What are your thoughts about getting a dog with a 3 yr old in the house? I think he would bring more joy....?

Question

Hubby wants no part of it.... YAY or NAY?

Answer 1

My son and his wife had a chocolate lab when their first son was born.  My grandson loved that lab and then when their second son came, he loved that old dog.   Unfortunately, they had to put him down a month or so ago.   They will get another dog when they are passed some of their grieving.   Dogs are good for children, especially labs.

Answer 2

I'm all for having pets in the house with kids and for adopting.

However, the WHOLE family has to be on board for a committment like this.  If I were you, I'd go back and talk with your husband more and come to a decision.  Even if now is not the right time for him, maybe in a year's time he will change his mind.

Answer 3

We have always had multiple dogs in our house. We have two children. We got our Golden when our youngest was only 1.5

I would highly recommend getting a dog as long as you are going to be responsible and practical about it. This responsibility is costly and time consuming. Training your dog is absolutely necessary when you have small children present. But it is a great time to teach your child some very important life lessons. They learn about caring for others, responsibility and that having a pet is not all fun and games.

I worked diligently to train our golden and have been rewarded tenfold for my work. We have a well mannered dog who brings joy to our lives everyday. Our children share the responsibilities of feeding and watering and take great joy in play time. Our girls are now 7 & 9 and they LOVE our dogs.

We taught our children from a very early age that having dogs means we are responsible for the care and upkeep of these wonderful animals. They got to the vet for regular checkups and our kids go with us so they see the entire spectrum of pet ownership.

Our kids are now old enough to help clean up after the dogs as well. Obviously when they were younger, it was mom and dad's job, but now the kids are old enough, they pitch in. Its so important for children to know that pet ownership is so much more than just playing.

Do some research before choosing a dog so you find the right dog for your family. Visit local shelters and see what dogs are available for adoption. Please, please, please don't purchase from a pet store.  

Answer 4

I was 1 year old when my mum bought a puppy, we grew up together and I loved that dog to pieces. There was only one incident when I was 2 yr old when I went near his food but my dad told him off and after that the dog would let me do anything. If the dog knows who is boss then there should be no problem.

Answer 5

I strongly suggest going through petfinder.com and finding a calm dog that is in a foster home with small children. They are housebroken, and socialized, and ready for new permanent homes. You may even be able to find one that is under 18 months old and still puppy like, without additional hassle of housebreaking, teething, and so forth.

Good Luck!!!!

Answer 6

I'd say "nay" at this point.. dogs are a lot of work, especially if you got a new pup.  I can't see it being joyful to try to clean up after, potty train, feed, and TRAIN a dog and a three year old at the same time.  The dog would likely not get the training and socialization it'd need to be a good lifelong pet for you, and that's not fair to your family or the dog.

that being said I think kids growing up with pets is a great idea, but perhaps wait until your 3 year old is older and a little more self sufficient, and maybe even able to help you with the dog.

ADD: i think it's great that you're willing to adopt an adult dog, and hire a trainer.  However a trainer is only going to teach YOU how to train the dog, not train the dog himself.  So the point remains that training and socializing dogs to be good pets is a lot of work.  You can't expect to leave your 3 year old to run loose without guidance, a dog is the same way through its entire life.

Answer 7

I say it's a Yay. There's nothing wrong with adding a dog to the family so long as it's the correct breed that will suit your household and the child. I say go for it.

Answer 8

It depends on your willingness to take on this extra responsibility and work.  Keep in mind the dog will need to be trained, exercised, fed, brought to the vet, etc.  It can be a lot of work.

I believe there is nothing like growing up with a dog, but just like a child, they can also push your buttons and patience!  If your husband is not a willing participant, give serious thought on how much you want to take on as well as how your husband will react to the dog in various circumstances as he may be less tolerant of a dog's natural behaviors, putting even more stress on you.

If you do decide to get a dog, get a breed that has a reputation for child friendly or even better consider an adult dog from a rescue as its personality will already be known and observed.  You will need to spend a lot of time socializing the dog to your child to be sure that the dog does not bite the child, not matter what the child does to the dog.  Also, consider that larger dogs can have the ability to knock over a child causing fear without intending to do it...

You should also never allow your dog to be alone with your child until that child is a little older.  Even a small dog can cause a child severe injury either intentionally or unintentionally.  Even with the best of training, a dog is still an animal and can, without any prior history, bite.

Answer 9

It has to be a joint descision that you are both 100% behind.  If your husband is not behind the descision 100%, I would say 'nay'.  If you do your research (visit dog shows, speak to breeders/rescues, etc.) and can convince your husband that getting a dog is the right thing to do for you as a family, then great.  There is no problem having children and dogs providing you put the work in.

If you look into adopting (which is GREAT by the way), make sure you emphasise the fact that you have children when looking at prospective dogs.  You ideally want to look at younger dogs that have been raised with children and believe me when I say that there are plenty of those rescues.  You would be VERY surprised at the stupid reasons why people give up young dogs.

Best of luck!