Recommend dog breed for my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stuffed toy.

+1

A dog can snap and bite a child at any time. Don’t bring a dog into your house unless you’re prepared to supervised it 100% of the time around your kids. All it takes is one bite for a child to be disfigured (or worse) for life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:King Charles. They just sit around being nice. Best dog ever.

Agree, Cavalier King Charles. They can be playful or chill but don't require much exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, consider getting an adult dog from a rescue. Not only will the dog be past the high-maintenance puppy stage, but it will also allow you to weed out dogs with health issues or temperament problems. It's no fun to raise a puppy just to find out it has a devastating health or behavior problem.

Agree with this advice. We rescued a King Charles Spaniel when she was four years old, and she has been the most amazing dog. You could tell right off the bat that she was very low energy and just wanted to cuddle on your lap all day. We have had to spend a lot of money on her (she needed all her teeth removed, poor thing), but it was night and day to our other spaniel we got as a puppy. We had no idea what we were getting into and that dog is NUTS (even though the breed is generally very docile and calm).

What rescue did you use for the King Charles spaniel?

BTW- It's a "Cavalier" King Charles. If you're going to shorten it, it's "Cavalier" not "King Charles." I don't care and you probably don't care, but you'll likely get corrected by those into the breeds like we did so you should know. These are the sweetest dogs, but they are prone to heart issues. I would be hesitant to get one from a rescue for this reason- you really want to know the health history of its linage. I suggest you ask your vet about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:King Charles. They just sit around being nice. Best dog ever.

[Anonymous]

Want more of an indoor dog that doesn't need a ton of exercise or maintenance.

That's pronounced "cat."

[Anonymous]

I agree. OP get a cat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wheaten terrier

These are the cutest!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuffed toy.

+1

A dog can snap and bite a child at any time. Don’t bring a dog into your house unless you’re prepared to supervised it 100% of the time around your kids. All it takes is one bite for a child to be disfigured (or worse) for life.

This isn’t true. Labs are known to be unable to be aggressive. I wouldn’t trade the impact that my dog had on my two kids for the world. When my son was older and became depressed, our dog was the only thing he would turn to. I think it’s saved his life. We put him down a year ago, but I love looking at all of the pictures we have with the kids and the dog. The dog was not allowed to sleep on their beds, but we have tons of pictures with the dogs snuggled up under the covers. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a similar situation (slightly older kids) and wound up with a corgi. We also looked at Cavalier King Charles spaniels, shelties, and rescue puppies. Size was important to us, since our house is small.

Pros:
Friendly
Not too big, not too small
Trainable
Energetic but doesn't need long walks or long periods of strenuous exercise
Sturdy
Happy just to hang out with his "sheeple"
Because he's so short, it's easy to keep breakables or valuables out of his range.

Cons:
Sheds. OMG he sheds. More than you would ever think possible.
Tends to nip when he's excited. Never breaks the skin, but it can be alarming to small kids. Still trying to train this out of him.

Describes our corgi but he never bites. The shedding issue would be much better if we groomed more often. Also needs wash and trim every few months or she looks ragged. Too much fur sticking out.

[Anonymous]

Do NOT get a puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuffed toy.

+1

A dog can snap and bite a child at any time. Don’t bring a dog into your house unless you’re prepared to supervised it 100% of the time around your kids. All it takes is one bite for a child to be disfigured (or worse) for life.

This isn’t true. Labs are known to be unable to be aggressive. I wouldn’t trade the impact that my dog had on my two kids for the world. When my son was older and became depressed, our dog was the only thing he would turn to. I think it’s saved his life. We put him down a year ago, but I love looking at all of the pictures we have with the kids and the dog. The dog was not allowed to sleep on their beds, but we have tons of pictures with the dogs snuggled up under the covers. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.

You are either insane or terribly naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuffed toy.

+1

A dog can snap and bite a child at any time. Don’t bring a dog into your house unless you’re prepared to supervised it 100% of the time around your kids. All it takes is one bite for a child to be disfigured (or worse) for life.

This isn’t true. Labs are known to be unable to be aggressive. I wouldn’t trade the impact that my dog had on my two kids for the world. When my son was older and became depressed, our dog was the only thing he would turn to. I think it’s saved his life. We put him down a year ago, but I love looking at all of the pictures we have with the kids and the dog. The dog was not allowed to sleep on their beds, but we have tons of pictures with the dogs snuggled up under the covers. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.

No dog of ANY breed is unable to be aggressive. A Labrador is a large dog and absolutely capable of mauling or killing an adult human being, it isn't typical behavior (for any breed really) , but don't fool yourself into believing that it cannot happen.

[Anonymous]

So, first, the puppy thing.

Puppies are, by definition, high maintenance. They are generally not reliably potty trained until they're about 6-8 months of age. Smaller breed dogs tend to take longer, and more diligence. They are not reliably house trained (by that, I mean safe unsupervised in the house, not just potty trained), until they're 2-3 years old. Give this, are you sure you want a puppy? An 8-12 week old puppy can only hold its bladder for 2-3 hours at a time (in general), and that's when it's sleeping! When the dog is up and about, you could be taking your puppy out as frequently as every 15-20 minutes. Also, all puppies, and especially young adult dogs, have lots of energy. Most breeds start to mellow out around the ages of 2-3.

As others have said, it is completely unrealistic to expect that your 5-10 year old kids will take care of your dog. For one thing, your 10 year old, who is the one that could help out a lot, is in school 8 hours a day, and likely has after school activities, and is just not around enough. So, you have to assume that you will be the primary caregiver for this dog. And yes if you get a puppy, it means you could be getting up 2-3 times a night to take the puppy out (you don't let them out; you have to go out with them).

Now, what are you looking for in a dog? Size? Shedding? Grooming? What traits do you want in a dog? How much barking? Are you expecting your dog to get along swimmingly with everyone, including little kids? Other dogs? Cats? Any other pets at home?

Be honest with yourself, and your abilities. This will help a great deal in determining if you want a dog, and whether you really want a puppy.

[Anonymous]

I love Cavs but they are very prone to health issues.

Lab lady is crazy. They are in fact one of the most likely breeds to bite.
https://www.westword.com/news/the-popular-dog-breeds-most-likely-to-bite-you-and-theyre-not-pit-bulls-10211207

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Cavs but they are very prone to health issues.

Lab lady is crazy. They are in fact one of the most likely breeds to bite.
https://www.westword.com/news/the-popular-dog-breeds-most-likely-to-bite-you-and-theyre-not-pit-bulls-10211207

+500 to both.

Cavs are one breed my vet would not own. Huge number of serious health problems, including heart, and back issues. A friend who is involved in Cav rescue lost her last dog at the age of 6. It's a shame really, because they're lovely dogs.