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[quote=Anonymous]If you have a young child, I would not recommend a puppy. They aren't little for very long (unless it's a small breed) and IME are much less tolerant of obnoxious but well-meaning toddler love. More laid-back adults are a lot more patient with toddler antics. Also, puppies nip and teethe on lots of inappropriate things including toddler fingers and toys. My own dog is an alpha in a pack, but she is SO tolerant of our 2 year old. She seems to understand. Maybe her Mama-instinct she never got to put to use? :)

I second the rescue recommendation, and make sure the group is one that will accept a dog back if it ends up not being a good match. I have had good experiences with GRREAT but have never actually adopted through them (volunteered), but there are lots of good ones. If a dog has spent time in a foster home instead of a shelter, the rescue is more attuned to their various issues, especially if the foster home also has children and other pets.

I will caution you that a lot of rescues will not adopt to a family with small children, because small children can REALLY try the patience of an otherwise great dog, with often disastrous results. I've seen heartbreaking situations where a great dog had to be put down because of an exchange with a child that should have never been allowed to happen (for example, a dog snapping at a child who was sitting on the floor eating ice cream next to the dog, who had only been in their home for 2 weeks). Just know what you're getting yourself into and if a rescue doesn't allow you to adopt because of your toddler, that doesn't mean that they necessarily don't like kids, but that they have probably had bad experiences before. You should ALWAYS monitor your child around ANY dog, young or old, new or long-time family member. If a child is clearly bugging the dog, correct the child and remove them or the dog from the situation. Know the signs to look out for when a dog's patience is running out. GET TRAINING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. My own advice is to also get a breed who is known to be good with families/young children and avoid mixed breeds, although many will disagree with this advice. I have a neighbor who adopted a "Golden mix" from a shelter and when they brought the dog home, I could tell that dog was Chow up one side and down the other (their DNA test confirmed that!). No surprise that the dog snaps at other neighbors and dogs. I value what shelters are trying to do, but they sometimes stretch the description of the dog to fit an ideal dog instead of being completely honest about the dog. They're really doing a disservice to the dog and the families when that happens, which is why I recommend a rescue group.

Our Golden is really great with little ones, FWIW. :)[/quote]

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