OKay.. I think the time has come. I have put it off long enough! We need a dog in this family! My husband wants more kids and a puppy... I am hoping a puppy will do the trick! Jaden sOOOoooOOOOO badly wants a puppy. We are moving this summer and I think it will be good timing for a puppy. The house we are moving into has a nice yard... so its time. Now this is where I need your help! >.... What kind should we get? I will be brining them to work with me. ( I will be working for my MIL in her daycare/preschool) so I need a dog that plays well with other puppies as well as OBVIOUSLY needs to love kids! I am thinking a spaniel? What do you suggest?
good luck shanna... i think a spaniel is great. they are very good dogs i have a chihuahua for just one reason. it was easy to travel with him in the plain and take him with me everywhere. but i still think this is not a "real" dog but he was sooo cuuute when he was a puppy
Oh you brave soul! LOL No really, I would love to have a dog too but I am determined not to get one till the kids are old enough to do the brunt of the work..so we have a few more years. But, when we do get one we think we want to get a Beagle. They are sooo cute and don't get too big. I had a couple of spaniels when I was growing up and they were always so stinking hyper. I would never get another one for that reason. German shepards are wonderful too but get really big and shed ALOT. Good luck though! I can't wait to see pictures of what you choose!
I am also thinking of getting a dog this summer! I used to have a border collie and a collie / spaniel cross and both were very energetic dogs! Great fun and very intelligent but a lot of work. I am trying to decide if I can manage that again! I think it might be a bit too much for us as a family so I'm also thinking of getting a beagle Kelly! What I really want is a labradoodle, seems appropriate somehow! Someone I know has a cockerpoo, which just sounds all sorts of wrong to me...
you do realise a puppy doesnt cure the baby urge only puts it off hence the stage were at now ha ha.we have a staffie she is gorgeous loves a fuss and it great with the kids and wants to play with other dogs but is very excited and needs to jump on ya to make friends with ya before she calms down which if ya taking to work isnt really viable lol so id reccomend something small but i dunno what cause i find small dogs yappy and terratorial and cant be doing with that lol good luck and ill see you back here in a few months saying ya hubby wants a baby lol
If you can find them, Tibetan Terriers are perfect. They aren't real terriers and don't yap. They are perfect with children as they are used for herding and protecting livestock. They are clever and will run and play, but are happy to just lounge around. They have long coats but can be clipped so you don't have to worry about grooming. But you may have trouble finding one! We've had a couple over the years and they are the best dogs and so cute!
okay scrap that! We had tibetans from adults but apparently they are a lot of hard work in the beginning!
my family has a lot of mini schnauzers ... i am soooooo not a dog person i can't really tell you much about them - LOL - other than they all LOOOOOOVE them - hahaha!
We had a Golden Retriever when i was little girl. She was great, i would poke at her, lay on her, and she was a doll. We were BFF.
I think labs and goldens are really great with kids, but need lots of work as puppies so they learn manners. Because they are big, you don't want one jumping up and knocking down a toddler. I'm really loving our shizu maltese mix. (ha, I had to edit because it censored the correct spelling). They stay small, but are still hardy enough for a kid to haul it around. As long as they get a lot of socialization they will be good with kids. The drawback is the grooming. Lots of hair (non shedding though). and besides, how can you not love this face?
We just got a new Basset Hound in February..we did a LOT of research b/c we wanted a dog good with kids/other dogs and not too high maintenance...he has fit in perfectly with our family and is great with the kids (ages 4 1/2 and 16 mos). His name is Hurley Bassets are known to be stubborn and I've noticed that..but right now his personality is still developing b/c he's a puppy. We were warned that they are hard to train but I haven't noticed him being any more difficult than other dogs I've had in the past. We've crate-trained him which is my first experience with that and IMO the BEST way to go.
I have puppy fever too! Adrien thinks that I'm trying to replace my need/want of having another baby... lol! Good luck! We always had labs growing up and they made amazing family pets except that they are a little big and shed a lot.
We had a Golden Retriever and I swear there was no better dog with kids. They are big and need attention as puppies. Not training per say but attention. He definitely considered himself part of the family and needed others around. But wow was he sweet and gentle. Just a wonderful gentle soul. Kids would jump on his back and he never growled or nipped. He would just sit there and put up with it until and adult came and took them off. The only time I was afraid of him around a toddler was going down the stairs. He would just barrel down the stairs and so I always made sure he went first so he did not the kids down. I was afraid of dogs and didn't like them at all until I met a sweet Golden. Then when my DH wanted one, I said we are getting a Golden and I never regretted it.
We're getting a ****zhu in May and we're so excited!! I grew up with them and they are such well mannered dogs...and small too. They are great with kids and SO cute!!
If you want a big dog, I highly, highly recommend a German Shepherd. We researched for ages before we got ours and he's perfect. He's super smart and sooooo gentle with kids. Leo is much beloved by all the neighborhood kids. He can play hide-and-go-seek, go down slides, play baseball/soccer/etc. In the summer, he loves to go through the sprinkler with the kids (for some reason, he's not crazy about swimming in the pool...he only wades in the shallow part) and in the winter, he even sleds with them. I always say that Nana, the dog from Peter Pan, doesn't have anything on Leo. He's the ultimate babysitter. He also has his Canine Good Citizen certification, so he has gone to school with my daughter. Even in her class of 17 loud first graders, he was very calm and affectionate. My girls have dressed him up as a princess, painted his toenails, you name it LOL. He's perfectly patient and loves the attention. He's also extremely well-behaved and easy to train. He's great with other dogs and loves to play with them as well. In general, German Shepherds don't have the puppy behavior issues that many other breeds have. As long as you are willing to do puppy training classes early on, you'll end up with an amazing companion and friend.
