As a professional dog trainer for over 25 years, one of the questions I’ve been asked most
often is: “What’s the best breed of dog
for families with young children?” Whenever I answer that question I have to
start with some disclaimers: First, it is impossible to predict the future
behavior of any animal. Second, even within the same breed, all dogs are
individuals, so it’s not fair to paint with too broad a brush. I’ve worked with
aggressive Golden Retrievers and super friendly Rottweilers. Third, I have
worked with every breed of dog you can name and I love them all. The fact that
I would not put a particular breed high on my list for families with young children
does not mean I think that they are a “bad” breed.
Since purebred dogs are bred to possess certain traits and
to perform certain jobs, one can make some reasonable assumptions that will
increase the odds of a good fit based on these traits. The following
is merely an opinion - but it's an opinion based on my experience with
thousands of dogs, and shared by many of my colleagues who are
also experienced professional dog trainers.
General Tips:
Consider adopting an adult dog instead of
buying a puppy. Before we start talking about breeds, I want to briefly
discuss the pros and cons of whether it’s better to choose a puppy or an adult
dog. The advantage of going with a puppy is that you get to control what
happens during key early socialization periods. The disadvantage is that you
risk ending up with a genetic temperament problem that you won’t be able to spot
until the dog is an adolescent. So if you choose a puppy, avoid pet shops and
puppy mills, do your homework, find a reputable breeder, and try to meet the
sire and dam. If you can’t follow those guidelines then you’re probably better
off adopting an adult dog. With an adult dog, you can see what you’re getting
in terms of temperament and drive. My
point is that a puppy is not necessarily a safer choice than an adult dog.
Bigger is better. For families with young
children, I prefer the larger breeds over smaller ones. Smaller breeds do not
tolerate rough handling as well as larger breeds. So you will find only larger
breeds on my list of recommendations for families with small children.
Pit Bulls and Kids?
If you decide to adopt a shelter dog, you’re probably going
to notice that a lot of them are pits and pit mixes, so we need to talk about
them first. Let me define what I mean by “pit bulls.” Believe it or not, this is not a universally
agreed upon term. The narrowest
definition of a “pit bull” is the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American
Staffordshire Terrier. Some people include the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the
American Bulldog and other “bully breeds” in this group because they look
similar. Technically, these are different from the first two, but when I talk
about “pits” here I am using the term very loosely – the way most people use
the term – to describe any of the above breeds and their mixes.
Contrary to popular belief and urban legend, pits and pit
mixes have some qualities that make them great with kids. First, they tolerate
rough handling and rough play extremely well.
They love physical contact and can be hugged, poked, grabbed and
wrestled with and generally are good natured about it. I don’t recommend that
type of play with any dog, but if you have rambunctious kids in your home, a
pit bull is going to be a lot more forgiving of that type of behavior than many
other breeds.
On the flip side however, pits tend to play pretty rough. The
rough mouthy play that is typical with most young pits and pit mixes generally
makes them more difficult to raise with small children. They can be rude with
their mouths until trained not to be. They love grabbing hold of and tugging at
clothes and shoes. They have an “in your face” attitude that can be frightening
to some children, especially visiting children.
So unless you’re an experienced dog owner willing to put
some time and effort into training your pit bull, with the full expectation of
having to provide lots of supervision and to referee the interaction between
your dog and your children, you might want to think twice about putting them at
the top of your list if you have young children at home.
Difficult Dog Breeds for Families with Children:
I know people who own great dogs of the following breeds,
but based on my experience I would generally not recommend the following breeds
for families with young children: Chihuahua, Dalmation, South African Boerboel,
Belgian Malinois, Chow-Chow, English Bulldog, Akita, Husky and Shar-Pei.
General Comments by Group:
Herding breeds like Collies, Border Collies,
Australian Shepherds, Australian Cattle Dogs can be a lot of fun to own but
they require lots of exercise, play and mental stimulation – more than a busy
mom and dad can sometimes give them. Also, they sometimes use their mouths to “herd”
children running around outside (until they have trained properly), so they are
sometimes not the best choice for the novice dog owner with kids in the home.
Terriers are fun, loveable and intelligent, but you
won’t find any terriers on my list of dogs for families with young children.
Terriers are bred to catch and kill critters. They are bred to be tenacious.
Many terriers have very little patience for the poking and prodding of young
children.
Guarding breeds like German Shepherds, Rottweilers
and Doberman Pinschers are among my favorite breeds – but they’re not for
everyone. My kids grew up with at least 2 of our own Dobermans in our home,
plus whatever Dobies we may have been fostering at the time. Guarding breeds
are loyal, protective and extremely intelligent. But these breeds absolutely
require good professional training and dedicated, experienced owners. If you don’t have the time and money needed to train them properly,
I suggest that you choose one of my picks below, especially if you have young children at
home.
Dog breed recommendations for families with small children:
· It is impossible to predict the future behavior of
any animal. Even within the same breed, all dogs are individuals. But over the
years I’ve seen the highest rates of success for families with children who owned
these breeds:
Standard Poodle. Not the little guys, I’m talking about the
large “Standard Poodle.” They weigh about 60 pounds as an adult. No shedding,
very smart, great with kids.
·
Golden Retriever. Unfortunately many of
today’s Goldens are prone to cancer and won’t live beyond 10 years. Otherwise,
a great all around choice.
·
Bernese Mountain Dog. They’re the largest
on my list (about 100 pounds), easy to train and they love children.
Unfortunately, they too have short life spans, about 8 years.
·
Labrador Retriever. Labs can be very
mouthy (nippy) when young, but when properly trained by owners who are willing
to navigate through the rambunctious childhood of a Lab, they grow up to be
ideal family pets and are usually great with kids.
·
Beagle. Not as large as the other
choices, Beagles top off at around 25 pounds and have a well-deserved
reputation for being great with kids.
·
Mutt.
Consider adopting (or fostering) a mixed breed dog from your local animal shelter. There
are dogs at your local shelter who have been raised with kids and are great
with kids. Some of them have been surrendered to shelters through no fault of
their own (e.g. eviction, foreclosure, divorce, allergies, etc.). Most animal
shelters have foster programs. These programs enable you to help your local
shelter pressed for space, while at the same time giving you an opportunity to
see for yourself if the dog is a good match for your family.
One final thought - if you already own a dog and are having
some challenges with behavior, a good trainer can help you navigate through the rough spots. Any dog, of any breed, can be trained.
