Suitable dogs with young children
- Thread starter Styles
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It doesn't matter how good the upbringing is, you can't change nature.
^this.
You need to touch your dog everywhere, "annoy" them as much as you can when they are younger (imo) which just desensitises them, I can stick my finger in my dogs mouth, nose, eye and he barely even moves
^this.
You need to touch your dog everywhere, "annoy" them as much as you can when they are younger (imo) which just desensitises them, I can stick my finger in my dogs mouth, nose, eye and he barely even moves
Try sticking ya finger up its' bum.
Their nature is to follow a leader, the leader fails if a dog retaliates on another member of his pack.
Touching and pulling him are also both ways to correct a dog's behavior, if he doesn't respond to that well then the owner failed.
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Any animal will attack another member of the pack if it's provoked enough.
The kid should also be the leader of the dog and the parents should make that very clear to the dog from day 1, the dog should NEVER show any signs of aggression towards any human regardless what the human is doing to him.
Unfortunately animals are living beings and not robots which means the unexpected can happen when they are provoked, no way of getting around that. Unless you genetically engineer some kind of animal that doesn't experience emotion.
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You can't guarantee that any dog will be fine with children, they are still individuals although they may tend to share characteristics with others of their breed. It comes down to the training more than almost anything else and how well you've socialised the dog - you should also not be leaving the child alone with the dog for any real length of time, as much for the dogs protection as the childs.
That said Golden Retrievers are often reasonably good with children but not really much smaller than a Labrador if at all. As a bit of an unusual choice you could consider a whippet, they are much smaller than a Labrador and require surprisingly little in the way of exercise as they tend to run around madly outside to amuse themselves but are very restful/lazy indoors - I can't guarantee that all will be brilliant with kids but mine was fantastic and if friends/families children got too much she'd simply walk away.
Another option may be to go for a rescue dog although care obviously needs to be taken to find out if it has been well socialised with children, if it's a little older you skirt the awkward puppy phase (very cute doubtless but requires significant effort if you don't want to end up with a badly behaved dog) and a good rescue centre should be able to tell you a lot about the dogs temperament.
That said Golden Retrievers are often reasonably good with children but not really much smaller than a Labrador if at all. As a bit of an unusual choice you could consider a whippet, they are much smaller than a Labrador and require surprisingly little in the way of exercise as they tend to run around madly outside to amuse themselves but are very restful/lazy indoors - I can't guarantee that all will be brilliant with kids but mine was fantastic and if friends/families children got too much she'd simply walk away.
Another option may be to go for a rescue dog although care obviously needs to be taken to find out if it has been well socialised with children, if it's a little older you skirt the awkward puppy phase (very cute doubtless but requires significant effort if you don't want to end up with a badly behaved dog) and a good rescue centre should be able to tell you a lot about the dogs temperament.
I would assume that's a given.
Soldato
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As said by a few, Just make sure you bring the dog up well, to be trusted around children. It's all about a proper up bringing.
I would however stay clear of the obvious dogs, i know people love them and a few on here will probably disagree and blame the owner(Which is fair enough), But I'm sorry too much bad press has put me well and truely off ever having one, and i also quite dislike being around them.
I would however stay clear of the obvious dogs, i know people love them and a few on here will probably disagree and blame the owner(Which is fair enough), But I'm sorry too much bad press has put me well and truely off ever having one, and i also quite dislike being around them.
if i jab you in the eye and start pulling your hair you won't respond physically?
Work on the pack principal: it will not matter a damn that you consider your child superior/more important than the dog ....... the dog will know that he/she is superior to the child; you cannot teach it any other way: ..... let that sink in before you do anything.
I love dogs; Boxers in particular, and was brought up with them; 50 years experience. I've brought up two kids with Boxers too. On my fifth old gal now but even knowing how soft and loving and tolerant she is (can be poked, shoved, grabbed etc, without problem) I would not dream of leaving her alone with a child.
Give time and training to whichever dog you choose and you will receive undying loyalty and love from your dog ...... (more than you'll get from your kids) hehe.
This Tilly with a neighbour's little girl aged 3.
and one with her mate Enzo the cat from next door:
Please re-read the bit in red.
Kind wishes.
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I would say a collie as long as you have them from puppys. Actually I would say that for any dog so you fully know there history and anything that might upset them that you wouldnt normally expect to be a problem.
Something to tempt you with
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to
I grew up with a collie and a springer spaniel. Both very good dogs to grow up with, I found the collie was easier to predict.
Something to tempt you with
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to
I grew up with a collie and a springer spaniel. Both very good dogs to grow up with, I found the collie was easier to predict.
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My Dad was a dog handler in the RAFP before he joined the RUC. We had bite trained GSDs growing up and pitbulls for pets at home before the ban was introduced. I've had all manner of dogs myself including many Bull breeds, but the ones with the best temperament I ever had where my three Whippets. Fantastic hunting/coursing dogs, when they were in the house all they wanted to do was lie around and sleep but get them out into the fields and it was great to watch them running and working as a team hunting rabbits.
German shepherd.
For reference
KaHn
White shepherds are great dogs! But they are a little bit bigger than a lab! lol
Heres mine when he was about 2. Hes 4 now:
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It's funny how kids seem to gravitate towards the dogs bed and it's nice to see how accomodating the dogs often are. Glad to see you haven't had her tail docked either, it still looks a bit strange to me but it's a lot nicer.