I grew up with little dogs, because Mom isn't a Big Dog person. (Max, my 25 lb. Eskie fur-brother, is the biggest dog she's ever kept longer than 6 months. (If your husband hates hair, DON'T get an Eskie. Max sheds as much as my best friend's Pyr ever did!) Mom's tolerantly fond of my sister's Big Paws, but would never truly love a BP.
So, in MY long experience, since I'm middle aged now:
If your hubby is a total hair hater, a short coat dachshund or a doxie mix may be your answer. Rusty was a doxie/Boston mix and he was just a TANK--he'd go under, over, around or thru anything if it meant kisses and lovies. We had to get a dog door because he kept breaking out the screen in the bottom of the storm door. It didn't matter where we went or what we did, Rusty was right there, keeping up.
Spotty was a farm-bred, 10-pound rat terrier mix, and by far them most velcro-y dog we ever had. If he wasn't in your lap, he was right behind your left ankle--unless, of course, he was out hunting squirrels or mice. Also very short haired. I used to lay out on a blanket under the willow tree and read to him--a whole stack of library books at a time, while he just cuddled under my chin. He was my FIRST dog--Dad got him while Mom was pregnant with my brother, so that when the baby arrived, I had someone to play with--because Tiny (a perfectly snotty long haired Chi) was very DEFINITELY my mother's dog, and didn't care to play with 3-year-old me. (In fact, Tiny never cared to play with anybody but my mother. None of my mother's chi's ever liked any of us kids, that I remember. The terriers, yes; chi's and chi-mixes, never.) Acutal rat terriers are kind of rare these days, but if you live in a more rural area, you're more likely to find one than if you live in a more urban one.
Scotties are great dogs, lots of fun and energy, but very kid friendly. Chip, Dale, and Underdog (hey! we were LITTLE!) were all hugely affectionate and funny, and we more than glad to take a nap with you on the couch or under the blanket tent. Not overly hairy dogs, but they do shed some.
My great aunt and uncle had Schnauzers that they kept close clipped all over--sometimes giants, sometimes standards, sometimes minis, sometimes all three--and all us kids adored them. They don't shed worth beans if they're close clipped, bond really closely to their people, and will bark/alarm at a loud f**t, much less a burglar; but none them was ever anything but kissy-faced with kids. They usually had two or three dogs at a time, and they were by far the most popular dogs in the neighborhood; a dozen families got schauzers over the years, and I never heard of a single dog bite.
Cocker spaniels and cocker mixes are NOT good with kids, at least not any of them that I've ever known. They're bloody-minded, pain resistant little fiends; Walt Disney's Lady is NOT a fair example! Close to half the bitten kids I've known have been bitten by cockers--and most of the others have been bitten by chi's. I've bitten by both, more than once. If it's small, has feathery legs and long, wavy haired ears, run like mad the other direction!
Unless it's a solid red-brown and slobbery--Sussex spaniels are AWESOME kid dogs. Sussies have longer hair and do shed some, but you can keep them in a hunting clip, with their hair quite short. But then, a Sussie isn't a small dog like most cockers. Sussies are short dogs--they're like basset hounds, deliberately bred with short legs. They generally run around 40 or 50 lbs as adults, so they're not really pack-aroundable, but they'll follow anywhere with very little training, because they're naturally close hunters; it plays into their instincts.
And of course, there ARE basset hounds. My aunt's next door neighbor has had bassets for 30 years, and the only complaint I've ever heard about them is that the neighbor doesn't have puppies often enough--every other year or two at most, just enough to keep friends and family in puppies. Short, not small; how could anybody resist a short-legged, 65-lb Big Paw with short hair?
As for helping your daughter learn about dogs--maybe the two of you, or she and her dad could start by going online to the Yahoo Pets site--looking at pictures of dogs, etc. After you've done a some online research, then go to the library and get more detailed info before you go to the shelter or call a breed rescue.
The only thing about going to the shelter is that an overwhelming percentage of the dogs there are going to be either pit bull mixes, shepherd mixes or labrador mixes. All short haired, true, but not really a 'smaller' dog.
ALTHOUGH: I love pit bulls!! I've known a lot of them over the years, and I've never once been even growled at, much less bitten. Yes, they do take more training and socializing than some other breeds because of their very, very boisterous personalities and their strength, but every one I've ever met as been as friendly as a flea. In my experience, I'd take a chance on a pit bull I found in a shelter much quicker than I would a cocker spaniel or a chiahuahua in the cage next to him. But that's just my experience.
