[amandabenson]

Which dog breeds do you think are best for families? And which are the worst? When I was a kid, we used to have a Japanese Spitz named Chelsea. I don't think they make good house pets because she tried to bite me several times back then. Lol. We also have had a dachshund and several Labrador Retrievers since then and they're great with kids.

How about you, what's your personal experience on dog breeds in a family environment?

[Yogi]

Overall the Goldens are the best for children especially young children. Pits also when raised with children from puppyhood make for excellent dogs for little children. Terriers are generally to be avoided as in most cases they do not take well to being overly handled, which children instinctively want to do. This in most cases leads to nipping and biting.

[cigwyllt]

Perhaps these sort of threads should be "What sort of children are good with dogs?" LOL! We've always had terriers alongside our kids with no issues at all and we also had a golden who decided she was our son's dog. They were both two years old when we got her and they were inseparable from day 1.

I do think though that whatever breed you get you need to be as strict, if not stricter, with the children than you are with the dog. I have always protected my dogs from the kids so they have never had any need to fear children and I have always insisted that the children treat the dogs with respect. They are never allowed to pick them up and carry them or tease them in any way.

I don't tolerate any bad behaviour from children towards my dogs. Even my adult son knows that I will make sure he regrets it if he teases them LOL!

[Lunareclipse]

Saint Bernards. They make great pillows for your children.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Perhaps these sort of threads should be "What sort of children are good with dogs?" LOL! We've always had terriers alongside our kids with no issues at all and we also had a golden who decided she was our son's dog. They were both two years old when we got her and they were inseparable from day 1.

I do think though that whatever breed you get you need to be as strict, if not stricter, with the children than you are with the dog. I have always protected my dogs from the kids so they have never had any need to fear children and I have always insisted that the children treat the dogs with respect. They are never allowed to pick them up and carry them or tease them in any way.

I don't tolerate any bad behaviour from children towards my dogs. Even my adult son knows that I will make sure he regrets it if he teases them LOL!

Do agree, training the children with terriers is more important but the reality is most people who claim that they watch the interaction between the 2 to be sure all is as it should be need only turn their back for a minute which is generally what happens. In your case as in mine, having a great deal of terrier experience, we both know what can happen and are prepared in advance but for those with no terrier experience, I do not recommend them for a young family. Not to mention the energy level in many cases is too much for them. In the case of dogs like the Golden or even Labs, their tolerance for children is far better than most breeds which is why they are generally recommend over other breeds. My sons were raised with Miniature Pinschers and my oldest and his wife have one. He knows how "not" to handle them from being raised around them. The only time my pups go to homes with children is if the children are 10 and older. So far in all the years, the mix has worked out great. Knock on wood.

[cigwyllt]

Because I'm a bit of a terrier nut most of my experiences are with terriers and terrier owners but it is ridiculous the number of people who think it is excusable to get rid of a dog because it won't tolerate the children when they have made no effort to teach the children what is and is not acceptable.

I guess my dog/children combos have been successful because I am obsessive about the dogs' safety and I have large gaps between my children so there is usually an extra pair of eyes watching out for dog/child interaction. Also I think that familiarity breeds disinterest. My boys love dogs but the girls really are not interested in them at all.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Because I'm a bit of a terrier nut most of my experiences are with terriers and terrier owners but it is ridiculous the number of people who think it is excusable to get rid of a dog because it won't tolerate the children when they have made no effort to teach the children what is and is not acceptable.

I guess my dog/children combos have been successful because I am obsessive about the dogs' safety and I have large gaps between my children so there is usually an extra pair of eyes watching out for dog/child interaction. Also I think that familiarity breeds disinterest. My boys love dogs but the girls really are not interested in them at all.

I agree but at the same time the number of people who fail to read up on a breed before getting one is even worse considering there are just as many of those if not more than do not even have children.
As for mine, same here. I watched my kids with the dogs to ensure they understood how to handle and deal with them. In turn, they co existed exactly how I hoped. Unfortunately though as you noted, not all keep extra sets of eyes on the interaction, thus problems occur that could easily be avoided with proper training of both child and dog.