The realities of life with a dog!

[KateGrey]

I have three dc (10,8,6). The youngest two have autism. My mum has been on at me for a while to get a dog for the kids as she thinks it will benefit both the younger children. I’m a stay at home parent and realistically won’t be able to work still for quite a while as I need to be at home for the kids. We’ve never had a dog and were thinking of a cockerpoo/Cavapoo. I feel crazy thinking about it but my youngest is pre-verbal so a therapy dog might be good for when she is older but I don’t know if this idea is utterly insane.

@Bluetrews, it was ‘10 puppies and us’

OP maybe consider a slightly older dog (that is already house trained) and is less excitable around (and is used to) children. Rescue centres have plenty of lovely dogs patiently waiting for loving homes.

We have just got a rescue Labrador and he's lovely but I'm not underestimating how much effort they are.

As an alternative have you looked at BorrowMyDoggy.com? Yes it's s thing and I think it's great. People list their dogs if they need help with them or are happy to share. We borrowed a dog every Saturday for 6 weeks to see how we got on but you could try different breeds and different dogs to see how you feel with them in your house and see how the children react. You agree with the owner how much or how little you have them. We had days but also did a weekend when the owners went away. It worked really well for us - well worth looking into.

Have you thought about a staffie?

Probably well suited to your situation. Can put up with a bit of rough handling, not overly energetic or bouncy, good with kids.

Plus there are millions in rescue so you’ve a much higher chance of finding the right one...

I too thought a chilled staffie rescue could be the perfect fit!

@Wincarnis so it was! Thank you!
I loved the pup that trained its owner to give food all the time to keep her walking. Otherwise it would just lie down on the pavement and not budge! Had a good giggle at that one!