What is the best small dog for my family?

Question
Hello,
I am searching for the best dog for my family.  I have two children - ages 7 and 3.  We recently lost our family dog and is cautious about replacing him.  I want a nonshedding small dog, and want a dog that's good with children.  Not too small - I don't want my children to harm it.  They can be active. This dog would of course be part of the family; sleeping, eating and playing with us.  I'm just afraid - I heard that smaller dogs are more "nippy".  What do you recommend?

Answer
HI Gee-Gee!

Yes, some of the smaller breeds can be a little on the nippy side.  A good non shedding dog would be a miniature Schnauzer. These dogs are great with kids and are very smart and personable. However, you need to realize , that dogs that don't shed have to get rid of their growing hair somehow! These dogs will have to be taken to a groomer at least once a month to look nice, or you can buy your own clippers and learn to do it yourself.... that's what I did!  I used to own several schnauzers, and I took them to a groomer one time, then just traced over what they did. It's not hard.  Another good non shedding dog is a miniature poodle. This is the next size up from the toy poodle, so they are a bit larger. The standard poodle is the very large ones.  These dogs are VERY smart and make great family pets. Forget all you ever saw about them being little "foo-foo" dogs... as they are great pets and are easy to housebreak and train.  Once again, though, you will have to have this breed groomed.   ANY non-shedding dog will have to be professionally groomed or you will need to learn how.  
For a look at all the breeds, you should go to the AKC website.  There, you can see each breed and read a little bit about them.   It might help you decide.

Good luck and God bless,
Becky