My wife and I have been trying to find a small dog to adopt for about 2 months now. She has her heart set on a mix of dachsund and something or a Pug/Beagle mix. We have had a couple that we were interested in and then when they find out we have a 3 yr old son we are told that the dog would not be a good fit. For example, there was a beagle/dachsund mix that was at a foster home. We had to go over there for a home visit and the dog warmed up to us right away. My wife runs a daycare out of our house and this person brought the dog for a daycare visit...all of the kids treated the dog very well (we have cats already) so the kids all know how to treat an animal since they all have pets some dogs/some cats. So after all that another couple came to look at that dog was there for 20 min and they got it because they had older kids. I think that is kinda stupid considering that the age of children was never raised as a concern. So my question being is there something we can do that might make it easier for us to adopt a dog? Any ideas would be great.

 

Some people figure that younger children will abuse pets. Even Shelters often ask about the ages of children in the home. Since you also have a daycare, you have other children that you never really know what they will do. I hope you find the pet you want and all are happy in the end. Good luck.

 

Some breeds do better than others around children. You need to order "Right Dog For You" (Paperback) by Daniel F. Tortora. This book discusses breed, behavior, and temperament. Describes sporting dogs, working dogs, hounds, terriers, toy dogs, and nonsporting dogs. There is a chapter on selecting a dog. Summary on physical and behaviorial characteristics of all purebred dogs according to the six breed types.

 

Twelvepole's right on that some breeds are better than others, but I would still judge the final decision on a controlled environment with the dog and children meeting each other. By the way, I have a cocker spaniel that's horrible with children, yet they are a breed with a 'friendly' reputation.

 

I find med. to big dogs are less hyper. Not to big with a daycare. Dogs from shelters (not abused) are extra freindly or loyle. Im a redneck not sure how to say or spell it' but the best dogs I've had came from shelters or the streets.