Why not wait until your kid is a bit older?

Just try not to be like half of the people out there. It seems that pets are as disposable as electronics these days. I can't tell you how many of our neighbors get an animal without doing the slightest bit of research ahead of time. I would say about half of the people who get animals end up returning them after a short period of time. I don't think I will ever understand that logic!

There's nothing wrong with a breeder, if it's a good breeder. Much to recommend in terms of socialization, temperament, and general care of the pup. Do NOT adopt an older dog around children. I have done rescue and absolutely cannot recommend this. It takes a dog 3-4 months to relax and be it's true self. By then you are setting yourself up for heartbreak.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to be very honest with the shelter about your toddler and your cat, so that they understand how mellow the dog needs to be. OR you can get the youngest puppy possible from the shelter.

+1

I don't think dogs from a breeder are any "better", in my experience.

but you know the breed and there are genetic components to behavior. Bite patterns, prey drives, grippers v nippers, soft/hard mouths.

Anonymous wrote:You have to be very honest with the shelter about your toddler and your cat, so that they understand how mellow the dog needs to be. OR you can get the youngest puppy possible from the shelter.

+1

I don't think dogs from a breeder are any "better", in my experience.

Op here. Thanks all, lots to read through and discuss with DH. We are fortunate because DH works from home and I work the overnight shift part-time so we are around full time to help get a dog comfortable in our home. We've done some preliminary look into breed specific rescues an the only thing we would have to do is get a taller fence (which we planned to anyways before we got a dog). But there are no provisions about kids or other animals.

Anyways, thanks again. We likely won't get a dog until the fall due to a busy summer schedule But wanted to start thinking about it now!

City Dogs Rescue vets dogs for interaction with kids and also allows you to "Foster to adopt" -- so you can try it out yourself and see if the dog will be a good fit with your kid. Don't go to a breeder, that's no guarantee you'll get a mellow animal and so many dogs need homes! We rescued a shepherd mix and I can't speak highly enough about how fabulous she is with my rowdy kids. She's been stepped on, ears pulled, had treats taken right out of her mouth, and she follows them around outside like they're her own - letting any strangers know they're hers.

CDR is a great organization and will support you completely if the dog turns out to be difficult in any way.

Check out this guy if you want a puppy - squee!
http://www.citydogsrescuedc.org/available-dogs.html#action_0=pet&animalID_0=8495781&petIndex_0=52

Anonymous wrote:OP, we have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, who is jumpy around my brother's cats. Very similar to your situation.
Because I've known of so many stories of rescues not working out, I wanted to go through a breeder. I didn't want to get a puppy, and was specifically looking for an older puppy or young adult dog, which reputable breeders sometimes have. Either a dog doesn't work out for showing, or for some other reason.

It didn't work. After months of contacting and scheduling, we finally went to the Fairfax animal shelter and adopted an adult lab. The shelter was honest about their assessment of her, and steered us away from a few other dogs that seemed less suitable. But there was no hassle about adopting a dog with young children.

And, as others have said, adopting an adult lab is 100% easy and painless. She became part of the family with no problems at all. She's been great for both the 4 year old and 2 year old, very tolerant of them and also affectionate.

I just posted and am glad to hear that Fairfax animal shelter steered you to a good dog. IMHO all family dogs should be OK with babies, young children, elderly even in an adults only household. We are looking forward to doing nursing home-hospital work with our handsome guy based on his responses.

Anonymous wrote:Go to an established breeder. Get an english labrador reliever --not a field type! There are several ethical breeders in the area--try Lakobielabs--I never did use them but I know people who have. A good breeder is not in it for the money at all--but for the intense love of the style and temperament of the dog. Especially with a 2.5 year old, you need to have a high certainty of what you are getting. A high quality english lab is easy, easy to house train, low shedding, and pretty low energy. Make sure the breeder has had the parents OFA certified, to insure hip and joint health and you've got a perfect family pet--no guesswork. I'd rather not take chance if I had a 2 year old--it's not remotely worth it.

I second that. There is a huge misrepresentation by rescues/shelters on labs and lab mixes. Any owner turn in should have registration papers. I don't know Lakobielabs.
Good breeders [dad often isn't onsite] know the parents personalities and individual pups. Different parents and different litters of any breed can have varying genetic behavioral traits.

OP, we have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, who is jumpy around my brother's cats. Very similar to your situation.
Because I've known of so many stories of rescues not working out, I wanted to go through a breeder. I didn't want to get a puppy, and was specifically looking for an older puppy or young adult dog, which reputable breeders sometimes have. Either a dog doesn't work out for showing, or for some other reason.

It didn't work. After months of contacting and scheduling, we finally went to the Fairfax animal shelter and adopted an adult lab. The shelter was honest about their assessment of her, and steered us away from a few other dogs that seemed less suitable. But there was no hassle about adopting a dog with young children.

And, as others have said, adopting an adult lab is 100% easy and painless. She became part of the family with no problems at all. She's been great for both the 4 year old and 2 year old, very tolerant of them and also affectionate.

Sign up to be a foster. That way you can try out a dog and return him if there's a problem.

FYI it took my adopted dog a few months to adjust to us.

We just adopted a mutt this Saturday (so far so good). It was a royal PITA of the process, and we have a person that is home all the time, large suburban yard and 6 yo. I have applied to multiple agencies and all the dogs that I was interested in were already taken or had some very serious issues. One of my applications was still outstanding due to home visit not being done. One agency even suggested that we just adopt "off the truck", ie without meeting the dog at all. Another refused to adopt to families with kids uner 13yo.
In any case, one of the agencies I applied for called on Fri before their adoption event and said they have a dog we might be interested in (based on his foster home experience, he was exactly what we were looking for albeit a bit bigger in size). We came in for meet and greet and now have 2 weeks trial period to see how this works out. The name is Rescue BC on adopt a pet. Very nice people, I have also seen the family bringing back the dog after 2 week trial (didnt work out), no questions asked, no guilt trip.

Even labs and goldens go through a nippy/jumping stage. They're puppies, that's what they do. It takes patience, training and time but they do get through that stage.

*english lab retriever! LOL