Watto

Totally agree. Don't be at all surprised if your mini has some prey drive though. A good recall will be important because they may chase animals. One of mine killed birds also. They're still dogs. Not anything like a sighthound for chasing but those hunting instincts may still be there. Absolutely, I've read that too and if it turn out to be the case we'll work with it. I'd want to train him to have good recall in any case because of the off leash areas I'll take him. The fact is I actually love 'doggy' dogs so I'm kind of pleased to hear you say they're still dogs! :)

Thanks - for the first several times, he'll go to a professional. After some research/maybe doing a short course, I'll give it a go!

Just an update. I've decided on a miniature poodle - we'll be getting him in about a month from a registered breeder and I'm very excited! :) I really appreciate everyone's input - turns out my husband is mildly allergic around some dogs and is not keen on dog hair inside (okay, I can't put it all on him - neither am I) so that was the deciding factor and in many other ways a miniature poodle fits the bill (from my reading I like the sound of a good mini poodle - their trainability, ability to connect with people, their athleticism etc). We're busy making the fences secure for peace of mind but he'll either be inside with us or accompanying us on various adventures or be outside when we're outside (which is often). Btw, for the Australian Shepherd lovers out there, I saw the most beautiful young one the other day when I was walking my sister's dogs - the most relaxed, friendly gorgeous dog... aahh :) p.s. for the Australian Terrier lovers who posted, I know what you are talking about - I have grown to love my sister's dog (14 months now). She is such a plucky, exuberant wonderful little creature and just loves getting her nose into everything and adores being with you. My feeling was that an Aussie Terrier wouldn't be quite as content/good indoors as a mini poodle and would be more of a threat to our wild birds. Anyway, I think being a very well socialised friendly little critter, I think she'll be a great playmate for our mini poodle along with my sister's other dog (a lovely affectionate Papillon cross).

Wow, thanks very much, everyone. Lots of useful advice and beautiful pics :)

Thanks for the tips and advice RuralPug and Rebanne. I'll definitely make sure that we have a secure outside area before going down the path of getting a dog. As far as the whole garden goes, I've just been around the perimeter and things are not quite as bad as I feared. Half of it is sturdy 6ft plus fencing. The rest is 1-1.5 metres so depending on the breed we decide on would need to be replaced or heightened. Australian Terriers are lovely ... my sister had one (which strangely enough she named after me!)

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. I love dogs but have not had one since I was a kid (and neither has my husband). So now that we have decided to get a dog (eventually it may be dogs but we'll just get one to begin with), I've become quite obsessed with different breeds etc. I have a couple of questions which I hope you might be able to answer. I realise it comes down partly to individual personalities but the breed itself must play a fairly large role. Anyway, this is the context. We both work from home and the dog will be allowed inside with us during the day and will also sleep inside at night. I'm looking for a loving companion as well as hoping to find a breed I can run 5-10 km a day with when it's old enough (followed by a run in the off leash area at Lilydale Lake or Warrandyte river). In the evening it will get another walk with both of us, maybe 30 minutes or so. I've already looked up a great obedience club near us (Croydon) as both the dog and we will need training! I'd very much hope to continue beyond basic training as I can see how happy well trained dogs are and, to be honest, I'd really like to 'make amends' for having extremely untrained dogs in the family when I was a kid. Fencing: We live on an acre property with lots of lawn and large trees so it would obviously be great if the dog can have access to that but it's not going to be easy at all to fence it all securely (eg the long front fence is a 1 m plus picket fence with a wooden gate which has quite a considerable gap under it and we have seven sets of neighbours, only 3 of which share what I would call secure fencing with us). My question is, is it feasible to think we could have a situation where the dog is with us while we are outside (gardening, playing with it etc) and it will be happy to stay close and not try to escape? And then keep it indoors or in a much smaller area when we are away from home? I'm quite worried because all rescue dogs for instance require 'secure fencing'. Wildlife: As we haven't had any other pets, we love our wild birds, especially our king parrots, magpies etc. I have been looking at Tenterfield terriers as a possible option as they seem pretty interesting little characters - is it at all possible to train this breed to not attack/kill the birds or is that too much to ask? We are thinking of a low to moderate shedding medium (to small) size dog. Any suggestions as to which breeds might fit in well with the lifestyle mentioned above would be highly welcome. I was really keen on Australian shepherds but think that they require even more exercise than I can give and my lack of experience as a trainer might be a problem. Also, I think they shed A LOT of hair? We are thinking of getting a purebred puppy or possibly a young-ish adult rescue dog (mostly mixed breeds). One other thing is that having seven sets of neighbours we don't want to add to the neighbourhood barking problem so a breed which is not notorious for barking would be preferable. Anyway, if anyone has any advice for me, it would be much appreciated. Thanks.