Best breed of dog for young children?

I have the most fantastic little staffy mix who came from Battersea dogs home as a ten week old pup. My little boy was 6 months old when I got her. She is just brilliant with everybody and everything, has the sweetest nature and just adores children. She is calm and steady and just fantastic.
Rescues are not all damaged goods or hard work, Ruby has been an absolute pleasure from the start. We have made sure we are all consistant with her training and she seems to be a very content little dog.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
I have recently done this. My son is 7 and he wanted his own dog. We have a resue mongrel who is lovely with him but after lots of research (and asking questions on here) we bought him a Lancashire Heeler.
I would say that they are not the easiest dog to get, but Max was definitely worth the wait. After lots of research we got in touch with a lovely breeder in Scotland and he chose a pup from the litter which he thought would be best suited to a child. He has his pups all health tested and assesed their temperament. He sent lots of pics throughout our waiting process and tolerated lots of questions from me.
We picked Max up in April and have found him to be a friendly, intelligent, loveable little guy. My son takes him to puppy class and together they are working towards their puppy award. He is very trainable and in general is just a wonderful wee guy to have around.
My hubbies grandchildren love him. He tootles around on the lead with them or plays ball. The 4 year old and the 2 year old absolutely adore him and he has several teddys named after him. These are children who only see animals at our house and who were terrified of our big dog even though she is a gentle soul.
I think one of the benefits of having the right 'little' dog for a 'little' person is that they can walk it on the lead, groom etc even when it is a puppy.
As a general aside I have found the folk involved in this particular breed to be very helpful, knowledgable, responsible & patient. It was not a breed I had ever heard of and it was folk on this forum who first suggested the breed too me.
I could waffle on about our perfect little man for pages, if you would like any further info please feel free to PM me as I know picking a dog is a big decision when your child is involved.
 
At the end of the day like most people are saying, it is how you raise the dog and your child and also the dogs parents. To say that someone has come accross labs and golden retrievers that are violent is fine but what upbringing have they had, were they abused when they were young etc, like any dog. I have a lab and she has the best temperment with everyone and is actually quite small. neither of her parents were big so she is a nice size which suits us. Everyone has a personal preference but i am a huge lab fan!!
 
Like everyone else I also think it's not a breed thing as such. Research your breeders carefully, chose a breeder who breeds for temperament, check out the parents and make sure the breeder keeps the pups in a similar situation as your home would be.

I got a Tibetan Terrier when MiniBoo was 16mo (we already had two German Spitzes, a GSD and a JRT when she was born) and they get on really well. The dog is exceptionally tolerant of her (which they need to be because however much you supervise toddlers will do silly things with dogs) and up for all sorts of games and fun.

In my limited experience dogs and babies are usually an OK combination because it's easy to keep them apart when not fully supervised. It's the toddler stage that is more difficult as the child is too young to understand and some normal puppy behaviours like mouthing, jumping up and running around like crazy (and knocking over the toddler) are more challenging. One thing I found to be a godsent is that I can open our front door and let everyone out on the farm, dogs off the lead, toddler running about without a worry, so a lot of our walks are on our land and it's easy to let the puppy expend some energy without having to manage a couple of dogs on lead, a buggy, a cranky toddler, etc.
 
Springer Spaniel, regardless if they're English or Welsh, is for me working dogs, I would never recommend them to anyone who doesn't say that they're looking for a dog to work with.



I've met a few Bichon Frisés and they've all been lovely, good family dogs
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I am always amazed when people recommend springers as good family pets. As I have said I have a springerxcollie and a springer and yes they are great with children but they need so much work to keep them sane that they not very practical with small children as they just need to much time spent on them. I would never suggest them as a good family pet. Also I have known two Bichons that have had to be PTS due to their aggression towards children. There are so many lovely dogs in dogs homes that need homes and lots of puppies too so may be worth looking into that.
 
We knew our family lab would be fine when we went to meet the breeder, and my then very young little sister tripped over and sat on our dog's mum's head by accident - she just sighed and did the canine equivalent of going 'Huh, puppies!:rolleyes:' And indeed, our dog was a great family dog all his life. Find the right breeder, whatever the breed, and then set sensible ground rules, and you'll be fine.
 
Your ground rules are really the most important thing - you need to make sure that dogs and young children are not left unsupervised, and that the children learn to treat the dog with respect, not like a giant teddy! They need to know that when the dog is asleep in his bed or crate, they must leave him alone and that they must not pull his ears or tail, or any of the other things little children will do if we don't teach them differently. :)
 
The bully comments where indeed odd, as a rescue that rehome (a lot of dogs) each year, I can tell you we don't have an age limit on children aslong as we have the right dog and sensible parents who will take advice and give sensible answers to questions and can tell you when someone telephones to ask for a dog suitable with young children, the bullies are always top of the list, we have yet to have a bully in that's was not suitable to go with children, recently we homed a staffy to a home with a child of 4 and a dog de Bordeaux x mastiff with a 6 yr old and a 10 yr old, both placid as the day is long, both families adore them. We also has 2 rotties that could have gone with young children, we have young children at the rescue and are able to assess pretty thoroughly, I was brought up with no less than 20 shepherds running around us my mam was sensible) she worked her dogs and had a strict kid/dog balance. I would say from reading you probably do need an easy dog, as you sound inexperienced so I would agree with a more fail safe cavalier option too, as long as its not left like a fat couch potato my pet peve) as they love to hunt if allowed and can take as much exercise as you can give, ours goes out on the bike and has more stamina than all the other 8 dogs in the pack and is a fab little hunter. If you are a 1st time or inexperienced owner I would not advise a beagle either, I would class hem as a breed for the experienced and patient and the very fit lol. I guess other factors such as, how much exercise and training can/will you give as some breeds need an awful lot more input than others to shape their behaviour
 
CAYLA said:
The bully comments where indeed odd, as a rescue that rehome (a lot of dogs) each year, I can tell you we don't have an age limit on children aslong as we have the right dog and sensible parents who will take advice and give sensible answers to questions and can tell you when someone telephones to ask for a dog suitable with young children, the bullies are always top of the list, we have yet to have a bully in that's was not suitable to go with children, recently we homed a staffy to a home with a child of 4 and a dog de Bordeaux x mastiff with a 6 yr old and a 10 yr old, both placid as the day is long, both families adore them. We also has 2 rotties that could have gone with young children, we have young children at the rescue and are able to assess pretty thoroughly, I was brought up with no less than 20 shepherds running around us my mam was sensible) she worked her dogs and had a strict kid/dog balance. I would say from reading you probably do need an easy dog, as you sound inexperienced so I would agree with a more fail safe cavalier option too, as long as its not left like a fat couch potato my pet peve) as they love to hunt if allowed and can take as much exercise as you can give, ours goes out on the bike and has more stamina than all the other 8 dogs in the pack and is a fab little hunter. If you are a 1st time or inexperienced owner I would not advise a beagle either, I would class hem as a breed for the experienced and patient and the very fit lol. I guess other factors such as, how much exercise and training can/will you give as some breeds need an awful lot more input than others to shape their behaviour
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Not inexperienced with dogs, just certain breeds :p only had German shepherds
 
samlg said:
At the end of the day like most people are saying, it is how you raise the dog and your child and also the dogs parents. To say that someone has come accross labs and golden retrievers that are violent is fine but what upbringing have they had, were they abused when they were young etc, like any dog. I have a lab and she has the best temperment with everyone and is actually quite small. neither of her parents were big so she is a nice size which suits us. Everyone has a personal preference but i am a huge lab fan!!
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Don't think anyone was knocking labs or GR, more trying to make the point that these breeds (and all others) do not come as standard as the laid back family dog everyone thinks they are. I have known both extremes and my uncle bred working labs and the wonderfully behaved dogs were the ones whose owner put the work in. It might sound obvious but I have met some truly horrible labs and can completely blame the owners for not training them!

Staffords "tend" to have a more human forgiving nature really bred in. It also works against them. What other breed would put up the abuse some of their owners dish out and still love people in general? Time and time again, I have seen a truly abused Stafford yet when they meet someone who is nice, they immediatley forgive and love again.
 
I've had GSDs my whole life and was raised with them - 12 is the average age for them to pass away, that's not a young age for them to die, our eldest lived to 14 and that is considered unusual. The bigger the breed the shorter the lifespan is the general rule of thumb. You cannot compare them to a terrier or collie who could make it into late teens.
 
CAYLA said:
, we have young children at the rescue
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Poor children, are they up for adoption too? :p

I'm hoping my GSD x Rottie is good with kids, will find out in 2.5 months I imagine! He seems to be ok with ones he's met so far, licking their faces if presented with them and never showing any aggression, and as my second cousin (12 years old so not a baby!) found out, he will lick cream off her face if she deliberately puts it there for him to lick. Mines more at risk from accidental knocking over injuries as he's just so enthusiastic about everything
 
My first dog (who I got as a pup for a first birthday present!) was a little cross breed. We called him Ben. He was an awesome dog- let us dress him up in clothes, played horses, jumped over things... was basically an awesome doggie friend for a toddler!
 
Border Terrier. My bitch is 3 now and is the most tolerant dog I have ever met when it comes to kids. She is brilliant with my tiny baby and my friends children (18months to 4years).
 
Some people on here seem anti them but I would suggest a labradoodle (which apparently isn't a "breed" but hell its a type of dog you can get!). Ours is fantastic with our 14 month old son. We decided on her because everyone and everywhere said they were generally great with children. She is a super dog, we got her as an older puppy because we figured a puppy would fit in best growing up beside our son. We do agility with her too which really helps her focus and blow off steam, she's proving extremely easy to train and very clever ;)
 
MagicMelon said:
Some people on here seem anti them but I would suggest a labradoodle (which apparently isn't a "breed" but hell its a type of dog you can get!). Ours is fantastic with our 14 month old son. We decided on her because everyone and everywhere said they were generally great with children. She is a super dog, we got her as an older puppy because we figured a puppy would fit in best growing up beside our son. We do agility with her too which really helps her focus and blow off steam, she's proving extremely easy to train and very clever ;)
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I have seen some of these that are absolute horrors but that happens whenever people cash in on a fad whether pure breed or mutt.

I would never recommend anyone support poor breeding practices. Either get a rescue dog, and breed rescues generally have the best asessment proceedures, or buy a well bred puppy from a responsible breeder - who won't be breeding crossbreeds.
 
Off topic here, but MagicMelon, I noticed on your post re clipping your labradoodle you say she is 7 months old, and here you say you are doing agility with her. I really wouldn't do anything other than tunnels and control work with a pup of 7 months as she is a cross of breeds that can have hip and elbow problems. Apologies if you are fully aware of this and I am preaching to the converted. :)
 
MurphysMinder said:
Off topic here, but MagicMelon, I noticed on your post re clipping your labradoodle you say she is 7 months old, and here you say you are doing agility with her. I really wouldn't do anything other than tunnels and control work with a pup of 7 months as she is a cross of breeds that can have hip and elbow problems. Apologies if you are fully aware of this and I am preaching to the converted. :)
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Ditto MurphysMinder, with apologies if you're aware of the risks. But I want to add that of the dog clubs that I know of in Sweden, all of them have a rule about that medium and large dogs are not allowed in Agility classes before 1 years of age, I think I've seen that some now allow small dogs to start Agility classes from 9 months of age, this is because they shouldn't train jumping before they have finished with the most of their growing. Most puppies/young dogs do a fair bit of jumping/bouncing around in their everyday life, and that is okay, but to add actually training jumping to that, can lead to too much wear and tear on not ready grown joints. So it isn't just young crossbreeds that shouldn't begin to train Agility too early, without it is all young dogs, but you should be especially careful when you have a breed or crossbreed where hip and/or elbow dysplasia is a known problem.
 
For the steriotyping folks out there, Our dogs of choice over the past 25 yrs have been Akitas, although not a dog for running around the park off the leash, very loyal faithful,dogs and great with family but not a dog a child can take out unsupervised,although all our dogs were socialised, and trained i never allowed any of our sons friends in the same room with the dogs unsupervised, not because they were Akitas, i was worried about the friends not knowing how to behave around dogs, and wouldnt have taken a chance with my guys, or any children.
personally i think this should be the case for most dogs, any dog can take a nip if provoked, usually a bigger dog its a bigger nip and Akitas had terrible press for years. Our Akita bitch was a treasure, she was great with all children and we even thought about training her as a PAT dog.
Our son would fall asleep on the floor as a wee boy and the dog would cuddle into him and wrap around him, protecting him, sometimes licking his head, literally treating him as a pup, and this was a male Akita, they were inseperable.
When we had 2 every night each dog took up sentry point outside our bedrooms, they truly watched over us
We're onto our 3rd Akita now but think my next dogs will be Borders as we're getting older and im not looking for a big dog now, i love there wee faces and hear theyre also good family dogs.
 
I would always have a springer spaniel. I have two at the moment one is 9 and other is 2. They are very energetic and very happy little dogs that love to be exercised, but once they are in the house they lay down in there beds or on the rug and just chill. I have two kids they are nearly 5 and nearly 3. They are fab with my kids. They will tolerate anything from my daughter pretending to be a vet and from the youngest accidently treading on their paws or being abit to rough.
 
Probably not a Weimaraner. Mine mean well and are extremely good natured with my 11 and 15 year olds, but so big and overenthusiastic that they would knock any smaller children flying far too regularly for the kids to enjoy them. They are a bit too much of a handful for my kids to just take down the park for a kick about with a football without me, as the kids would lose them off hunting within seconds and the dogs would run riot and steal from picnics (bitter experience).
 
If you like the look and (theoretical) traits of a labradoodle, can I advise that you look at the Portuguese Water Dog? I have a 6 month old PWD and he is amazing - gentle, trainable, calm but plenty active enough to play. Guaranteed non shedding and I know exactly what he will look like fully grown - several centuries of breeding to prove it.
Having said that - although we are planning to have kids in the next few years, he will be my dog rather than a dog for kids. He was playing happily with my 2.5 year old goddaughter and her friend yesterday but at the end of the day he will be over knee height to an adult and 25+ kilos. So even an accidental step could push a little one over and a toddler wouldn't be able to hold him on a lead safely etc.
If looking for something specifically for kids to be able to interact with and treat as their own, I personally would look at a pug, or a cavalier/cocker spaniel. They always seem lovely little dogs when I have met them, and are small enough for kids to be able to lead etc from fairly you ages. Or in fact we met an adorable affenpinscher yesterday in the park - not everyone's cup of tea to look at but what a sweet little chap he was!
 
weaselwords said:
Probably not a Weimaraner. Mine mean well and are extremely good natured with my 11 and 15 year olds, but so big and overenthusiastic that they would knock any smaller children flying far too regularly for the kids to enjoy them. They are a bit too much of a handful for my kids to just take down the park for a kick about with a football without me, as the kids would lose them off hunting within seconds and the dogs would run riot and steal from picnics (bitter experience).
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Always liked this breed though!!!
 
Staffys are amazing around children & are known for there fantastic temperament with kids . I had my son when my staff was 7 she loves him to peices . Fantastic dogs in the right hands .
 
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