Which Dog Breeds Are Good With Kids?

Here's my boy...not a great picture...a little dark. He is still a puppy..not quite filled out yet....

[/IMG]

oh isnt he a cutie!!!

Thank you...he has become such a great part of our family. We enjoy him so much!

testing to see if I managed to 'brighten-up' Pistol



lovely colouring

Asking what sort of breed is good with "kids" is pretty broad -- it depends on what the kids are like, how old the kids are, what the home is like, what sort of commitment everybody in the family is going to make toward training and exercise, all these sorts of things. About the only dogs that are pretty well foolproof that I know are golden retrievers, Newfoundland retrievers, and the big tricolor swiss breeds (St. Bernard, Bernese mountain dog, greater Swiss mountain dog). And goldens are tumor factories, Newfies and St. Bernards have the usual giant breed problems (arthritis, short life, drool and stink and feces on a massive scale), and all of them are likely to be inbred.

But, then, I'm a huge fan of mutts. And if folks head down to the local shelter and pick up a grown mutt, there are the added benefits of saving an unwanted critter, being able to pick out a dog who's personality is more or less a known quantity, and not being saddled with the suite of congenital health problems that trouble so many purebred dogs.

THANK YOU ehBeth! That is much better! Thanks - he is a pretty puppy,,,pretty stinky right now too...stench floating up to my nostrils as he sits at my feet even now...must wash him tomorrow!

I agree patiodog...every other dog we have ever owned has come from the pound. This time we really wanted to get an Aussie. Kept trying to get the mixed Aussie's at the pound but they went like hotcakes. And DH wanted a puppy...no puppy's down there at the time...well there were some Boxers and Bulldog mixes...and some Lab mixes...but DH would not go for it. I do feel guilty - but we paid as much for this dog as we would have at the humane society. They are pretty pricey down there!

Farmerman:

I am on my third Irish Wolfhound...the first lived longer than my Golden Retriever....11 and 1/2 yrs and her mother lived to 12yrs....and they were wonderful years. Maeve is 2 and a half now and hopefully she will live a long life too. We in Wolfhounds are doing are best for the breed by doing genetic studies including cardiac and epilepsy as well as cancer studies.

Although I do not recommend an Irish Wolfhound for very small children, they make wonderful companions for older children and are extremely loyal. They are almost human.

My other breed is the Border Terrier....James Herriot's favorite breed. They are all terrier but very soft and loving with children. I have a 5 month old that is the absolute love of my 5 yr old and 10 yr old grandchildren that live with us. In fact my 10 yr old is doing obedience work with my 3 yr old Border and having a ball!

I also agree with those of you that have recommended a rescue...but why not a greyhound rescue? We have our 2nd rescue racing greyhound and he is so easy to care for and love. They are the best couch potatoes off the track. Very loving.

Just a few words....give a dog your heart and he will give you his in triplicate and quadruplicate!

I never owned an Irish Wolfhound, but was warned about how short lived they were.

Im partial to border collies as the all round good natured, smart dog. I also love my catahoula but wouldnt recommend a catahoula for a family, unless one of the kids was Richard Dahmer.
Border Collies only have one annoying feature and thats the same that your nifty Aussie is gonna show. THEY ARE VERY SMART, and , because they are smart, they need challenge and stimulation otherwise they get into trouble.
(Ours would practice herding and then dispersing the sheep, often causing the rams to get mixed in with ewes and wed spend hours getting em separated, of course the Border Collie would obediently help cause it was work to be done)

We had a border collie that, when the boy would ignore her because he was doing homework, the dog would grab his textbooks and run away with them.

We also had a golden retriever who recently died and , as patiodog said, she was a tumor machine.
Id stay away from sporting dogs as they can be territorial and "one master" oriented. We had some friends that had a bunch of very mean Weimeraners, and another acquaintence who had a Chesapeake Retriever that wouldnt let you out of the car. He was like cujo.