Need Help Choosing Breed 2

What is does your family consist of? Where do you live? What type of activity do you spend your time doing? Do you work or go to school?  These are dogs with high energy!

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I have a child who is turning 4, a 1 year old, a big yard, go to work during the day leave at 8:30 a.m. come home for lunch for an hour ( i only live 5 minutes from work) return from work at 4:30. we are always on the go, live within seconds of horse trails and parks and the beach...... dog will be able to get a lot of exercise..... I live next door to a dog sitter and groomer, who is also my sister in-law and watches my child while I'm at work.

I see that youre still back and forth, and now considering a different breed than before!  I see you guys are having fun researching different breeds, and thats great!  Have you checked out your local shelters again, or gone to petfinder? 
 
**I don't know anything about cockers, so I can't give any advice on breed, sorry!

yes we are still bouncing back and forth we narrowed it down to the english cocker spaniel and boston terrier. still don't know which one???? We really like both the breeds, the boston terrier comes in 3 different sizes....light (under 15 lb/7 kg), middleweight (15 to under 20 lb/9 kg) and heavyweight (20 to under 25 lb/11.5 kg). The downside for us about the english cocker spaniel is that it requires a lot of grooming??? but we really like the breed and don't know if we could up keep the coat as much as its required??? yes we are looking in shelters but in our area all the dogs in the pound are pit bulls which is so sad, so many owners just giving up the breed cause they didnt have the knowlege of what training they require... same with any pound dog....... poor things. I was told they are dog aggressive (the ones at the pound) and if i was planning on going to dog parks that would be a problem, I have two small children 4 and 1 year old and we are at the park a lot. If I were to get a pit bull I would want to start out as a puppy to be brought up with my children and show the proper manners, Like any breed not just pit bull. thats just the way I would want it, nothing against older dogs who i do know you get what you see and know what to expect of them, I just want a younger dog under 1. I just like seeing the accomplishment of the training I will be giving them, you know just like the first steps of a baby [][][]. so yes we are still looking, its a huge choice for us and we dont want to just jump into our decision..... its a life time choice right!!!![][]
"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm." I found this for all those pit bull lovers!!!!!! my friend owns one and is a sweety!!!, just not the breed for me like a golden retriever is not my choice, just want a medium or smaller dog that is sturdy, and not fragile.......  

I think thats a good choice.  Its too bad that some pits can't go to dog parks, but to tell you the truth, a lot of "pit bull people" recommend not taking your pit to the dog park at all, even if it is not dog aggressive.  If anything were to happen, even if another dog started bothering the pit, chances are people would blame the pit, and with all the negative energy floating around about them, you would never want to be put in the position of tarnishing thier name even more (even if it wasn't his fault!)
 
I think that you know what your family wants and needs.  Sometimes pups come into shelters, but youre right, the majority is dogs that are older, though not always.
 
Good luck on your search!
 
Grooming is def. a concern, although maybe you could learn how to groom yourself! Even still, its a lot to keep up with. Bostons are very low maintenance when it comes to care of their coat, just brush frequently and your done!

Yes I know, my friend stays away from dog parks, she gets a lot of people that give her a bad look cause she is walking her pit bull, some people have told her that her dog needs to wear a muzzle because it's a pit bull, its part of the city law, well she called the city and they told her only dogs that were considered vicious needed a muzzle not breed specific, some people are really rude to her because she owns a pit bull, and the dog is so sweet!!! All because of bad owners the breed is considered bad! Its the way they were trained and raised like all dogs, if you are going to put a golden retriever in the back yard with no training, tied up all day not socialized that dog could turn out people and dog aggressive. poor things end up at the pound because of lack of knowledge on the owners part.

Its very sad.  All the advice that I can give to your friend is to EDUCATE!  There is no need that she should stand for that kind of behaviour, and trying to educate the public is the only way for her dog to not be mistreated, and all pit bulls to be more welcomed!

Candy, I have an American Cocker. I have to brush his fur out about every other day, and get him clipped at the groomers' - well, really I should go every 6-8 weeks but I've been pushing it to 12 wks because money is tight right now. English Cockers have less coat but you'd still be looking at brushing a few times a week, you may get away with not clipping the coat except for in summertimes, depending on how much coat he has. A lot of Cocker owners just shave the dog down, that's not really for me but it would keep maintenance low. A well-bred Cocker is a great family pet, very affectionate and good with children, trainable, easy to please, happy dogs.
 
I always recommend talking to breed specific rescues about the breeds you're considering, because they're very honest and thorough in their descriptions of the breed. However, though it would be great if you could rescue, rescue organizations tend to be very hesitant to adopt out to families with small children and you may reach a dead end on that route. If you decide to buy a puppy, the most important thing you could do is find a really good breeder. Good breeders are another source of info about their breeds, and if they're doing it right they will be just as eager as the rescue to make a good match rather than just sell a puppy. Be very careful about buying a poorly bred cocker... one of the traits that tends to show up in ill bred cocker spaniels is excessive timidity ranging to fear aggression.

[]Thanks Jones, we are having a hard time choosing between the breeds, we have just recently went to a english cocker spaniel breeder, Such beautiful dogs..... wow!!! and we also went to a boston terrier breeder, also beautiful dogs!!!! If we do choose the English Cocker spaniel we wouldnt mind getting it clipped, we are just having a hard time choosing which one we want! They are both good with kids, which i know not to leave my children alone with though, we are just getting so excited about adding one to our family!!! I already went and bought a medium sized crate, dog dishes, toys, just need the dog..... [][] we've had my brothers dog over to visit for a few hours to see how my children are with him, we dog sit for them quite often and my child loves him he is a jack russel cross soooo cute and so patient, he is on the older side (10 years old). I've found a few breeders on both dogs and just have to choose which we think is the better one to go with, but first choose the breed! So much fun i love reading up on different dogs.

English Cockers, while they are energetic and require grooming, are usually great with kids, which is always my number one consideration when advising families with youngsters.  Dog versus kid, dog always loses, so it's very important to get a dog that will be well trained, socialized and exercised, if you have young children.  Keep in mind that some breeders will not sell to families with kids under age 10.  Don't be offended, they are just concerned with the welfare of the pups. 
 

If you haven't already (I may have missed it in a previous post,) you might go check out a dog show...tons of breeders and owners there who can tell you all about their dogs, and it's a great chance to see all the different types in person and get some additional resources. I think you can use AKC's website to find shows in your area, stuff like that. Kids also seem to love these shows, especially if there's agility/obedience trials.
 
My husband and I have gone a few times to dog shows and we always liked it, even when we weren't in the immediate market for a dog. []