Dog owners

[Mrs R]

I'm just looking for some advice. I am currently thinking about getting a family dog. I have 3 young children (ages 3,3 and 1) and not sure whether it would be a good idea whilst the children are so young.

I have owned a Labrador before but was thinking about a much smaller house dog. I work 3 days a week and eventually the dog would be left at home for these 3 days (when it is much older).

As I'm not experienced with terriers etc, I would hate to take one on if it was going to be miserable. My children are well behaved and I will also be supervising so I don't think the dog will be pulled at too much.

I'm just looking for opinions from experienced owners to help me make a responsible decision

 

[Raven24]

i dont think its fair to have a dog if your going to be leaving it alone all day for three days a week. i dont think there is any law against it but id feel too guilty to leave a dog all alone and it can have a negative affect on them emotionally.

 

[weewdy]

I agree with pp, how long would the dog be left for those 3 days? I breed and own terriers, they love nothing more than sleeping away half the day lol but they do get a walk morning and night and weather permitting the back door is always open. I do work in the afternoons but my oh works shifts and is home 1hr after i start one week and the following week my mother is home with my dd. I would say you could leave them 4/5 hrs at most. Some terriers are prone to being yappy and some not good with kids so do your research.

 

[Marie000]

Of course it is better to have someone home with the dog most of the time, but that is not possible for most people. Plenty of people work full time and have dogs and the dogs are fine as long as they are taken care of and exercised.
If you will be away for long during the day, you could always hire a dog walker to walk the dog in the middle of the day. But I don't think 3 days a week would be a big problem for an adult dog with no separation anxiety.

As for breeds, I am not an expert on terriers, but I had a terrier cross when I was young (I think... it was a pretty mixed up dog ) and now I have a larger dog (husky x golden). I find my current dog much easier inside the house. Terriers tend to be excitable, even inside. My current dog is super calm in the house, like a dog-shaped carpet She is super active outside, just not inside.

It all depends on how energetic you want your dog to be. You also need to consider how much shedding you are willing to tolerate, whether the dog would need to get along with cats, other dogs, etc. Maybe someone else can advise you on breeds.

 

[Mrs R]

A family member breeds the dog I am thinking about so I feel like I'm well informed. Surely as pp says, people who work full time and have dogs manage??

 

[Lauraxamy]

I have a west highland terrier, I work four days a week I didn't when he was a puppy but I do now, but luckily my Mum works short hours so she helps out with him a lot, she walks him with her dog most days I'm at work and then she'll let him out again before I get home. A dog trainer we went to told me dogs have no concept of time so they can't tell whether they've been left for an hour or four hours.. not saying they should be left alone a lot but a lot of dogs do have to be left in the daytime when people are at work, as long as they're walked and aren't left alone constantly I think it's fine.
I think my dog actually likes me being out the house because he just sleeps on my bed the whole time
He's a lovely dog, I've always loved westies, full of character and so good with the LO's he loves nothing more than playing with them outside in the garden. He's also a massive baby, loves cuddles, he's like a third baby to me

 

[tammym1974]

I have terrier mixes (Jack Russell's) and will tell you they are a willful breed. You will need to spend a lot of time training them. They are also high-energy dogs, at least mine are, and need plenty of exercise. I have a fenced in yard so they have plenty of room to run.

As far as leaving the dogs alone for three days a week. I don't see a problem with that. Mine are crated when we leave for the day and I've never noticed any behavioral problems because of it. You should be prepared to make sure they get plenty of exercise after though.

I'm no expert, but I would research a few more breeds. Usually smaller dogs are more excitable. You might have better luck with a larger breed dog.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

we have a terrier cross. Not sure what with as she's a rescue (although we got her at 10 weeks old) but even though she's nearly 4 she is a handful. There is no way I could have coped with her as a puppy and 3 kids, especially as when younger she needed at least an hour a day for a walk (and not a nice, walk along the road on lead walk - out in the fields, off lead, swimming in the river etc). we can now get away with 30 min walks on the odd day.

I love my dog to bits but knowing what she was like as a puppy (and she seems to be a typical terrier) there is no way I would have her now (as a pup) and the baby. I would wait until the baby was older.

Plus if you are going to leave them alone all day (even if its 'only' 3 days) then I wouldn't get a puppy either. Its not fair on them (or any dog really) or their house training.

Would you consider an older rescue who has been around kids? An older dog wouldn't be so demanding and if its used to children then obviously that is a benefit too. What about a retired greyhound? Bizarrely they require very little exercise - compared to terriers anyway!

I think you need to decide on the breed of dog that will suit your lifestyle, rather than a breed you like the look of (or are able to get through a relative).

 

[SophiasMummy]

I'm just looking for some advice. I am currently thinking about getting a family dog. I have 3 young children (ages 3,3 and 1) and not sure whether it would be a good idea whilst the children are so young.

I have owned a Labrador before but was thinking about a much smaller house dog. I work 3 days a week and eventually the dog would be left at home for these 3 days (when it is much older).

As I'm not experienced with terriers etc, I would hate to take one on if it was going to be miserable. My children are well behaved and I will also be supervising so I don't think the dog will be pulled at too much.

I'm just looking for opinions from experienced owners to help me make a responsible decision

I've had my dog since LO was 1. He isn't a small dog though and him and LO are best friends, with any dog you need to be able to walk them at least twice a day, with a puppy you need to be prepared to take it outside every half hour while toilet training and getting up once of twice at night to let it out to go toilet, a smaller dog is generally harder to toilet train too.

I wouldn't thing a very small fragile dog would be a good idea around young children so you would want a robust small dog, terriers are good but need a good amount of exercise even as small dogs, you need to teach the kids very quickly (even the 1 year old) not to pull, jump on or chase the puppy, obviously there will be the odd accident but you must correct the children it probably took a couple months or my LO to understand that she wasn't to hold on to the dogs tail or get in his face. Puppies will mouth, jump and possibly nip especially with young children running around getting the puppy wound up you will need to redirect it with toys and treats and start training asap.

In regards to working you need to get the dog used to being left at home over time, you cant just up and leave for a couple hours when they've never been alone before, use toys and treats as distraction while you are working a Kong or another toy that you can stuff with treats and things are good ones to use. I would also suggest if your working three full days a week and cant get home to take the dog out at lunch or something then get a dog walker to take him/her out. you need to think about puppy classes for training and socialising too. I would also say a cage/crate is a must for a dog with a young family as it can be there safe place, also if the puppy is too wound up you can encourage them to go in there with a treat or toy to calm down

I think you should really look into breeds before you decide, there is plenty of info on the net about different breeds and what they need, what environments they do well in etc.

I love that I got my boy while my LO was so young as they have bonded amazingly and he loves all children he comes across, but it is very hard with a young child especially training wise. now its great because my LO can do long walks and things but it was a lot harder when I had to walk with the dog and pushchair. HTH

 

[amjon]

Don't get a terrier with kids. They can be nippy and not at all tolerant of kids. Chinese Cresteds are great with kids and will tolerate ears pulled and things like that without snapping.

 

[Mrs R]

Thanks for all the opinions. I am still in 2 minds to be honest, and will definitely look into an older reScue dog. Love the idea of giving an older dog a home, and it might be a bit more tolerant of our busy life style x

 

[missk1989]

I cant comment on terriers specifically but we have a mongrel and she is amazing with the baby. He constantly harrasses the poor dog and im always telling him to stop pulling and poking but she just takes it all. As for working 3 days a week, there are days, and its about to become more often that we are out of the house for long hours and i worry about her. But then another day ill be in all day and forget we even have a dog as she just sits upstairs ignores me all day!!!!

 

[nugget80]

I have a cocker spaniel and she is just wonderful. I got her 2 months before ds was born so they have grown up together. She was hard work as a pup but is just perfect now. I was working 4 days a week when we got her and she was fine on her own. She doesnt like to be separate from us though if we are home... as for walks she is fine with 15 mins a day duringweek and more at wweekends but if we miss a day its fine. She has free access to garden via a large cat flap/small dog flap.she is tough enough to put up with being pulled about and sat onby lo but small enough to snuggle in arms for cuddle (one of her favourite things). Spends most of her day sleeping on back of sofa on top of radiator and able to keep an eye out the window. Any questions am happy to answer...

 

[Mrs R]

One of the main things I'm worried about is the pup being bored when I'm at work and tearing up the garden. I viewed them this evening and they are beautiful pups. Funnily enough, my one year old was most impressed with them. Decisions decisions....

 

[stephx]

We are looking into getting a Boston terrier. Our friend breeds and owns loads of them (shows them etc) and is giving us one for a month trial to see how we get on

 

[WelshOneEmma]

One of the main things I'm worried about is the pup being bored when I'm at work and tearing up the garden. I viewed them this evening and they are beautiful pups. Funnily enough, my one year old was most impressed with them. Decisions decisions....

so when you are out you are going to leave it in the garden? at a time when dog thefts, especially from gardens, are at an all time high?

 

[smallpeanut]

I have a jack Russell x and she is the best dog ever. Annabelle jumps all over her, steals her toys out of her mouth and she has never shown even an ounce of aggression. She is totally at one with my baby. They're best friends and curl up together to nap. Play together etc. my dog is 3 but I got her as a 1 year old and trained her. Having a baby and dog is easy IMO. But I'm an out doorsy person with four horses so she comes up the yard with me every day however I can leave her on her own easily. The worst she does is drag my shoes on to her bed lol bless her. I say go for it. It doesn't have to be hard work. Plenty of walks, get the kids involved and enjoy

 

[tammym1974]

One of the main things I'm worried about is the pup being bored when I'm at work and tearing up the garden. I viewed them this evening and they are beautiful pups. Funnily enough, my one year old was most impressed with them. Decisions decisions....

Beware. Terriers are diggers! It's what they are bred to do. Dig holes and look for rats, snakes, and such. If you have lovely flower beds they will probably destroy them.

We are looking into getting a Boston terrier. Our friend breeds and owns loads of them (shows them etc) and is giving us one for a month trial to see how we get on

This! I have a Boston and I couldn't ask for a better dog! She listens better than any of the other dogs, is super smart, and was easily trained. You will love them. I bet you don't give them up after a month.

 

[Mummy May]

I have no idea why people are being so defensive of you leaving your dog when you're at work - most people (that I know anyway!) with dogs DO leave them to go to work and yeah some of them leave them in the garden too. I think thefts and things must only be in certain areas because there isn't anything like that around where I live - obviously if there is - keep your dog in.
We don't have a dog now, again we don't think we would like to have our baby and a dog together because of the work, but as a child we had a Jack Russell and it was awful, yappy, biting horrid little thing lol. Weve had springer spaniels and they have been lovely and weve had miniature Yorkshire Terriers - lovely little things. Were going to look at either a Westie or a Beagle when we do eventually decide to get a dog. They are lots of work when they're young but so worth it xx

 

[smallpeanut]

I also agree with above. What's wrong with kenneling a dog in your garden? It must be an area thing as I see it all the time. Working dogs and family pets. Just make sure the gate is locked and garden secure and the dog has some here dry and comfy and it will be fine. My dog fits in around me but she is still happy. As I said before, it really doesn't have to be so much hard work. It's so rewarding and your kids will love it x