Suggestions for a Great Family Dog

Sara, I have a German Shedder. I did not misspell that. I love my dog (Levi) He is great with my son, very tolerant but you can not belive the amount of hair we brush off him every day. He is 12 years old and still active and will be very sad when he dies. That said I will never ever ever get another. I will most likely get a Rotty. They love kids, great watch dogs, are active but not over the top like labs. Labs are great when they are older but too wild when until they hit about 3 years. I had a rotty years ago and he did not bark, shed slightly, was very loving with kids. And nobody is going to mess with a Rotty. My cousin in Chama sells boxers and they love to bark, she lives in the mountains not many people around so it is ok. The people living next to me would be very unhappy if I were to get one from her. They are cute though. Do you like big dogs Bouvier are another one I will be looking at. These are great dogs, a friend has one. Sweet Sweet dog. But he said to get a male.
Good Luck
T.

Hi sara i just read your post and i have to tell you that we have a black lab and she is great whit our 2.5 your old. She lets her sit on here pull on her and just love and play with her. She is very protective of all of us. Before we had my daughter we asked our vet if labs were good with kids and he said that they are one of the best dogs for kids. I hope this helps

My family has German Sheppards and they are a wonderful inteligent breed. They will bond very closly to your family and be very loyal and protective. They are large dogs but they can be very gentle with kids, especially if you take the time to teach the the proper ways of acting when there are small kids around, ie; slow movement indoors with little one and running playing time outdoors. Our very large male basicly taught my sisters son how to walk by letting him pull himself up by the dogs fur and then slowly taking a step or two and waiting for the baby to catch up. And neither dog would let our babies on the stairs with out us. I really love German Sheppards, I think they can be wonderful family dogs.
But with all that said, what you are going to get out of a dog is what you are prepared to put into it, and that is true for any dog but espeacially for the intelligant breeds with strong protective/aggressive and territorial insticts. Obedience training is manditory, they need something to do and someway of correctly channeling thier insticts. YOU have to establish the pack order in the family with you and your husband very clearly on top and kids over dogs. It sounds harsh but it is not, everyone will be so much happier inclueding your dog and it will prevent so many problems. So keep that in mind what ever breed you decide on.
And by the way in the proctection department not all breeds are equal, I rescued a Siberian Husky a year and a half ago (wonderful with my son and great for me) he almost never barks and would greet strangers at the door. He looks like a wolf though so some people find him scary. Anyway I also reccomend adoption and spaying or nutering your dog! Good luck and hope you find the perfect one for your family.

I have two labs and they are a great joy. They are extremely loving to the family and others. But they are also very protective. My son is 13 years old and likes to rough house with his dad and my dogs get in between them to stop them, they think they are hurting each other. I hope this little bit of info helps.

We have two boxers and they are wonderful with children of all ages! We'll never have another kind of dog. We have a three month old son and own a gymnastics school. The dogs go with us to the gym every day and all the kids love them. They look a little intimidating, which is good for "watchdogs". They'll bark at people walking by if they're behind the fence at our house but are so friendly.... We got them both from Boxer rescue of Albuquerque - Please call me if you'd like to bring your son to see the dogs or if you have other questions. ###-###-####

We have a female lab/border collie mix that we got from the pound. She is great with the baby and our cat. Even when my daughter (17mos) pulls her ears our dog will not do anything(except maybe sit there and cry for me to save her..haha). Even though our dog would never/has never hurt anyone her bark scares the heck out of people who come to the door. She wants to please us so much that we didn't even have to potty train her. Her only problem is that she has A LOT of energy and must be walked daily to keep her from being a spaz! So I suggest a female, lab mix with a big voice. Make sure the "mix" is a small enough dog to handle by yourself with a baby carriage. Any type of small herding dog is great. Our dog "herds" our kid and "tells" on her when she is doing something wrong. You don't have to be as physically strong with a smaller mixed breed. I'd go to the "dogfest" at the mall parking lot (coronado) and just look around. I went to it. I gave up, sat down, and our dog crawled into my lap and she fell asleep on my pregnant belly. That's how I knew she was the one! good luck!

Hello Sara.
You state that you are looking for a watchdog, but do not say anything about what size dog you are looking for. As an aside, any dog can and will bark and keep watch. From a security standpoint, the size of the dog is not really relevant; most people think twice when they hear a dog bark. Regardless though, you do still need to take responsibility for your safety. Just the presence of a dog won't keep you safe if you make yourself an easy target.

As far as breeds and children, while I am reticent to say anything about any breed for fear of offending anyone, because someone will have had a good experience and a bad experience with any breed, I will say this: the dogs bred for guarding or protecting in any capacity, have higher bite records. This includes German Shephards, Pinchers, Rotweilers, Border and other Collies, and other herding breeds, Chihuauas and Poodles. Part of their protective tendency is to control other animals and that includes breeding for a tendency to bite or nip. With children that is something to consider.

I myself have 4 border collies. I love them to death, and think they have been wonderful with my child and his nephew (my son is not yet 3, my nephew is 5 months). They are mid size dogs, sleep near the boys, watch over them, and take treats gently from my son, and always have. It's been a huge part of the training investment I've put into them. Mine have never bitten anyone. However, my ex husband has one as well, and twice she's bitten my son. Just something to consider.

When you make your decision, in addition to your needs for protection and good for children, as has been suggested, take into consideration what you can offer in the way of the animal's care for your own ease. Will the animal be indoors or out, or both? Do you have a large grassy backyard, or small one? How close are your neighbors (some breeds are more inclined to bark, and may get you into nusiance barking troubles)? Do you have carpet, or floors and furniture that are easier to clean, for shedding purposes? How much time do you have to devote to a fully coated animal? Check out the price for food for the animal-- a larger animal will eat more and cost more in food. Your son is very small and young yet. It will be a while before he can manage any size dog, but at his size, a big dog stepping on him or knocking him down is going to happen. How much dog can you handle? Check out training programs from a kennel or dog trainer (I recommend you avoid places like Petsmart-- someone who trains dogs for a living can help taylor training for your needs), and plan to attend some classes with your dog. What kind of energy level can you manage? If you can't get out and burn that energy off the animal, you're going to have other issues emerge as a result.

I grew up with Cocker Spaniels. Never had trouble with them. We grew up in the deep South, so when it got hot, to control shed, they were groomed into a shave. But I have a scar on my jaw from where a neighbor's Cocker attacked me completely unprovoked as I walked by as a 5 year old. We also had Dobermans. Never had trouble with them, but I took one of ours into another area several times when a friend with her baby visited because each time the baby cried, the dog began to get upset and focused on my neighbor. I can only assume because she was "making" that baby cry. My parents now have Labradors. They're great dogs. But they are large, and high energy. They've run my son down and knocked him down unknowingly many times.

For the sake of animals in general, I would recommend you go to a shelter and have a look around. Ask to spend some time with a dog that interests you in an enclosed pen. Take your husband and son, and see how the animal reacts to you, your child and a man (one of mine is a rescue, and is afraid of men). If you can, go back more than once, and at different times of the day. If you adopt a rescued or shelter animal, you save a life, and you may be able to arrange a trial period if problems emerge once you have the animal in your care.

I wish you good luck. A dog can be a wonderful addtion to your family, if you chose wisely and take responsibility for it.
K.

Hi Sara,
We looove our rescue-mutts! One's a lab/chow, the other is a lab/shepherd.

Whatever pooch you choose, the key to having a great companion is investing in the time to train them.

If you're a book person, I eagerly recommend "The Art of Raising a Puppy" before you get your dog (they have suggestions for figuring out a puppy's individual personality -not by breed- before you make the decision which one to get). And they teach you about basic puppy discipline you can start on day one. {{smile}}

Have fun!
T

We have two boxers. They are the best dogs in my opinion. Ours are both female, both spayed, and from different breeders. Our fawn is 8 years old and our brindle is 5 1/2 years old. We had both of them before we had kids and they have adjusted soooo well and are just great dogs. I couldn't recommend them any higher. But they CANNOT be "outside" only dogs. Dogs that have smooshed faces like boxers, pugs, boston terriers, etc cannot tolerate extreme heat or extreme cold. What we do is crate them. We crated them from the first night we brought them home and now if we are going to be away from home for more than a few hours, we put them in their crates. Which they love because we leave the crate open all the time and that's where they like to nap and feel safe. I did a lot of research about crate training before we even got our first boxer and you can google it to find out info if you are interested. The other thing that is awesome about boxers is that they don't really shed, and they don't ever have to be groomed or even bathed very often if ever. Something about their natural skin oil and coat - as long as they have a good diet and good health. There is a very active boxer rescue association in Abq that would probably let you meet and play with some of their dogs just to see for yourself.

Labs and GS are also great I have heard. Labs need a big yard or to be walked a lot. I don't know anyone that has a GS but as a watchdog, they certainly look intimidating! :)

Good luck!

Edited to add - I saw another post about boxers barking. I think it depends on the dog. Our older one only barks when someone is in our yard (like repair people) or when someone is at the front door. Our other one has always been a little high maintenance shall we say :) and she barks when she sees neighbors in their yard or when she hears other dogs barking, as well as when someone is at our front door.