Ready to go play with the pool guy's dog

We don’t have a dog yet, but we would like to have one soon. The Monkey will be 3 in October and I think 3 is a great age to welcome your first dog.

The process to find a perfect dog for our home has already been challenging. We joined two wait lists with local agencies to adopt a rescue dog quite a while ago. We knew the wait would be long, but the reality is that it might not happen at all. Both agencies told us that it’s difficult to place a rescue dog in a home with a very young child, even if that dog came from a family with young kids. So we waited. The question is, nearly two years later, do we still wait? I think we’ve waited long enough.

Since we won’t buy a dog from a pet store or from any other puppy mill,  it’s time to start looking for a good breeder with a reputable history. Now comes the hard part – what type of breed will work for our family? The Dude was raised mostly with Golden Retrievers while I raised with a few different mutts. We both love Golden and Labrador Retrievers, but I’m concerned about their size and shedding issue.

Here’s a few other considerations. The majority of our home has dark maple wood flooring that can scratch easily. I know what you’re thinking – yes, we were dumb to install flooring like that with a toddler. Not only is it getting scratched here and there but it is, by far, the most challenging floor I’ve ever had to keep clean. And I’ve even had white carpeting! I have to break out the Bona cleaner at least once a day, but I also blame that on my OCD cleaning habits. All of this is to say that we’ll need a dog that doesn’t mind getting his nails clipped regularly and doesn’t shed that much.  I believe that may rule out the Retrievers.

More importantly than shedding and cleaning, I want a friendly dog. A dog that can be trained easily. I want a dog that will play with my son but not be too aggressive or jumpy.  I also want a dog that won’t bark all the time, like when the doorbell or phone rings.

I have many concerns simply because I want a dog that will fit most of our needs. But my biggest priority is what dog will be best for a toddler and for our family. So, now my question goes out to all my readers out there who grew up with dogs or who many have a family dog now:

What type of dog is your perfect family dog?