Researching dogs, should we get a Beagle or a Labrador or something else?

Mrs_pbradley936

That is why many people want a pedigree dog, you can (usually) predict not only what it will look like and how big it will get but also a great deal of its traits. Male Boxers, Rottweilers and Weimaraners are known fighters, some individuals will not be but enough are to be able to say that. There will be some German Shepherds that are fighters but it is unusual - I have known very many and only one or two fighters amongst them.

If you buy from a person with limited breed knowledge they may not tell you their breed has certain traits, they are not being dishonest. They might have owned 3 or 4 in their lifetime and they have all been good with other dogs. The most popular dogs for Working Trials are Border Collies and German Shepherds because these breeds are the most "biddable" meaning they listen and want to do what you tell them. Weimaraners are very trainable but not so biddable, they know what you want but decide they do not want to do it at times.

hethmar

I cant see the reasoning behind getting a puppy as it "hasnt been mucked about with". A dog has a personality which will come through whether they have had a previous owner or not. Some of the worse dogs are the highly interbred pedigree dogs. Some of the best are scruffy heinz dogs.

Whatever dog you are getting unless its mature and you can see what its behaviour is like then you are taking a chance.

For kids Id recommend a border terrier who is already of maturity so you can see what they are like. We have a rescue border who is the most brilliant dog - however we often meet other border owners who despair of their dogs behaviour.

Id go for a rescue dog with back up. If you get a rescue puppy at least you will see its mother and get a professional assessment of her character.

mcspanna

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

As far as I know the only dog that the kennel club states are 'good with children' is the staffordshire bull terrier!

I know a girl who has a big chunk of a staffie and three small kids - he is incredible with them - I watched him lying on the hearth rug with the baby who is about a year old, and who was waving a half eaten biscuit in front of his face - although the biscuit was inches from his nose, he made no attempt to nab it - with most dogs it would have been gone in a flash!!

She was also patting him on the head with a cushion, which would have freaked some dogs - he seemed to be enjoying it!

whatever sort of dog you decide to go for, please be aware that its not currently difficult to find very young puppies in rescue, some are even born in rescue, so it may be worth researching. If not, as I said earlier, please research any breeders very carefully indeed.

Also, be aware that some dogs will have a high prey drive and will want to eat "anything with fur" on it - the beagle is a hunting dog, genetically programmed to chase, so you may find this is part of his character too, even if bought as a pup!

I'm a staffie owner and would highly recommend them with children and as a smaller 'portable' dog (than a lab for example) BUT I wouldn't necessarily recommend a rescue staffie as there are an awful lot of them that get into the wrong hands, are encouraged to fight and then abandoned. We currently have one of these and although he is fantastic with children you can't take him anywhere near another dog. We have already decided that our next one will be a female rather than a male, bought as a puppy rather than rehomed and extremely well socialised whilst young! I've seen it done and it is possible to socialise them and train out the fighting instinct.

Staffies can be extremely stubborn which can be a challenge for an inexperienced dog owner but it is also one of the things that makes them wonderful characters!

HTH

Milford_Cubicle

Have a look around rescues and see which dogs have been brought up with children, are known to be family dogs already and perhaps have been rehomed because of financial circumstances. Having young kids it's much better for you to know the history of the dog if possible - I'd only take a 'difficult case' if I were very well versed with dogs already and had time to spend with it, plus no kids.

I can only tell you about Labradors (I have one ) but she's still very much a puppy. My advice, if you want a Lab with young kids then take a female who is around 2 years old and spayed. If you want a happy, bouncy friendly dog who loves everyone and is convinced that everyone who pops round/walks past/is in the same postcode has come to see them, then a Lab is the dog for you! They only need around an hour's exercise per day, you can get away with making this a bit less every other day, for example but they do need their walks to stop them becoming couch potatoes (which they will if you let them :rotfl:)

They are great with kids if they've been brought up correctly, I'd say a puppy is not for you though as they can be nippy and bitey as someone has already mentioned. If we get another dog either when our pup is grown up, or way in the future when she's departed, we'll be getting an older dog, possibly a greyhound or another Lab

hethmar

O f course it may be with such very young children a rescue would be wary of placing a dog with you.

foreign_correspondent

mcspanna wrote: »

I'm a staffie owner and would highly recommend them with children and as a smaller 'portable' dog (than a lab for example) BUT I wouldn't necessarily recommend a rescue staffie as there are an awful lot of them that get into the wrong hands, are encouraged to fight and then abandoned. We currently have one of these and although he is fantastic with children you can't take him anywhere near another dog. We have already decided that our next one will be a female rather than a male, bought as a puppy rather than rehomed and extremely well socialised whilst young!

A rescue dog can be a puppy - its a common misconception that they are all adult dogs, loads of staffie pups ending up in rescues ATM!!!

There are also some wonderful adult staffies in rescues, UKtigerlily on here recently homed a 5 year old little staffie who is housetrained, gentle, cat friendly and a real little sweetie!!

As Hethmar says a well asssessed adult dog with a proven temprement witth rescue back up is probably the safest bet!! You never know what character traits a pup may possess as an adult.

catkins

I too would say go for a rescue dog there are so any dogs in rescue now. If you are sure you want a puppy there are plenty in rescue centres but I would say go for slightly older than a puppy. As has been stated above you would not have all the toilet training, the obedience training, the problems with chewing everything in sight including often ankles of anyone in the house!

As for breeds well most dog lovers have their favourites and their not so favourites. I would not go for a Beagle as they are very hard work, notoriously difficult to train, need lots of exercise etc etc. I personally would never want a Labrador because they always seem to age so quickly. They get to about 3 and they become like plodding old dogs. I like dogs who stay young in attitude such as hounds.

I know quite a few families with young children who have spaniels and they all seem to be fine. I would say a cocker spaniel rather than a springer as they tend to be less mad.

MrsTinks

I walked in to the RSPCA wanting a GSD... and walked out with a BC/GSD cross... not QUITE what I had planned

Hand on heart - I would NEVER recommend a puppy to a family with young children - sorry. If any breeder sold a puppy to a family with small children I would seriously question their reasons for breeding in the first place and not want to buy from them anyway (ie they are only in it for the money and not for the breed or the dogs themselves).

Spend time going to your local RSPCA and Dogs Trust etc - don't pick a dog on your first visit but speak to the staff there and explain what your lifestyle is like, bring the kids and MEET some dogs. Take them for walks with the kids, if you get on with one reserve it and then ask if you can spend a day with it, see what it's like round food, when it's tired and so on.
Getting a puppy because it's "not been mucked around with"... sorry but that's no reason for getting a puppy... granted someone has to have the dogs whilst they are puppies but I would very much advise against having puppies and toddlers in the same house... They will be far more likely to be testing their standing in the pack and that could mean nipping the little ones! And then you have the teething, the weeing, the basic training and the endless chewing of toys, shoes, furniture, you name it.

suki1964

I have to agree with Mrs T and not advise getting a puppy when you have two under fives in the house.

I have my GS here weekends (2) and trying to sort out getting his changed and dressed and fed and occupied as well as a boisterous dog - NIGHTMARE. Plus having to make sure child and dog never left alone, stopping dog from eating all his toys and stopping the child from waving his biscuits and sweets under the dogs nose - and my dog is really pretty well behaved and trained

With a pup as well you have the added stress of toilet training and the nipping and scratching - its not unusual for young children to become petrified of the pup and pup is often handed into rescue

becs

Having been the very lucky owner of a much loved Bagle for 13 years I would strongly recommend against getting one! They are fabulous dogs that really are full of character but they are almost impossible to train! Yes you can do the sit stay and come etc but once they get a scent of something then forget it! We did years of constant traing including a police dog trainer all to no avail in that situation! Also they are very greedy dogs and eat absoloutely anything that is not secured away! Ours ate a 5lb fully iced and marzipanned xmas cake that was at the back of the worktop, 1lb of brie that was locked in the larder-he opened the door! And a brand new sealed tin of quality street from the back of the dining table, he took it into the hall, removed the seal and lid and ate the chics wrappers and all! He also ate the wallpaper to waist height in the kitchen, chewed his way through the kitchen door, and ate half the carpet tiles in the kitchen!
Beagles are also very prone to epilepsy, we thought ours was just bad at housetraining as kept having accidents during the night, it was only one night when we heard some noise downstairs we went down to see him having a fit which is when the accidents were occurring. He was a lovely dog and we miss him dearly but I would be very reluctant to get another beagle.
Some friends of ours who have 2 small children have just bought a cockerpoo (cocker spaniel x poodle) and it has the most fabulous temperament and is just the right size for the children and full of fun.
The thing my parents found when trying to get a rescue dog was all of the rescue centres they went to locally would not allow any of the dogs as being suitable with children. They obviously have small grandchildren visiting but no children at home. I think they just wanted to cover themselves and weren't prepared to allow any of them which seemed ridiculous! Luckily the dogs trust had a much more realistic attitude and they got a gorgeous patterdale terrier from them but had to go 100 miles to get him!