What puppy for small child to train?

[enoughofthisbloodyrain]

Hi all, looking for some advice and should say I'm not a dog owner and know very little about different breeds.
My mum who's in her 60s looks after my 1 year old son while I'm at work. She expressed an interest in getting a puppy. I thought it would be cute if she and my little boy could train it and perhaps start to show the dog when he gets a bit older, it would be a nice hobby for him and my mum. So I suppose I thought it would be worth getting some advice on the right breed of dog to go for re training it and for safety reasons as it will be around a young child. I think my mum fancies a poodle or a beagle. All advice and info welcome!

The right breed for a 1 year old is no dog at all.

The right breed for a 60 year old is not a puppy, dogs live 10+ years, can your mum be sure she will be in good health?

You do know puppies piss and shit everywhere? Do you want your son to be in a house with that happening?

I think this is a bit unrealistic to be honest. Dog training requires consistency and focus from an owner and small children just aren't capable of these things for any great period of time. Children also struggle to actively read a dog's body language and manage other issues external to the dog, e.g. other dogs, etc. DD's great with our dog but even at 4 is nowhere near being able to train a dog. Tbh 6+ would probably be ok for dog training but even then that would be with a lot of support from experienced parents / friends / family members.

Also, has your mum ever owned a dog? Of the two breeds you mentioned, Beagles in particular are lovely dogs (I love poodles as well though would say they're less suited to your mum's situation) but having any kind of puppy is VERY hard work for the first year or so while they're growing up.

I am a dog lover but I also agree that generally speaking a 1 year old and a puppy, especially in the hands of someone who has never had dogs before, is a spectacularly bad idea.

And you are seriously getting ahead of yourself with ideas about your kid training and showing it. He's 1!!!!

We have a beagle/spaniel cross puppy and I don't let her anywhere near my 2 year old. Puppies are nippy and jump up. Just the right height to bite a 1 or 2 year olds face.

All I have taught my kids to do is to stand still if she is jumping up, with their hands over their chest and to not look at her. I don't want them involved at all because its not safe.

The puppy doesn't understand, but she could seriously hurt a toddler.

I really doubt a responsible breeder would sell a puppy to someone who thought it would be 'cute' for a 1yo to be involved in puppy training. Sorry, but this just doesn't sound like a sensible idea.

WHAT???

You want a puppy for your 1 year old to train??

wow

A puppy would be like lobbing a new baby in on your mother to look after, as well as your son.
It’s a whole pile of work!

I’m not a dog expert, but I would advise that you DO NOT GET A BEAGLE, under any circumstances.
They are a full time job and not a good pet unless you devote your life to training and walking them.

It’s a nice idea and I would never advise you what to do (as above I am not an expert) but a dog is an irreversible decision that will tie you down and limit your choices FOREVER.

Havanese are a lovely breed, they are very hard to find though. I think they can be good to train and are lovely show dogs and are generally placid with children but you would never leave a child alone with a dog and I don’t think a toddler would be able to train it, that would be your mothers job.

Sorry if my post was negative, I should have added some smiley faces!

You're crazy. I have a 16 month old DS and a 3 year old dog. If dog hadn't been here first no way would I have got him.

This is an awful idea.

We have a beagle and I would never have him around small children at this stage (he's six months old). He jumps up at everyone, still bites and nips (normal as he's still teething), gets ridiculously hyper and is already far too strong for a small child to walk on a lead. Today we were in town and he got frightened by a pigeon (yes, really!) and he leapt up and was terrified - if I hadn't had a firm grip on his lead he'd have ran off.

Puppies and small children are not a good mix. Puppies are hyper, energetic and need a lot of work. They have to be taken to the toilet several times an hour, need consistent training in basic manners - sit, stay, paw, lie-down, they need to be taught not to jump up or beg for food, and most won't be solid in these commands until they're about two.

Put it this way, my pup met a two year old cockapoo in town earlier. They both lunged for each other to play. Luckily both me and the other owner were paying attention and had firm grips on the leads! They were bouncy, energetic and far too much for a small child.

Please don't consider getting a puppy with a one year old. No matter what the breed - all dogs bite, jump and chew, have accidents and need to be taught calm and appropriate behaviour. A toddler is not the right person to do that!

A 1 year old cannot train a dog even with help. Adults find it hard to train dogs. Also you can't just show dogs?? It takes work and dedication. Not exactly for a baby 'once he gets a bit older'... what like 3??

Ffs people are so naive when it comes to puppies and dogs. A 1 year old could just about care for a teddy for 3 minutes until they get bored.

I’m guessing you haven’t had a dog or puppy before. Don’t, just don’t.

Guinea pigs are lovely pets and a much better combination with small children

I hope you mean that your Mum wants the dog, and given that opportunity you think it will be nice for your child to be a little bit involved.

If your mum wants the company a dog, and the dog is to be hers, live with her, and she'll be the one primarily responsible for it's care then it's her decision.

Has your mum any experience of keeping dogs?

Does she really want a puppy and all the work that involves vs. an older dog?

You need to draw up a list of who wants what from a puppy/dog, and a list of what between you you can offer to a puppy/dog. The limiting factors that determine whether it will work and which breed may be suitable will involve the facilities available (garden, size of house, general health of your mum, etc.) and how much everyone can realistically contribute to the needs of the dog (guaranteed minimum exercise hours, food and insurance bills, etc.). You must also consider whether the limitations of dog ownership are something you can accommodate (restrict holidays to "dog friendly" or arrange care/boarding, etc.).

Expecting a child under 5 to be involved with looking after or training a puppy is unrealistic, bordering on fantasy. You'd do well to wait several years if that's what you want to get from this.

These dogs are really good for what you want. Safe around children, easy to train. Hypoallergenic. Don't need much exercise.

www.robotshop.com/uk/wowwee-chip-robot-dog.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw-8nbBRBnEiwAqWt1zfK_aO64Wc9d0EarKZYP4Jvjcksj64_qtUe1jCNa9e0VneCXM9zC6RoCu5kQAvD_BwE

Toddlers and puppies aren’t a great mix, so whatever dog your mum gets - your son isn’t going to be really able to do anything with it for years yet.

Also, what do you mean by showing?

While my experience of child rearing is rather less than my experience of dog rearing, there's no way you're going to be able to get a 1 year old to train a dog. At that age, even the child won't be house trained, so it's not going to be able to house train a puppy, for instance.

Small relative aged 5 really struggled to get DDog to follow a command he already knew well (roll over)
Slightly larger relative aged 6 managed it with heavy coaching from me
Mid sized relative aged 8 managed it with minimal instruction from me (though he had already watched the smaller relatives have a go)

Note that this was all just getting a dog to follow a simple command that the dog can already do - not teaching it from scratch. No way can a small child train a dog.

But even that is rated as age 8+, missbattenburg.

One word. Batshit

You have a very unrealistic idea of what it takes to own a dog.

Puppies aren't a hobby. They're a full commitment. It may be a cute idea but they're a full time job and exhausting and I wouldn't mix a 1 year old and a OAP with a puppy it would be too much.
Maybe you could suggest they both volunteer at a local dog shelter and see if they could take some of the rescue dogs for short walks during their time together instead? X

Not a good idea.

My DCs have been involved in training the dogs from about 18mo but by that I mean that I have adult, well trained dogs and the DCs have learnt to give simple commands (while I stood behind the child helping the dog out) and reward with food. This is helpful for both child and dog as the child learns how to behave around a dog and the dog learns that the child rewards good behavior. However, none of that is possible with a puppy. The puppy will jump up, play bit, scratch...your DC will not enjoy the untrained puppy.

My DCs managed the odd session at puppy class from 3yo onwards but had very strict instructions on behavior and stuck to them. DD at 6yo was a lemon to reinforce some commands with a puppy after I had done some initial training. That’s about the most you can expect from children that are much older than yours.

Was able to
Not
Was a lemon!

If you are for real, go for an IQ test

Really? I'm assuming your mum is also inexperienced with dogs, in which case she should absolutely not get a beagle and should do A LOT of research before even thinking about getting a puppy. Tell her to read the puppy survival thread on here, for a start.

My jaw did drop when I first read your post, but then I reread it and saw that you seemed to be thinking more in terms of your mum doing the training, with the baby in tow, rather than the baby taking on 50% of the job! In which case it's not quite as bonkers as it sounded initially. But it's still pretty bonkers. I've owned three dogs as an adult and had one child, and there is no way I could care for a puppy and a baby at the same time.