is a shepard/hound mix ok for a little babys first pet or are they too playful?

Question

im getting my daughter who is 8 months a shepard /hound mix and i dont know if they are too playful for little babys and i need to know if any one knows if i should get a different dog for her instead

Answer 1

Wow what an advanced 8 month old telling you exactly what type of dog she wants - my own kids were 2 before we got the "I WANT A PUPPY" bit!!

Seriously wait until your child is past the crawling stage before introducing a dog into your lives, you know how much work a baby is from experience well add a puppy which needs housebreaking, obedience training and socialization into the mix and you've got 10 times the work guaranteed.

A dog should never be bought for a child especially one so young the baby can hurt the puppy by grabbing and pulling at it and a dogs only defence is its teeth.

You will only be making a rod for your own back by taking on this pup so please be patient and wait a year or so before thinking of taking on a dog of any breed, by that time your daughter will be old enough to understand to leave the dog alone etc

Answer 2

Well, a lot depends on the shepherd/hound mix puppy and your living circumstances. Do you have a fenced in yard? A large puppy will need A LOT of excercise. Is this a pretty mellow puppy? How old? A large rambunctious puppy can accidently knock a child over pretty easy.
Have you considered adopting an older dog that already has a proven record with children? Puppies need lots of training and time and if you don't have the knowledge or the time an older housebroken dog might be a much better choice.
Are you dog savvy? If not, do you have a friend that is that can advise you? Are you willing to commit to a lifetime (10-14 years) of a dog?
All things you need to consider.
MJP

Answer 3

Get a dog for yourself, because YOU want a dog, NOT for a child's pet. At 8 months old, your daughter isn't even going to be all that aware of the dog. And the dog will be entirely your responsibility for it's entire life.

That said, a shepherd hound mix could be a good dog around children. It really depends on the individual dog much more than the breed or mix. Hounds do tend to be pretty laid back and friendly and shepherds tend to be very tolerant of rude behavior by young individuals (both canine and human). But these are broad generalizations and do not apply equally (or even at all) to all hounds or all shepherds.

With a young child in the house, I would strongly advise you to adopt an adult dog that has been tested and shown to be good with children. Puppies are a LOT of work to house train, teach good manners, and train and with an 8 month old child you really don't have that much time to devote to raising a puppy. Plus, shepherds and hounds are both large dogs that hold on to their puppy mentality long after they are large enough to cause significant physical damage. A very young shepherd/hound mix wouldn't pose much of a physical threat to your daughter (except for those needle sharp puppy teeth...ouch!) but a six month old shepherd/hound is a very large, very rambunctious puppy that could knock your daughter down and do some real damage without even realizing it. And at 1-2 years they go through a "butt-head" stage where they hit adolescence and like to challenge the rules. For some dogs, this may be as mild as "sit, do I know sit? let me think about this for a few more minutes......ok, I guess so," to totally blowing you off for everything and completely forgetting any manners you've managed to teach them.

Answer 4

Hound Shepherd Mix

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
is a shepard/hound mix ok for a little babys first pet or are they too playful?
im getting my daughter who is 8 months a shepard /hound mix and i dont know if they are too playful for little babys and i need to know if any one knows if i should get a different dog for her instead

Answer 6

I think even the most responsible and sane person who is not a dog trainer or otherwise a dog professional would find it insane and impossible to raise a puppy and a child that young together. Please wait until your child is 8 or 9 years old when she asks for a dog, and then you can suprise her with the best gift of her life because she really wanted it, not because you wanted to give it to her! ANY dog is too playful for a child under 4 years old, you will not be able to leave this dog alone with your daughter for a very very long time. If you are dead set on getting a dog then go ahead and get a large dog but an older one at LEAST 2 years old from a RESCUE group, and I mean breed rescue, like a german shepard rescue, because they will be able to pair a dog with you that is already mellow and well trained and it will make your and your childs life much safer and better.

It's not so much your choice of dog, but your choice of timing for the dog that is wrong. Shepard hound mixes are large and active, but they are also very intelligent and can be trained well, so you made a better choice IMO going that way than getting a terrier, or a small dog of any sort, or a cocker spaniel, or a dalmatian, or a blood hound or other dogs that have tendancies toward stubborness and cranky-ness especially with small children. Actually, if you want to get just about the best dog ever you might consider a retired racing greyhound because they are often couch potatoe dogs, well trained before they are sent off to homes after their racing career, over a year old and mature enough not to chew on your child or hurt her, and generally mellow. Plus the adoption services will be best equipped to tell you which dog would fit your household and family based on personality and lifestyle.

My main concern about your choice is that if you choose to get a puppy, and put that puppy with your daughter - then the puppy does what all puppies do and chooses to chew on or bite your daughter or rough houses with her are you going to hit or scream at or otherwise punish the puppy incorrectly for doing exactly what puppies do? That's not a good expierence for such a young child or such a young dog to have and could create a lot of life long problems for both! What happens if when the dog gets larger than your child and you may have been too busy to train it and becomes unruly and starts accidentally stepping on your child trying to get your attention? What if you choose to get a small breed dog and your young child hurts or kills it? When I was 2 my parents got me a hamster and I accidentally killed it because of their innattention and I still to this DAY feel guilt about that! I remember that! Is the dog going to end up tied in your back yard for life because you never had time for it? What type of lesson is that for your child? Is it going to end up bounced from home to home after you can no longer handle a puppy and a baby? Is it going to be euthanized for hurting your child because you didn't know enough? I'm not saying that you are a bad or irrisponsible person, but this is a very serious decision with a lot of possiblities and places to go very wrong very quickly and not one but TWO lives will be at stake if you choose to get a puppy, and it all depends on your ability to handle the situation.

Just do your research! Please make a very careful decision because there is ALWAYS time to get a dog, but once you have one you cannot pretend you don't and there is no going back on the decision. Your daughters attitude towards dogs, possibly for her entire life, will be based on your decisions.

Answer 7

That could be an energetic mix! Is this a puppy or an adult? I would not recommend a puppy. They are energetic chew monsters that may chew on your baby! Make sure you meet the dog and hang out with it to see what it is like. If you're adopting from rescue they will sometimes let you take the dog for test run. You might also consider an even older dog, like around five. Their personality will be set and they are well past the puppy stage.

Answer 8

It really depends on the dog, it's age and its temperament around children. I tend to prefer larger breeds with kids as they tend to be more tolerant of rough toddler play and less likely to bite. But a large rambunctious dog can still hurt a small child by accident and if the dog shows any signs of aggression at all, it's a big no for a household with children.

My suggestion is to go to a shelter and select a calm adult dog rather than a puppy that has either lived successfully with kids before or is very calm and relaxed in personality around kids. This kind of dog will be less rambunctious than a rapidly growing puppy, will require less training and will be more tolerant of a young child.

Answer 9

Based on my experience with dogs, which I have owned just about every breed there is, I would definately NOT buy that large of a dog to be around my 8 month old baby. A lot of times, dogs are jealous of babies and the dog could unintentionally harm the baby. A dog like that is going to get big and even if it just accidentally layed on the baby could suffocate it. If I had a small baby in my home, I would go for one of the toy breeds. We have a 3 lb. chihuahua and my 2 grandkids love the dog..They are 13 months and 3 years old. I would definately recommend getting a smaller dog. Once your child gets older, then you could get a larger dog. I hope this helps.

Answer 10

German Shepherd Hound Mix