What dog?

Having only done this the once I can’t give any meaningful analysis of the relative merits of breeds for this purpose.

Things to consider?

There’s the usual issues facing any prospective dog owner, such as the dog’s size, its requirements for exercise, and whatever your personal dog aesthetics. You’ll need a solution that suits you both which requires a bit of thought, and maybe compromise. I live in the inner city, my parents in a small village. They could probably manage a bigger dog than I could. And they don’t work so they could reliably walk it more. On the other hand, they aren’t young, and they’ve had smaller dogs in the past. So we decided on a smaller size, which certainly works for me. Out aesthetic preference would be for a “small big dog” rather than a “small dog” And fortunately, we agreed on all of that!

But we also considered our specific circumstances. It would be easier for us all if our half dog was a breed that was relatively easy to train. And some breeds have a reputation for forming a very strong bond with a single owner. For the dog’s sake, as well as our own, we needed to avoid one of those. This is a job for a happy go lucky, friend to all, type of dog.

In the end we bought a working cocker spaniel. She’s a truly fantastic dog and we couldn’t have made a better choice. She’s got lovely temperament anyway, and she’s really good at her living arrangements - always excited to arrive at her other home, and barely seeming to notice when the departing boss leaves.

People have different attitudes to dogs and breeds. And pedigrees are crazy expensive. Since the covid dog explosion, prices have jumped from hundreds to thousands of pounds. My only observation on getting a puppy with no pedigree for this arrangement is I’d want to know its ancestry well enough to have some idea of temperament - in particular, that it’s unlikely to be stressed by bosses coming and going.

And if you’re picking from a litter, pedigree or not, now’s a good time to pick the one in the middle. Not the most boisterous, which may push the boundaries. (Ours tries her luck sometimes with what she can get away with in different houses). And certainly not the shyest, most insecure. (Not a good time to take pity on the runt of the litter.)