Experiences with adopting puppies/dogs?

Question

I am looking to adopt a dog or puppy in a few months. I have a toddler at home and was wondering if anyone else had any experiences to share. I am leaning towards an adult dog (considered 6months or older at our shelter), but am wondering if a puppy would be better. Is it better to adopt a puppy and let it grow up with my daughter and start fresh? Or an adult dog that is out of the puppy stage and obvious how his temperment will be? I just am afraid to get an adult and have an uncontrollable dog on hands with my child, on the other hand it would be nice to skip over the puppy stage. Any advice or personal experiences would be great. Thanks

Answer 1

You should get the adult dog. Puppies and toddlers are never a good match as both are learning their boundaries and what behavior is acceptable at the same time, which is just a recipe for disaster, not to mention twice the work for you. An older dog will be more accepting of the enthusiastic petting a young child will give and not nip or attempt to wrestle in response as a puppy would. Puppies are generally more likely to nip in response to a tug as that is how they play with their littermates...by nipping and biting, especially when they are in their teething phase. In addition, I am sure you have your hands full with the little one, and an adult dog that is fully trained and housebroken will be one less thing you will have to worry about. Just make sure to always supervise the child and teach him how to properly pet the animals (no tugs and pokes). Children cannot generally distinguish between real animals and toys until they are about 5 years old.

Some breeds to look for are beagles (absolutely fantastic dogs all around), labs, and rotties. Believe it or not Rotties make great family pets and are very protective of "their" children. Stay away from dalmations (as cute as they are, they aren't good with children) chows (not always good with children) and small terriers.

I can understand your concern about temperament of an older animal. Ask your shelter if they have temperament tested the animal you are considering and to share those results with you. Any decent shelter will do that. Also spend a good 30 minutes with the dog in separate room at the shelter and let the two (child and dog) play and observe how they get along. Go with your gut- it is usually right, but there are so many dogs that are simply great with children at shelters all over the country. I don't think you'll have a problem finding an older dog that is great with kids.

Best of luck on your search for a new pet. And a hearty "Thanks!" for adopting from an animal shelter!

Answer 2

Many of the animals in the shelters are owner drop-offs. When they take these dogs in, they get information on if the dog is good with children or not. Even if the animal was a stray, the shelter workers can have a good guess on if the dog would be OK with a young child.

I worked with Rottie rescue for years, and always used my daughter when I temperament tested the dogs to see if they were OK around children. It is pretty obvious, if you know what you are doing, to tell if a dog is afraid of children.

All this being said, I would go with a young adult from the shelter. Ask questions and see how much information the shelter has on the dog. Also, take your toddler with you to the shelter, this way, you can see how the dog reacts to the baby. In your situation, I would not go with a puppy. There is just so much work that you would have to do, and with a young child, you would be exhausted! With an older dog, you would have avoided the teething stage, the house-breaking stage, and the adolescence stage.

Good luck to you!

Answer 3

Having a toddler you would probably be best getting an adult because of the time you spend with the toddler it will make it difficult to take time to train a pup. Adults will be calmer especially if they are over 2. You can also find some that are already housebroken and have things like sit down. Temperments are already set so you will know if the dog is suitable with kids. Everything is a go for the adult. Plus, the aren't adopted as easily as pups so you will be doing a good deed. I feel with a toddler it will prevent you from properly taking the time to train a pup. Plus the puppy nipping, chewing, and peeing. The adoption center should help you find the perfect match.

Thanks for adopting and good luck.

Answer 4

Go for an adult dog, 2+ years old. the puppy stage is over, they are more relaxed, generally spayed or neutered, UTD on shots and basic training is learned, including potty training.

Not only are puppies time consuming, but very, very costly. More visits to the vet than a 6 month old!

By adopting an older dog from a rescue or from someone who had the dog in foster care, the foster parents have usually learned enough about the dog to say if it is a good home for someone with young children, babies, older children, no children, etc. They can even say if it's good at home alone, crate trained, leashed trained, must have a fence, etc. Breed doesn't really matter, just do your research on the particular dog you want, spend time with it and then research the breed if it is not a mutt. Certain breeds have certain characteristics that may not make a good fit for your lifestyle (maybe a hyper dog isn't right for you or one that will dig up the garden or requires frequent grooming, etc.).

Good luck.

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Answer 5

The Shelter is a AWSOME IDEA GOOd FOR U! i have adopted to dogs from shelters. i think that it would be better to get a puppy yes so that it is *growing* up with ur daughter. so that there will be nothing wrong. a puppy does take more responsibility though. an older dog is ok too but there is always a chance an older dog will not adapt as well to the child. although dogs are loyal and most love everyone. so go in and see what ur daughter enjoys more. bring her to the shelter

Answer 6

It really depends on the time that you find that YOU have. A puppy is great because you can say that you have put your time into raising one. However, you will put your time into it. A really young puppy will need to be taken outside hourly, you are going to need to constantly supervise it, and a puppy will move around a lot faster than most toddlers.
It is good to get a dog from a shelter. A mutt tends to have less health problems and it is all in the time you put into your dog. If you can divide your attention between both a dog and your child, both will probably end up being happier in the end.

Answer 7

Puppies are great to adopt. Adult dogs need homes too. But the one thing you really have to be aware of is how the dog will react to the children. Some adult dogs are in the shelter because they might not be good with kids. You have to be careful not only for the kids, but for the dog too. The best coarse of action will be to bring the toddler to the pound and see what dog fits with him/her.

I'm SURE you'll find a great addition to the family, and on behalf of the dog, Thanks for thinking about adopting. More pups need homes.

PS...I've adopted all of my dogs, and all have been raised well, and are great. It's all in the upbringing.

Answer 8

Thanks for adopting from a shelter...so many dogs need good homes. First, whatever age dog you choose, make sure you take your toddler with you. Most shelters will let you walk and have alot of personal time with the perspective dog. Puppies are alot of work and with a toddler at home, count on having alot of things chewed up etc. Contact your local shelter and ask their advice as well.

Answer 9

If you adopt an adult from a shelter or rescue, they can usually tell if the dogs are okay with kids. I would highly recommend an adult instead of a pup. Don't get a really big dog or a really small dog either. Something medium sized.

Answer 10

I just adopted a small dog (beagle) from the shelter and i get to bring her home tommorrrow from the vet from being spayed. shes 3 and shes a great dog! MOST shelters will know what dogs will be good with kids. From the research I did on beagles, they are GREAT family dogs, great with kids, etc, although they need lots of excerisize. When i was younger my mom also adopted a dog from the shelter for us, that was 1 year old. that was about 8-10 years ago, the dog is a mixed breed and still alive and kicking at 13 years old! Shelter dogs are great in my opinion, and you could even bring your children with you to the shelter to meet the dogs so you will know then if the dogs you are looking at will be good with kids.