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!

[HomeOfMyOwn]

As somebody who has successfully had a puppy with an 18month old and 4yr old child - your post is still shocking and screams bad idea.

A puppy under 1yr will need to be kept almost entirely separate from the human 1yr old (interaction needs far too heavy management on both sides to be safe for (either of them) to ever just be in the same room as each other with an adult near them). It's bloody hard work keeping them seperated yet needing to give puppy near constant attention (they will piss/shit and chew stuff), as well as 1yr DC.

As for training - With heavy management my 6 year old can now just about get both dogs to sit and wait whilst he puts their food down and don't eat until he says so (this is something that they do perfectly for me and has been drilled into them since early puppyhood). He can also just about get them to sit and wait outside the back door until he tells them ok. Both of these things my dogs are incredibly good at for me, but 6yr old really has to work hard to get the dogs to do the same for him. My 3 year old can get the one dog to sit (for all of 10 seconds) but not the other.

I think 6years old and adult well trained dog is the youngest either can be until they can really do any kind of 'training' and then it is only doing commands the dog already knows well. From older DC I know I would say 8/9 is the youngest they could start teaching a dog simple new tricks.

Tbh very young DC can often find young puppies too stressful too. My DC didn't get a proper bond with oldest dog until dog was fully matured at 2. The youngest dog is still too hyper for them (youngest dog is just over 1year)

Also my DC had been raised with horses and dogs - getting a puppy whilst my DC were still so young was hard work and at times incredibly stressful. If me and my DC had not had prior experience of fully caring for horses and dogs, it would have been a total disaster.

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

My 9 and 11 year olds are finding our relatively chilled and easy going puppy an issue - they can't be as consistent as they need to be, particularly with regard to nipping.

And good luck to anyone trying to train a beagle. I speak from experience. The most polite word I ever heard to describe them was 'wilful'...

[Lucisky]

I must take issue with a pp who said 60 is too old to get a puppy. I am in my early 60s and got a puppy last year, I would certainly hope to outlive it. Honestly, 60 isn't old!
However, to the op, yes, of course your mother can get a puppy is she wants, but it is not a toy and totally unsuitable to be in the company of a 1 year old, as they will hurt each other and it will all end in tears, so if your child spends a lot of time there, not a good idea at all. I can't think of any live pet suitable for such a small child to be involved with. Stick with soft toys for now.

[adaline]

And good luck to anyone trying to train a beagle. I speak from experience. The most polite word I ever heard to describe them was 'wilful'...

They are wilful but they're also perfectly trainable! You just need lots of food and patience (and wine!)

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

HomeOfMyOwn 6yo DS has very little joy getting DDog to do anything she's told, apart from go to bed. He says 'bed' in the tone of Joffrey from GoT ordering a beheading, and it gets instant results

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

adaline to be fair ours were adult rescues so it was doubly difficult. Loved them to bits but oh my word...I do think beagles should come with instructions!

[RatherBeRiding]

Hopefully OP has taken on board the comments above about the level of batshittery required to think a 1 year old and a puppy are a good idea, and has gone away to tell her DM to forget it!

[starcrossedseahorse]

Bad plan OP.

[crazycatgal]

An inexperienced owner in her 60s should not be getting a Beagle puppy.

A 1 year old can't train any dog, that's ridiculous.

If your DM has no experience of showing then how is she going to do it? You can't just buy a puppy and show it.

[pigsDOfly]

I was also in my early 60s when I got my puppy seven years ago. I'm certainly not to old and am perfectly capable of training a puppy and walking a dog regularly. Nobody has a guarantee that they are going to live long enough to out live a dog when they get one. It's no only older people who get ill or die.

A pp suggested guinea pigs as a good pet for a small child. They really aren't suitable for a small toddler as they could easily be badly hurt if squeezed too hard or dropped.

I really don't think you needed to state in your OP that you are not a dog owner and have no experience of breeds. It's very clear that neither you nor your DM have the first idea about what's involved in owning and training a puppy.

Please dissuade your DM from getting a puppy whilst looking after a one year old child - a reputable breeder would not sell a puppy to a home with such a young child anyway - small children and tiny puppies are not a good mix; and as for a small child training a puppy, forget it, it's not going to happen.

I think the pp who suggested the robot dog has the right idea.

[campion]

www.amazon.com/slp/life-size-stuffed-dogs/2o6t5p9as7ya3zg?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Try one of those instead.

Beagle? Lovely dogs,very wilful and not for the inexperienced. Crazy idea all round for reasons many others have said.

Actually, how about a train set?

[3luckystars]

60 isn't old!

[Didiplanthis]

For your mum - Not a beagle.... Not for the inexperienced. Really... And for your DC not at all. I wouldn't want a puppy round any of my DC.

[TheTimeThief]

When my dd was about 18mo she was able to potter about holding the lead of our extremely well behaved and well trained extra large dog under close supervision. He would look to her all the time, and pause if she stumbled, lay down if she dropped the lead and sit if she stopped to look at anything.

The same dog as a puppy almost pulled me under a bus. Used to leap at everyone and everything and thought that bogging off at speed was hilarious. It took loads of consistent and intense work to get him to the point where he was safe - to be considered well trained came much later.

We are just considering a puppy now that youngest is 4 and starting school so I will have time to train it properly and the dc will be able to help in small ways. It would have been awful to have a 1yo and be going through house training, leash training (to walk by a buggy?) etc.

[pigsDOfly]

Ooh yes, beagles. There was a man in a park I used to go to who had one. Willful absolutely describes that dog. And then for some reason he got a second one.

You could almost see his hair turning grey from day to day.

Gorgeous dogs but definitely not for the faint hearted, nor the first time owner.

[adaline]

I don't understand the negativity on MN surrounding Beagles.

I've never met one with a bad temperament, they're all fabulous with small children and can definitely be trained if you come armed with smelly food. Yes, they're stubborn and boisterous and as puppies they're strong and hyper, but they're great dogs.

And they tend to be happier in pairs, as they're pack hounds and tend to suffer from anxiety if they're alone. They're easily bored but if you have the time and patience to do what works for them (scent work and training in our case, with plenty of food) they'll be happy.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I think it's realism born of experience about typical beagles, not negativity. People familiar with the breed think that they'd be particularly unsuited to the OPs scenario.

[pigsDOfly]

Agree it's not negativity. They are lovely dogs but definitely need the right environment and activity level to use up all the energy.

It sounds highly unlikely that the OP and her DM would be giving one the right situation to stop it being bored and unhappy.

The man I knew didn't either and as soon as the dogs got off the lead in the park they spent to whole time looking for ways to stretch themselves and make their lives more exciting. As a consequence he would spend the whole time trying to just control them rather than training them.

Not fair to the dog at all.

[adaline]

Oh, I'm not saying OP should get one - sounds like she shouldn't get any dog at all, to be honest.

But if you read 99% of posts on here, they all display negativity towards Beagles. I'm not talking about this thread in particular, just in general on MN I guess.

[wheelwarrior]

Just no

I started looking after my my niece and nephew occasionally (2.5 and 6 months) my boy is rather calm almost 4 year old lab but even that requires close watching and never alone together without adult or one of my older teens watching them .No way could i done it when he was a puppy

At 2.5 my niece knows not to bother dog when he in bed and constant use kind hands but do i trust her to always no just in case

[ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs]

Please think very hard before doing this.

If you/ your mum are determined to get a dog, and have no experience please do NOT get a beagle. I had 2 beagles. The reason I had beagles was that my naïve parents got me a beagle puppy when I was 7, then rehomed him (while I was asleep ) a year later, after he destroyed the house, ran away, and all the other misbehaviours beagles are prone to if they are not well supervised/ trained. It broke my heart.

I had my two for 16years. I loved them dearly, but DH has barred me from ever having beagles again!

A new puppy and a young child are not a good combination. A person simply doesn't have the time to give both the attention they need, IMO

[TheSheepofWallSt]

A puppy is hard work. A toddler is hard work. The two together can be gruelling. Your mother is in her 60s... do you really think it’s fair for her to have that kind of stress?

[campion]

adaline you've just explained why the OP shouldn't be thinking of getting a beagle ...or any puppy for that matter. 'Stubborn, strong,boisterous and hyper' are not the behaviours you'd want around a 1 year old child. Especially one whose dg'm is obviously clueless about dogs/ puppies.

My best ever dog was a beagle and I still melt a little when I see one. But willingness to obey orders wasn't his strong point,relying instead on his abundant charm.

[Honeyroar]

This surely can't be a real post??

A one year old can't even handle themselves, let alone train a puppy! The best breed, in fact the only breed, to get for a toddler is one of those pull along stuffed toy dogs on a string. Anyone that can't work that out shouldn't be allowed a dog even as an adult. Sorry if that's offensive to the OP, but 😟😟😟🙄🙄🙄

[adaline]

Oh I know - I have a six month old beagle curled up next to me right now!

I've never said she should get a Beagle - I was just saying that in general I don't understand the negativity towards them. I accept they're more work than say, a Labrador but every thread on here has posts saying how awful Beagles are and why you should never get one.

Anyway, pretty much all puppies I know are hyper and boisterous - we have a lovely labradoodle at puppy class and she's just as hyper as our Beagle, same with the golden retriever and the flat-coated retriever. All different breeds but all equally hyper. The main difference I've noticed so far is how gobby ours is compared to the others