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best dog breed for children

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julie2 | 16:41 Sun 06th Jul 2008 | Animals & Nature
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best dog breed for children
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You'll get 100 different replies from 100 different people on this Julie2.

ALL dogs should be fully supervised at all times whilst round ANY dog....even the most dopey creature has a threashold of how much it can take from kids.

My father was a dog handler with Sussex police and i've been bought up with German Shephards and Labs. We've had one perticular shrphard that i would've trusted with my life yet sometimes, when my mates came round, the kennel would rock back and forth with the dog trying to get at them.

Labs are also very docile and a good house dog.

However, i now have a 5 year old English Springer Spaniel and and he is fantastic....he loves all the kids and plays with any friend my 9 year old daughter brings home. He's fun, energetic, great with kids, loyal and very loving and i wouldn't swap him for the world.

Just my humble opinion
***sorry...meant to say "All dogs should be supervised at all times around any child" ***
king charles
or minuture spaniels

lvly natured

as one said they like all dogs need good supervision x

good training and loved by all family members and frends x
I'm a German Shepherd person, but for a good all round family pet, I'd recommend a Golden Retriever - they're lovely. I've known many and yet none with an ounce of malice in them.
I agree with hammerman, as NO dog should be left unsupervised with children as even the mildest nature dog will not stand up with children tugging, or walking on them etc etc.

I would trust my young male with a new born baby, supervised of course, but not entirely sure about my others, although they have never shown any sort of agression with anyone or anything, they have not been brought up with young children and are a little older and wiser.

Have to disagree with Labs and Retrievers, there are quite a few around my area that are quite aggressive with other dogs, and as such, I wouldnt trust these particular dogs with children either. Definitely not a border collie, unless you want your kids rounded up like sheep!!
A Westie! Best to get a bitch tho' as they're usually more loyal. They're also known for longevity - quite important for kids. The bigger breeds can only live to 9 or 10, terriers tend to live for 10 to 15 years - God willing they stay free from illness. My rescued mongrel is 2 types of terrier, is 11 now and fit as a fiddle! I wouldn't swap him for the world. You could even let your kids choose their own from a rescue centre?
Sorry Sir Alec but my sisters Westie does not like kids at all - he had a bad experience as a pup where my cousins son fell off the sofa and landed on him and since then he has steered clear of kids.

If there are any in our company he walks away and sits under a table, or behind a chair.

I guesss though its how the dog is brought up as to whether it gets on with children.

All i am saying is not all Westies are suitable for kids.

I am slightly curious about when people say children and dog need supervising at all times. Reason being I was brought up in a house with dogs as was my husband and being bitten was part of the learning about being around a dog. The attitude was well don't do that again and you won't get bit. Now I am not for a minute suggesting that I or my husband was exposed to the terrible situation where dogs kill babies/toddlers, but my husband still is missing part of his ear from teasing the family doberman.

I don't know whether this is a generation issue, children born in the 50/early 60's were treated differently, or whether close supervision took place then as now with very young children but by the age of 7 you were up to taking the dog out for a walk.

Sorry julie2 to hijack your thread, its just one of those many things I am curious about.
well I certainly don't trust kids around my dogs without my supervision!!

The problem with letting the dog teach the kids to leave it alone is that the dog has then learned that biting a human works as a strategy.....which is not great news for the human and terrible news for the dog when it uses the strategy on someone else.

There are so many risks to allowing small kids to be out in charge of dogs....the other dog that is out of control, the sudden appearance of a cat on the other side of the road....all the other risks attendant on allowing a small child out on its own.

I am a child of the fities/sixties. We didn't have a dog because both my parents worked but I was certainly taught how to behave around dogs....having said that, my oldest sister had a dog jump up on her and rake calwas down the front of both legs which went septic....she didn't do anything...just an out of control dog in the park so a bit I can see both sides

Julie2 to answer your question, IMO any dog breed that has been carefully bred and carefully reared and trained can be okay with kids....provided the kids have been carefully bred reared and trained!!
If you want a dog, what space/time have you got? are yu prepared to do loads of grooming, training exercising, can you afford vet bills? When you have answers to these questions, you will get a feel for what breed of dog will be right for you
See we've had two answers....a westie and a King Charles spaniel which i totally disagree with.

Westies are snappy little sods at the best of times and i've known several people who've had to get rid of their KC spaniel because it went for the kids.

Scotties are good fun if you want a smaller dog and most of the ones i've known have been good natured.
any breed, so long as it's an immitation one.
Westies are notorious for being snappy, highly strung and are not easy to train. A lot of older people get them because they look like sweet little things, but then they have great trouble controlling them.

Mongrels often have nicer temperaments and are less highly strung than dogs of a particular breed, but I would agree that golden retrievers/labradors usually make good family pets.

However, children need to be trained as well dogs how to interact with each other and any dog can turn nasty if kids pull them about.

We have always had dogs and there have been a wide assortment of them from small to large, all of them rescued. They were never aquired a dog specifically for the children, they were family pets and the children were brought up to respect them. We have never had any trouble.
Sorry

"The dogs were never acquired specifically for the children".
I've had three Boxers (at different times) and with children - young and old - they were all fantastic with children (and adults). Very boisterous, admitted, but no-one, surely, can fault a Boxer's temperament and they do seem to control their 'power' - being more gentle with younger children. My first Boxer 'baby-sat' my 3 month old niece - rounding me up when she woke, and my own 2 year-old used him as a cushion. My current boxer is used to older children now and so is more boisterous - but as "sound as a pound". I've had a German Shepherd too - years ago - but when my first son was just two years old (and teasing the dog with a sandwich) he did receive a bite ... none of my Boxers have ever bitten.
a hotdog
well its my kids favourite



DTH ?
What age of children I wonder and how many?

Any of these breeds should be ok? But it depends on your space and garden size . . .

LABRADOR RETRIEVER
Good natured, playful, and mild mannered - loves to please and ois often used as a guide dog for the blind.
They need top be kept active or become easily bored.

GOLDEN RETRIEVER
Simliar to the Lab in personality; mild mannered and enjoy company - playing fetch is their love and as long as the kids are happy to play they will get on like a house on fire! They have longer hair and therfore require grooming

GERMAN SHEPHERD
Perhaps better for older children - very loyal and often used for Police or guard dogs - they are very tolerant and very proective

DALMATIAN
They love human company and love to play - lots of energy to use up with the children

BEARDED COLLIE
Not a huge dog but a very family orientated and active dog - they need a lot of space to run in - they are playful and happy and can be trained very well

Check out this site for help?

http://www.answerbunch.com/answers/381/There-a re-several-good-large-family-dogs-here-are-5-o f-the-best-in-my-view.aspx

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