Has anyone adopted an adult dog and have a toddler?

Question

I am going to adopt a dog in a few months either from the local shelter or a rescue group. I have heard that it is better to adopt a younger dog or puppy so it can grow with my daughter. I will be going to the shelter, but am unsure of an adult or puppy. I will always supervise my child no matter what I choose. Has anyone had or know anyone who has adopted an adult dog and has a small child? Any problems with that? Any positive or negitive stories would be great.

Answer 1

I reccomend going through a rescue group that will help you find the right dog for your situation. Going to the local animal shelter may be risky just because the people there probably don't know much about the temperment of the dogs. They are probably kenneled all the time, and are already frustrated. I imagine that you don't have time to break behaviour problems in a large unruly beast while you take care of a toddler. I would find a breed you are interested in and then contact the rescue group for that breed through the AKC. Alot of breed rescue groups keep their dogs in foster homes where you can talk to someone who know alot about each particular dog. Also NO KILL shelters will do the same. Some breeds I recommend for kids are beagles, labs or goldens, pitbulls or pit mixes, and gentle breeds like great danes

Answer 2

I have worked with a no-kill animal shelter for several years and I can tell you that that old wives tale about getting a puppy to grow up with the kid is HOGWASH. Puppies and toddlers do not go well together. The puppy always gets the worst of it, since the toddler will trip over it, flail at it instead of pet and poke eyes and ears, etc. The puppy quickly learns that it should stay far away from the kid. The kid also has a rough time since puppies play and the games they play always involve teeth and claws.

It is MUCH better to get an adult dog. It should be old enough to have all the puppy shenanigans over with, so over 2 is a good age. By this time, too, the dog's personality is set and you know whether you are getting a hyper dog or one that is a fear biter or other unwanted traits. By getting an adult dog you might be able to find one that is already housetrained, which is a very real plus. (You don't want your kid crawling around on the floor with that!)
Sometimes you can even find ones that know basic commands.

I can tell you that the people who select adult dogs for the family are generally happier in the long run.

My suggestions, though, are these:

1. Don't settle. Wait for the right dog (adult or puppy, either way)before you adopt.
2. Adopt from a place that knows something about their animal's personalities. Purebred rescues often are kept in foster homes and are housetrained and behavior monitored during their stay in rescue.
3. Get acquainted with the dog before making your decision. I have selected dogs from places where they did not let you touch the dogs before you took them home. You are really buying a pig in a poke with that. (Luckily the dog I selected was perfect except for the fact that she had pathological separation anxiety.)
4. Make sure you get a return guarantee in case it doesn't work out. You may lose the adoption fee, but you don't want the responsibility of having to find a home for a dog that turns out to have issues you can't deal with.
5. Make sure the place where you adopt the dog is willing (and able) to offer HELPFUL advice when training issues arise.
5. Don't fall for the "small dogs are better with kids" line. Actually medium and large dogs are much better and safer for your child. Small dogs get scared and their only protection is biting. Big dogs are less likely to get scared if the kid falls on them or steps on their feet.
6. Go to the library. Get a book on breeds that will talk about lifestyle characteristics for each breed. I like "The right dog for You." And "New encyclopedia of the dog" has great pictures, though fewer opinions about the lifestyle factors. While it is true that not every dog exemplifies the stereotypical behaviors of the breed, the fact of the matter is that they are stereotypes for a reason. It's a good place to begin deciding what type of dog to get. While you are getting books, look for "The Toolbox for Remodeling your problem dog". Not just for dogs with issues, this is the very best training book I have ever seen.
7. Although 25% of shelter dogs are purebred, many times the mutt types are just as good or better. Twice I have owned mutts that were so beautiful and smart that everyone else coveted them. Give 'em a chance.

A final note: You can find many people who complain about adult dogs "with issues" that they have adopted in the past. What you will find is that these people usually did not do their homework and adopted a breed that did not fit their lifestyle and, once issues arose, they did not make any real effort to correct the problem through trianing or consulting animal behaviorists. Don't make the mistake of believing puppies come to you as a clean slate with no problems. There is nothing that causes more problems than a puppy. Well, unless it is a human child.

Having adopted five adult adult dogs and one puppy, I can tell you in no uncertain terms: I will never willingly adopt a puppy again. It is too much work, the chance of you messing the puppy up is too high, and there are too many adult dogs needing homes. It's adults all the way for me.

Answer 3

First of all, FOSTER 901...............DO NOT take the chance of having a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix around a toddler. Especially a grown Pit. That is asking for trouble. I have a history with this dogs and this breed. Don' t ask for trouble.

Usually any grown dog is going to bring some baggage from previous homes. It is like adopting a troubled child. They require a lot of attention and retraining. It is not their fault and they deserve a good home as much as any other dog. Humane societys, rescues or foster homes have no idea what that dog has experienced. They get general information from whoever turns the animal over to them, but there is always much more.

That is the reason I would not adopt from those places IF I had a child. Children (especially toddlers) move quickly. The abused animal does not know the child is playing. Then the poor animal attacks in self defense. Your child is injured and the dog is killed or sent back. Only to placed in another home.

I think adopting is great if you have older kids or no kids. If you have the patience and time to spend with a troubled dog, it is great. But, I would not suggest it with a baby or a toddler.

When you are ready to add a dog to your life do some research first. Make sure the dog breed matches your familie's lifestyle. Be positive the breed does well with children and commotion. You will have other children over playing with your child or you will have more children yourself, so you must consider all these things.

It is great to be a humane person and adopt a dog to give him/her a forever home. But it is not great if that dog ruins your home and family because of the animal's past life.


I have to add something to ROBIN D............A child should be taught how to respect an animal. They should treat an animal as they would a playmate. If you cannot teach them that, then they are not ready for an animal.It is abuse when you allow your child to tease a dog or harm it in any way.

Answer 4

My husband and I adopted our first dog when our son was three years old. I had worked with a local shelter before we met and I knew that I wanted to adopt rather than buy a dog. We ended up choosing to adopt a retired racing greyhound because we knew exactly what that dog's life had been like, what training it had recieved, what it's personality was like, etc. While I disagree with the above poster who makes every shelter dog sound like Cujo, we were concerned with the number of 'older' puppies who had been dumped because of obvious lack of training. Greyhounds have a very structured early life and the training they recieve is pretty much uniform for dogs coming from all over the country. After we adopted we started fostering and the dogs that we foster are (obviously) exposed to having children around (although our son is not a toddler anymore). I can tell you just about anything about my foster dogs. I know how they react in any common situation (and a large number of 'uncommon' ones). I am the best resource any potential adopter has and stay in contact with all my fosters after they go to their forever homes.

Answer 5

I went to a rescue shelter that had a lot of dogs the lady had "saved" from the pound. There were probably 15-20 dogs there and I ended up leaving with two. I got a german sheppard/bloodhound puppy who is growing up with my daughter and he is absolutely wonderful with her. Sweetest dog ever. The other dog I ended up taking with me is a full blooded adult female bloodhound who was in a volatile home. She had been beaten up and starved, which makes it quite a tricky situation. There was a lot of work and still is a lot of work in taking care of an abused animal...and while she's a little more timid around my daughter they do just fine together. Granted the puppy (who now weighs 90lbs...) and my daughter are closer. The adult dog is adjusting well, but it's taking a lot of being gentle with her and just letting her know she's okay now. I think the issue with getting an adult dog is just that the dog has already learned things from it's previous owner/situation and it can be a bit difficult to re-train them to your family.

Answer 6

Do a search on the web for local rescue groups, they tend to get better information on their dogs, not to mention the "foster parents" have had time to get to know these dogs, a lot of the "foster homes" have children in them.

Answer 7

Watch Hot Girl Alone - http://CamGz.com/live/?FMRv