What is the best breed of dog to get for small children (7, 3 and a baby) also is it better to rescue an older dog?

A mal , I have an Alaskan Malamute and it is very loyal and loves children + you can train the Alpha mal to pull sleds in the winter. :)

With an adult pet, you don’t have the puppy training issues. You might want to check with local vets about older dogs. Often when people die, or move, they turn to a vet’s office to get the pet placed. You want to make sure you get a dog that’s okay with being pulled and tugged on. Having a dog with young children can bet tricky.

Did you have dogs when you were a child?

I would suggest a puppy, especially with children involved. You never know what you are getting involved with when you adopt an adult dog. We adopted an adult blue heeler and she nipped at my young daughter constantly. A puppy you can train at a young age and not have to worry about any “issues” an adult dog might have.

I didn’t have a dog when growing up, so this is new territory for me.

I worried a little about the adult dog and it coming with a history that may be difficult to know and anticipate how they will react to kids. However, I wouldn’t mind skipping the whole housetraining / chewing stage too!

Thank you for your suggestions!

Puppies are like having another baby in the house. They need a lot of constant attention and training.

My daughters Sheltie is amazing with the kids and lovingly puts up with baby hair pulling and is beautiful too!

I agree that puppies are like another baby, which is why I was leaning toward getting an adult or young adult dog. I plan on waiting until the baby is over a year old until adding a dog to the household, but I thought I’d get started on my research now.

Does anyone know about or have a Brittany Spaniel? How are those with kids?

Shelties are really great.

Puppies really don’t take that long to train. Maybe not as long as an adult dog that you would have to work with if it had “issues”.

@PSUMFT, are you an stay-at-home mom?

That’s a good point about retraining an adult dog.

I’ll have to look at shelties.

Thanks so much for your responses, this is really helpful!

Sorry I can’t give you a specific breed that you could get, but I do have a little experience dealing with adopted dogs and puppies. We adopted an adult dog a year and a half ago that was pregnant (we did not know she was). She had many issues and we were afraid that she would hurt our daughter. Fortunatel, we found a home for her and kept two of the puppies. The puppies were much easier to train and they experienced “growing up” with our daughter.

Yes, I am a stay-at-home mom, so the dog wouldn’t be left alone for long periods of time throughout the day.

Awwww, puppies, because they can be trained. Adult dogs, not so much.

You could go the Charlie Brown route and get a beagle. They seem to be gentle and friendly. Spaniels, too, are gentle and probably good around small kids. Both are active types, though. When I was very small, we had a chocolate Lab. That might be too big, but Labs are a very affectionate breed. They love kids.

A cat.

@PSUMFT: first of all, Welcome to Fluther.

I vote for a puppy. While training is a bit of work, it is far less complicated than dealing with an older dog with “baggage”.

As for breeds, I recommend Yorkies or Westies (great with kids and the don’t shed), Basset Hounds (very laid back, puts up with anything), Or a Corgie (sp) (lots of fun and good with children).

Be sure to look into crate training for fast, efficient potty training. Works beautifully.

I would go to a dog show and look at all the breeds, sporting dogs are almost always a good choice. When you see a breed that strikes your fancy, talk to the breeder and they will give you straight info about their breed, will not try to “sell” you if they don’t think it is right for you. Also often breeders will have retired show dogs or show hopefuls that didn’t quite make it in the beauty contest and will place them in a home they consider right. The only thing you said that might turn a breeder off is that you want the dog “for your kids.” A dog is like another kid, and will need you to take care of it, so that phrase is sometimes a red flag to a breeder. The rest of your letter sounds good to me though, if I had any I would consider you as a good home prospect!

Talk to your local shelter and area veterinarian about breed recommendations. If you can, spend some time volunteering at the shelter. Not only will they take your commitment more seriously, it will give you an opportunity to spend some time with potential adoptees and get a more accurate assessment of their temperaments. Many times, the shelter can give you a complete history on an abandoned dog (“this one grew up with six kids and loves them but the family lost their home and they had to surrender the dog”). It may take some time to find that perfect dog, but since this is the only family member that you get to chose, isn’t it worth it?

Raising a puppy with three kids, while fun, will be a truly chaotic experience. And that teething phase will be no fun. If you can find just the right dog, I’d go with an adult.

Labrador retriever. I did a lot of research on dogs that are good with kids, and Labs are almost always at the top of the list (Golden retrievers are too). We have two Labs (their names are Calvin and Hobbes), and they are indeed wonderful dogs. We got them as puppies. They’re very smart and easy to train (most of the time). They’re teenagers now, so we have some rebellion issues going on (good prep for when the kids get to be teens).

On the down side: Labs are VERY destructive. They chew on everything, especially when they’re bored. And they get big. Ours are 80 and 90 pounds respectively. So if you don’t have a big backyard, don’t even think about getting a Lab. They can be inside dogs, but only if you don’t mind the house being destroyed by their big otter-tails.

On the up side: they are eager to please, loving, and so much fun. They are wonderful with our kids—very patient and they put up with an awful lot of pushing and poking. Our kids are 8 and 10, so they’re older. That’s something you might want to consider when you choose. Dogs (especially puppies) chew and their little teeth are surprisingly sharp. Dogs (especially puppies) tend to jump on people when they’re excited to see them. Little kids (especially toddlers) get knocked over easily (and scared).

Good luck!

An adult dog from a rescue group that has foster homes is the ideal way to go. The foster parents can tell you all about the dogs personality and it will be helpful in deciding if this dog will fit into your family and lifestyle. With 3 kids potty training and general training is going to be hard and you will find yourself with a dog you can’t control. It will be like having a fourth kid!

These days due to bad breeding practices it’s hard to say with absolute certainty that one breed is best for kids. Golden Retrievers have always been considered great family dogs. Over the past four years I have seen an increasing number of Golden owners on the web complaining of aggression even at the puppy stage. My dog trainer has said she is definitely seeing the same trend. My boyfriend’s family has always owned Goldens and this fall they had to put theirs down because it attacked his mother one day. As a rule terrier type dogs are a little too intense for small kids but I am sure there are people that have terriers that have had the opposite experience. Each dog has it’s own personality.

That being said if you have your heart set on a specific breed, there are many breed rescues out there with purebred dogs. Most shelters will tell you 15% or more of their dogs are also purebred. ESPECIALLY after the holidays when foolish people decided that a puppy was a great Christmas gift and then quickly realized their mistake and dumped it at a shelter.

Your goal should be to find a dog that fits into your family perfectly so that it will be with you for the rest of it’s life. A rescue group that fosters can definitely help you find that dog. You need to take into consideration how much time you have to devote to training, grooming and exercising the dog. Are you looking for a couch potato or a high energy dog? Lots to think about but at least you are thinking BEFORE you adopt!!

Under NO circumstances should you buy a puppy from a petstore, online or out of the newspaper. Regardless of what lies they tell, petstore puppies are all from puppy mills. Reputable breeders have their puppies sold before they are born and breed their dogs in a very limited capacity. Breeders that breed dogs for profit are no better than a puppy mill. They don’t care about the dogs or you, they care about making as much money as they can as fast as they can.
/rant

jonsblond where in the world did you adopt a dog that was pregnant? No shelter or rescue I have dealt with (and I am familiar with a lot of them) will ever let a pregnant dog be adopted out!

It is not hard to train a puppy, just time consuming. It depends on how much time you have. A shelter dog is a wonderful option, but like someone else said sometimes these dogs have behavior problems. This is totally understandable as most of them have been abused. My aunt rehabs abused german shepards and some of the things I’ve seen are incredibly heart breaking. About breeds- every single breed that someone says is good, another person will have a horror story. I have a shi tzu that is amazing with children, a very solid dog that has been accidentally sat on and didn’t even growl or nip at the child. I have a chinese crested that would love to eat childrens faces if given the chance. She just really hates the fast moving, loud, stomping, sticky handed toddler. I spent almost a year trying to find the right breeder to buy her from because I didn’t want to give money to a puppy mill. Not all breeders are out for money, some really do love the dogs and breed them properly. We got my sons beagle from a breeder, a friend of my mother. We went there and checked it out, wow do these people love their dogs. They also do home studies of people who are trying to get one of the pups. They have hunters from all over trying to get these beagles. My beagle only hunts cookies.

@aprilsimnel Whoo hoo! “You could go the Charlie Brown route and get a beagle. They seem to be gentle and friendly.”

Awwwww. shucks.

My answer: BEAGLES!

We own a mixed breed beagle that we picked from the local pound as a puppy. She is a great pet….

The downside to getting a puppy….“potty training” and chewing issues. The “potty training” really is not that big of a deal. Just make sure they go outside after they have been sleeping and after they eat….and just before you go to bed. We had only a couple of minor pee accidents…..It also helps to get a dog in the summer, so that they can stay outside for longer periods of time.
As to the chewing…also not that big of a deal for us….Give the puppy lots of dog appropriate toys to chew on, so they don’t resort to chewing on your stuff. As w/ small kids, things you don’t want in the dog’s mouth, you keep off of the floor.

An adult dog could be great…as you would avoid the above training phases. However, you could get a nightmare. If I took in an adult dog, I would want to know (or know of) the previous owner or someone else who can attest to the temperment of the dog.

One other thing….just as you will have to train the dogs, you will need to teach your kids subtleties about your new dog, to decrease the possiblity of a bite. e.g. if the dog is eating, it is ill, it has the tail tucked down, etc, best to leave it alone….

Good luck :)

@Daethian- the dog came from a farm in our area. They had two blue heelers that they needed to get rid of because they were moving. My sister took the other one, which happened to be pregnant also. We ended up with 13 puppies between the two of us.

I strongly believe in rescuing adult dogs. We always told my daughter that she couldn’t have a dog until her baby brother was as old as she was (meaning in a couple of years). When my daughter was four she suddenly figured out that her brother would never be as old as she was because he would always be two years younger. Despite the fact the we meant it another way (actually to some degree because she figured out another way to interpret what we said) we went out and got a dog from a rescue group.

We chose a group where all the dogs were in foster homes, so we could learn about the dog’s personality. We chose a dog that was about 3 to 4 years old so her personality was fairly set, her tendencies were fairly obvious, and most of the chewing was over with. We also chose a dog large enough to withstand childish pummeling but small enough that she could be carried to the bath tub and to the vet. In hindsight we should have chosen a dog with shorter hair and no undercoat, but, hey, I live to vacuum!

We also worked very hard with the kids so they would understand what it means when a dog has a bone or a toy and growls at you (back off!), why you don’t hit or tug on various bits of dog anatomy, how important it is to walk dogs and feed them and make sure they have clean water, and how much fun you can have playing together with your dog. We also taught them how dogs tell you it is time to play, eat go out, or even be alone.

The end result was Sally (named by my daughter), a very intelligent 35-pound black-and-tan mixed breed who is now about 16 years old. She has had relatively few health problems, she is a cheerful companion, and she has never bitten anyone (although she has often resorted to her crate when the kids got too rough. She is rather vocal (we think she may have some German Shepherd genes) but understands very well that she must defer to the people in the house. She also has run off a couple of weird guys that may have been up to no good.

A puppy can be a lot of work to clean up after and train to be a good family member. If you choose correctly an adult dog will come with much less work. I also extol mixed breeds over purebreds. There really seems to be something to “hybrid vigor” and they generally stay healthier longer. Plus, your dog tends to be unique, not looking like anyone else’s dog. If you want, when people ask what kind of dog it is you can make up a breed. Our Sally is a “Bassechow” (BAA seh chow) because she has short legs, a black tongue, and thick fur.

In addition, at least in our town, there is a lot of dog theft. Purebred puppies can be quite expensive to buy from a breeder (several hundred to several thousand dollars) and enterprising thieves have realized that there are folks who see dogs as possessions and who are perfectly willing to pay a discount price for a recognized breed, no questions asked.

And mutts love you just as much as any purebred dog.

Let me give you my experience as a mother – small dogs are usually not good with small children. They are nervous about getting hurt, and rightly so. Shelties, schnauzers, and all toy breeds have this problem. Of course, there are always exceptions as some people have already pointed out, but I wouldn’t risk it. Big dogs are only good if you have the room. Labs are famous for being good kid-dogs. Blue Heelers are a nice size, but they do nip all the time – it’s what they were bred for. I had one, and had the same problem. Real hairy dogs like sled dogs take a lot of upkeep. For God’s sake don’t get a cocker spaniel. They are so cute that they’re tempting, but they are rated the #1 biters of kids. My son was attacked by one. My suggestion for cuteness, gentleness, and loyalty to small kids would be a beagle, hands down. Second choice would be a lab or a border collie, but they both need tons of running room.

Oh, and I would NOT do an adult dog for small children. Dogs are pack animals and the younger they are adopted into your pack, the better. It is a wonderful gesture to rescue an adult dog who has had a bad life, but it’s more wonderful for the dog than for you.

My daughter believed in “pound puppies” too, but she decided having more foreknowledge of the breed and temperament for her children’s sake was more important than her desire to save a dog from a shelter.

You can’t guarantee the temperment and personality of a puppy. The breeders can make a guess based on the parents and on breed standard traits but there is no guarantee. My example of the Golden who bit my bf’s mother is a perfect example. The puppy showed no signs of aggression and why would it? Puppies aren’t aggressive. I mean the only bad habits you are going to see in a puppy is chewing and messing in the house. This is the equivalent of being able to tell if an infant is going to grow up to be a serial killer or Nelson Mandela based on who their parents are.

A foster family who has been living with an adult dog in their house as part of their pack can give a first hand account of the dog’s temperment and personality.

We had an adult dog, about 7 years old, dumped off at our house in the country and she turned out to be one of the best dogs we’ve ever had in terms of her personality. So easy going, well behaved and loved on everyone. Her biggest flaw was that she was always so excited to see someone she would cry and cry. Why someone didn’t want her made no sense, she was the ideal dog.

Golden Retreivers (sp?) are pretty friendly with children. :)

I think the best breed of dog could be a yorky…they are the cutest and sweetest…plus they are excellent with children…yes you should save an older dog…DUH!

@Craziyetsubtle Actually, yorkies are VERY hyper and can often NOT do well with children.

if you are able to take an adult dog do so. puppys easily get adoped and the older dogs get left out all the time. puppies will nibble on kids, want to play to rough with them. an adult dog, yes probably came from a bad situation but it makes them more appreciative when they go into a loving, caring, home. i grew up with pit bulls and labs, my husband grew up with small terrior breeds, so we are always butting heads over big vs small. alot of ppl see pit bulls as agressive breeds that are dangerous. and that is true if thats the way they were raised, but pit bulls are so patient with kids, even small kids and they can be gentle and caring, and loyal. I’ve also heard that beagles are great dogs for kids, and older chow chows. best thing to do is go to your local ASPCA, they will help you find the best dog for you and your needs,all dogs are different, and breeds arent that important, its about the temperment of the dog and whether or not they like you they do not adopt out aggressive animals. Just remember dogs pick their owners, not the other way around