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What small-medium sized dogs are generally good with young kids?

17K views 90 replies 27 participants last post by  k9rider 
#1 ·
Hi Mamas,
I've been absent from MDC for quite some time and I'm happy to be back. I know there are many dog experts here and I thought I'd throw this out there: Are there any small-medium sized dogs that have a good rep with young kids?

We know a dog is in our future, but our kids are young (5 & almost 3). We know we want to wait a while (probably another year or more), but I've been researching breeds for some time. We will definitely adopt/rescue whatever pet comes into our lives. I've heard such good things about labs, and although I love them and know that the bigger dogs *tend* to be less nippy and will give young kids a little more "room" to climb, hug, etc., I can't help but keep thinking about their size. How will it fit in the car? How can we take it on vacation? Clearly any pet requires alterations to one's lifestyle, but perhaps a medium-sized dog would be better for us.

Any suggestions? TIA
 
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#27 ·
I think with regard to rescue ~ location is everything. I am involved in a national rescue organization for my breed ~ and our northern rescuers are almost begging for our breed to adopt out. I live in the south and I am always BEGGING for calls to stop from local shelters and families that want to surrender.

Southern states have always had a higher incidence of animals in shelters ~ likely for many reasons. I can imagine that in the north it is hard to find purebred animals in the shelters that need homes (and are not either infirmed or have severe behavior issues) ~ but that is not the case where I live.

I think on both fronts ~ rescue and breeders ~ the idea is to find reputable people who are honest and up front. There are so many things to 'research' like what kind of contracts they require and what their responsibility is to the animal once you have adopted it (ANY reputable rescuer and breeder will require you to return the animal to them ~ and only them ~ and require you to sign an agreement).

There is no denying that there are reputable breeders out there ~ but there are plenty of reputable rescues too. ANYONE can have a horrible experience buying from a breeder just as they can adopting for a disreputable rescuer. The idea is more that you research the rescue you choose to use and make sure you are finding a dog that matches what will fit in your family (and have good rescuers to assist you in doing so).

To the OP ~ I think it is great that you seem very flexible in the breed and seem most open to what dog will fit your home. I think that attitude works best in conjunction with reputable rescue organizations and I wish you luck in your search. BTW, what state do you live in? I can refer you to some reputable rescue organizations perhaps.
 
#29 ·
I have a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and he is a wonderful dog! He is very tolerant of young children. But he is not a snuggly dog - he'll come over to get his ears scratched, then curl up on a blanket by himself. He is smart, adorable, and sheds like crazy. We had a huge Lab, and while we considered him to be the best dog in the whole world, he was also much too big - we had to get a van to be able to take him anywhere after we had kids. A Corgi is a small dog who thinks he's a big dog.

The breeder I bought him from sometimes has adult dogs available - dogs that either didn't perform as expected in the show ring (or one a while ago who simply didn't like to show), or are retired from showing or breeding. They are sold as pets (as was my pup - he has an overbite). They are raised as housedogs, with lots of socialization and love.
 
#30 ·
Joanna, how do you think a Cardigan would get along with a Gordon Setter? This wouldn't happen for quite some time, but we'd like a second dog at some point, and not necessarily another large sporting breed. We love the look of the Cardie!

Sorry for the hijack.
 
#31 ·
When we travel we board our Cardi with a woman who raises golden retreivers. She has a big fenced yard where the dogs who get along can play outside - my Cardi plays outside with everyone, especially the Goldens! Sometimes there's another dog that doesn't like Topper, but he has made an effort to get along with every dog he's met.

An equally important question is how the setter would get along with a puppy.
 
#32 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead View Post
When we travel we board our Cardi with a woman who raises golden retreivers. She has a big fenced yard where the dogs who get along can play outside - my Cardi plays outside with everyone, especially the Goldens! Sometimes there's another dog that doesn't like Topper, but he has made an effort to get along with every dog he's met.

An equally important question is how the setter would get along with a puppy.
Our setter is still a puppy himself, actually, not quite 4 months old, so this is definitely a future thing, maybe as much as 3 years from now, but still fun to think about. We'll wait until he's at least 18 months old, if not longer. He needs to do some maturing and mellowing out before we tackle puppy training again. But we'd like him to have a companion some day if possible.
 
#33 ·
We have both a Cardi corgi and a half-Pembroke corgi and they are both just perfect with kids. We had to put down our 10-year-old German shepherd last year and we had been told that corgis were a lot like a good German shepherd and that a lot of people 'downsize' to corgis when they are used to shepherds. I totally agree!

They are smart and playful but not at all too rough. Good size for taking in the car, too. (A lot more portable than a German shepherd, for sure!) Our Cardi has a longer coat and so he sheds a lot but the Pembroke has more of an indoor-dog coat. We just love them both.
 
#34 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 3boobykins View Post
Joanna, how do you think a Cardigan would get along with a Gordon Setter? This wouldn't happen for quite some time, but we'd like a second dog at some point, and not necessarily another large sporting breed. We love the look of the Cardie!
Cardigans LOVE other dogs. That's one of the best things about them. They really just think that everything living must want to love them.

I will say that there are breeders who use the "may be reserved with strangers" line in the breed standard and let that excuse every bad/shy behavior of their dogs, but I strongly disagree with that. They're reserved with strangers in the same sense that any good alert dogs is; they want to make sure you know that someone's coming, but once you come and say hi they should be all over that new person. So just make sure that your breeder knows that you want a very social, confident dog and you should be fine.

Most people who have Cardis have absolute PACKS of them. They get along so nicely and they're such great little dogs (and so easy to raise and healthy) that it gets to be very tempting to keep a bunch of them. So I definitely would say that you shouldn't have a problem on the Cardi end--as long as your Gordon is OK with other dogs I don't anticipate any issues.
 
#36 ·
We have a Pembroke Corgi (rescued from our local city high kill shelter), and she is an absolute joy.

We loved the fact that since she is "smaller" she is easier to manage, but that they are also sturdy and yes even high energy. Her "high energy" is perfect for our family, especially with our other dog, who is 70+ pounds they play and run and have a ball. When we take our daily walks sure it takes the same amount of time to tire both dogs out, but who wants to carry a dog on half a walk


She is amazing with the kids, we don't care about shedding, but she does shed quite a bit. Our only "complaints" which we knew getting into this were that they bark and lick a bit more than I'd care for.

Oh and if anyone cares she is a great mom to the foster kittens, she grooms them and makes sure they don't roam too far if they are getting house time.
 
#38 ·
After all this "Cardi-love", I do think it's appropriate to mention that Cardigans are NOT for everyone. When I first caller the breeder from whom I bought Topper, she said "We have two sins: we bark and we shed". I had a Lab, so I thought I knew shedding, but Holy Moly! I we don't brush Topper at least once a week, the entire hosue is covered in dog hair.

Topper also happens to have an extremely dominant personality. I realize that not all Cardis are like this, but I don't think it's terribly unusual for a herding dog to think an awful lot of himself. It took about a year before he was firmly convinced that I was the Top Dog in our household, and Topper still considers himself to be above the rest of the family. We did (and continue to do) everything I've read about to assert our position as pack leaders: he eats last, he doesn't got ANYTHING (food, let outside, petting) without having to obey a command first ("nothing in life is free"). He was not allowed on any furniture until he was almost 2.

For people who have had dogs before, that's not a big deal, but for a new dog owner a dominant Cardi (or any other breed, of course) would take over the house in a hurry.

This trait of his can be amusing, however: when he stays at the boarding kennel and plays with the Golden Retreivers, he herds them around the yard. Since they are bred to follow directions and please others, they happily let themselves be herded all over! It's a perfect relationship!

Edited to add a photo of Topper:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...y/TopperLR.jpg
 
#39 ·
Mine are on a raw diet, so shedding is hugely decreased (seriously--we have two coat blows a year and otherwise I barely get a single hair off them). I have one barker and one that is almost totally silent. The classic line about temperament is that there are party cardis and worry cardis. One is up and hilarious all the time and one is constantly thinking that you'll fall and break your head on the way to the bathroom. I have one of each--the party girl is actually more my type, even though the worrier is PERFECT and never puts a foot wrong. Dominance/submission is more an individual dog thing, I think--you can get really dominant examples of any breed.

Their chief sin from my point of view is nails. Their nails grow like I've never seen. Weekly grinding is a MUST.
 
#41 ·
My site is sadly out of date. We got the second puppy the week I found out I was pregnant (oops!) so she has not had nearly the same photo time lavished on her. She's a tri-brindle points bitch who is now almost 5 months.

Clue is over one now, and due to my horrible pregnancy has only been shown on two weekends. She is half-way to her championship (7 points including one major). All I need is to get her out a few more times to finish, but I went from hyperemesis to SPD (pubic bone separating) so walking is very painful and running is unthinkable. So it'll have to wait until the new baby comes. Technically the new puppy should be out there in a month too, but it's just not going to happen. It was not exactly the best-planned thing, but hopefully it'll all be fine once things settle down at home.

Thanks for asking!
 
#44 ·
Hi Mamas,
Okay, this is a *bit* o/t, but I had to come back here to this thread, with all of you dog-loving mamas, to ask a different sort of question. DH & I are very practical people. We don't do things without research and without thinking about timing. What's the right time? What's the right breed? What's the right organization? Etc., etc. We did this when planning out pregnancies, too. We think about money, space, you name it. We're thorough. That said, there's my inner animal lover (I've been obsessed with animals since I was a little girl) that feels that sometimes I just need to move with my heart. Which, of course, I never do b/c we're so darn practical. All this said, there's a dog up for adoption at a local shelter that has been deemed "darn near perfect" by the people who run the place. He is 7 years old. Housebroken. A mutt. Medium-Large sized. Tan. Adorable. Given up b/c the owner is moving out of the country. I emailed the group asking for additional information. He also happens to have a name that happens to be what my father called me as a child. Hmmmmm? Does any of this mean anything? Is there always a perfect time? TIA for your thoughts.
 
#45 ·
I think there is a huge temptation to view dog adoption/purchase as "mystical"--we want it to be as magical as how our children were given to us. I don't have any issue with things seeming to swirl together to make a good match, AS LONG AS you're also coming to it with your eyes wide open. You didn't want a medium/large dog, so what about this dog makes that sacrifice worth it? How are you going to change your life to make his life ideal? How much exercise can you give him, etc.? I'd normally much rather see people make the initial decisions (going to get breed x from rescue y, or breed z from a pool of breeders including a, b, c) and THEN having the perfect thing come along than to totally reverse everything you've decided because a dog really needs you. There will ALWAYS be an adorable dog that really needs you. That's not going to be the shortage. The shortage is going to be in how much you're willing to change your expectations or your routine or your life to fit this new possibility.
 
#47 ·
Thanks so much for the great info here! My dd (she is 9) is doing her research to acquire a dog. Why research you say? Her dad is a software engineer and prefers cats but is okay with dogs, just doesn't want the work. I grew up with dogs (cairn terrier and westie) so I know the work and would like to have a dog now we have a house we are going to be in for a good while with a yard.

So, that being said, I told dd that she needs to determine what kind of dog will work in our household (2 somali indoor cats, we both work and she has school) as well as what it really takes to own and care for a dog such as training, how much exercise it will need, what to feed, etc.

(I know that I will be helping her, but I want her to go through the process of really thinking about what it means to own an animal - cats are easy in terms of care - litter box, feeding) so she has no frame of reference. I make sure she sees the number of animals that are dumped off in our town - college kids get dogs/cats once they move off campus, end of term or grad comes and boom, dumped in the shelters.

So, that being said, if you are still reading, she has decided she really wants a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She says it should be okay with cats and according to the tests she has found online, might be a good fit.

Could you knowledgeable mamas send me some links (pros, cons, etc) for this breed? I know they are herders, how do we keep such a dog happy? Terriers are hunters so throwing a ball for hours :LOL was great for them! I saw that several responses showed info on them.

Also, what other breeds are similar or would be a good alternative choice?

Thanks and hope I didn't hijack the thread....pm if you like...
 
#48 ·
Rani-I think it's great that your daughter is going thru the "research" phase. Even if ultimately it is your decision, she will go thru the process and it sounds like she is trying to match your lifestyle with the type/breed of dog. Great! I think you will get excellent info here, especially from Joanna (thekimballs).
 
#49 ·
Pems are lovely dogs--but they do have a more "small dog" temperament. More "up" or hyper. It all depends on what you want, really--if you liked the Cairn/Westie temperament you may get along very well with a Pem. I have Cardigans (the slightly larger, easier-going, tailed version) and I ADORE their temperament, but I didn't want the higher energy level or demanding nature of a Pem. Corgis DO herd. You need to be very vigilant for the first few months of owning them to train them not to herd/nip people. They will try to herd a cat, but they're not cat-aggressive. They mainly want to lick them a lot, and if the cat runs away they will try to herd it back to themselves. Both of mine are just fine with our cat now that she has shown them that she does not appreciate the herding.

Corgis of both breeds are barkers/talkers. The Pem has a higher/shriller bark, but both of them like to let you know what's going on. If you have sensitive neighbors, you may have an issue with the noise. The Cardis don't bark for no reason, so they don't bark when I'm out there with them (except that the puppy likes to bark when she gets really excited, so she'll talk to me when I'm playing with her), but if I'm not with them they feel that they MUST let me know that a person walked by, or a bird flew too near the pen, or whatever. They talk to our horse a lot too (her paddock abuts their pen, and she likes them, so she'll come over and whicker at them and they have conversations).

Both types of Corgis shed, of course, though I feed a raw diet and find that it's very minimal. But MANY people say that their corgis shed like a house on fire all the time. This is going to be different from your experience with wire-haired terriers. Corgis' nails grow like crazy. You have to clip or grind them weekly. And, finally, corgis THRIVE on training. They'll make up commands and games if you don't give them to them. So they'll do best if you like a dog that you are interacting with; they're not solitary dogs.
 
#50 ·
Yep - our Cardi, Runway, is the non-dominant type. He's not as serious as a border collie but just as willing to please. I'm a huge herding breed fan - they were bred to work and live with families, you know? I know they can get a little intense if they take their job too seriously but I can tell you from experience that it sure is easier to correct corgi back-talk than it is to correct German shepherd back-talk!

He's a bit of a barker and a "talker", too, but he mostly just barks when there is some kind of reptile around. We call him the turtle alarm.

BTW - Topper is beautiful! The breeder we got Runway from was in Arkansas and they had one named Topper, too I think.

Runway is actually a brindle, too but he's not very brindle-y and his coat is kinda long. There are pics of him and Slick (our half-Pembroke) on my blog (see sig).

Oh my, Joanna! I just looked at your corgi site! Runway came from Pecan Valley - his dad was Rooney. My husband is actually from Mayflower (although he denies it most of the time)!

 
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