There are plans afoot for a new addition to the family, this time a four-legged one. Next year we would like to get a dog, we have been giving it a lot of thought and it's not something we'll be rushing in to; plenty to sort out first.

We have wanted a dog for a long time but when we were both working full time it was out of the question, we just couldn't leave a dog alone all day. When Georgia was smaller the time wasn't right either; we had the space and someone at home all day but life was busy and money was short.
Now the time is almost right, Georgia is nearly starting school, Clare is at home and I work at home quite often too. We probably do need to get a slightly bigger house first, this one is a semi with a garden but I think we need a little more free space and a bigger garden would be better (although not essential as there is plenty of park and woodland right on the doorstep). So the plan is to move to a larger house locally in the new year and then start thinking about getting the dog, not sure how long it will take to find the right house but we'll rent it so that speeds the whole thing up.

We need to think about breeds too, something medium to large (ie Labrador size) would be ideal. It would be nice to have something that is protective over Clare and Georgia as I am often away over night, but do you then run the risk of it being aggressive too?

The ideal dog would be loving and playful and would enjoy long walks in the woods, a dog version of me really!