getting a puppy

Hello,

We've recently had a friend of ours and her dog stay with us. Her dog is a
6-year West Highland White Terrier named Molly. Both my wife and I have
become very attached to her and are considering getting a dog of our own.
We'd like to get a Westie or another terrier since we have lived with this
breed and know that such a dog will be a good fit for us. We would like some
advice regarding which breeds may be most appropriate and how to go about
this.

We live in a house and have a large open yard with a 21' x 36' pen enclosed
by a four-foot fence. We do not have children now, but plan on having them
within the next five years. We have tried adopting an abandonded Westie, but
were told by the local rescue coordinator that Westies do not do well with
children under 10 (and since we're planning on having children she turned
down our application).

We are considering buying a puppy from a breeder, but have found that
availability and prices (close to $1,000) may make this route impractical.
We are also considering getting a "mongrel" puppy, specifically a Min.
Schnauzer and a Westie mix but don't really know anything about this. We
don't have to have a pure bred dog but one that is playful, active and
loving.

Specifically we'd like to know the following:
1) are any terrier breeds better suited for children than others? or is it
possible to train any puppy to do well with young children?
2) how much variation in temperament is there among the terriers? For
instance we've read that JRT's are so active that they would be capable of
escaping from our pen. Is this true? Should we stay away from them?
3) are there any advantages or disadvantages of terrier mixes? We are
obviously not interested in showing or breeding our dog, just having a good
companion/pet.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

-Ilan Kerman