What dog breed is best with kids??

gettingready

But you said "only dog recommended" which is nonsense.

Never mind.

Any dog has a potential to be great with children - same as any dog has a potential to turn and attack.

Dogs are dogs, regardless of the breed, good upbringing plays the biggest part in good relationship with one's dog but even with that, things can go wrong.

Damage limitation - in case a chosen dog does turn and starts biting etc, smaller jaw smaller injury.

yellowbear

We have 4 kids and a 2yo Lab. We initially went down the rescue route but after 4 knockbacks we decided to get a pup from a breeder.
She is great with the kids. Very gentle and tends to ignore them in the main apart from my daughter who interacts with her a lot more.
I would say the kids need training as much as the dog. They need to understand that if the dog is on her bed they leave her alone.
We also don't allow them to play tug with her.

sheramber

My kids were brought up from babies with dalmatians and golden retrievers. Apart from exhuberance there were no problems.

My childhood dog was labrador/gsd cross.

Don't dismiss a recue dog . A dog from a rescue which uses foster homes will be fully assessed as to whether suitable for children or not. If the dog's background was known it may have come from a home with children.

My current golden retriever/ gsd cross came through rescue at 2 years old.

She is excellent with children although we have no knowledge of whether she was used to children.

Also, there are always puppies in rescue, both crossbreed and pure bred.

Particularly a few weeks or months after Christmas when the novelty of the Christmas puppy has worn off.

heartbreak_star

happysaz133 wrote: »

I grew up with retired greyhounds and at 27 now have three of my own! Well, one is a lurcher actually, but the are all rescue hounds and absolutely fabulous with kids. They are very gentle, and laid back too. They don't need walking for miles on end (although will take it if thats what you want!), don't eat much and love to be cuddled. Plus, there are thousands needing homes and they are all temperament tested so you can find one ideally suited to your lifestyle


I wouldn't be without them. This was my boy Bobby Blue on Christmas day!

Awwwww Saz how gorgeous! Happy little face!

I grew up with labradors, but wouldn't rule out most dogs

HBS x

teddysmum

OP, do you mean King Charles or Cavalier King Charles, as they are different breeds with different temperaments ? The latter are smaller, have more prominent eyes and domed heads.


I suspect that you do mean 'cavalier', a breed of which I have a lot of experience. The majority are lovely and friendly (I own an exception), but I would be very cautious about where I bought one and there are only a few breeders from whom I would buy, because of the devastating diseases MVD and SM. (I'm very lucky that my elderly two are heart clear in one case and only on low grade in the other, but have lost two previously).


I wouldn't keep a cavalier as a single pet, unless I was with him/her for a large amount of time, as they love company and especially that of their own breed.

topsales

I have just recently bought a Cavachon puppy - Bichon Frise x Cavalier King Charles and she is the loveliest, sweetest natured dog I have ever had - and I have had a few!

gettingready

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

and I thought shitpoo (shitsu and poodle) was a joke and now that....LOL

lovinituk

Any experiences with beagles? We've been researching and its a possibility for us. My wife's main concern is that as they are natural hunters they can be known to shoot off suddenly chasing rabbits/squirrels/birds etc. Or is that down to proper training to control them? Other than that, they seem to fit the bill for us - smallish, short haired, good tempermerant.

Misty_Blue

gettingready wrote: »

But you said "only dog recommended" which is nonsense.

The "recommended" comment comes from the fact that for many years (might even still be the case, I haven't checked), the Staffie was one of the only breeds specifically higlighted as being excellent with children in the KC breed standard. The only other was the Curly Coated Retriever.

But of course any breed can be great or terrible with children. And as someone else pointed out, that's as much to do with how the kids are trained to act around the dog, as it is to do with the dog itself.

Beagles are scent hounds and so tend to have very selective hearing once they get their noses down. You can train obedience in them to a reasonable degree for sure, but that scenting instinct is very, very strong and you would always need to be cautious when letting one off the lead, just in case. They are also very active dogs and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation.

dontone

lovinituk wrote: »

Any experiences with beagles? We've been researching and its a possibility for us. My wife's main concern is that as they are natural hunters they can be known to shoot off suddenly chasing rabbits/squirrels/birds etc. Or is that down to proper training to control them? Other than that, they seem to fit the bill for us - smallish, short haired, good tempermerant.

We were looking at getting a Beagle, but after reading about them, we decided that they were a bit too bouncy and energetic for us (apparently some can easily jump a 4/5 foot high fence)
We ended up with a Basset Hound, who, while a bit smaller height wise, shares the same traits as Beagles, as in stubborn as a mule, doesn't exactly have good recall (unless he realises you've walked too far in front or have treats) and is basically daft as a brush. Hounds like to pinch stuff too, slippers and shoes are fair game. They are hard to train, lots of patience is required (and biscuits)
And although we don't have kids, ours absolutely adores children. He has his own fan club with the kids around here, but you have to watch him around small kids, as he gets a bit giddy and I'm sometimes scared he might knock one over.