Doberman with young child

[MomentForLife]

I've had large breeds in the past, but not ones that would be considered 'dangerous' dogs. I am thinking about getting a Doberman bitch. I'm familiar with the breed, but have only known childless friends have them. I have a child under 10 who is used to dogs, with the right training would a Doberman be ok living with a young child?

I understand that they need a firm hand, my main doubt is that will this be an issue with having a child around?

We had a doberman growing up. We I at aged 3.5 named her Shera, Defender of the Universe.

She is to this day and will no doubt always be the best dog I have had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Out of all of the dogs I have known, trained, rescued and met through my life there are only 2 I would say hand on heart I could trust 100% with my children. Shera would have been one of those. Children in the street would knock on our door and ask if she could "play out" with them (this was in the 80s when dogs were granted far more freedom than they are and "latchkey" dogs were common)

I would own another in a heartbeat. As my dad always told me "There is no such thing as a dangerous dog, only dangerous owners"

Thanks for the reply.

Yours sounds like she was a lovely dog. They're such a gorgeous breed.

Agree with your Dad, although I always keep a cautious eye on any dog with kids.

It depends on the child tbh...I get the impression that they're quite sensitive, so if you've got a particularly busy household or rambunctious child they may not be the best fit. I also think they're fairly busy puppies - my Rottie would have been a nightmare with young children and from what I've read they're fairly similar as puppies, very active, very chasey and bitey.

I'm not so sure about the firm hand bit btw, it depends what you mean...they're an intelligent breed, so yes they will take advantage if you let them do things - but I mean, so will a border collie. But, they don't take well to harsh training methods, like I said, they're fairly sensitive.

Hi, yes get what you're saying. By firm hand I don't mean harsh training or anything like that. I mean that I've been told they can be dominant so it's important to be firm but fair, not be a pushover if that makes sense.

Oh and thanks for the input btw. I'm not going to jump into a decision, a lot to consider.

Aye, Rotties are supposed to be dominant as well dominance towards people has been pretty well discredited though - some breeds though are clever and have enough intelligence to work out that they could do what they want to instead of what you want them to, lol.

I'd aim for firm but fair and use positive reinforcement with any breed, it's just that easier breeds are more forgiving of the mistakes you make and smaller breeds are easier to handle if they do decide to just do want they want.

So there's no issue with regard to children having to be above them in any pecking order, just normal manners being taught will do it.

Yeah, we've had a dominant Yorkie in the past but it was easy to just pick her up and plonk her down somewhere else.lol.