We are looking into getting a dog soon once we get settled into our new house. We have a 4 year old and a 8 month old so need some help knowing which dogs are good with small children. We also want a dog that is small/med sized. Any suggestions or people with experience of certain breeds please let me know
07-27-2012, 06:27 AM, (This post was last modified: 07-27-2012, 06:29 AM by Ram.)
Most dogs should have no problem with kids or even babies, but it really depends on the individual dog. I have had a friend with a baby growing up in a house, and they had a large dog, not sure what breed though. The particular dog was extremely friendly, I never heard of him barking once from the first time I visited that house. There was never hostility even toward strangers. So there was no problem at all.
Except one time, the kid (grew up from the baby) was standing in the doorway, the dog rushed out without paying attention to the kid and knocked the kid down unintentionally. The kid wasn't really hurt, but she was crying. "Bad dog!" everyone was yelling at him. I doubt he even understood what he did though.
I have heard there were very very few problems with having baby around dogs, but in those (already very few) cases it's the baby who is the later comer. The dogs just didn't get used to the new addition to the family, which isn't the case here.
Oh yeah, I have seen it somewhere about the list of kid friendly dogs,
Here is what I found,
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Border Collie
3. Beagle
4. Shih Tzu
5. Golden Retriever
6. Miniature Poodle
7. Great Dane
8. Newfoundland
9. Pugs
10. Beagle Pug Cross
Don't quote me on it. It's also someone else's opinion.
According to Planet's Doglopedia, there are 33 breeds that are commonly known to be gentle, and not prone to jealousy issues. I'll just list the ones that are small to medium sized.
1. American Cocker Spaniel ( A couple of my friends who have Cocker Spaniels have kids and grand kids visit them often because they're cuddly and loving.
2. Basset Hound ( because they're very laid back).
3. Beagle
4. Bichon Frise
5. Boston Terrier
6. Bulldogs (but sometimes they can be persistent without early training)
7. Border Collie
8. Pug
9. Standard Poodle (not the small ones)
10. Springer Spaniel
I hope this helps. If you're willing to adopt, try to find a shelter near you and ask around for dogs that can fit your lifestyle. Rescuers are very capable of helping families find dogs suitable for them.