With all the talk of wether rescues will put dogs with children or not I wonder what other peoples views are.
From my experience in Labradors they can be very boisterous around young children but if they are brought up together then mutual respect is taught.
My dogs are wonderful with my grandaughter who is now eight but practically lived with me from being two to seven years old,Im currently looking after her because she has been poorly and had to laugh just now when I went in the other room and she was playing school with them reading to them and they are all sitting round being good and paying attention to her :) even Ned my german wire who isnt known for sitting still much :) yesterday when she was quite poorly on the Couch wrapped up in blankets Minnie my two year old lab was curled up with her alseep.
I think that children and dogs can live happily together as long as the dogs are of good nature and the children are too ;)

I think all children should be brought up with dogs. It makes them a better rounded person!!!!!!!!!!

And Labradors are perfect (generalisation I know but I mean the majority)
They are boistrous enough they are good fun but know when a bit of quiet is needed (although Darcy hasnt got the hang of that yet)

you just have to get the ages right.
I dont think a labrador puppy with young children is a good mix.

People should wait until their children are old enough before getting a puppy
or until their puppy is old enough before having kids.

have you seen the latest evidance that children who have pets spend less time off school?aparently they have better imune systems!!Responsible parents are more likely to have resposible children and dogs in my opinion.

I agree,Florence soon to be 11yrs was brought up with Labs and she and the girls were always up to things together.

It teaches them respect and responsibilty and what love is all about !! She is now an excellant trainer and shows alot of responsibilty in the care of all the girls helping with feeding , poo patrol and general care and training of the girls !

Lucy

I was taking a basic pet obedience class at dog club last night. Something I've not done for four or five years, and there was a young girl, around seven years old I would guess, handling a 15 week old Golden puppy. Standing there watching the class I was thinking how lovely the team looked. This little girl is growing up knowing the responsibilites of an animal's life!

Best wishes, John

It is funny but I am sure they can sense the bump already without having the physical specimen on the outside world!

They love to get up with me and lie with their heads on the bump. The bump then has a good kick !

I am sure I will have three willing nurse maids when she finally makes it into this world. Only another 19 weeks to go :(

Lucy

Have you thought of any names for her, Lucy? If not, I'm sure we can come up with some 'interesting' ones! Let me see, as it's going to be a bitch, how about Misty? Or Lassie? Or...........:D

LOL !!

Florence has already given me a talking to about not to call the baby a dogs name ! She said that she was lucky not to have one herself !! She has only jst oer the fact of being named after something in the magic roundabout ! It was close to being Dougal !! :D

I have so far come up with Matilda or Millicent but that is as far as I have got !! Mike my husband has yet to complile his list.

Lucy

Jonquil :d :d :d

Mattie that sounds very cute - has she discovered the dressing up box yet?. :)
Our childhood dog and cat [both boys] used to get married regularly in bride and groom outfits - yet they forgave us and they never had a more devoted family of little girls.
cissy

yeah I remember putting my first lab in a nightie and putting it in my pram and pushing it around the garden.

he used to sit in there as good as gold being my "baby"

Our old mongrel was frequently found in my dolls pram when he was a pup!

we used the pram for the offspring of the wedding - i.e. the ducks and chooks. My dad [a geneticist] finally gave up explaining all the technicalities of why this was not possible :rolleyes: and let us get on with it.

Another thing that is important with dogs and children been brought up together is that it gets rid of the fear children have with dogs. I really dispair when I see a parent adding to a childs fear instead of confronting it and letting them get used to interacting with dogs. A child is more likely to get bitten if they show fear as the fear will transfer to the dog.It is important as well as it teaches them how or whether to approach a dog they do not know as again with experience you tend to know what a dog is going to be like and whether it is safe to go upto meet the dog..

I am sure some people may disagree but I have found this through my experience.

Lucy

Agree with you completely, Lucy. :)

yeah I agree to

It really annoys me when I see parents drag their kids onto the other side of the street to avoid me whn I have Darcy with me.

She's a 4 month old labrador for gods sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I even heard one parent tell their daughter not to go near us because Darcy would bite her and then no-one would think she was pretty!!!!!!!!!

My parents taught me to always ask the owner before I approached a dog and to never appraoach a dog without an owner.

"Another thing that is important with dogs and children been brought up together is that it gets rid of the fear children have with dogs"

Absolutely!! When i'm out with my dogs people [adults and children alike] sometimes cross the street to get away from them! When mums' with kids in tow *don't* cross over to the other side sometimes the little kids with them scream right at my dogs!
There's the other side of it as well - kids that charge up to ANY dog without giving a second thought to whether the dog will be friendly. Now, Tarot wouldn't do anything, in fact he LOVES The attention, but Speed would NOT be ok with it.
Kids should be taught how to behave around dogs, and i do think kids that live with them already are much more respectful and loving towards animals in general. Something the world needs more of!!

Annette

Surely as a geneticist and father himself he should have known that it's obvious that a male dog and male cat can get married and have ducklings and chicks. Nothing strange about that! ;)

Aren't children's minds wonderful! :D

Mattie
I must admit I have never owned a rescue dog but I wholeheartedly agree with bringing up children with a dog in the household .
I have always had a dog in the family since i was tiny ( and i am now a "young" thirtysomething :) ) and my children too have been brought up wth dogs and other animals .
I think its lovely for them to grow together and i would never tolerate any of my children being cruel or teasing any animal .
They develop such a lovely bond . I have never seen my children cry so hard as when their last dog died !! It was heartbreaking
I think its so sad to see those children who are afraid of dogs - I just couldnt imagine it :(
LEL

We were hoping to have a lab puppy later this year. I have a grand-daughter of eight months. Now it seems we may be having another soon! My husband and I are now wondering whether it would be wiser to postpone our doggy plans - I don't think I could cope with a puppy and a toddler and a new baby....Unfortunately by the time these two are school age I'll realistically be too old to contemplate a puppy....and the reason we wanted a puppy rather than a rescue was because of the grand-children....
:( :(
Cathy.

If you're sensible there is no reason at all why you shouldn't have a puppy. It's like having another baby - they all need attention and training. I know many people who successfully raise small children and pups at the same time. They're all hard work!

We had the dogs before the children as they grew so did the size of the dog's I got my first Dobe when my youngest started school, so it made it easier to give it the exercise required,I am 50 this year and had no intention of haveing another youngester liveing with me. But savannah my grandaughter came to live with us at the age of 2 day's she is now 4yrs old.I have 3 Tibetan Mastifs and 2 newfoundlands, she has grown up to respect the dog's and they have the same respect for her, we have 2 grandaughters that live next door to us, both under four,they have all learned to walk holding on to my dog's main, we have no problem's, as long as you follow basic safety rules, one thing to watch we have found that the dog's may become protective of the children, Savannah looks forward to Dog show's and everyone in the T.M. breed has been very supportive,looking after her if we have 2 dog in the same class, her ambition is to have a dog for her own, and to show when she is older,The Tibetan Spaniel lets her stack her and walk her, there can be a strong bond between dog and child, that is not understanderble to an adult,I have seen them sat on the doorstep together,when savannah has been in trouble, she will cry and tell megan all her trouble's.A dog can listen but not argue back.

Cathy a lot of our rescue labs have lived with children adore them so dont rule out a rescue just insist on background dont miss out on a dog

I agree - don't not have a dog because of children - just be careful in what dog you have and never leave the children and dog alone.

It's not clear from your post but I assume that your grandchildren don't live with you, in which case your lab puppy should be fine. S/he'll have his/her own space with time to rest etc and you can keep him/her on a lead while s/he gets used to the young children.

I think this is actually a really good way for children and dog to get used to each other without having some of the problems you can get if you have babies and puppies together all the time.

Good luck

Pam n the boys

I could not imagine my dogs without children ,or my children without dogs . Both would miss out on so much fun,
It has been a very happy arrangement for us .
But I still do not leave young children alone with dogs,Young children are impulsive and can do things out of curiousity to see what happens rather then intent on cruelty.So in my book it is better to be sure then sorry.
I would be worried having rescue dogs around children unless I knew the background of the rescued dog
If he/she was a traumatised dog from a previous home where chidren were allowed to torment it, I would definetly not let the dog be homed to a house with more children .
It is very important that parents bring up children to respect their dogs and not allow either child or dog to get away with misbehaviour .
In time when a bond has developed and you know the dog adores the child and vice versa you can relax a bit .
Mari

I suppose we were very lucky. Sky (our lurcher) was a rescue case, found on an allotment tied up with a bad leg, a couple of scars and pregnant. To this day she still flinches when she sees anything stick shaped, so we assume she's been beaten in the past.
Saying that, I couldn't wish for a better dog with the kids. We've had her for nearly 3 years now, my kids are 7, 5 and 4 months (the triplets). She's never barked or snapped or done anything untoward.
I would never leave any dog alone with a child though, regardless of their background. My kids are fantastic, they never pester her, never get to boisterous round her (especially when she's sleeping) and also I dont let them feed her or give her treats. They do get to have a lovely supervised cuddle, and Sky loves it!
Rescue dogs, even with sad backgrounds, can be fantastic with kids, but not always. Also, pedigree dogs can be fantastic with kids, not always. If you get me, it depends on the dog, not it's background :)
Lisa
xx

Hi Cathy,

Congratulations on the babies :) My sister has got a 6mth old baby and we've just got ourselves another dog - she's 4mths old now. Hannah, the baby, and Lara get on really well - they're both fascinated with each other but don't want to get too close in case things get out of hand :D

We see them at least once a week and we always put Lara in her crate when they're around. We've made it a really positive experience by having a "Hannah toy". Whenever Hannah comes round Lara gets to have a kong. As soon as the car pulls onto the drive we say "hannahbubbs" and Lara goes into her crate and one of the kids gives her her kong :) Eventually we want to build up to Hannah giving her the kong to reinforce that relationship.

Lara is going to be labrador sized when she's fully grown and we're quite confident that we can have Hannah to stay for a week and not have any problems between the two.

Please don't let your grandchildren stop you from getting a puppy - it would be a shame to miss out on such a rewarding friendship.

Fiona
x x x

Hannahbubbs LOL :) is this dog speak or baby speak Fiona ?

Thanks, Fiona and everyone,

We've waited such a long time to be in a position to have a puppy, it would be a shame not to go ahead now - and I'm sure you're all right. With care and forethought, I'm sure the babies/children and puppy will enjoy each other's company. Thanks for the reassurance!

Cathy.:) :) :)

It teaches both dogs and children to be toelerant of each other and they have so much fun together growing up :D
Lel

Doesn't it just.

I've always had dogs and Christopher came into a house with Max (11) , Taz (3) and Chester (2). They were always fantastic with him, and I never had to worry that they would be anything else. He was 2 1/2 when we got Ash (1 tomorrow and we are having a party with all the puppies together!!!), and had got to the age of wanting to play with the puppy.

Although we don't allow mauling, there was the odd tweak and poke. Ash took it all calmly until one day when Christopher had his trousers off. When he was poked, he very neatly nipped his willy. Not hard, but it made Christopher jump.

Strangely he grasped "don't poke the puppy" very quickly. Since then there have been no more incidents from either party :D

Dogs complete the family. Full Stop !!! :)

I wont argue with that.
:D

MAttie I have a rescue dog and a four year old i got the pup a year ago when my son was three and a half i myself grew up with dogs and my mother used to show them as long as you dont go for a silly breed with young children and you have experiace of owning and training a dog in the past you shouldnt have a problem...... but you must make sure that the dog knows it is lower in the family than the child and you give the dog a couple of secluded corners in the house that it can retreat to and be left alone by which i mean the child is not alowed in the area or allowed to pull the dog off it i have never regretted getting a rescue dog deefa is a collie german shepard cross and he is most happiest when he knows where he stands the other thing i would recomend is if you get a rescue dog and you do have young children get a puppy you know they are pretty much a blank canvas if your childrena are old enough to understand what the dog might have been through then you can go for an older one most rescue places will make the whole family meet the dog prior to you taking it home and if you are in any doubt dont get it someone else will take it in you can chose a different dog but you would never forgive yourself iif the dog bit the child and had to be destroyed

What I don't understand is why get a dog, then however many weeks, months or years down the line you decide to have a family so you get rid of the dog :-(

So does that mean that when you have your second child you get rid of the first one :-(

This annoys the hell out of me and unless the owners thought for one second their dog would be no good with children then it's the most pathetic excuse in the world for getting rid of a loved pet. Then again it obviously can't be loved! :-(

Not to mention the children missing out of growing up with a dog which IMO is the most wonderful thing in the world. My mam is very very frightened of dogs due to being attacked as a child, she's never got over it and probably never will but she made damn sure I wasn't scared of them. Infact now she jokes she went over the top because I love any animal big or small....lol :D