theory (unlike cats, definitely not a pet for me)
• Would make me, Husbandio and the kids get out in the fresh air and do some walking
• Improves security of the house (depending on the character of the dog!)
• Good for kids to take a share of responsibility in looking after it
• Hoovers up stray food dropped by clumsy children (and Husbandio!)

Cons:

• Expensive (food, vets bills, pet insurance)
• Can be smelly
• Drop hair, so would increase the amount of cleaning needed
• A big responsibility - can't give it back if it turns out to have major character flaws
• Difficult to go away on holiday, need to make arrangements to look after the dog
• Needs a lot of walking even when the weather is grim

These look like pretty balanced lists, but they ignore the fact that I really WANT a dog. I always have really, but since I grew up living in flats in central London that was never really practical. And, until now, both Husbandio and I have always had jobs which required us to be out of the house from 8am - 6pm as a minimum, which just isn't fair on a dog, it'd get too lonely. But now I'll be working from home, which makes the whole thing much more feasible. So, any suggestions on breeds welcomed, although I'm pretty tempted to get a rescue dog from a home, especially after seeing that report last year about what too much inter-breeding has done to some breeds. Criteria for any dog would include:

• Good with kids
• Doesn't shed too much
• Not too enormous (smaller = cheaper, and a bit less walking!)
• Not too yappy - while I don't want a massive dog, I don't want a tiny ankle biter either

That's about it - am I asking too much? At the moment I'm liking the idea of a miniature Schnauzer since I have a friend whose mum had two and they were just lovely. But since I think it'll take us at least a year to make a decision as to whether this is definitely something we want to do I may well change my mind.