which dog?

mrcol1000

I have posted elsewhere saying that Staffs are good with kids and without repeating my post here my Staff will let kids pull its ears, poke it and generally play rough without responding. We can't leave the dog with kids to protect the dog rather than the kids. Staffs have good temperment and are quick learners and very engertic. The perfect pet for a child and it will quickly become part of the family and grow up with your kids. Plus they are very tough and have hard heads which means they rarely need to go to the Vet. Plus Animal homes are full of Staffs which are looking for homes. I would suggest trying your local council as any Staffs they have picked up as strays and looking for homes for will most likely be destroyed unless they can find an animal home which is willing to accept one (few are due to the large numbers they have already).

foreign_correspondent

mrcol - whilst I agree with your sentiments, personally with a smal child I would not get one from the pound, but from a rescue which has assessed the dogs temprement carefully and knows it well. Gescues will also step in to help if you have any problems, which pounds do not. The one I got my dog from ofers free help and advice from a behavioralist if you have any teething troubles.

Some rescues have their dogs in foster homes so they can accurately assess how the dog behaves in a home environment - a great way of getting a dog which as a safe bet behaviour wise!

Also, every time you take a dog in from rescue, you help that dog, by offering it a home, you also help a pound dog which will be able to move into the rescue space you have just emptied!

pink-lint_2

hi ive got a bichon frise and they are none molting , although they need grooming every 8 weeks,

i have 3 children and alfie is excellent with them , he is very laid back and not yappy at all ,

they are a small breed and are very friendly ,grooming every 8 weeks cost about £20-£25 but well worth it

hot.chick

Defo a staffy, ours is the MOST tollerent dog I have ever met, lets you poke and prod him, take bones and food off him no problems, defo good with everyone, and such loving dogs.

pink-lint_2

sorry to upset the staffy lovers but.. when my children were a bit younger (before my bichon alfie) , i got a staffie fom a dog shelter and it was lovely , but after a couple of days around the kids it changed and niped one of them and i had to take it back .

you dont know the history of the dogs from shelters . and i would not trust any dog including a staffy from shelter with my children.

if you want a dog i would get a pup (from a shelter if you want) and then that way it will grow with your child and you can train it the way you want it trained.

UKTigerlily

I'd also say a Staff, I adopted one from Rescue almost 8 weeks ago & she's the easiest & most loving Dog i've had/known! She's brill with all people. I agree with not getting a Puppy & hope you find the Dog for you, mind you if you go to a Rescue wanting a Staff, you'll probably come out with a Lab or something. I went for a Dog like a CKCS & came out with a large Staff! Still their characters are the same which is what I wanted. I say visit all the Rescues you can & go with a completely open mind, I said I didn't mind what I got (Just not a Pup) & not bigger than a Cocker & they matched me without me even looking about x

foreign_correspondent

pink-lint wrote: »

.

you dont know the history of the dogs from shelters ..

Often you don't but that's not always the case... and often rescue dogs are in foster homes with children for months, so have been really well assessed...

Like people, dogs personalities and tolerences vary - and some will never be great around kids. I have known people buy a pup when they have small children and the pup has not grown into a child friendly dog...

When you buy a pup you buy potential, and the pup can turn out differently depending on its genetics and the work you put into it, when you buy a grown dog you get a much better idea of its capabilities, likes and dislikes and temprement.

I would say a really well assessed dog, caefully matched to the family is generally a safer bet than a pup, especially for new ad inexperienced owners.

You also avoid the challenging stages of weeing, pooing, chewing etc etc that all pups and adolescent dogs go through!

scheming_gypsy

pink-lint wrote: »

sorry to upset the staffy lovers but.. when my children were a bit younger (before my bichon alfie) , i got a staffie fom a dog shelter and it was lovely , but after a couple of days around the kids it changed and niped one of them and i had to take it back .

you dont know the history of the dogs from shelters . and i would not trust any dog including a staffy from shelter with my children.

if you want a dog i would get a pup (from a shelter if you want) and then that way it will grow with your child and you can train it the way you want it trained.

shouldn't that read 'sorry to upset the shelter lovers'?

Akom

I'm in the Staffy club. I've had Rascal for around 3-4 months. We got him from a rescue home when he was around 9 months old. He's fantastic.

A couple of tips for you:

When you go to pick a dog dont let your heart rule your head. (very hard i know) Look for a dog that seems to have the same energy levels that your looking for. You probably wont want a dog that bouncing off the walls when you've got a child around. To help make that choice take the dog your interested in for a walk and see how he/she behaves. Most places will suggest that anyway.

Take them to training classes. They train you as well as the dog. You could probably take your son with you as well. A great way of having fun and all bonding together.

Good luck. If you do it right and i'm sure you will, you and your family are in for a lot of fun and loving

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

If you get a pup you have to be firm in training and they need to know their place in the pack heirachy of your family. We have a Westie and a Japaneze Spitz who both will let my 2.5 yr old sit on their back, roll around, pull their ear/tail/fur and never bat an eyelid (if we did it they'd nip to tell us off - just a gentle nip, they know she is just a child). Westies are lovely but are known to be cheeky and do as they please from time to time even though they are fully trained. Our Spitz is the most placid yet protective (only in severe cases like if someone actually attempted a break in or got in a heated row with us in our home) It's only happened once but he growled like crazy warning them to lay off. But he is fabulous with my daughter. The only problem is if you don't brush him at least twice a week he will moult. You can usually tell a dogs temprement on a few spread out visits. Good luck.
Mongrels need homes too and often have the least problems behaviourally and health wise - something to consider!!!