adopting adult dog with human baby in the house?

The hubby and I agree that a dog would be a wonderful addition to our household. We have a baby who's about half a year old, and then us two adults.

The thing is, even though I'm a work at home mom, I don't like taking care of puppies. I KNOW, i know. It's awful! I just can't handle it. All the peeing and pooping and nipping (possibly at baby) and squeaking and squealing and chewing (possibly on baby). Besides, I think my child deserves at least most of my attention. Not a pup.

What we want is an adult dog, maybe aged 4-6.. maybe even 7 or 8. They are usually past the playful, obnoxious stage. I still want playful, but not 24/7.

-Is that too old to adopt a dog?
-Is it dangerous to have an adult dog with a new baby
-is it true that dogs can just "snap" and lose it

I want to rescue a dog that can already pee outside and such but if its dangerous AT ALL, I want to know!

Adopting an adult dog is a great way to provide a loving home to an unwanted animal. The only danger would be if you ever left the dog and the baby alone in a room, or even outside unattended. If there is always an adult present, your baby will be safe. You should also choose a breed, or crossbreed, with a gentle nature. Avoid bull terriers, any breed with strong jaws, or a small breed that is likely to nip.

When I was born, we already had a dog and cat in the house. To my knowledge, it never caused any problems. When I first arrived, the dog pretty much just ignored me. I think he sniffed or looked once and then never really bothered with me again. My dad mentioned that the cat jumped up onto the cradle (or whatever I was sleeping in) and looked at me. Apparently she stood there looking for a while and then my dad saw her and chased her away. He thought she was giving a look as if she was just about to hit me. Since he chased her away, he does not really know what she intended to do. The dog died when I was about four years old so I have no real memory of him. I became great friends with the cat later on in my life. After I arrived, we found another dog actually. She was a stray. She treated me very well. I mentioned in another post (in a different thread) that she seemed to treat me like her puppy. We do not know if she literally thought I was a puppy or whether she just realised I was young and she felt that she should protect me.

(04-26-2013, 07:52 AM)glitteringfuzz Wrote: The hubby and I agree that a dog would be a wonderful addition to our household. We have a baby who's about half a year old, and then us two adults.

The thing is, even though I'm a work at home mom, I don't like taking care of puppies. I KNOW, i know. It's awful! I just can't handle it. All the peeing and pooping and nipping (possibly at baby) and squeaking and squealing and chewing (possibly on baby). Besides, I think my child deserves at least most of my attention. Not a pup.

What we want is an adult dog, maybe aged 4-6.. maybe even 7 or 8. They are usually past the playful, obnoxious stage. I still want playful, but not 24/7.

-Is that too old to adopt a dog?
-Is it dangerous to have an adult dog with a new baby
-is it true that dogs can just "snap" and lose it

I want to rescue a dog that can already pee outside and such but if its dangerous AT ALL, I want to know!

Glad you are considering adoption. Well, the best way to find that dog is to visit your local shelters. Shelter/rescue staff usually know the temperament and personality of their charges. You can also consider a dog that's been fostered because they're often taught of the home setting beforehand.

Drop by petfinder.com to see some pet adoption ads or find a shelter near you.

By the way, some dog adoption ads have already mentioned their pottying ability which makes the selection even more easier.

As for the question that they snap, that depends on their humans. No dog is innately evil. It's a matter of how the humans brought them up. And even those who's had traumatic experiences get to live better, peaceful lives simply because they were given a second chance.

If you decide to adopt from a shelter, make sure to ask for the history of the dog to have a brief idea of where he/she came from. And don't forget to ask about his/her temperament. Also, don't hesitate to ask questions or express your concerns. Remember that adopting a dog is a big yet rewarding responsibility.

Good luck.

I agree that no dog is inately evil however the experiences the dog went through in its original home does have a bearing on the dog's behavior now. You don't know if the dog has certain tendencies. It's great to adopt a dog but you also have to commit to training it since you have a baby. Even if it does not "snap" it has to be trained so that it does not accidentally sit on the baby or nudge the baby when he's toddling. I have a chow and a majority of what I have read is that they are agressive. We got ours when she was just 3 months and she played and tried to drag our 5 year old by his pant leg all the time. We had to train our dog as well as our son how to interact with each other. Now that we have a one year old we are retraining our dog on how to respond to our baby's curiosity. So young or old you have to set boundaries. If your heart is set on an adult dog though maybe you should get a small dog breed.

First of all, it's great that you want to adopt an adult dog. Usually people want little cute puppies and adult animals are harder to adopt out, so you're a shelter's dream, haha.

This doesn't seem to me like it'd be very risky, because with a kid that little, you're going to be keeping them supervised anyway. Just take every precaution and be careful about it.