Dogs and Small kids?

[mrose_s]

We have always had dogs, from before I was born.
we had BC, Bull terrierXBoxer (the best dog EVER) American Bulldog X mastiff mix, ACD X fox terrier mix, shi-tzuX maltese .

Naturally I grew up with no fear of any dog big or small. But dogs without strong prey drive AKA GSD's and also, probably dogs with a lot of tolerance wihich are usually the bigger dogs, Great Danes etc.

 

[mrose_s]

when my sister and I were small, we were plying outside and the gate was open a little. Two men came up to the fence and Grace and I started going over to them Martha (our Bull-Terrier X boxer) ran up and shoulder charged the gate closed. HOW SMART. the gate was open and not only did she stay in the yard, she made sure we did...

 

[mrose_s]

i found some information on http://www.morganthedog.com/dogs/goodwithkids.html
I will copy and paste it here

Dog breeds that are especially good with children:
Alaskan Malamute
Basset Hound
Beagle
Brittany Pointer
Collie
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Golden Retriever
Gordon Setter
Great Dane
Irish Setter
Jack Russell Terrier
Labrador
Poodle
Petite Basset Griffon Vendeen
Saint Bernard
Weimaraner


Dog breeds that are good with kids if raised as a puppy with kids:
Bernese Mountain Dog
Bull Terrier
Cocker Spaniel
Samoyed (no roughhousing, tug of war or chase games)



Dog breeds that are generally good with kids, provided the kids can follow rules such as no roughhousing or chasing:
Australian Shepherd (no roughhousing)
Belgian Malinois (no roughhousing, no chase games, may not tolerate children's friends)
Belgian Sheepdog (no roughhousing, no chase games, may not tolerate children's friends)
Belgian Tervuren (no roughhousing, no chase games, may not tolerate children's friends)
Bouvier des Flandres (no roughhousing or chase games)
Boxer (no roughhousing, wrestling or chasing, may accidentally knock down a small child)
Bulldog/English Bulldog (good family dog, no roughhousing, beware of strength with small children
Bullmastiff (affectionate with family members, unpredictable with others, no roughhousing)
Chow Chow (supervision required)
Dachshund (no roughness)
English Springer Spaniel (no roughhousing or chasing)
Field Spaniel (older kids preferred, no roughhousing)
German Shepherd (can be overly protective of family, no roughhousing, teasing or chase games)
Papillon (loves children but no roughhousing, these dogs can be easily hurt)
Shetland Sheepdog (generally good with kids, no roughhousing or chase games)
Siberian Husky (acceptable with kids)
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (ok with children but children must obey strict rules)
Welsh Corgi (no roughhousing or chasing)
Yorkshire Terrier (older kids preferred, no roughhousing)


Dog breeds that are generally less tolerant of young children, but older kids generally ok:
Airedale (no young children, older children experienced in dog handling ok)
Akita (mature kids ok, may bite if threatened)
Bichon Frise (no young children, older kids ok, no roughhousing)
Border Collie (may snap and bite if teased, may try to herd children)
Chesapeake Bay Retriever (ok with sensible, older children)
Dalmatian (nervous around little kids, older kids ok)
Doberman Pinscher (will not tolerate roughhousing, older responsible kids ok)
Fox Terrier (will not tolerate young children, older kids ok, no roughhousing)
Greyhound (low tolerance, no young children)
Japanese Chin (older kids ok, no roughhousing)
Norwegian Elkhound (no roughhousing, no tug of war)
Scottish Terrier (no small children, older kids ok)
Shih Tzu (may not tolerate young children, older kids ok, no roughhousing)
Standard Schnauzer (no roughhousing, older kids ok)

Dog breeds that are generally less tolerant of kids:
Afghan (low tolerance)
Chihuahua (low tolerance, nippy)
Llasa Apso (will not tolerate roughhousing, may bite)
Pekingese (low tolerance)
Rhodesian Ridgeback (can be easily irritated)
Rottweiler (may be aggressive if provoked by teasing or roughhousing)
Shar-Pei (will not tolerate roughhousing, may bite)

 

[Swiftwind]

I just wanted to say that my Chihuahua did NOT grow up with young kids, however she is so tollerant of them. We took her to a park once and there was a child less than 1 year old who wanted to hold Abby. I was quite worried about how Abby would react since I hadn't seen her with young kids before, but before I knew it the little girl was 'patting' (more like hitting) Abby and touching her face (and accidently poking her eyes), and Abby was completely fine with this! Abby actually wanted to sit on the baby's lap! She was sooo tollerant - I was quite amazed. I think most dogs know when they're around a child that they have to be extra careful and especially tollerant of anything they do. However, when my step-sister comes over (she's 7) and tries to pick Abby up, Abby sometimes runs away because she's scared, but I don't blame her, because my step-sister usually runs over to Abby and chases her when she can't get near.

 

[juliefurry]

I would have to say goldens. Although I have heard that Great Pyrenes and Saint Bernards are WONDERFUL with children as well. I have a lab puppy and a one year old daughter. The lab is 3 months but she is WAY too hyper to introduce fully to my daughter. I only let them see each other when I have my puppy Hannah leashed and in the sitting position (although she will only sit for like 1/2 a second). I do agree that labs are EXTREMELY hyper, but I hope once she gets older and I have her better trained she will become a lot better around my daughter.

 

[bubbatd]

She will be..............My grandboy has a lab, but loves to visit here and play with my golden .....he loves his Rudy and Rudy's good with him...but Chip will let him brush him, climb on him , play and cuddle. Yes, other breeds are good with kids too....but I never ever wanting to take the chance . Right now you have your hands full with both being babies. Things will work out with patience in all accounts.

 

[siemens716]

pit bulls are great, if you train them properly, I guess, from what i read here.

 

[juliefurry]

I have a pitbull mix and he is GREAT with kids! He LOVES kids so much. He wasn't trained or anything, he just came with a love for children. Pitbulls are good at withstanding the roughhousing of kids.

 

[mightymitedoggear]

I just wanted to say that my Chihuahua did NOT grow up with young kids, however she is so tollerant of them. We took her to a park once and there was a child less than 1 year old who wanted to hold Abby. I was quite worried about how Abby would react since I hadn't seen her with young kids before, but before I knew it the little girl was 'patting' (more like hitting) Abby and touching her face (and accidently poking her eyes), and Abby was completely fine with this! Abby actually wanted to sit on the baby's lap! She was sooo tollerant - I was quite amazed. I think most dogs know when they're around a child that they have to be extra careful and especially tollerant of anything they do. However, when my step-sister comes over (she's 7) and tries to pick Abby up, Abby sometimes runs away because she's scared, but I don't blame her, because my step-sister usually runs over to Abby and chases her when she can't get near.

It's not so much about the dog being good with kids as it is about kids being good with dogs. A Lab or even a Cocker or Beagle can take more abuse before they get hurt. If a kid tries to sit on a Golden and play "horsie" the dog wont be bothered much by the kid's antics and will probably just stand there wagging his tail. Do the samSame thing to a Pom, and the dog can suffer severe internal injuries. Also, kids, esp. young ones like to pick up and squeeze small dogs. If dropped, they can suffer crippling or even life threatening injuries. It drives me CRAZY when I hear people recommending small and esp, toy breeds for children. I may not be so disinclined to the larger, stoutly built toy breeds such as the Havanese (which was actually developed as a child’s companion) the Pug, or the Peke, but god no – to Yorkies, Pappys, Chis, Maltese and these small, delicate breeds. Worse yet, is the recent “teacup” craze. I was in the vet’s office this weekend with my Yorkie mix. As we were sitting in the waiting room, a woman entered holding a tiny Pom puppy and walking hand in hand with a toddler, still wearing diapers. I cringed. The vet called me into the examination room and took my dog for a blood test. As I stood there, suddenly I heard an ear piercing scream. I opened the door ajar, and saw the woman holding the Pom. The puppy was screaming and winpering and the woman was exclaiming “ I was just holding her, I don’t know what just happened. . . this is my first dog.” It is seldom that I “approve” of toy dog puppies with toy sized people, and only when the adult in the picture is an experienced dog person. It takes a tremendous amount of vigilance to protect a toy dog from being injured by a child, or worse yet, a child from being barely bitten by a small dog who is threatened by a childs antics. I don’t know why a breeder/ pet shop who cared would give a toy puppy to an inexperienced owner with a toddler! To me, at least, this sounds like a recipe for disaster.

In my old job, I got the reputation as the “office dog person.” One of the secretaries approach me because she was concerned about the Bichon her daughter had just bought from a pet shop for her granddaughter, the granddaughter being all of four years of age. Now, while a Bichon is a bit bigger, a Bichon puppy is still quite small. The grandmother/ co worker was telling me how the child manhandled the puppy as a plaything, picking it up and carrying it about the house. I had to warn her that if the child dropped the puppy, she could easily break a growth plate and the she needed to tell her daughter NOT to let the child carry the dog around the house! Why didn’t the pet shop associate who sold the dog to them fail to warn this family that the child could seriously injure the dog?

 

[Renee750il]

Why didn?t the pet shop associate who sold the dog to them fail to warn this family that the child could seriously injure the dog?

You've answered your own question when you said she bought the dog in a pet shop. Pet shops sell dogs to make money. Their dogs are supplied from puppy mills, backyard breeders and other unsavory and unethical sources. Pet shops don't care what happens after the money has changed hands.

 

[mightymitedoggear]

OF course, we are both assuming that she bought the dog from a pet shop . . one would hope a breeder would care enough NOT to sell her a toy (AKA "Teacup") dog with such a young child!

 

[GSDFan05]

It's not so much about the dog being good with kids as it is about kids being good with dogs.

I really really wish all parents would take the time to teach their kids appropriate behavior with animals, it would cut down on so many injuries (both human and canine) and incidents of families taking their dog to the pound...

 

[mightymitedoggear]

True, but kids do things behind their parents backs and whatever mom said "no" to usually is more appealing than what she said "yes" to. Of course, will very young kids, you can't count on reason or compassion to stear them away from hurting dogs. One of the sadest things I ever saw:

I was 14 and working at the North Shore Animal League on Long Island. A woman drove to the front of the shelter and saw me. She marched up to me and said "I adopted this dog last week and he bit my son!" I was suprised since the dogs were temperment tested and dogs that are not good with kids were not given to homes with children. Not arguing with her, I asked if she had the dog, and we brought it back into the shelter. I found out from one of the vet techs two days later that they found the cause of this sudden "viciousness" - there was a pencil jammed into the dog's ear! Hmm. . . wonder how that happened!

 

[bubbatd]

Having bred Golden Retrivers and knowing how good they were with children, before I sold I would have the family visit many times before the pups were sold...the kids reactions with the pups told me which familys were ready and which were not. There was one family I felt that were'nt ready for a pup yet and promised them the picked of the litter 2 years down the road. Yes, they got the pup ....and now I have him. They turned him into our Golden rescue after 3 years................ My Chip of Bubba !

 

[Swiftwind]

It drives me CRAZY when I hear people recommending small and esp, toy breeds for children.

I totally agree. I would never recommend a Chihuahua to a family with small children. However, I was just saying that the breed can be tolerant of poking and proding by children (to a certain extent, of course). I also agree that children should be taught how to handle a dog or puppy responsibly, and that parents should always keep an eye on children when they are around the dog.

 

[kathisi]

I grew up with all kinds of dogs. When I was 2 my mother took in a bulldog whose family didn't want it because it bit people. Now, she says she never would've done that, but at that time she didn't think about the dog attacking me. As it turns out, that dog (Sam) and I became best friends. I would put doll's dresses on him (they just fit around his neck) and I'd lay with him and he never left my side. He would attack anyone who came into our yard when I was in it, though. My mother had to put up a 9 foot privacy fence as he was able to jump over the 6 foot one we had. We had a german shepherd that we had to get rid of because she decided I was her child and wouldn't let my mother near me.

I got a black lab when I was 18. When he was 5 years old, he bit my 2 year old son. I was sitting in the recliner and the dog was getting petted by me when my son walked up and my dog snapped at him. I know it was out of jealousy and he didn't mean to bite him, but my son fell forward as the dog was snapping. Anyway, luckily my mother loved P.J. (the dog) and she took him in, so I was still able to see him and I knew he had a good home.

It just shows that you can never tell. I think all dogs are individuals. While certain breeds tend toward certain personalities, nothing is written in stone.

BTW, I waited until my son was 10 (this year) before getting another dog and I have made him feed, walk, bathe, and be the main caretaker of them (though, they still recognize me as the alpha of the house).