Good family dogs

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What a cool thread! Thought I’d chime in, as growing up my mom trained police and narcotics dogs…(didn’t know how much I missed the hounds until I read this thread!)

Labs of any type are good dogs and good around children, blacks I’ve found to be the sweetest, and most protective of kids. Smartest (and my favorite) dogs I think are border collies: they are sharp as a tack, loyal, and full of energy, one must just make sure—as numerous others have said—to exercise them regularly, definitely a ‘country dog’, but this seems like it might suit the OP…

My co-favorite dog is a pitbull that we as a family picked up from a shelter. She is a very sweet dog, and our family has never had any problems with her: criminals definitely have given this breed a bad rap. Still, if you have kids, the capability of harm does exists—they are very, very protective—so this might not be a good choice…just please don’t give the breed as a whole a bad name.

Lastly, I’d say avoid the ‘toy’ breeds like the pest. Chihuahuas are incontinent and fairly dull, and can be unstable and vicious. THE WORST BREED EVER, IMHO, are Shih Tzus! Beware! They are vicious towards everyone, can bite their owners, and generally have totally nasty dispositions.
 
TevereNauta said:
My co-favorite dog is a pitbull that we as a family picked up from a shelter. She is a very sweet dog, and our family has never had any problems with her: criminals definitely have given this breed a bad rap. Still, if you have kids, the capability of harm does exists—they are very, very protective—so this might not be a good choice…just please don’t give the breed as a whole a bad name.
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Another issue with pitbulls is the physical capacity to bite down hard and hold on that is built into the breed. When they choose to bite, they decide when or if they will let go, and they can crush bone.

This is not to say that pitbulls are unique in their ability to inflict a serious bite wound. As far as I know, that has never been demostrated (when compared to other powerful breeds). The inherent danger of a serious bite is something that even small dogs are capable of; and small dogs are easier to take for granted. I know a guy who works in an emergency room who says he’s never seen a patient who was bitten by a “dangerous” dog. It is almost always a family dog that had always been “nice” in the past, but was put into a position where it felt threatened. It’s a chance you take. This is why dogs and children always need to be supervised. A child can’t appreciate that a dog can’t read his or her mind, and can easily threaten the animal without meaning to do so.
 
Yeah, I’m always for mutts. Great dogs. I remember watching Judge Joe Brown years ago, and he held up a chart showing the most frequent dog breeds that attack. At the top were the usual suspects (pit bulls, rottweilers, doberman pinchers), but the attention grabber was the 4th one down on the list: wolf hybrid. Really? Wolf hybrid for a pet. Why not a cougar?

Still, it really comes down to how you raise any of the domesticated dog types. Raise them well and get them used to people, and they’ll be fine. Yes, you have to watch kids around them, but you have to watch kids around anything.
 
Choose to Love,

Skin and ear problems…many pit bull type dogs are prone to allergies, either food or inhalant. They manifest as ear infections (debris in the ears, swelling, head shaking, scratching ears, rubbing ears on the floor) and skin infections(itching, hair falling out, pimple looking lesions on the skin, crusting, flaking, etc).

There are lots of different treatments and recommendations for these issues so just keep an eye out.

As far as picking a trainer, as I said, ask your veterinarian first. I would stay away from Petco/petsmart and look more at places like this:
sthuberts.org/page.aspx?pid=427

Puppy socialization and obedience are both important to help raise a good dog.

Also, keep in mind that a dog can develop the vocabulary of a 3 year old child so be very specific and consistent withe the commands you use…for example…“down” usually mean lay down…“off” usually means get off(couch, bed, dishwasher, person), etc…use whatever words are natural for you but just be consistent.

Another thing that is helpful in training is not to “prep” the dog. Example, “wanna go in the car? wanna go for a ride?” …ina high pitched tone said over and over creates excitement which can stimulate unwanted behaviors…calm, cool, collected, confident at all times. IF you are nervous or excited, the dog will be too…

When people bring their dogs to the office and repeatedly talk to them in a high pictched tone “good girl good girl you’re ok, you’re ok,” on and on…the pets tend to be very very nervous, squiggly and sometimes bite… The clients who sit quietly while I examine their pets tend to be fine. It about just keeping things at an even keel.

That said, you have small children…I always recommend to clients that they keep the pets away from the children. All play time needs to be refereed by an adult so things don’t get out of hand. I’ve seen so many small children get accidentally bitten during play. because the dog and the child are at eye level the dog will see the child as part of the pack rather than as a dominant being. This makes it ok for them, in their minds, to correct the way their mother would correct and that is using the mouth…hence the bites. In addition, things at eye level can be a threat to dogs, especially when they run and flail about! 😛

I hope this is helpful…I talk about this a lot with my puppy clients. It’s so important to raise a well behaved dog, just like having a well behaved child.

Please feel free to private message me if you have questions. If you live near me i’d be happy to see you guys!

Please post pictures soon!!!
 
Read most of the thread and am glad to see the OP picked out a rescue.

Unfortunately I can’t own a dog because I have some nasty allergies to most furry creatures. That did not stop my parents from getting a family dog that we had for the entirety of my childhood.

She was a mixed beagle and husky. She was well trained and had very few health problems and died at the ripe, old age of 14. She was such a gentle and well-behaved dog. But my parents trained her VERY well. My sister and I even continued the training and we all pitched in and took her for very long walks every day.

All dogs nip and can bite if you are not careful. Even my dog nipped at a groomer once and I know exactly why she did it. She was 13 at the time and I took her to get her nails clipped. The groomer was terribly rough with her and pulled her legs where she was struggling with arthritis. Of course it hurt her and she tried to bite the groomer.

My parents and my sister have 4 dogs between them (2 each) and the are all terriers. They are crazy when all 4 of them are together.

Good luck and have fun!
 
If you’re looking for a larger dog. Make sure you look into boxers. They’re a great breed and generally very good family dogs. If you’re looking for a small dog, check out miniature pinchers (min pins). They’re a little dog but have the personality of a big dog. They’re not yippers either.
 
Nec5 said:
Really? Wolf hybrid for a pet. Why not a cougar?
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Don’t laugh - one day I was walking into work when I saw someone (who looked like he just back after a few weeks in the mountains) was walking a mountain lion - right on a busy street in Chicago!
 
Norseman82 said:
Don’t laugh - one day I was walking into work when I saw someone (who looked like he just back after a few weeks in the mountains) was walking a mountain lion - right on a busy street in Chicago!
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I bet he wasn’t mugged.
 
Nec5 said:
Yeah, I’m always for mutts. Great dogs. I remember watching Judge Joe Brown years ago, and he held up a chart showing the most frequent dog breeds that attack. At the top were the usual suspects (pit bulls, rottweilers, doberman pinchers), but the attention grabber was the 4th one down on the list: wolf hybrid. Really? Wolf hybrid for a pet. Why not a cougar?
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Actually when I was growing up it was fairly common in my geographical area for people to own wolf hybrids. Part of it was because they made such beautiful puppies. However, once they reached adulthood their non-domesticated instincts kicked in and they made for very dangerous pets.
 
Unfortunately…
About 10 people per year are killed by a Pitbull/mix-Pitt attack in th US.
This accounts for somewhere between 50-70% of fatal dog attacks per year.

If you read into deeper the cases of Pitbull attacks it will involve one of two types of incident…
Ignorant trespasser.
-or-
Criminal family member/friend (think Michael Vick) brings home half starved abused dog.

That said,
Many breeds people identify as “Pitbulls” have unfortunately been bred to attack other dogs. If you have another dog, you may want to consider a different choice.
I also don’t know about a grown “rescue” pitt… hate to say it but better safe than sorry. Unfortunately there are some Michael Vick type people out there who abuse animals to the point where they just aren’t safe around kids.
😦

“Pittbulls” make great family dogs if raised right.
Staffordshires (the common progenitor of the pittbull) are very well known to be highly protective of children, particularly the Irish sub breeds.
  • Staffordshires, Mastiffs, Great Danes, St. Bernards & Boxers are the most renowned protectors of children.
  • Labs and shepherd dogs can be clumsy around children, though not intentionally dangerous.
  • Akitas and other asian dogs… they are a very different breeds. Caution is advised around kids.
  • The ones that are the most known for nipping and biting kids are the little runty dogs. They aren’t lethal, but generally do not make for kid-friendly pets.
  • Mix breed wolves are an absolute no-no around kids. It takes at least 8 generations to tame a wolf.
 
Vangaurdian said:
Unfortunately…
About 10 people per year are killed by a Pitbull/mix-Pitt attack in th US.
This accounts for somewhere between 50-70% of fatal dog attacks per year.

If you read into deeper the cases of Pitbull attacks it will involve one of two types of incident…
Ignorant trespasser.
-or-
Criminal family member/friend (think Michael Vick) brings home half starved abused dog.

That said,
Many breeds people identify as “Pitbulls” have unfortunately been bred to attack other dogs. If you have another dog, you may want to consider a different choice.
I also don’t know about a grown “rescue” pitt… hate to say it but better safe than sorry. Unfortunately there are some Michael Vick type people out there who abuse animals to the point where they just aren’t safe around kids…
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And that is the problem with the breed. It has evolved a lot in the last 20-30 years with amateur breeders and criminal type breeders deliberately breeding them to be more aggressive. The show “Little Rascals” in the 1930s has a pit-bull as their pet - the breed’s temperament was more along the lines of a beagle at that time - not so anymore. Even in the hands of a GOOD trainer from birth many pit-bulls grow to be completely untrustworthy as a family pet - especially around children.
 
Did not read through the entire thread, but our family has had several dogs over the course of our life. We have to be careful with the dogs that we have since one of our sons is allergic. My wife did a lot of research and found out that we could have a Golden-doodle dog that will not cause any reactions in our son. We have had him for over a year, he is a bigger dog (about 100 lbs) and he is very mild manner, good nature, GREAT with the kids (he lets our 19 month old lay on him all the time) and very smart. He is a beautiful dog and has taken to us very well.

Just a thought.
 
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