Companion and family dogs

About companion and family dogs

Most dogs in Britain are not bred for a job. They are bred to live in a family, share a sofa, walk to school and settle in a flat, a farmhouse or a narrowboat. That is still a specialisation. A good companion dog needs a steady temperament, sound health and a size and energy level that suit the household, and the breeder’s choices in the first eight weeks shape all three.

What this category covers

This hub gathers the everyday specialisations buyers actually search for: dogs for families with children, dogs for first-time owners, low-shedding coats, dogs for older owners, flat-friendly dogs, dogs that live with cats and other pets, boat dogs, sociable pub and café companions, and the small world of dogs who work in film, television and advertising. Each has its own page with the breeds that tend to suit it and the questions worth asking.

Who breeds and supplies these dogs in the UK

Companion dogs come from three places: licensed breeders, hobby breeders who have an occasional litter at home, and rescue organisations. There are no trainers or agencies that supply pet dogs ready-made, and a puppy sold as “family trained” or “guaranteed good with children” is being oversold.

In England, anyone breeding three or more litters in a year, or breeding and selling dogs as a business, needs a licence from their local council, and Wales and Scotland run their own licensing schemes. Under Lucy’s Law, puppies in England and Wales must be bought from the breeder or adopted from a rescue centre, not from a pet shop or dealer. In England, Scotland and Wales every puppy must be microchipped and registered by the time it is eight weeks old, and no puppy should leave its mother before then.

Breeds and lines

There is no single family breed. Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Bichons Frises, Whippets, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and crossbreeds such as the Cockapoo all live happily with families, and so do dogs of no fixed breed. What matters is the match: the adult size and exercise needs of the breed, its grooming demands, its prey drive around cats and small pets, and the temperament of the individual parents.

Health matters as much as temperament. Many popular companion breeds carry inherited conditions that can be screened for, from hip and elbow dysplasia to eye disease and heart conditions. For crossbreeds, both parents should have the tests their own breeds need. Flat-faced breeds deserve particular care: ask about breathing and whether the parents have been assessed under a recognised scheme.

What a buyer should ask a breeder

• Can I see the puppy with its mother, at the place where it was born and raised?
• Do you hold a council breeding licence, and if so, what is the number and which council issued it?
• Which health tests have both parents had, and can I see the certificates?
• How have the puppies been raised: indoors, around children, other pets and everyday household noise?
• Will the puppy be microchipped, vaccinated and wormed, with the microchip registered to you before it leaves?
• Will you take the dog back at any age if I can no longer keep it?

Use the Puppy Contract from the RSPCA and the Animal Welfare Foundation, and never pay a deposit before you have visited. Our buyer safety guide sets out the warning signs.

What breeders can list here

Breeders in this hub can describe the temperament of their dogs, how they raise and socialise each litter, the health tests their breeding dogs have passed and the homes their puppies usually go to. They may not claim that a puppy is hypoallergenic, because no dog is, or guarantee how an individual puppy will behave as an adult.

If you raise healthy, well-socialised puppies for family homes, list your kennel under companion and family dogs so the right families can find you.