Best kid friendly dog?

[SizzlininIN]

If you're talking about dachsunds, they're notorious for being *very* yappy. I've not met one yet who wasn't.

One of my brothers had one of those and it was def. a yapper and it used to pee whenever it got excited............just had to hope you weren't holding it when it did

 

[Robo410]

I was actually being facetious and refering to the food item...most kids like em. I'm a cat person so I have no valid opinion on this topic. Huskies are beautiful, but that does not mean they are good around kids. Probably the old fashioned mutt like the mixed kitty, is the best adjusted critter around the family.

 

[mish]

the hot dog is pretty friendly

They look friendly to me too, Robo

 

[college_cook]

I really have to agree with the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I have one and she is the BEST dog I have ever had. My dad says the same thing, and he has had several dogs, of all different breeds. If you want a larger dog then i would recomment a lab or golden, but it sounds like you wanted something a bit smaller. Small dogs I have had good luck with are Corgis, Shelties, and mini-Schnauzers. I'm also partial to terriers, but you have to be careful about selecting the right terrier if you want an easily trainable dog.

I have a jack russel terrier mix, that is the swetest dog, but she is very stubborn, a trait common among jacks. They tend not to listen to verbal commands well unless taught from an early age. They also tend to be very high-energy dogs.

I like cairn terriers, and have heard many good things about them, but have never owned one myself. Another breed I like a lot is the Italian greyhound. smaller than your normal greyhounds, and swet dogs from my expriences with them.

I would stay away from hound puppies b/c they howl all through the night while they are being crate trained. They have a lot of personality, but can get very loud.

I'll say one more time... Corgi. They are very people-centric dogs. They like to play when you want to play, they sleep when you sleep, they like to cuddle with you when you're in the mood for that, and they always love attention. Not jumpy dogs, and our Corgi has never barked once.

 

[Debbie]

I have had several labs and they are sooo good with kids, but they are not really a small dog... but, soooo even tempered, and train sooo easily!

 

[lindatooo]

Beagles are often said to make wonderful kid's dogs but their "voice" cannot be controlled. I agree that terriers are frequently too hyper and they live to dig! I'm a poodle person but wouldn't recommend the breed for small children. How much grooming are you willing to do? How much shedding can you live with? Bearded Collies are sweet gentle dogs but a bit on the large side. Cockers are good with children but you have to watch their ears - the ear flaps are very long and heavy so they are prone to ear problems. I agree with the Golden recommendation, my son has two of them, one is a therapy dog and extremely stable. They are sisters and have been together all their lives but while one is calm and steady the other is a complete ditz though loveable. There are some new "designer" breeds that look good - "Labradoodle" "Schnoodle" come to mind.

But each dog is an individual and breed guidelines are generality. Some pound puppies have abuse issues.

Good luck!

 

[SizzlininIN]

They look friendly to me too, Robo

Hey thats the dog I truely want but its way out of our price range for a dog. I've been in love with them since the movie "Milo & Otis". They are suppose to be really good family dogs too.

I want to thank everyone for your wonderful advice and for sharing the stories about your animals and those animals of your family and friends. You truely helped me out. Some breeds I hadn't considered or had thought about but the cost factor had steered me away plus I really would like to adopt an animal from a shelter and save its life. Who knows we may get lucky and the breed we're thinking about will be there. No matter.....as long as its a loving, loyal, mellow family dog then she'll be coming home with us. We'll talk to the animal coordinator after our youngest finds one he likes to see what the breeds disposition is, health concerns, etc... then we'll take her outside and see how she interacts with all of us. I'm pretty excited actually. We'll take him at Easter time to the shelters. Thanks again everyone!

 

[phinz]

Hey thats the dog I truely want but its way out of our price range for a dog.

http://www.ohiopugrescue.com/

Rescue a pure breed. Oftentimes you get a dog that has been house trained, doesn't chew and was given up for one reason or another. I know plenty of people who have rescued Greyhounds, Jack Russell Terriers and Golden Retrievers. Pugs are good dogs. My friends who have them swear by them.

Seriously. Check out pug rescue if you want one.

 

[mudbug]

We have two shelter mutts and they are great. One a golden/border collie mix (we think) and the other a lab/springer mix.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Phinz............they are so absolutely adorable. But after reading about them that type of dog wouldn't fit our lifestyle. We attend a lot of baseball games, camp, walk, etc.... and we need a dog that can travel around with us. These lil guys/gals can't take the heat unfort. But ohhhhhhh they are soooo cute.

 

[phinz]

camping, walking... I'd get a German Shepherd Dog or a mix of one. Highline hips if possible. I'm not a big phan of the lowline dogs, though a good floating trot is beautiful in action. GSDs are incredible dogs.

 

[phinz]

If this guy is still up for adoption when I get back from funeral proceedings next week in Key Largo I may take a trip to Maryland. He sounds like a *perfect* dog for us. I love him already.

 

[middie]

Wow he's a beautiful Shep. I'd love for you to see my dad's. Baron's nickname isn't " The moose " for nothing.

 

[SizzlininIN]

To be honest German Shepards, Dobermans, Pit Bulls and Rotweillers all intimidate me. I don't know why but they scare me.

 

[Constance]

I love dogs, and get along with all kinds, but I don't trust German Shepherds. They have a tendancy to turn on their owners. My youngest daughter, when she was 9 years old, was bitten in the mouth by a neighbors shepherd that was on a leash. The neighbor said she hadn't done anything at all to antagonize the dog.
I've only been bitten by a dog once, and it was when I was delivering flowers. The shepherd didn't even bark at me, just sneaked up from behind and bit my calf. Fortunately, I had on jeans and knee-high boots, so he didn't break the skin. I turned around and gave him a good chewing out, and he slunk off to his doghouse.
My husband's aunt raised shepherds, and even she had one of her own dogs turn on her, and it chewed her up pretty good.

 

[texasgirl]

To be honest German Shepards, Dobermans, Pit Bulls and Rotweillers all intimidate me. I don't know why but they scare me.

Probably because they are really muscle dogs and are used mainly for protection. They are depicted the same in movies, because they can intimedate any prowlers. BUT, everyone of them can be sweet dogs given the chance. I wouldn't risk it around small kids though.
MIL had a Rott that was just sweet as can be. She adopted my oldest son the day we brought him home, we were living with them at the time.
NOONE got near his bassinet without her standing there and watching every move you made. If he cried, she would come running and get your attention until you went to him. We had to put her outside when my SIL held him, she wouldn't let her near him. About a year later, SIL was diagnosed as Manic Depressive. I think she could sence that something wasn't right and didn't want SIL holding my son. She lived until my son was 10. She stuck near him every visit we made. She wasn't like that with my youngest either.

 

[urmaniac13]

I don't think they created those Carl books for no reason...

Another breed of dog that their appearance kinda fools many people is Bulldog... every bulldog I have known or came across was such a sweetpea bursting with affections.

 

[phinz]

GSDs do *not* have a tendency to turn on their owners in my experience. That's pure hyperbole, IMHO. I have never known one to turn. I *have* known them to be protective of their owners. That's what they were bred for.

You were delivering flowers and the dog saw you as a threat. The neighbor's kid was not part of the family and the dog may have perceived it as a threat. Your aunt-in-law's dog would be an anomaly if it's the *only* one that attacked her. She breeds them and only *one* has ever turned on her? That's pretty good odds, considering *any* dog (or person for that matter) can be "not right" in the head. My schnauzer/terrier isn't the most stable dog, by a long shot.

Ask a K9 cop if his GSD has turned on him. I bet you'll get a "negative."

The most common dog for bites? Chihuahuas. IIRC, Poodles are not far behind. Corgis can be known to nip at heels. It's an instinct.

 

[VickiQ]

It is no secret that I am partial to labs- especially yellows but, I have been around dogs my whole life and there are many wonderful breeds- pedigree and mixes out there.Growing up we had Boston terriers and they were very calm and loyal.My uncle gave us one(Toro) and then my mother fell in love with another one and brought her(Pepper) home.They were both quiet and clean as well as obiedient.My grandparents had a beautiful German Shepard (Clovia). As a small child I could walk Clovia around my grandmother's house by holding a biscuit in my hand and she held on to it with her teeth.We left a trail of drool and my Grandmother hated when I did this but,Clovia never once tried to grab the whole biscuit from my hand and she actually would expect this when she saw me.Another Aunt had a doxie named Ginger who really just sat around and got fed most of the time but, she barked non-stop. My other Aunt's teacup poodle Penny-also a barker but, also a very loving dog as she welcomed everyone who came in with trampoline high jumps and later face loads of kisses when you sat down.Sadie the cockerspaniel loved to be around kids-she would play with us non-stop and sit with us when we were watching tv.Ralphie a cocker-irish setter mix was alot like Sadie but, probably the most intellegent dog I have ever known.He would retrieve anything and even knew how to turn the tv on and off when asked.Now I had Muttley -who was a real heinz 57 dog(He looked more Holstein cow than dog) and friendly to a point- he hated other male dogs and he was VERY protective of me.If anyone including my father or my now husband then boyfriend raised their voice to me the hair would stand up on his back and he would growl.He was not great around kids until I had ours and then he was very protective of them. Jellibean was a collie- lab mix who looked more like a collie.She was much like my Angel is now and at times I think she helped me find Angel from the "other side".All in all I think one important factor in getting ANY dog is how much time you're willing to work/train the dog and what the personality of the family is will strongly influence the temperment of the dog- I've seen it soooo many times when a going 90 miles an hour family has a hyper dog and they blame the dog as being the neurotic one- you know the"THis breed isn't supposed to be like this..."Well a dog will take on the general dynamics of the family and an untrained dog will be just that- they can't train themselves and be expected to be a certain way because that is what some book said.When we got Angel Jimmy brought the book Dogs for Dummies- when people ask how it worked I would say- You know Angel is so smart it only took her two weeks to read it.Actually it's got great tips that were very helpful.Dogs can be a God send but, they do need love and nurturing and training and YEARS of care.So lots of luck to you in finding your new family member and I wish you years and years of health and happiness together.Love and energy, Vicki

 

[Claire]

After working for a vet for a year, and my sister for well over a decade, those "scary" breed dogs are often scary and "bad" because they attract very bad owners. I won't get into the 'born bad' argument, although remember that most pure breeds were actually bred for certain characteristics. Most people I ran into who went for the "scary" breeds wanted them to scare people with. The worst case of cruelty I ran into was done to a rottweiler. Many of these dogs get staked out in the yard with a bowl of water and one of food, and just left there all day, ostsensibly to guard the house. That bowl of water gets kicked over early in the day, too bad for fido. This in the Florida and Hawaii heat. Lots of people get them to scare off cops in case of a drug bust. Needless to say this is absolutely NOT the dogs' fault; that would turn me mean for sure! I know people who love these breeds and have gentle pets. But watch out for the real reason that animal is in the pound. I've also known a lot of these breeds to wind up in the pound because Daddy/Boyfriend was discipllning a child that dog was trained to protect. It doesn't take a genious to figure out where that went.

As everyone said, labs, retrievers and boxers have reps for being great with kids -- but most are not small. Not only do terriers tend to "yappiness" but remember hounds are bread to howl and can keep it up 24/7, even in a case I ran into, a basset mix, in his sleep. Makes terrier yapping seem mild! Your neighbors would probably prefer the yapping to that constant baying.

When you decide on a breed, consider contacting a rescue society. And I agree w/everyone that a little mutt in the mix helps smooth out the negative tendencies of the breed.

I like short hair, ears, and tails for a kids' first dog. No matter how kind you train your kids to be with dogs, especially young kids, those wind up being pulled.

In the terrier category, the West Highland and Scotties seem to be the least yappy and most mellow. I have Jack Russell Mutts, and when we bred ours (upon request)(I wouldn't do it again) I specifically told all the senior citizens and those with babies "NO". Too much energy. The people who bought them had older kids or were childless couples.

I don't mean to insult anyone, but remember if you buy one of the most intelligent breeds that (a) you have to be smarter than the dog and (b) you need lots of time to train the dog and put that intelligence to work for good. If not, it WILL get bored and get in trouble every time you aren't looking, finding imaginative ways to destroy your home. I knew of an Australian Shepherd who could get past all the childproofing in the house when everyone was at work. Nothing was safe from chewing, eating, etc.