Best terrier for children?

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Lily-bo

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What’s the best terrier for children? We have a six year old and a one year old. We are lifelong experienced dog owners used to high energy breeds - collies, JRTs and working springers. Our elderly JRT had to be rehomed (to a friend of a friend) last year as he turned aggressive with our son and we don’t want to face that heartbreak again but really need a terrier in our lives. Crossbreeds are fine, temperament and child friendliness are the most important considerations.
 
Not a terrier but we got a Lancashire heeler for my then 3 year old daughter and she was a super little dog, so much so that 20 odd years later daughter bought herself a heeler. I currently have 2 who both love children, and will actively seek them out at events. Being a herding breed they are very intelligent, although do need to be trained, and a lot also have the ratting/hunting instincts of a terrier.
 
I'm not a terrier expert, but Border terriers are good natured, family dogs. My friend has a Border cross, and she has a wonderful temperament, very sweet and friendly with everyone. I don't think they have quite such strong terrier traits as others.
 
Norfolk terrier

My mum had one and all the ones I've met have been great wee dogs. Mums saw her grandkids who didn't have a dog and weren't animal aware iykwim. Noodle loved them and happily went solo walks with them and enjoyed all the fuss and pats
 
We had a west highland terrier when I was small and she was brilliant with us kids - she taught my little brother how to walk and loved to play with us. Very easy for my parents to deal with as well as she didn't need super long walks but was equally happy to do them anyway which can be a blessing when you have 3 kids - you can choose what suits you that day! Our second westy was an even happier character and just adored kids. The only thing is that the breed is now very prone to skin problems - you may find a healthier breed.

We briefly stopped having terriers but missed having their fun attitude so much, so we now have Irish Terriers. They too adore kids but as they're quite large and need a lot of exercise, they might not be quite so suitable as a smaller terrier. God we love having terriorists again though!
 
Thanks! I’m quite sold on @TPO ’s suggestion of a Norfolk. I’ve always liked them. It is very odd (quiet!) without a terrier. We also have a springer so will wait a year or so until my daughter is a bit older but planning “having terrorists again” (I’m stealing that phrase) is making me happy.
 
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I would suggest waiting until one year old is maybe 3-4 and more able to be directed, less likely to be acutely injured if a terrier bites him.
Puppies are very hard work. Combine puppy training/crying with a toddler and I can see why many young families end up rehoming the dog.

A question to ask yourself is - what would make this different to my elderly terrier I've already rehomed? What is different this time round?
With a one year old you need to be prepared to keep puppy and child entirely separate unless directly supervised- and then you need to give the puppy all its puppy training etc.
Can you commit to that?
 
Lily-bo said:
Thanks! I’m quite sold on @TPO ’s suggestion of a Norfolk. I’ve always liked them. It is very odd (quiet!) without a terrier. We also have a springer so will wait a year or so until my daughter is a bit older but planning “having terrorists again” (I’m stealing that phrase) is making me happy.
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I was talking to my mum tonight and mentioned this thread to her and that I'd suggested a Norfolk. She's a lot more experienced with dogs than me and has had a Norfolk and a Cairn, amongst other breeds. My grandparents also had a border terrier.

Mum said when she went to collect the Norfolk that the breeders grandkids were there. Noodle was being carried upside down by a toddler, a baby was crawling amongst the pups and an older kid was playing with them. The kids were surpervised at all times and no harm was done to the pups. But yeah, the Norfolks were good with kids!

Noodle during last winter
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Just a shout out for family line bred jrts. We have a short legged jrt who has just the most amazing temperament and absolutely adores children . She will happily do a 15 min walk round the block if you’re busy or a 2 hour walk and will still just be as settled during the day . We have had two jrts now who have been fab with kids and now hooked . Although I am also partial to a border !
 
We had borders when we were children. My children had borders, I have a border cross with my grandchild and the children I work with. I have yet to meet one that wasn't child friendly. In fact my late border and current cross view my grandson as the most important and loved person in their lives,
 
@SusieT if you read my post above you will see that I’m planning for the future, not immediately. I want to decide on a breed now so I can begin to establish a relationship with breeders so we can put our name down for a pup in good time. We have had numerous puppies over the years and I am under no illusions about how much work they are.

Our elderly JRT was epileptic and partially blind. Every time he had a fit he became blinder and more anxious. He simply couldn’t cope with family life any more. We live in a remote rural area and were able to rehome him to a quiet farm with no children.
 
KittenInTheTree said:
You gave away your old, epileptic, partially blind dog because of his steadily deteriorating health. What happens when the new puppy gets old and/or sick?
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No - she rehomed him to an environment that was better suited to him, where he wouldn't be stressed by young children, and could enjoy a peaceful last few years. I did exactly the same with my old dog years ago, when he started snapping at people when he woke up. It simply wasn't safe to have him and my toddler in the same house. He went to live with my parents, where he was very happy.

The only other option would be rehoming the child, and that's generally frowned upon.
 
OP ignore the witches, they haunt many threads.
I admit some of these posts above horrify me, a dog ‘cuddling’ a one year old and a litter of pups being carted around by kids but you sound more sensible.
We always had borders, and any of the rough brown terrier breeds tend to be more laid back.
But we also had a hunt raised patterdale who used to have tea parties with small children, so it’s more on the dog than the breed.
 
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Clodagh said:
OP ignore the witches, they haunt many threads.
I admit done if these posts above horrify me, a dog ‘cuddling’ a one year old and a litter of pups being carted around by kids but you sound more sensible.
We always had borders, and any of the rough brown terrier breeds tend to be more laid back.
But we also had a hunt raised patterdale who used to have tea parties with small children, so it’s more on the dog than the breed.
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Would just like to reiterate that was supervised at the breeders home and not how the pup was treated once home
 
KittenInTheTree said:
You gave away your old, epileptic, partially blind dog because of his steadily deteriorating health. What happens when the new puppy gets old and/or sick?
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I was waiting for someone to say that. No, nowhere does it say we rehomed him because he was ill. We rehomed him because he bit our son. The alternative was PTS and he is old but not geriatric, so has plenty of potential years ahead of him. He went to a friend of a friend, not a rescue centre and we get regular updates.
 
Auslander said:
No - she rehomed him to an environment that was better suited to him, where he wouldn't be stressed by young children, and could enjoy a peaceful last few years. I did exactly the same with my old dog years ago, when he started snapping at people when he woke up. It simply wasn't safe to have him and my toddler in the same house. He went to live with my parents, where he was very happy.

The only other option would be rehoming the child, and that's generally frowned upon.
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@Auslander thank you, exactly this.
 
I think there is always gonna be a risk with ANY dog TBH not necessarily a Terrrierist, if you have kids these age.

When we were kids if you were a bit over-friendly with a dog and it then turned around and bit you, what happened was you were given a smack and told to stop bawling coz it was your fault, end of. Nowadays the poor dog is labelled as "dangerous" and often PTS. I applaud the OP for making the right decision with the dog they had. Not knowing the circumstances of why the terrier bit the kids it would not be fair to judge; however with kids of ages 1 and 6 there is always going to be a risk of them getting over-familiar and/or where play gets a bit rough. The dog might not mean to bite, but it does happen sometimes. No-one's fault. But I would respectfully suggest that a good bit of supervision especially to start with, and saying "no" when things are looking a bit iffy, might be appropriate.

We've always found that Lakeland or Lakeland crosses are nice biddable little terriers. They are very intelligent and perky and always seem to have a sunny outlook to life, are easy to housetrain (fastidious in fact once they've got the hang of it), and are just nice little dogs to have around. I really miss our little man we lost last Summer.
 
Clodagh said:
OP ignore the witches, they haunt many threads.
I admit some of these posts above horrify me, a dog ‘cuddling’ a one year old and a litter of pups being carted around by kids but you sound more sensible.
We always had borders, and any of the rough brown terrier breeds tend to be more laid back.
But we also had a hunt raised patterdale who used to have tea parties with small children, so it’s more on the dog than the breed.
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Oh give over. They are very closely supervised at all times and child is not allowed to harass the dog. The dog come to her for cuddles not the other way round.
Its no different to your patterdale having tea parties with small children.
 
My personal opinion is terriers are not the best type category for children. These dogs were/are bred to attack small prey that make high pitched noises. Children also fit that category.

Where as say a Labrador is bred to retrieve and are generally soft mouthed. That’s not to say I haven’t seen aggressive labs or they don’t bite but they have been bred for many generations to be docile and trainable. Terriers had less need to be docile and trainable and more need to be shoved down a hole.

I strongly believe judge the deed not the breed BUT also getting a dog most suited to the purpose it was bred for to your lifestyle.
 
conniegirl said:
Oh give over. They are very closely supervised at all times and child is not allowed to harass the dog. The dog come to her for cuddles not the other way round.
Its no different to your patterdale having tea parties with small children.
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Sorry, that was a bit holier than thou!
 
SOS said:
My personal opinion is terriers are not the best type category for children. These dogs were/are bred to attack small prey that make high pitched noises. Children also fit that category.

Where as say a Labrador is bred to retrieve and are generally soft mouthed. That’s not to say I haven’t seen aggressive labs or they don’t bite but they have been bred for many generations to be docile and trainable. Terriers had less need to be docile and trainable and more need to be shoved down a hole.

I strongly believe judge the deed not the breed BUT also getting a dog most suited to the purpose it was bred for to your lifestyle.
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I know what you mean, and it was interesting that JRTs featured in so many in the list of UK dog attack deaths posted on another thread recently. In my experience though, once the terrier knows who's in their pack, they know to protect them and all of our terriers over the years have been brilliant with children. The only exception was one of the westies when she was very elderly - it's understandable that a dog gets a bit snappy when they're going deaf and blind. That said she never properly bit, it was just a warning and we quickly learned how to avoid startling/upsetting her and made sure our friends did the same. I find it can be quite helpful to have a dog that will say "no" to a child - obviously no proper biting though.
 
I grew up with a wire haired fox terrier. I believe he was a well trained young male. He was a wedding present to my mother in 1938. She lived in London and wire haired terriers were modish city dogs at the time.

There are many pic of me as a toddler with this dog. If I have to stop riding, I intend to buy another. (The agreement is that I will not insist on a dog in the house as long as I am able to ride).web220201208_085023.jpg
 
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