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Dog Breed
Plague wrote:
I'm a 39 year old married man. I have three lovely daughters ages 3,5,& 7 (stair steps) and we are thinking about bringing a dog into our lives. I am attracted to the following breeds for various reasons: Doberman, Great Dane, Bulldog (American & English) , rottweiler, mastiff & bloodhound. My wife is attracted to the following "breeds": labradoodle (mongrel), and collie. My daughters are attracted to the following breed: Dalmatian. Does anyone have any lovely advice to offer? Dobermans and Rottweilers are two breeds I personally would not get with three young children. I know they can work in a house with young children, but they are more dominant breeds andl as a result it will be more difficult for you children to do anything with the dogs. I have no experience with Bulldogs in regards to children, as the only person I know who had one is one of those crazy people who keeps dogs instead of children, and treats them like children, as a result it was a spoiled brat(why I am glad she doesn't have children). Great Danes are a great breed and I know people who keep them exclusively with two children under 10, but if you get one it will always be unable to be fully controlled by your daughters unless it is very well trained, but even then, if it wants to go somewhere with them, it will. I love Mastiffs, although I probably will never have a Mastiff myself. I do have a Dogue de Bordeaux mix, which is a French Mastiff. I don't really know about them with children. You do seem to be selecting dogs based on either size or build in your case. I would basically ignore your children's request for a Dalmation, I have only heard of issues with them when children are involved. Collies are a great breed, but will need a lot to do otherwise it will drive your crazy. I am personally wary of herders with children though. I think my point is that there are drawbacks to every breed you can get, and you need to be aware of them before getting a dog. The important thing is to find a dog with drawbacks you can live with. For instance, will it matter that you and your wife are the only ones who are able to take the dog for walks, or do you want a dog that your children would be able to take out when they are a little older. They are too young now to walk any dog, but a dog will be with you for its entire life, which hopefully will be a very long one. With the larger more powerful ones, particularly the dominant ones who will be raised thinking they are above your children, they probably never will be able to handle them on a leash. In my opinion the most important thing to consider when getting a dog is their personality, and your list of dogs covers a wide range of personalities. The next thing to consider is the energy level, because you don't want a high energy dog if you only have the time for a low energy breed. It is also important to consider issues the breeds can have with children. Good luck. |
#2
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Dog Breed
wrote in message: Great Danes are a great breed and I know people who keep them exclusively with two children under 10, but if you get one it will always be unable to be fully controlled by your daughters unless it is very well trained, but even then, if it wants to go somewhere with them, it will. I One of many things I disagree with from what you've written. My Dane is the only dog I know that can be walked by a child. In fact, my neighbor's daughter has been walking her since she was 6, and my nephew has been walking her since he was around 3. Of course, neither child ever walks the dog by themselves, and I wouldn't recommend small children walking any dogs by themselves. Any dog that is well enough trained to walk on a loose leash can be walked by a child, under adult supervision. Conversely, pretty much any dog that is not properly trained to walk on a loose leash would be a menace to the adult or child handling the leash. It isn't the size of the dog, but the amount of training in the dog. FWIW, both of my dogs will take commands from children as long as they are able to articulate it, and comply. Neither one lives with kids on a daily basis, but both have had frequent exposure to them, and know to be respectful of kids. Suja |
#3
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Dog Breed
Suja wrote: wrote in message: Great Danes are a great breed and I know people who keep them exclusively with two children under 10, but if you get one it will always be unable to be fully controlled by your daughters unless it is very well trained, but even then, if it wants to go somewhere with them, it will. I One of many things I disagree with from what you've written. My Dane is the only dog I know that can be walked by a child. In fact, my neighbor's daughter has been walking her since she was 6, and my nephew has been walking her since he was around 3. Of course, neither child ever walks the dog by themselves, and I wouldn't recommend small children walking any dogs by themselves. Any dog that is well enough trained to walk on a loose leash can be walked by a child, under adult supervision. Conversely, pretty much any dog that is not properly trained to walk on a loose leash would be a menace to the adult or child handling the leash. It isn't the size of the dog, but the amount of training in the dog. FWIW, both of my dogs will take commands from children as long as they are able to articulate it, and comply. Neither one lives with kids on a daily basis, but both have had frequent exposure to them, and know to be respectful of kids. Suja I did say if it was well trained it could. Any dog that is well trained should be able to be walked on a leash by anyone. However, when suggesting breeds for people I like to err on the side of caution and look to what could happen if it is not properly trained, because the majority of people who have dogs do not have well trained dogs from my experience. Even those who "do research" on a dog before getting them. I'm not saying this person definitely isn't going to train the dog, in fact I hope they will regardless of what they do get, I just want them to know what they could get if they aren't prepared. |
#4
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Dog Breed
wrote in message: I'm not saying this person definitely isn't going to train the dog, in fact I hope they will regardless of what they do get, I just want them to know what they could get if they aren't prepared. What I am saying is that the breed is irrelevant if the OP does not train the dog. I have seen Jack Russells drag their owners around. So, no matter what dog they end up getting, they should train the dog if there is any kind of expectation that the children will be walking the dog. A dog that is out of control is a dog that is out of control, and it is not safe for kids to walk (or possibly interact with) such a dog. There is no need to single out one among the many breeds the OP is looking into for this particular word of caution. Suja |
#5
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Dog Breed
Suja wrote: wrote in message: I'm not saying this person definitely isn't going to train the dog, in fact I hope they will regardless of what they do get, I just want them to know what they could get if they aren't prepared. What I am saying is that the breed is irrelevant if the OP does not train the dog. I have seen Jack Russells drag their owners around. So, no matter what dog they end up getting, they should train the dog if there is any kind of expectation that the children will be walking the dog. A dog that is out of control is a dog that is out of control, and it is not safe for kids to walk (or possibly interact with) such a dog. There is no need to single out one among the many breeds the OP is looking into for this particular word of caution. Suja I agree that all dogs should be trained, but the world is not ideal and that will never actually happen. That being said, I feel their are certain dogs which can be even more difficult to handle without proper training, several of which are on this particular list. So it is important to point out these issues to anyone who is considering them. If a Jack Russel Terrier was on the list, I would have pointed out the potential hazards of an untrained JRT. By just assuming that every potential owner is going to properly train their dog you just contribute to the problem of out of control dogs, which are either hazardous to the people who own them or those around them. |
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