Kid friendly dogs

Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
what dog breeds are you personally familiar with that are easy personalities and get along well with children? At least have this tendency...each individual dog might differ...no guarantees.

Also...anyone know anything about:
Boston terriers
Chinese crested powder puff (with fur/Hair)

Thank you.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Golden Retrievers
Labrador Retrievers
Great kid dogs. Know this for sure. Friendly and non aggressive. Love to play. Gentle. My four year old granddaughter LOVES Jumper's Golden and lab. You dont hear about kids getting hurt by these breeds.

I believe but dont know first hand that Springer Spaniels are sweet and mellow dogs. I read that Beagles are good with kids too but no experience.

Most small breeds are not kid friendly and could bite...kids can scare them. Of course it is also individual to each dog. I would avoid most small breeds, cocker spaniels can be tempermental too(I had many,).
Not sure about Bostons or Cresteds.
 
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Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Boston Terriers,
Chinese crested powder puf
They are adorable, but unfortunately I have only met them briefly. My hunch is that neither would be the best choice. The Chinese crested would be at risk around small or rough children. Kids could by accident injure or kill them. I would worry.

Two breeds I know very well: Boxers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

I have had 3 Boxers. 2 Females. They are marvelous with children. Loving, gentle. Adorable. Loads of personality. Independent. Don't need a lot of exercise. I would recommend a female boxer. Our boxer now, is Dolly.

I know very well 4 Staffys. They are from England and called the "Nanny Dogs." They look like small pit bulls. The 4 I know are members of a family with 2 small children. These dogs are kissing machines. They only know love. But they will watch over children. I love these dogs. They only want to be close to you.

Another non-breed is a Golden Doodle. This is a golden retriever cross with a poodle. I know one very well and I have met several others. They are brilliant, happy, loving, alert, sophisticated and very good family dogs. Need exercise.

Nomad. What are you looking for in addition to good with kids? Is this for you?
 

Elsi

Well-Known Member
Labs and Goldens are popular with families for good reason. And golden doodles. Agree with SWOT on small happy breeds and cocker spaniels especially - we lived in terror of my aunt’s many cocker spaniels!

We’ve had some very sweet terriers and terrier mixes in the family though.

Don’t know anything about the crested.

Among smaller dogs, I’m very fond of corgis and schipperkes. Though the schipperkes are pretty high energy and need lots of mental stimulation. The ones I’ve known have been fine with kids, but I’m not sure if that’s true of the breed in general or just the ones I know.

Agree with Copa on boxers.

We have huskies now and I love them. But I don’t recommend them with kids, or anyone who isn’t prepared for a high degree of shenanigans. They are too smart for their own good and almost impossible to contain!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Huskies are not good with kids. Unpredictable. I love pitties but have heard too many stories to trust them with kids. Same with any guard dog.

My dog trainer for Jackson works with all breeds of dogs and is great with dogs (also has her own daycare) and she told me she is cautious with any dog in the guard dog category. This includes German Shepherd Dogs, St. Bernards, Pitties, chow chows...you will have to look them up.

Now she works with the most damaged dogs in rescues such as puppy mill survivors so I trust her. She has changed Jackson to a happy, loving dog from a shaking, terrified pooch. She knows dogs.in fact she has two rescue dogs, one a pittie, and is young but only wants dogs, not kids!!!

I would listen to her about guard dogs if SHE takes precautions when working with them.
 
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Nomad

Well-Known Member
Staff member
We are semi thinking of getting another dog. Unsure. It’s a touchy subject around here.
But we have young grandchildren, so we would prefer a breed that tends to be kid friendly.
Doesn’t shed much would also be a consideration.
 

Tired out

Well-Known Member
I grew up with and English Springer Spaniel-- he was beautiful but a real brat. he really didn't like anyone but our immediate family. He was very protective of us. he also always wanted his own way, if we were going somewhere he wanted to get int he car. You had to get out the door without him seeing you. One time he got out a head of my dad and snapped and growled at dad when dad tried to make him get out of the car! I think back and am still amazed that he lived with us from puppy to death (at 14 years). We had 3 golden retrievers through my life and my sisters had goldens too. They were the best with kids.
Good luck deciding. I will stick with cats!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Goldendoodles is my vote top. They are golden retrievers and poodle and dont shed. Very sweet.

With all dogs, young kids can scare and provoke dogs intoinipping.very little to kids who dont know how to treat dogs probably could use time before doing so.. Dogs bite when.they are scared. I wouldnt get a dog until grands were at least five or six with some teaching about animals because you never know what a young child will do. Maybe a guinea pig or patakeet would amuse them in a cage and everyone, animal and kids, would be safe. I would not even let a guinea pig out around tiny kids unless you are right there showing them how to treat them. I have heard of kids squishing them...maybe they think of them as stuffed toys.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Doesn’t shed much would also be a consideration.
I agree with Elsi and SWOT. A golden doodle is among the dogs that are low-shed. If you got one that is bred with a standard poodle they are large dogs. Within the first few months of life, they would be able to handle small children.

Dante, the golden doodle who lives near me, (and only knows me through meeting on walks) recognizes me out of context. How amazing is that? We have met by accident at his groomer's and he remembers me. They are so socially astute. What is remarkable is their social intelligence. His owners have a new, second, golden doodle. Dante "introduced" me to him. These dogs are amazing. And they are delightful.

I have to say that our first boxer, Jack, did nip my toddler son once in the cheek. He had had quite enough. So there is that to consider.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
We had 3 golden retrievers through my life and my sisters had goldens too. They were the best with kids.
I love the story about the English Springer Spaniel. Our cat is like that!

The Golden Doodle is half Golden. From them they get the sunniness, the trustworthiness, their stability and mellowness I think. The poodle in them gives them their quirkiness and independence. To me the Goldens were a plain vanilla dog. I hate to confess it but I experienced them as uninteresting. Not so with the Golden Doodles. They are nothing but interesting and captivating.

It boils down to your personalities, too. What you seek in a dog is a reflection of what are your needs.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
As the proud pet mom of two (one sadly has crossed the rainbow bridge) Boston Terriers, or Boston Terrors as we called them, I can say they may be considered laid-back as terriers go, but they are still definitely terriers. :) They are funny, feisty, happy, stubborn little dogs. Our son was like 8 or 9 when we got them and he was amused by their antics, but he wasn't one to really play with animals. Boston's are jumpers and kissers and it's just impossible to train them not to. They don't know anywhere to sit but on your lap...whether you want them there or not. Two of them together play ROUGH! Mac and Suzie used to pull each other across the floor by their cheeks!!! They sound like they're killing each other playing bitey-face...but they're just playing. They are not big gentle babies like the labs and other retrievers or boxers. Boxers are great kids dogs. But if they're trained right, Boston's are wonderful pets. Ours never snapped at a child, ever, (Mac could get cranky and snappy with grown-ups, but never children - we watched him like a hawk when he was in a mood) though they occasionally brought blood playing with each other.

One thing, Bostons, and all of the pugged-nosed breeds, don't do well in extreme temperatures. They are air-conditioning dogs.
 
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