What dog breed is best with kids??

A question about : What dog breed is best with kids??

This often throws up good debate, so thought I ask the question here.

Personally we will be looking to have our own family pet within the next 12 -16 months and will be doing extensive research at what breed would suit us best. With 3 children I would love to hear feedback reagrding any breed you have experience in youre family.

At this very early stage, we are considering 3 breeds, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Greyhound or King Charles Spaniel, but are just at the beginning of our research.

Best answers:

• I believe the staffie is the only breed that is recommended for young children.
• It's as much about lifestyle as it is the breed being good with kids. For example (generalising madly), greyhounds can be a bit couch potato like and may not like very busy loud environments, staffies like to be around people, can be exciteable and high energy and might not take to being left if you're out working without getting a bit destructive. King Charles are the same in some respects but with more fur! And possible more health issues
  So are you an active family, a quiet family, a houseproud family - that's as important as how a dog might be with children. Plus if you're getting a puppy there's no guarantee it'll be anything like the breed standard anyway.
  Edit - with staffies and other bull terriers, lovely though they are, you also need to take into account the public perception of them. In some respects you need to be more careful in public than with other dogs purely because of how people can react even when they're doing nothing wrong. Just another point for consideration.
• How about talking to your local shelter about dogs that need Rehoming. some may be brilliant with small children but, for instance, the child may have an allergy which led to the dog being sent for rehoming.
  We have always had spaniels, but have had ones excellent with children and one lovely, moody, golden cocker which I wouldn't have trusted with anybody other than my husband and I as she was very unpredictable.
  When small we had a mongrel who was amazing - not posh to look at but the most fantastic temperament ever!
• You need to consider a few things before you decide on breeds in my opinion. Do you want a large or small dog? Short or long-haired? (with inherent grooming). Are you an active family and do lots of long walks, or do you rather spend your days in front of the tv?
  All these types of questions will guide you towards the sort of dog that would be suitable for your family. Then it is up to you, as the responsible adults, to ensure that both dog and children are trained to respect and behave around each other! When my children were small I had Great Danes, Border Collies and a Doberman cross. Very different dogs, but all taught respect for the family, and the children were also taught not to run crazily around the dogs, but to not treat them as toys and to respect the dogs' space.
• To be honest there are many, many breed of the dog that will be fine with children if raised correctly from puppyhood. All my friends have dogs and children and they live happily together. I have 2 boxer dogs and a toddler and they are great together, boxer dogs are clowns and well known to enjoy the company of children. My brother has a Rottweiler and 4 children, they've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he has been brought up with the children and never a hint of a problem. My neighbour has a labradoodle and 3 young ones and she is great with the kids and the neighbours children that are in and out the house throughout the day.
  You need to consider your lifestyle, how often you can exercise them, how big is your house, food budget, vet bills/insurance etc. With a small child I personally wouldn't have a rescue dog, I like to know the history of my dogs with a toddler around. I would get a rescue dog when my daughter is older though, just a personally preference. I do volunteer work for a breed rescue and they don't re home dogs to homes with small children.
• Staffie! but Springer Spaniels are good too! come to think of it - any well trained, well brought up pup should be 'good with kids'.
• 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!
• I've worked a lot with rescues, and see good and bad of every breed.
  The GSD I have at the moment was petrified of children when we first adopted her - she had to wear a muzzle for the first 4 months. Now, she's almost perfect around children. If a child even touches a ball or toy in her mouth she lets go instantly. Not that I'd ever leave her alone with a child - if nothing else, she could easily knock them over!
  OP - you don't say how old your children are. Assuming they are over (say) three years, many dogs would be suitable - depending on their temperament. I'd recommend spending some time at your local rescue.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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!
• and I thought shitpoo (shitsu and poodle) was a joke and now that....LOL
• 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.