Should we get a dog?

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Scruff

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I've not had a dog since my last girl died some years ago, and am aching to get another. OH has never had one, but has come round to the idea (he says he's resigned to the inevitable :D ). The thing is, we have 2 small children - a 2 year old, who is fine with calm dogs, but not met enough to be described as truly dog confident, and a 6 month old.

Apart from the children, I would say we have a good setup for a dog - we have a secure garden, I am at home all day, there is plenty going on, and there would be plenty of entertainment, fresh air and exercise for a dog.

I've noticed that lots of rescues say they will not rehome with young children, so would be interested in peoples' thoughts. Are there good reasons why I should just control myself and wait til both children are over 6 (that's another 5 1/2 dogless years....) as the rescues seem to suggest.

I would want either a pup, or ideally, a youngish healthy dog of an active breed that could come running with me, and come along with all the active things we do as a family, without being so mental they would flatten all children who dared to enter the garden, so realistically I know I am limiting our choice a lot if we stick to rescues. Would considering a pup from a breeder be a better or worse idea? It's something I never thought I'd consider, as my dogs have never done a "job", and have only ever been pets, but it seems that having small people in the house is a sticking point for many rescues.

I am probably making myself sound a bit clueless - I'm just trying to think everything through as carefully as I can so that we end up making the best choice we can, for the family and for any dogs we might take on.
 
You sound like you want "perfect" - active able to keep up all day but suddenly be able to switch it off so as not to flatten your kids..... there are probably dogs out there like that, but I imagine in rescue are few and far between.

Look at the smaller rescues as these will often rehome with kids. I would in your situation actually go for an older active breed, say lab (although there are loads of others!!) as they are more likely to be as you describe, go all day and then be calm at home
 
Yes i know, I do sound fussy don't I. I guess I'm just trying to work out in my own mind the compromise between the dog I would like (collies are my ideal, have had them before and would love one, or a cross again), but being realistic that my personal ideal might not be right for a dog-novice family....

I am very aware that it may be a tall order from a rescue, especially as all the dogs that have grabbed my attention have been in rescues that don't rehome with children.
 
Yeah I think they tend to say no kids with the more hyper hyper dogs for fear of them being jumped at etc.

A police officer friend of mine says that 99% of dog related injuries to kids are not bites but face/torso scratches where a dog has gotten over excited and jumped up.

Saying that a collegue of mine got a 4 year old collie, from rescue when her son was 2, (from the same rescue I got my staff X from actually) so it is possible
 
I think you should but I would say that, wouldn't I?:D

TBH, I would have thought that house training a puppy with kids as young as yours would be a nightmare plus all the potential problems of trying to find enough time for training, dealing with puppy nipping, jumping up etc and the fact that big pups can flatten kids or small pups can be hurt unintentionally by the toddlers. Sounds like sooooo much stress :eek:

A lot of the bigger rescues have inflexible rules I guess to protect themselves as well their dogs...what about trying the smaller local rescues who seem to be more reasonable or breeders (reputable of course) who might have an older show or breeding dog that they are retiring.

IMHO life would be so much easier for all of you if you had a calm older child proofed dog rather than an insane :D puppy. These types of dog do end up in rescue through no fault of their own but are much desired so you would probably have to wait a bit but it would be worth it!

Think of it as similar to choosing a new horse - we all really love the idea of 'making' our own youngster but really for most of us, a steady schoolmaster type is going to be much more suitable.
 
I would wait til your youngest is just a little older if you go for a pup as it will just be like having another baby (my youngest dog is now seven months and the house is still pretty much puppy-proofed!).

There *are* dogs like the one you want in rescue but they are hard to find and you may have to wait.

If there's a breed that you like, try a breed rescue (where mostly the dogs are in a home situation or foster so easier to assess for kids/cats etc) or try a reputable breeder (you could contact a breed society for recommendations) to see if they have any youngsters that they have retained but have not made the grade for showing, that's how we got our last three at a fraction of the price they would have commanded as baby pups, too.
 
katielou said:
Honestly i would wait until your children are a bit older.
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How old? And what would be your reasoning? And would that advice stand for any dog, or just for the active sort I described?

I'm not being argumentative by the way. I am interested in peoples' thoughts (and the reasons for them) because I am trying to think of all the angles at the moment.
 
Scruff said:
How old? And what would be your reasoning? And would that advice stand for any dog, or just for the active sort I described?

I'm not being argumentative by the way. I am interested in peoples' thoughts (and the reasons for them) because I am trying to think of all the angles at the moment.
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:D

I guess i would probably wait until the youngest is at least a past the learning to walk stage is is somewhat stable but actually being me i would probably wait until pre-school age.

Reason being that puppies and young dogs and even older dogs that take a while to settle in take a lot its just having another baby.
Along with all the time it takes to train, walk, exercise a dog is harder with a baby.

I guess i would say if you want a dog now to go with an older rescue like over the age of 5-6 somthing that is tested with kids.

But moving to a new how is stresful for dogs and i see that as a little big of a disaster waiting to happen with un dog savy kids in the house also.
 
Find a rescue that knows about dogs - and maybe has a behaviourist attached. I haven't got a secure garden and I have horses, live around chickens, sheep, cows and cats. I was allowed to take an unruly JRT of a year old home two days before Christmas. Being around the horses was far more exciting than anything she had ever known. By about two weeks I had a calm, obedient to recall, playful but mannerly little dog. 7 months on I have a soulmate and constant shadow.

Establish very firm boundaries and a strict routine - provide a crate and train the use of it properly. Go and find a good rescue and your next dog.

I had the wobbles after only two years without a dog. This is the best one I have owned and I had one for 14 years and one for 14 and a half.
 
Thanks cbmcts and CC. We are not rushing into anything, so there is no hurry, and we are quite prepared to wait for the right sort of dog to come along. I would much rather have an adult dog than a pup if we could find the right one (although the less rational side of my brain WANTS A PUPPY!!), as I do feel it would be a better choice for us at the moment.

PS - CC, 2 year old wants your dogs, he says they look friendly and cuddly. I shall not, however be putting him in charge of dog selection :D
 
The big grey boy on the left is actually fabby with kids, ask Colleen Miss Tom :D just the size of a horse :o
My mum had two when I was born and was still walking them two weeks after I was due :o
but then again, she is a bit mad....
 
CaveCanem said:
The big grey boy on the left is actually fabby with kids, ask Colleen Miss Tom :D just the size of a horse :o
My mum had two when I was born and was still walking them two weeks after I was due :o
but then again, she is a bit mad....
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Um, so I don't suppose you'd miss him, would you....? He's rather scrummy :D
 
Scruff said:
I would much rather have an adult dog than a pup if we could find the right one (although the less rational side of my brain WANTS A PUPPY!!), as I do feel it would be a better choice for us at the moment.
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I luuuuurve puppies especially if they are owned by someone else and I only have to cuddle them before they are taken home to their own house :D

I find it takes me 10 years to forget how much blood, sweat and tears a pup is - and since the rottie is only 71/2 it'll be a while before I start getting puppy broody. Then I'll hit my head against the wall and regain my sanity and remind myself about how nice it is to not have to housetrain, have a wardrobe full of single shoes and socks, not have craters in the lawn or chewed plants or teeth marks on all wooden items in the house...
 
To be honest, i think if you feel ready to get a dog then that's your decision, I don't see any reason why you would need to wait for the children to be older if you feel you have the time now to look after a dog as well as two young kids. I see no benefit of waiting til the kids are older - in fact older kids could be more scary for a dog than two younger ones that the dog can grow up with.

I don't have kids though so amd not qualified I suppose to comment but we have always had dogs in our house since we were babies and the first dog we had was not exactly the friendliest but he tolerated us I suppose and saw us as his and he knew he wasn't allowed to bite us or anything (he did grumble and growl the odd time though! Lol)

My friend also took on her ex's rather hyperactive spaniel when she had two young kids (one she had with her ex) and he bought the dog for the kid really (stupid idea, he couldn't look after it). My friend has managed fine and she somehow managed to juggle two kids, horses, working part time and having the dog - they have also bred from the dog twice now and the puppies have been snapped up!

I would go look round the rescues and take the children (or at least the older one). Many on sites like the Dogs Trust and Blue Cross are actually children friendly and I certainly think a younger dog who hasn't had a traumatic past and is confident enough (without being crackers!) should really haveno problem with kids. We got ours aged about 7 mths, shes a GSD x and was quite nervous at first and the rescue knew little about her. her confidence grew being in a stable home but we realised she was quite nervy of young kids (we suspect she was bought as a nice fluffy puppy, ragged about a bit by kids then dumped once she hit the destructive stage!). However, she has NEVER been aggressive, she just takes herself away if things get too much for her and actually I think, if our house had yoing kids in she would be brilliant with them and she's very very soft, she's also energetic, loyal and v intelligent but is not OTT excitable in any way. Since meeting more younger kids she is much more confident round them now and she's kids gravitate towards her as she's very gentle with them.

If you feel it's the right time then get out there and start looking. There's onviously no rush but i think you need to get an idea of what you are looking for.
 
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