Dh and I have been discussing getting a dog since we moved on post and have a fenced in back yard. I'm just wondering what breed you all would reccomend with such young babies. I was thinking a husky or boxer. There was a husky at the local shelter that was already house trained and good with kids, but DH said he still wasn't sure on the idea. I kind of want a small-medium sized dog, but like I said, not sure on a smaller dog breed that would be good with little kids. My dd isn't really rough with animals, she just likes to lay on them, LOL. Any way, any advice would be great. TIA
Melana

By Cat on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 12:15 pm:

We had a Husky/Wolf hybrid when we lived in Panama. Randy had just turned 1 when we got her and Robin was almost 3. She was only 3 months when we got her, so we had to go through that hyper/puppy stage. She did leave scratches on the boys when she played with them. She wasn't trying to hurt them, but puppies really don't understand their claws and teeth are sharp! She NEVER bit them, but did put her mouth on them to play. Huskies are very much pack animals and if they don't have another dog to play with and to consider its sibling, it will consider your children its siblings. For us, Nakita considered Robin and Randy her "pack". She was a wonderful guard dog, and would often sleep either on the landing of the stairs or on the floor right outside the kid's bedroom door. How old is the husky at the shelter? They really don't hit "adult-hood" until they're at least 2. Nakita lives with my brother in Michigan now. She needed more room than we had. How big is your yard? Also, be aware they can and will just a four foot fence. We know that from experience! lol I don't know anything about boxers.

We have a mini-schnauzer that we got last May at 2 months old. He's been the best dog we've ever had! He house trained fairly easily, is great with the kids (including all the daycare kids), barks at strangers at the door, but greets (enthusiastically!) people he knows, and is just an all around good dog. He'll be 1yo in March and weighs between 15-18lbs. He won't be more than 20lbs when fully grown. Check out this site for information on different dog breeds. Good luck if you decide to get one. Make sure you let us know!

By My2cuties on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 12:19 pm:

I know in our experience german shephards are real good with children, but that is not a small-medium sized dog..lol
We have had good luck with cocker spaniels being good witht he children. Good Luck whatever you decide...and...Welcome back, hope your little baby boy is doing great!

By Pixie on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 12:38 pm:

Not to dispute what MY2 said but cockers I have ever been around aren't good with children but each dog is going to be different. I know nothing about Husky's but I do know a bit about Boxers. The are pretty good with kids BUT they are VERY HYPER for a few years. They love children but they also want to be right in their facing licking them. Everyone in our family has a boxer, except us. Because dealing with them and our kids when we visit is plenty enough for me.

Go to www.puppyfind.com you can search by size, upkeep and purpose. This will then give you a list of dogs in your with your preferences is (there are many, some you'd never hear of) pictures and breed information, and puppy breeders as well. We think of getting a dog from time to time and I use this site often.

Consider the tails, like in boxers breed standard is to bob them. We were a temp. home recently to a boxer mastiff mix (beautiful) but being Mastiff his tail had not been bobbed, sounds cruel but now I kind of understand part of it. It was a table clearer when he was excited LOL. Or when a child say 3 ft. or shorter was standing next to him or sitting on the floor it would repeatedly whack them in the head. Sounds silly but it is something to think about. Good Luck, keep us posted on you decision.

By Jackie on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 12:47 pm:

We have 2 dogs, a black lab mix, who we have had since shes been 8 weeks old, and is now close to 10, and we also have a 5 yr old Golden Retriever mix, we adopted 3 yrs ago from the SPCA..They are WONDERFUL with my kids.They have never growled, snapped, or shown a mean action ever to my kids.Labs and retrievers have always been known to be good with kids, but they are a larger breed dog.

By Happynerdmom on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 01:13 pm:

I'm a mini-schnauzer fan! We've had four over the years, and they have all been good dogs, and good with the kids. And...they don't shed!!

By Kaye on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 01:18 pm:

My input is with small kids a small dog is best. Reason one, smaller means less mess, less work (think rainy days and muddy feet). Reason 2, the puppy stage is at least two years with a big dog. So we have an 18 month 62 pound golden retriver. She loves to play and run and fetch, all and all great for the kids, EXCEPT she is like a toddler, has no idea where those big paws are and then that big tail. Once you get hit with that it hurts. To do it all over again I would have chosen a small dog. Especially if you are looking at a puppy.

By Kittycat_26 on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 02:19 pm:

I am so glad that Pixie mentioned the hyperness of boxers to everyone. I got a 6 week old boxer, Rosie, when Timmy was only 18 months old.

Rosie is tolerant of anything Timmy dishes out but she is always in his face and licking. She constantly knocks him down and sits on him. Having them both together is still, a year later, a challenge.

Needless to say it's been real.

By Pamt on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 02:53 pm:

I would suggest waiting for a dog. If your profile is current, then you have 6 m/o. We got a puppy when I had a 3.5 y/o and a 9 m/o and it was VERY hectic and I regretted it for a few months. I had a preschooler, a mobile infant in diapers, and a puppy to housebreak. It is very tricky to housebreak a dog and even if it is already housebroken, there will be some regression and accidents being in a new environment. Also, puppies chew and get into big trouble. We got an 11 month housebroken basset hound for Christmas and she has had about 3-4 accidents in the house, chewed up the nebulizer mouthpiece and other things. I just finished removing Russian stacking dolls from her mouth and a bath pouf that she had chewed to shreds...and she's a good dog, but a puppy. I don't like small breed dogs either, but our former dog was a pound puppy, best guess Akita/German Shepherd mix. He was a great dog, but after 8 yrs had to be put down due to increasing aggression. In hindsight it was our fault. He kept testing the limits and we have since learned with a large aggressive breed dog (which Shepherds, Boxers, and Huskys all are) that you have to constantly reassert your authority. It doesn't do to become the alpha initially. You have to reaffirm over and over that you are the TOP dog. That's very hard to do when you have young children who have a lot of needs of their own. Having a dog is always a lot more work than you think it's going to be.

If you do decide to get one, I suggest www.dogbreedinfo.com and purina.com to do your research. Big dogs will have a longer puppyhood, plus they can knock over a child in their exuberance without meaning to. Small dogs tend to be really hyper, esp. terriers.

By Karen~moderator on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 03:39 pm:

We have a husky/chow mix. Jules got her when she was 6 weeks old, she became ours when she was 2 years old. Very affectionate, playful, loaded with personality, but at times stubborn. I don't know how hard is was to housebreak her, but since we've had her (4 years), she's had ONE accident in the house and that was because she was sick. She DOES barf on the floor occasionally though.

Kali is what *I* consider to be medium to medium-large - she is 70 lbs..

The biggest drawback is the shedding! She's a long hair dog and right now she is totally blowing her coat. UGH!

Madison has been around her since she was born and Kali has always been tolerant, never shown aggression towards her or any other child. And Madison has put her through it all from decorating her with Mardi Gras beads to *saddling* her up and riding her, to dressing her to laying on her to read books. The dog is wonderful with kids.

The ONLY time she has shown aggression is when she is eating, and DH and I made a bad choice early on by playing around with her when she was eating her snacks, and she would growl. For some stupid reason, we thought it was *cute*. Geesh! Now the dog will bark at us to come play with her snacks, so she can charge them and growl at us.

She's never bitten anyone, though her teeth and claws are sharp and she's broken skin with me a couple times playing.

One thing I wish Jules and had done was train her better - she doesn't listen well. By the time we got her, she was pretty well set in her undisciplined ways.

By Trisa on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 04:36 pm:

I had a lab/ chow mix once and It was
a one person dog. I didnt like anyone else
to even go near it. Then I got pregnant with my son. I was sooo sad because I knew I would have to put it to sleep since it hated everyone else.
But then when I was 4 months preg it got sick and died. I was sad it died but happy it died that way then me having to have it put to sleep.
he was a beautiful dog. Shed like CRAZY!
I just thought he would have the lab personality
but he didn't. He was Chow all the way!

By Cat on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 04:47 pm:

Yes, huskies shed like CRAZY!!! That really is nice about the mini-schnauzer. He doesn't shed at all, but we do have to get his hair cut every 2-3 months.

While I do agree with Kaye about not getting a large dog, you do want one that is at least big enough to handle some of the mauling your kids will give it. You don't want something so small the kids will smush it! Lucky, our mini-schnauzer, is a very sturdy and hardy dog. He's very solid.

Just wanted to add that.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 07:54 pm:

Huskies shed like crazy, and are not a breed I would recommend around young children. Yes, I agree, get one large enough to not be hurt by the kinds of mauling children will definitely give a dog. But there are some breeds I would not have around young children. Starting with Rottweilers (and I adore Sascha, the 110# Rottweiler currently living in my house) and Dobies (though my parents had 4 and they were all wonderful). Huskies and Malamutes are also dogs I wouldn't have around young children - they can have real food possessiveness problems.

I'd recommend a Labrador Retriever, but I just checked with my vet tech son and he says they are "kind of bouncy". He strongly recommends a Golden Retriever, saying they are invariably sweet. This has been my experience with them also, and they are pretty much the clowns of the larger dog world.

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy a dog from a pet store. These dogs often come from "puppy farms", are often the result of bad breeding or serious inbreeding (emphasizing the bad traits of the breed), very poorly socialized if at all, and often have congenital problems (very expensive to deal with) or disease issues. Check with a couple of local vets to see what is posted on their bulletin boards for people who are "looking for good homes" or have one or two dogs and want to sell the pups. Contact some rescue groups. A good rescue group (and most are very good) will have checked the dog out medically and it will live with one of the members for a while so that socialization and bad habits can be checked, and they will generally have a complete history of the dog. The SPCA can be OK (depending - after all, we got Sascha from the SPCA), but often they don't have time or staff to check socialization and habit issues, only medical issues.

Or, if you can afford it (I'm guessing not, since your dh is military) you can go to a breeder. But that gets very pricey.

Be aware that however you decide, once you have a dog you are dealing with at least annual checkups, shots, etc.; and the cost of dog food; and the fact that almost all dogs shed; and that all dogs take a great deal of time for walking, playing, attention. Dogs are pack animals and they want/need attention and affection. Are you sure you want to take this on with a baby? I know that when my oldest was around 3 we got a German Shepherd from a friend, and he was a wonderful dog but I simply could not give him the attention he needed/wanted, and as a result he started chewing on things. Eventually I had to find a good home for him (which I did), realizing that I could not deal with a young child and a dog at the same time. Many people can, but I am not one of them.

By Missmudd on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 12:18 am:

You might want to consider a basset hound. They can be a bit stubborn but they arent as big as a full sized dog, we always called them a big dog on short legs. They will tolerate most abuse by small children, are not overly possesive but will bark at strangers. At the most they top out at 50-60 pounds. They arent as hyper as puppies, they are barely awake as adults. Fixing the males is extreamly necessary or they will roam.

By Cutemom2002 on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 04:39 pm:

Please dont take this wrong, and I am not trying to turn anyone against a dog, but they are very dangerous! My son accidently got bit by a dog last summer. One of the dogs teeth went down to the bone. Within 1 day it got infected. I took him to the hospital. By the time I got to the hospital the infection was the size of a silver dollar, when the Dr. came to see him it went down to the wrist and hand, by the time he was admitted to his room it was up by his shoulder! He was dying and infection was spreading fast. They had preachers pray over him and everything. He was turning septic. It took 3 days for the infection to stop spreading and than the good Lord he is ok now. All I am saying is be careful. I was told by the hospital that even a dog scratch cold turn into that.

By Melanie on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 05:18 pm:

We don't have any pets because of dh's allergies. But the breed I fell in love with are called Havanese. They are small dogs, but don't yip like small dogs usually do. They are fun and playful but also calm right down. I think the biggest complaint I have heard about the breed is they like to dig. But otherwise I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the breed.

By Trisa on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 06:58 pm:

What about a West Highland White Terrier?
They are a smaller dog but very sturdy.
They do like to did and require grooming.
Beagles are realy cute and not to small
and not to big. http://yourpurebredpuppy.com/dogbreeds/index.html
This is a VERY ggod dog info site.
It tells you the pros and cons of EVERY breed.
Good luck with your search.

By Kathym on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 07:07 pm:

We adopted a lab mix last spring and he is driving me crazy. Very smart, east to house train but he is hyper, hyper, hyper. Great around the kids but he scares others because he is big and he still jumps. Think long and hard before adopting a dog...I held out for a year after my beloved 12 year old mutt died and now, of course, I am doing all the doggy work. It is almost like having a toddler again!

By Hdelfuego on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 08:17 am:

We have 2 miniature daschunds. When Emma was 6 mths old we put them outside bc they kept jumping up on her and scratching her. Now our oldest daschund is 3 and the youngest is two. Emma is 16 mths. They play really well together except Chloe, the 2 year old, never stops licking. It's really annoying bc I don't want Emma to be licked in the face. The only reason that we don't put the dogs in the house now is because Emma carries her cup around and is constantly throwing food from her highchair, and the dogs really can't have the table food. Another thing is that Emma will go give the dogs her toys to play with, which is really cute, but I don't want my dogs playing tug of war with my daughter's toys. Another thing is that they smell bad after playing outside and I have to bathe them all the time. I love my dogs, but if I didn't it would be really a lot more convenient not to have them. I feel horrible even saying that, but it is true. If you do get a dog, only get one. It was so much easier with just one.

By Heaventree on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 08:07 pm:

Hi Melana , we have a 2 year old Golden Retiever and a 9 month old baby. Our dog is very sweet and gentle with the baby. What drives me crazy is the mess the dog makes. I love her dearly, however, I must sweep the floors almost eveyday and vacuum the carpet, which we try to keep her off. She is one giant furball. Not to mention the mucky paws all over the freshly washed floors. I can't wait until my ds can finally walk cause he's constantly covered in dog hair. My only advice is seek a breed that is kind and gentle with children and get one that doesn't shed! Good Luck