I second the idea of getting an adult dog. We have a 10-week-old puppy at the moment and she needs to be taken out approximately every two hours during the day (depending on her sleep schedule) and must be fed three times a day. She also needs to be taught proper obedience and socialization which means almost constant vigilance during the day to make sure she's not wandering off with someone's shoe, gnawing my dining room chairs or menacing our older dog. This phase is relatively short but incredibly important for developing a happy and well-adjusted house pet without the bad habits that so often land dogs in shelters.

15:15 here. No problem, OP. Others have brought up a few points I'd like to address.

We had a heck of a time finding a shelter that was open to allowing us to adopt a golden retriever or a beagle (both said to be good with young children). We felt quite put out by the whole process. I partly understood their concerns about finding the *perfect* home for the dogs, but at the same time, we were open and willing to provide what a rescue pet needed.

We ended up going to a reputable breeder of a particular large dog breed. It is true that larger dogs are supposed to be better with kids (especially young ones). Our rather rambunctious 8 month old puppy, which weighs 65 lbs, becomes a softie around our 2 year old, and is a little more animated around our 4 and 6 year olds.

Good luck!

Beagles are great with children but have a lot of energy and want to be part of the family - they're not background dogs.

An older one from a shelter would much rather lie around OP's house for "hours on end" but be part of a family, than locked in a crate at a shelter.

Us: 2 WOHPs, 1 DC, 2 dogs.

Try to find a full-grown dog that suits your family. House-breaking a puppy is a full-time job for a few months (for every month of age they gain an hour of bladder control, up to ~10 hours max). And puppies have a physical need to chew and are still learning appropriate social behavior.

Larger dogs tend to be more mellow and more tolerant of children. Your children will still need to be supervised around any dog, of course. I would look at 40 lbs and up.

Plan on obedience classes. We found it easier to hire a trainer to come to us than to bring a young child to an evening class.

You will find it challenging to adopt a dog with young children. A lot of the rescue leagues don't want the liability and won't adopt out many dogs to families with children under 10.

We got a mini goldendoodle recently, and she is great with our young kids (not quite as young as yours). That said, I have a pretty flexible job and was able to work from home a lot during the first few months.You might want to look into some sort of puppy playtime/doggie daycare a few days a week, at least until the dog gets past the real energetic puppy stage.

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are in your situation (except we have 3 young kids under age 6), and we got a dog. It was a great decision for our family, so don't let rude comments deter you.

Perhaps explore the reasons you want a dog, and how it will fit into your lives. Is it for the kids? Just know that you and/or your spouse will be doing all the work. Is it because you grew up with a dog in the house, and want the same again?

It is perfectly possible to have a dog as a full-time working individual. I highly doubt that most dog owners in the DC region, at least, are SAHMs or SAHDs. Seems you have found a way to have the dog get out and have some human interaction during the day. Perhaps a neighbor could come over on some days. Weekends, the dog will be with you.

Take what you read from anonymous detractors with a grain of salt. We've done it, and it's working out great, both for our dog and for us.

Thank you. Glad to see our plan sounds doable. We want a dog for a couple of reason. DH and me grew up with animals and we both enjoy them. Our kids have been asking for a dog or cat. I feel animals add to life and would like my kids to benefit from that. We expect we will ultimately take care of the animals, but hope the kids will help out and learn some responsibility.

Please wait until your children are older. I love dogs and we've had dogs since before our kids were born, but I've seen too many families with young kids become overwhelmed by the responsibility of having a dog. Too often they end up giving the dog away; the kids are heartbroken and the parents feel like failures. I know you say you'll walk the dog every evening, but what about when one of you is traveling or stuck late at the office and/or the kids are sick and/or it's raining or snowing. Also, the PP who stated that dogs are social creatures was right -- they're pretty miserable when they're left along for hours on end. When DH and I were both working full-time before our kids were born, we had 2 dogs so they could keep each other company. If you're not ready to do that or to take the dog to doggie day care (we still do this on days when nobody can be home at all during the day), I strongly suggest you wait.

Surprised by all the naysayers. I don't know anyone who is home all day with their dog. Everyone I know does what I'm proposing - but with a larger do. I had dogs growing up that stayed home alone all day. I'm not looking for something as small as a Chihuahua, thinking 25ish lbs.

I'm not sure how my post was interpreted as ignoring the dog all day. The dog could go out in the fenced yard in the morning for 45-60 minutes, have an hour long walk with the dog walker, and another hour long walk in the evening. So the dog would be alone for 4 hours at a time.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

OP, we are in your situation (except we have 3 young kids under age 6), and we got a dog. It was a great decision for our family, so don't let rude comments deter you.

Perhaps explore the reasons you want a dog, and how it will fit into your lives. Is it for the kids? Just know that you and/or your spouse will be doing all the work. Is it because you grew up with a dog in the house, and want the same again?

It is perfectly possible to have a dog as a full-time working individual. I highly doubt that most dog owners in the DC region, at least, are SAHMs or SAHDs. Seems you have found a way to have the dog get out and have some human interaction during the day. Perhaps a neighbor could come over on some days. Weekends, the dog will be with you.

Take what you read from anonymous detractors with a grain of salt. We've done it, and it's working out great, both for our dog and for us.

Get a pug. Not a puppy. Check out midatlanticpugrescue.org
Seriously, after age 2 or so they sleep all day. Great with kids, playfull, loving and small.

OP, I agree with the other people above. Dogs are social creatures. The only type of dog that'd be okay laying around all day, every day, is an old dog thats too feeble to be running around, and that will take up more time and money than it sounds like you're prepared for.

Maybe when your life calms down it'd be a better fit for a dog, but right now your life style is not great for a dog.

DH and I work full time and have an infant and toddler. We have a puggle after having had a Westie. But, the kids are home all day with a nanny, the nanny plays with the dog outside in our yard during nap time (we made sure to get a nanny who loves dogs) and DH and I work from home more than once a week. So she gets a lot of attention. Also, she gets a 45 minute walk in the mronings and an hour-long walk in the evenings in addition to playtime in the afternoon.

No. There is no dog you can ignore all day, every day.

It sounds like you want a dog that is not going to inconvenience your lifestyle. That dog does not exist. Don't get a dog.

If you decide you absolutely MUST get a dog, find a very old, very tolerant rescue mutt.

Also, as a rule of thumb, small dogs are usually not the friendliest ones - they tend to be more high strung, jumpy and not as wonderful with small children.

Don't get a dog until the kids are older.

We would like to get a dog, but want to get one that fits into our life style and that we can give enough time too. We have two kids (3 and 5) and we both work full time. We would be able to let the dog out in the yard in the morning and take it for a walk after work. We would also be willing to hire a dog walker for an hour during the day.

We would like a small, friendly dog that is good with kids. Any suggestions?