What's the best dog to get for a 3 year old child?

Question

I want a good friendly dog for my child but cute too any suggestions?

I've noticed that some of you mistook my question.When i said a dog for my 3 year old I should of said a family dog.I don't know anyone in their right mind who would buy a puppy and just assume a 3 year old would take care of it.

Answer 1

Labs and Goldren Retrievers make excellent family dogs. A lot of people swear by boxers, and they ARE good with kids, but are also pretty high energy and need lots of exercise.

In actuality, any dog that you get will need to be trained in order to behave properly with a small child. Your best best would be to go to a local shelter or pound and look for a nice, adult mutt. Most shelters temperment test dogs to ensure their compatibility in home settings (whether they get along with other dogs, cats, children, etc.).

Puppies and children together is a lot of work. Believe me, we have a 7 year old son and a 6 month old lab/boxer mix....they're both children learning their way around proper behavior with each other, so my husband and I have to step in a lot. Puppies play bite and children pull tails, ears, etc. Even if you go with an adult dog, you'll need to teach your child acceptable behaviors around the dog. Our son just got taught a lesson when he scared our puppy while he was sleeping. It wasn't pleasant. But he learned from it, and so did Cooper (our puppy).

I never recommend smaller dogs to people with children because a lot of them tend to have a "small dog, big" complex and get snippy because they feel insecure about their stature. I've been bitten by several small dogs in my life....never been bitten by a big one.

You'll want to get a dog that not only fits into your home (children, other pets), but also fits in with your lifestyle. Some breeds require more grooming, training, and exercise than others. You can look up information on any breed here: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com

If you go with a mutt, just look up the individual traits of the dominant breeds (there are usually two). Our puppy is lab and boxer....so he has the springy energy of a boxer, just not to the same extreme because the lab in him appears to have calmed him some.

Never buy a dog from a pet store. Most puppies in stores come from puppy mills which are basically breeding warehouses. The dogs are bred for profit, not for the betterment of the breed. Because of this, there can be health and behavioral problems because of indiscriminate breeding. Not to mention you're just encouraging the puppy mills to churn out more dogs if you buy from them.

Good luck!

Answer 2

on tv last night it was suggested that a Sheltie was a good dog for a family.

maybe a mutt of some kind?
Labs are good , depending on what size you want in a dog.
We just bought a Jack Russell and its a lilttle crazed but a nice dog, very energetic.
A lot of toy dogs don't like being played around with that a 3 year old would want to do so i would choose carefully there.
Its a hard choice cos everyone will tell you something different, if someone loves thier dog to bits they will quite often say their breed is the best.
If you have any experience of a certain breed of dog, think about that. Otherwise you need to think about size, exercise needs, coat care and then think about how they would respond to a child, as you would obviously need to be caring for the dog until the child is old enough to cope with what needs to be done.
I have 3 dogs here but no small children now.

Answer 3

You do realize that a 3 year old will not take any responsibility for the dog, aside from letting you know the dog pooped on the very expensive rug or broke the priceless vase. Children get very excited about pets, but they often don't understand the responsibility that's inovlved. Parents are the ones who end up feeding and cleaning the dog.

Are you sure your child is not allergic? You might want to talk to the pediatrician to make sure.

Be careful about the breed. Some dogs are inherently more aggressive and violent than others.

Where will you get the dog? From the shelter or a store? There might be subtle differences.

Good luck.

Answer 4

I don't think you are going to like my answer. I think 3 years old is too young, I would wait until the child is about 7 years old. That way the dog will not have his tail pulled and the kid will not get bit. At 7 you can teach the child to take care of the dog, and love it, and the dog will love the child.

Answer 5

I have three children ages 3, 8 and 15. We adopted a Golden Retriever (named Honey) back in April. She is now 8 months old and as she is still a puppy, she's a little hyper...but is still very good with the kids. Also, she is a good match for my 3 year old child, who tends to be a little hyper herself! I would worry that my little girl might try to get rough with a smaller dog and accidently hurt her, but Honey just loves the attention. I think a golden retriever is a perfect pet for children! Good Luck!

Answer 6

3 years old is too young...more around 6 years is better.

A small dog can be injured by toddlers. A large dog can accidently injure a toddler in play.

Before you get a dog, expose your child to dogs and teach him/her how to respect and act around a dog.

Then, you have to think about what you want to take care of and what will fit into your home.

Do your homework on dog breeds; what they were bred to do will be the biggest clue into their behavior.

Then watch the Dog Whisperer so you don't make mistakes raising the pup and end up with an incorrigible beast.

Answer 7

A mutt from a rescue shelter that fosters dogs. There are so many unwanted dogs out there that are looking for good homes. I also recommend doing a temperament test. There is a really good one I found on this website. It is a site for Pits, but it's a good test to use on any kind of dog to see what it's temperament is. Also important to know, never leave your child alone with any kind of dog till they reach an age where they can be responsible and understanding of dogs.

http://www.pbrc.net/temperament.html

Answer 8

German Sheppard
puppy, they can grow up together like family, respect and care for each other, and be best buddies for many years

German Sheppards are surprisingly sensitive and delicate and trustworthy and caring and careful to small children and babies in the family, and can be quite obedient if basic training and commands are done right. They're also protection against strangers, kidnappers, burglers. They're very smart dogs, and pretty predictable.

Answer 9

Make sure your child meets the dog before you get it home. I know a couple who thought they would surprise their child with a cocker-poo puppy. Well, the surprise is on them.. The kid took one look at the adorable little puppy and ran for the hills screaming and crying.

Answer 10

My brother got his first Sheltie when he was about three. They have the temperament of a Collie, but are about a quarter of the size. They are also very smart and loyal. The only downside we saw to ours was that she required daily brushing because of her long coat. Border Collies or border collie mixes are also a good choice, as long as you have room for them to run, as they are a working dog and get bored if left alone too long.