Hi All,

We lost our last dog over three years ago and my daughter has been desperate for a new canine friend. FINALLY my hubby has relented.
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However, there are conditions. He doesn't want to have anything to do with its care. An agility and flyball enthusiast, I traditionally gravitated toward very active, okay, CRAZY, breeds. However, due to my injuries, we will need a less demanding toy breed.

The dog is intended to be a companion to my tween daughter. Due to a medical condition, she is often ill and forced to spend extended periods, isolated at home. Accordingly, we are looking for an affectionate breed, that will happily cuddle with her in bed. When well, my child is active and would enjoy participating in obedience and agility.

As I have experience as a trainer, I am familiar with many breeds of dogs. However, I would love to hear from those of you with personal experience.

In addition to looking for an affectionate toy breed, we would like to avoid smooth coated breeds (they bother my husband's allergies). We don't care about gender or appearance and would welcome rescue dogs. We will also need a breed that can get along with the confident, friendly stray cat that adopted us a couple years ago. (I guess that rules out most of the terriers. lol)

Some of the breeds I'm considering are Papillions, King Charles Spaniels (although their health issues concern me), Pomeranians, Toy Poodles and Japanese Chins.

I haven't been this happy for years!