To get a dog, with a 4&5 year old!

[13MAPARTHELL]

I cant get past wanting a dog in the family, i never had one growing up & we do have a cat, the kids are obsessed with but are frequently displeased with the lack of play 😂

pros
i work from home full time

we live a stones throw from a huge park that the school is within the grounds of, so they are walked every morning at drop off and pick up

we go to the park everyday or the woods no matter the weather

we have neighbours who we are close with who can also dog sit & friends that all work from home also

great companionship for the kids

cons
money of course

finding the right dog challenge

the work of watching kids and dog like a hawk

has anyone else got a dog around these ages?

My dds had dogs growing up , we got our first when the youngest was 2, if you have time and accept they are hard work especially as puppies, then why not . We are on our last dog now due to our age and I love having the company because I am in most of the day.

I had four dogs when I had children that age, one of which was a puppy, and its for that reason that I don't sell puppies (I breed once every few years) to people with children under ten.

Lots of other breeders, at least of my breed, that I know take a similar stance. There's quite a strong push (at least in the 'ethical'/ 'good') breed world to not sell puppies to people with young children given how much can go very badly wrong. Too many dogs end up being re-homed because people underestimate how challenging it can be (it's not like having a toddler, it's worse because toddlers do not, typically, eat wiring) or think that it's fine because the dog is a bit older now and so are the kids, and next thing you know the kids taken a bite to the face.

Im not looking for a puppy, looking for a 2-4 year old rescue whose termperment is known & who have lived with kids in the past etc x

Get the dog but do the research, get something that suits your energy level and children. Get a dog from a known local breeder that will offer support and if possible holiday back up x

It's very unlikely you'll be able to rehome a dog from anywhere even half way reputable given your children's ages sorry OP.
I think it's great you want to rehome but I think there's little point in looking until the youngest is 8 at least.

@13MAPARTHELL no good rescue will give you a dog either not with children that young. Most have 8+ as a minimum, for even more its 10+.

No rescue dog's temperament is certain. How they act in foster, whilst it might be a good estimate of what the dog will be like in it's new home, can't be 100% certain. Most good rescues won't take the chance of re-homing a dog in circumstances with young children because of just how wrong it can go.

And any that are shoved in kennels (like Battersea, RSPCA) are never going to be worth taking the risk around children. Too many rescues say dogs are child friendly, and then the next thing you know the child has been bitten or the dogs displaying behavioural issues such as resource guarding. The 'big five' are really bad for that - they either lie, or they don't know the dogs well enough to make a call. A few months ago there were about six different posters in DogsHouse who all got rescues ranging from whippets to poodles, all of which is transpired had serious behavioural issues that the rescues claimed not to know about.

One of the dogs had 'sleep startle' which meant if it was woken up, it attacked whoever was closest to it - be that child or adult. The rescue claimed they had no idea it was an issue, despite the dog having been in foster before. Would you really want to risk that around your young children?

Sorry.

Tbf that is quite specific and a big ask,

Perhaps you worded this part badly and meant it differently, but… “we do have a cat, the kids are obsessed with but are frequently displeased with the lack of play”

Based on this, I’d suggest you wait until your kids are a little older and have more understanding of what a pet is, that it is not a toy for playing with and getting bored with.

I’d also give some consideration to the welfare of your cat. If you get a dog, and the kids fall in love with it, but the cat and dog don’t get on, will you rehome the dog or cat?

I think a rescue dog that is used to children would be a lovely experience.
Sometimes uk rescues can be OTT about young kids, but yours are school age or close to it, so I think it's a good time, and if you wfh and that is likely to continue, then it's not a bad time.
Also some foreign rescues get a bad press, but they are not all the same, and some have UK bases too. I have Spanish dogs and my first one was already in the UK so we met before deciding, so it's not always that they are brought over after deciding.

Would you consider getting a guide dog puppy?
It eliminates most of your cons.

Use it as a "test run" if actually having a dog turns out not to be for you the pup goes off to change someone's life after 18m anyway.

Your really thinking very deeply into that 😂

its simply the cat not being there to play, as they wander & like their own space, at no point did I say that they are prodding it in the eyes or throwing a ball at him 😂

The ethics of how they breed guide dog puppies are deplorable.

They are happy with a bitch having two litters in a calendar year, more than four litters in a lifetime, breed before the bitch is fully grown, after the age of 6 etc. All of which the KC frown on. And when the KC frown on a breeding practice for being unethical, you know it's serious...

If I bred two litters from the same bitch in a year, my local breed club would throw me out.

Sounds like a better plan than getting a puppy. I got my rescue dog when my child was 3 and the dog was 7 (he’s now 15). He was a foreign rescue but in the UK so the charity could assess us together. In my experience a lot of UK rescues won’t rehome to families with young children. I’ve also had a puppy and they need almost constant supervision. Any puppy will likely eat your carpet, shoes, lawn, furniture and pinch your children’s food and toys. They will definitely bite as that’s how they play with one another and make sense of the world. I’ve loved my adult rescues just as much as the dog I had from a puppy

Some people are so judgmental! Sounds like you’d be able to offer a rescue dog a lovely home. They’ll need space to start with and the whole family will need to get on board with training! My family have taken on loads of rescues over the years- from greyhounds to strange looking terror mixes- and with guidance they’ve all turned out to be nice family dogs

I’d honestly be so surprised if a rescue would give you a dog, we had older kids and there were a lot that said no way. The ones who didn’t offered us dogs they really shouldn’t have so be so vigilant!! I used to tell people don’t do it just because our dog- I’m up early with him, out lss as the with him, we can’t go visit my mum without him going into doggy daycare, he’s broken out 4 times BUT I think if you find the right breed then maybe, I will warn the most terrifying moment of my life was seeing him jumping up on my 15yo over and over again- he was only a little puppy, just new but had my son been smaller he’d have been in trouble. Don’t go near cocker spaniels or cockapoos is my advice really, they are very bitey puppies (I love my dog by the way but he’s added years on me and taken up time that could have been spent with the kids so am torn)

If you can possibly find one, get a havanese! They are just fab with kids and not an agressie bone in their bodies! think their is a rehoming havanese facebook site where you can sometimes get one. Little boy might be better for wild energetic kiddies!