Best family dog breed

Hello about month back I had to return a dog we were told was golden/german shepard but was really rhodesian ridge back/ rottweiler the dog didnt get along with the children and chased the cats so we gave it away to the pound while it was still a puppy and she was picked up and now seems to be doing fine in the new home. I know now not to get our next dog from the shelters.

With that said now we need a dog thats good with cats and children,easy to train,and lives a while I've been considering a pug or Cairn terrier. Our last dog before the rottweiler was a golden retreiver that died at ten so we dont want that breed again or anything to big like a lab. Thanks for any advice you can give us we appreciate it.

Check www.yourpurebredpuppy.com , they have profiles of most breeds and mention which ones are unimpressed by kids.

There are other factors to consider, too, like how much exercise can you give a dog, are you experienced or new to dog training, how much grooming do you want to do, and so forth.

Also--it is VITALLY IMPORTANT to teach the kids how to behave around dogs. Teach them about doggy body language and make sure, absolutely sure, that they know not to tease the dog, bother it while it's sleeping, take the dog's food bowl or toys away, pull on the dog's tail, and so forth . . . because even a "family friendly" dog will bite if it feels threatened or put-upon. Never ever leave the kids and the dog together unsupervised.

In general, terriers or sighthounds (greyhounds, whippets, etc) tend to be aggressive towards cats. Not ALL of them are! But it is definitely more likely.

I advise staying away from toy breeds, as they can be hurt very easily and kids can be unintentionally rambunctious or clumsy . . . Not a good combination. Pugs are sturdier than most small dog breeds, however. But they tend to have a lot of health problems and can be difficult to housebreak.

Please consider getting an adult dog, you will be able to see firsthand it's "grown up" personality and whether it likes cats and kids. You can find lots of wonderful adult purebreds in purebred specific rescues.

When getting a purebred puppy from a breeder, it's very, very important to go to a reputable breeder. Reputable breeders health check their dogs and usually don't advertise through newspapers or, worse, a sign in the front yard. Also, DO NOT go to a pet shop, their puppies are often sickly and poorly bred.

The kids know how to behave the dog I had to return would knock em off the couch and bite the children for no reason it would also jump on them and we had a friend of ours thats a behaivorlist tell us its the dogs problem not ours its needs a new home with less action and that it wasnt a family dog. Were gonna get the dog from a rescue shelter and yeah were prolly not gonna get a puppy.
By the way my golden would've never bite the children ever this dog I had to return full on attacked them or no reason my trainer said it had an aggresion problem. Theres dog breeds Ive heard of like my golden that know never to bite children(or any1) I want one of those and my friends have pugs and cairn terriers like that.

Sorry you don't want another Golden .

Okay I do ot want to sound rude or anything but.....

ALL DOGS CAN BITE NO MADDER WHAT BREED THEY ARE!!!!!!

I COMPLETLY AGREE WITH Boemy!!!!!

Also I think you need to do more research before even cosidering getting another dog!!!

LOL that made me laugh!! Sign in the yard:lol-sign:

I know I wouldnt sell you a pup knowing you sent one back to a shelter instead of taking the time to re-home. Maybe theres something about the pup you got that didnt work other than it didnt work out?

I am doing reaserch we out of all the dogs my family had that was a rude awakening and the 1st one we had to return(were talking like outta all my family about 20 dogs that worked out fine all dif breeds) but my god that site u sent me's ridiculous they make every dog sound horrible.
I know all dogs can bite but I think a ridge back and rottweiler are more likely then a golden that kinda thing. We dont want a golden cause we want something smaller and cheaper our golden had soem skin problems tons of sheding and died at ten which is what most goldens live to but 2 short.
Not to mention ur putting this of on me like its my fault we got an aggressive dog we were completely lied to about.

Look dogs are not to be worn like undergarmets. You cant try them on then send them back cause something didnt fit right. Owning a dog is a commitment.

We had the pup for 4 months we had my dads friend behaviorlist said it wasnt gonna fit in at our house so he told us about a really good shelter that takes alotta time to give them to the right people and posts the dog online and will work with the dog to try and fix the nipping.

Then what should have I done with this dog if your so smart tell me we did work with it go ahead tell me exactly what I should've done with a dog that hated children and chased cats when we were lied to and said it didnt bite or chase cats. Not to mention a certified behaviorlist telling us to get rid of it.

Your dads friend must not be a true dog lover otherwise he would have advised you to try and re-home the pup yourself. Shelters have enough to deal with.
Please dont get another dog

i feel sorry for the rot mix. sounds traumatised. not by you. but maybe from past owners and your goldne behaved well because it knew well. not because of its breed. goldens are less likley to be agressive however its the training that goes into the dog that determinds its personality. and i'v foind that smaller dog breeds are much less tolerant of young children. a well adjusted lab or golden would be a great family dog.

have a rottweiler!, I wasn't trying to imply that your kids are man-handling dogs or anything, it's just that in a lot of cases kids ARE bitten because they were doing something that "set off" the dog, like teasing or reaching for its bone. Not in every case. But a lot of times.

There are many good "family dogs", but each family is different and has different needs. Why don't you answer these questions, they'll give us a better idea of what kind of dog would fit your situation.

1. How much exercise will the dog get? Some dogs require a lot of exercise, some don't. Are you a jogger or a hiker or are you more of a homebody? Do you have fenced backyard?

2. How much trimming, clipping, and brushing are you willing to do? How do you feel about shedding? Some dogs are easy maintance, some require tons of brushing. Some have easy maintance coats but shed like crazy!

3. How easily trainable do you want your dog to be? Some dogs, like golden retrievers and labs, are eager to please and easy to train. Others are more independant and will take more work to train. (That doesn't mean they can't be taught, it will just take more time and work.) Some breeds are very hard to housetrain.

How about the winners who sell dogs out of the backs of pickups? That's a sign of quality, all right!

there is a lot of trainging that can go into an agressive dog. desensitzation training methods and such. plus.. some "certified behaviourlist"s might not have the dogs best interests at heart.

Okay rehome the pup while it biting the kids when I could just give it to a shelter who will give it a good home immedietly and be able to advertise better and now I cant get a new dog because we accidently got an aggresive one. Not to mention that was nothing for the shelter to deal with all they pretty much did is take in the puppy who got sold in a day because she was still a puppy pretty much all I did was donate to them. Great Advice!

HaR, the site isn't trying to make every dog breed sound "awful." But there is no "perfect" breed of dog, except maybe a plush one. Isn't it better to know AHEAD OF TIME that border collies, for example, have intense exercise needs and often try to "herd" children by nipping at their heels? Also note the disclaimer at the end of every page . . .

I'm sure, somewhere out there, there's a border collie who's lazy as sin and enjoys lolling around all day, but these are profiles for the typical representative of the breed.

AHAHAHAHHAAHAAA!! Welcome to Washington state...Have a nice day

To the poster...Sorry I am being so mean. I just believe that your going about this all wrong. Why not volunteer at a shelter for a month or so and see how you feel then.
There are plenty of good dog breeds out there. Plenty of homeless unwanted pets out there. Just need to take your time and TRAIN them. Dogs dont come pre-trained yano?

We dont mind brushing or exercise as it is my old dogs got about 2 hours a day we woud like one that can be easily trained.YES! back yards fenced
It wasnt just the behaivorlist it was the vet and everyone they said that certain dogs just dont work good in families and it would just be better with less excitement and not by children.

Ok fair enough.