OK stop this thread now, I am getting dog envy. 
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I fear that I am not the person to add to all your welcome advice @toryroo , I have always preferred larger, older, dogs and this latest one is the youngest I have had since my Dad bought a Cocker puppy for my brother and I when I was about 10.
But I will of course put in a good word for rescue dogs, as a general rule I disapprove of breeders but have met many and transported their efforts.
Perhaps the best advice above has been that to foster for a recognised association. That way you will get a feel for the dogs and maybe that way, as with me, the right one will fall into your lap, so to speak. Any potential disasters can be handed back before damage is done. 
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We go to a club canin, ā¬70 a year and can get heavily discounted croquettes from them so doesnāt really cost anything. Perhaps not Crufts level trainers as they are all volunteers, but are ok especially for puppies and delinquent dogs.
Our current rescue also has private education and so far I think weāve spent ā¬400 on that. It was a condition from the rescue centre that we do that if behavioural problems (he is very reactive with other dogs).
Our Australian Shepherd never went to a groomer in his life, and never had a bath as wasnāt needed. When he rolled in something foul we washed him, but nothing more. And we did his nails ourself.
Our rescue is going to a groomer every 2- 3 months, and gets his nails done there. Heās a labrit cross so has hair that can curl and knot. When he arrived he was very cuddly (and very, very stinky) but cautious about us invading his personal space with a brush and clippers so we decided best that we donāt do it. A session is ā¬45?
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On the subject of training, we always give dog commands in French so that, when out and about, people understand what we are trying to do with them.
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Uncannily like our Paco!
So does my wife and Paco. Volunteer trainers but very enthusiastic (though obsessed with preparing for agility competitions). Great for socialising a rescue, and its exercise enclosures wonderful for releasing energy, safely.
Having one English rescue and one French, we give commands in English to avoid confusion. Paco is now bilingual, and our other one, being from Essex, is monolingual.
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We use French, and did with our last dog too. You never know when you might have to get someone else to look after him. The dog club have an exercise where you swap dogs, particularly useful for ones who have separation anxiety. And another called ābonjour monsieurā where your dog has to sit calmly but alertly by your side while you chat for a few minutes to someone before you move on to next person. Current pup slumps to the ground in boredom, rolls over and waves his legs in the air, which is not the idea. We canāt see him getting his CSAU diploma any time soon!
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Well, I arrived in France a year ago with 2 English dogs. One sadly passed but I am now up to 3 having taken in 2 Rescues from 2 different rehoming centres. One was a SPA near Tours and the other from Les Amis des Animaux. Both were puppies, 3 months old each, and chosen for their āabilityā to be liked by my older dog Bailey. Whilst puppies are āworkā, as already said, they are a blank slate who just crave acceptance. I never found toilet training a problem, but never tried to get my dogs to poo in a certain place. A puppy is far more likely to tug at the heart strings of a child and awaken that potentially magical thing that happens with children and dogs, and also more likely to get on with cats. One is a Malinois/Staffy cross and the other a Collie/Lab cross. When I went on the SPA website I could only see full grown dogs but when I visited puppies were available also. Incidentally, the smaller existing Lakeland/Bichon cross costs the most to maintain with his haircuts every 2 months. But the other 2 cause me the most cleaning with their shedding. Love em all. 
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I love the empty dog bed in the picture. 
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Where do you think I sleep?
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ā¦.was trying to work that out.
The dog bed?
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Well, we have a routine. Bailey and I are on the bed, heās the Bichon type. Cos Lola, the Malinois X and Bob, the Collie X are new, they are on the floor in their beds. If they want to come onto the bed that is up to Bailey, if he does not growl they can join us. So, I start the night with Bailey, but often by morning we are all together. The only problem I have is if I have to visit āLe Toiletteā in the night because if I do when I come back, my space is gone and then I am on the floor. 
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Lovely story and parts reminded me on Louis de Bernierās Red Dog story..
You need a dog for sure and I wish you success.
We we are, surrounded by hectares of loveliness, just about everyone keeps maybe 3 or 4 outdoor dogs, all related from a old dame sheppard dawg and they all have the most calm and fun characters. No nastiness in them and they live in amongst cats, sheep, people and whatever else.
Love to have one or two as well but difficult to be tied downā¦
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OH and I, we were both brought up with dogs. When we got married we decided it wouldnāt be fair to have a dog when we were both out working most of the time. Another important point.. we could hardly afford to feed ourselves, let alone find the money to properly support an animal.
Therefore, we decided to have a dog when we retiredā¦ when Life became quieter and home-based.
Huh, Life has never got quieter, itās just changed.
True, we are home-based a lot of the time, but then suddenly off voyaging without a care in the worldā¦
or more recently off to Hospital (regularly) with all the stress involved. No way could I sort out a pet, while trying to ensure OH doesnāt pop his clogs.
So weāve still never actually got a pet or our own.
However, we have been adopted by several local animals (cats and dogs) and we enjoy their company briefly - as and when they decide to visit - then we wave āem goodbye and off they wander, homeward. We have the pleasure without the responsibility (and their owners are happy with all this)
Itās a bit like having grandchildren, enjoying their company (spoiling them rotten) then sending them back to their parents 
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"[quote=āHelen6, post:106, topic:29764ā]
Do you think you may ever have another border collie in the futureā¦??? [/quote] "
Having read these posts I am now sure that I will not get another dog. Apart from the possible feeling I had gone from the truly sublime to the gorā blimey, I couldnāt cope with the expense and āmaintenanceā.
Seeing her after a year or so, the friend who gave her to me commented on her extremely glossy coat. "A pilchard a day .. ".
She was never trimmed. A bit of brushing when she moulted twice a year - she loathed it. She also had a horror of vacuum cleaners and hair dryers. Used to run and hide under an old motor boat in the paddock next door. She would never have stood for being at the ābeauty parlour.ā
Arc welders, angle grinders - she used to snooze in the workshop on an old V-berth mattress, sometimes under a cloud of sparks.
As for washing, when she and her blue merle collie pal came back from a dayās rabbiting, covered in mud and rabbit blood, I used to throw her as far as I could into the river. A couple of those got rid of the worst, then a hose down in the yard to get rid of the rest and being wet with sea water. Awfully smelly, a very furry dog wet with sea water.
She was an exceptional dog. In fact people used to say, āItās like meeting a person.ā A friend said that this dog was a bohdisattva - a being who has achieved Nirvana but chosen to remain in some bodily form to enlighten others.
I am content to have lived in this slice of the continuum with this creature.
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I am also considering getting a dog and live between Europe and Australia ā¦ but 9months in Europe. I recently became friends with some people who volunteer at a rescue shelter which is the best I have ever seen. The woman who runs it does an amazing job of trying to keep it open and her last post on Facebook was beyond sad as she is begging for help to foster, donate, adopt etc ā¦ so I am considering fostering a dog when I come back after Xmas ā¦ perhaps this is the step that you should consider too as it is like a trial, you give relief to the shelter to take one financial burden off their ābig bag of worriesā but you also get to see if the dog is a good fit with your family. Please donāt shy away from rescue animals as they are the most grateful for any kindness shown to them and are devoted to you ā¦ getting something pretty from the pet shop is a no brainer I guess but you could still get a ārogueā pet depending on the genes ā¦ what you are considering is wonderful and your child and husband will warm to the idea perhaps through fosteringā¦
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Where is it? And where are you in Oz? I think eventually Iād love to do a similar split!
So the small one has independently announced he would like a dog as long as its not big and preferably a cockerpoo . I think husband is resigned although weāve not actually discussed it seriously, when RĆ©my was talking about it there was no āweāre not getting a dogā. Happy wife happy life? Heās a big softie and I know heāll fall in love, itās just not something heās ever had!
Iām not in a rush, need to find the right one for us. Keep looking and nothing in any of the shelters that appeals. I even looked at cockerpoos to buy and they want ā¬2000! Thatās not happening!
Are you at home enough to have a rescue dog? Some breeds arenāt good at being left alone.
If a cockerpoo would be right for you, is there a French rescue organisation for cockerpoos?
Likely its appeal lies in the nameā¦