Getting a puppy when you have small children?
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Anonymous
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For the first time in my entire life, we're dog-less. I have always had a particular breed of small dog (I've had 5 since birth) and love everything about the breed. I've spoken to a few breeders who were polite, but wouldn't accept us as potential dog adoptees because we have small children. We have a baby and a toddler (and do plan on a 3rd child). We're just looking ahead to getting a new dog as we aren't quite over mourning our old one.
Is this going to be the case with all breeders that they want us to not have children? Or is this a small dog breeder thing? Our oldest who is just 2 was very gentle with our older dog and we trained her to never jump on him or bother him. They liked each other a lot. And yes we thought about a rescue, but we've heard those are even harder to adopt from when you have children. Our last dog was a rescue 15 years ago and he had significant issues that I worked through. I'm a great trainer, but would much rather train from a puppy than a dog who has issues. |
Anonymous
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https://www.lastchanceanimalrescue.org/
They will let you adopt a pup because of your experience with dogs.. You will probably have to look through their puppies for a few months to a year to find a mix of the breed that you’re looking for or something close. And be the first at the adoption event to insure no one gets your pup.They have a very thorough application form. If you explain that you have plenty of experience and that you know exactly what to expect in the children’s relationship with a dog (like they’ll be terrified of the puppy because it bites) and that you will not abandon the dog when that happens, you should be ok. |
Anonymous
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Our labrador is wonderful with kids and the breeder told us she would be. We got our dog when my kids were 6, 4, and 8 months. 8 months old! There were mornings when I had to run outside at 6am with a baby in one arm and puppy in the other.
It's great though. My youngest and the dog are the best of friends. |
Anonymous
| Totally nuts. |
Anonymous
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A puppy will not behave like your elderly dog, I hope you know this, OP. Breeders will generally not sell to families with very young children, because of the high risks of biting. A young child will not understand a puppy's signals, and the puppy will not understand the child's signals. Please read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Without-Losing-Version-Coming/dp/1933562668/ref=sr_1_74?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524797511&sr=1-74&keywords=dog+training+families |
Anonymous
| Just don’t tell the breeders you have kids. |
Anonymous
| Would you wait a few years? It's really nice to have the help form the older kids, and once the youngest are past age 4 or so, you really decrease the likelihood that the child is going to hurt the puppy and cause the puppy to do something you'll all regret. I love dogs and grew up with them, but we've got a puppy now with our three, and I'm glad they are not younger -- it's hard enough getting the youngest to interact appropriately with the puppy. |
Anonymous
| Young children and dogs are an accident waiting to happen, its so cruel to the dog who is always to blame. Just wait until the child is around 6 - perfect age. |
Anonymous
Op here. We aren't done having kids though and I assume we'll have another in about 3 years. Can't imagine spending 7 years without a dog. I understand small dogs who bite and how to train. The breed we want is laid back and not nippy like labs. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't. |
Anonymous
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Obviously you're going to do exactly what you want, but you're not going to get the support you want on here. There have been too many accidents over the years. |
Anonymous
I have always had dogs also growing up, in college and after college. I know how to raise and train a dog. But not waiting until my kids were older was a HUGE mistake. My kids were 3 and 5 when we got our puppy. I did a lot of research and chose a breed that was laid back. But even a laid back breed goes nuts after a child freaks and starts wailing and flailing their arms when a puppy bites (because there is not a single breed laid back enough that it will never nip as a puppy). Trust me I taught my kids EVERY trick in the book about what to do when the puppy nipped at them. Our puppy was awesome with my husband and I and with older kids. But with ours, it always though they were playing or that they were puppies. It nipped them the most and the kids always ripped the hands out, which caused scratches. Or the puppy would jump on them and scratch their legs and they would freak out again and the puppy would get all riled up and get all playful (aka nippy). Like when they nip and growl with their litter siblings and get all worked up in play? My kids are now 5 and 7 and neither of them like the dog very much. They ignore it completely. Our dog is very calm now, and it is pretty much a rug, but the kids never cuddle with it. I think they just remember how many boo boos the dog gave them 
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Anonymous
This sounds like our family! We got a doodle when our kids were these ages but the youngest was six months. And we had just moved houses! Was it hard? Absolutely. It's a ton of work. But it can be done if you put in the training required for both the dog and children. Personally, we ruled out small dogs because we had young children. Our dog is 65 pounds and a gentle, calm angel around children. |
Anonymous
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We adopted a small dog when my kids were 6 and 3.
I did not look for a puppy as many small breed dogs can be nippy. I worked with some rescues and told them what I wanted and said I didn’t care at all what it looked like if it was good with kids and small. I have a child with severe dog fear of big dogs. They recommended a 15 lb mutt who is not super cute but is the best dog ever. He was successfully living in a foster home with small kids but wasn’t adopted because he is kind of homely. He is WONDERFUL. |
Anonymous
I’ll bet. 
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