Best dog breed for three year old

[Rua13]

What would be the best dog breed for a family with a young child who have no experience with dogs? We've been offered a Jack Russell by friends of friends but read that they are best suited to experienced owners. TIA

This may sound extreme but if you aren't experienced around dogs then I would be waiting until your child is mine years old before getting your first dog. At that age children are far more able to follow instructions about not disturbing a dog when it's eating or sleeping and being cautious around toys etc. The trouble is, dogs give off such subtle signals that we can ignore if we are not really observant. In other words dogs that "bite out of the blue having given no warning" will have given several warnings but they may be so subtle to an inexperienced eye they may not be noticeable.

Be safe around dogs by the Dogs Trust (PDF downloadable leaflet) is a good basic guide on teaching DC to behave around dogs.

Tbh I think nowadays the temperament of the individual animal almost matters more then the breed (with obvious exceptions for known aggressive breeds).

Having said all of that, good call on the Jack Russell! (I love them but they can be feisty!). Cavalier King Charles have lovely temperaments as pp said, they can have health issues.

Good luck with your decision! Guinea pigs make lovely pets for younger DC, as long as you teach them to handle them gently!

FFS, herding behaviour is innate controlled pack hunting behaviour - and if not controlled, then it's bloody obvious - it's HUNTING behaviour

Mm, It is, but the end sequence: kill, eat has been bred out though you do get 'rogue' collies that follow through.
Most collies though don't bite and kill, they just herd.
My collie has never had any herding training at all, we got chickens and she loved to round them all up onto the windowsill and would stay absolutely frozen staring making sure they didn't move unless we told her to knock it off.

She never ever hurt them, not even when she was sleeping by the door and the Teresa (the chicken) jumped on her head and climbed over her to get in the house!

Its more about control of movement rather than predatory interest imo, using the eye and stalking etc to move the sheep, or god forbid, child 😱 to where they want them just as a wolf would to separate a deer from the herd and if the sheep doesn't play ball they escalate; maybe blocking their path, maybe gripping and holding or even biting.

That is why it is so dangerous when directed towards children.

Because the natural urge of the child is to run and shriek and shout and the dog thinks it needs to escalate to bring the child under control which terrifies the child even more...

I hate seeing the videos do the rounds on social media and cringe when I hear people talking about them herding 'their' kids or looking after their flock.
It's an accident and euthanasia waiting to happen.

nine years old!

In other words dogs that "bite out of the blue having given no warning" will have given several warnings but they may be so subtle to an inexperienced eye they may not be noticeable

Usually but not always.
The jack that bit me, I was known to the dog.
It was mooching around minding its own business, the other dog put its head on my knee, I stroked the top of its head and the jack literally lunged forward silently and bit into my hand!
No warning sign whatsoever.

We have a golden retriever had him before our DC was even born! And he just adapted he kind of took it in he’s stride! They’re the most loyal laid back dogs ever! A little clumsy though but so gentle

Definitely a lab although the young ones are hard work. Ideally wait until you child is older. I’ve got two elderly entire male labs and a two year old and they are very good with him. DS has been knocked over many times and has been hit round the face with a tail too many times. Labs are not aware of what their tail is doing.

We have a staff and a German Shepard x who were here before the kids. they have always got on great with the kids and then when my ds was 3 and dd 6 we got a Dalmatian puppy who was 8 weeks old currently 11 months. We havnt had any issues with her and the kids but then we started training from day 1 were strict with her she was crate trained and is socialised a lot.
Any puppy is hard work but if you can put the work in it's worth it

Fucksandflowers the JR will have given very subtle signals though but they would either have been too fleeting or too subtle for even you who is known to it, to pick up, especially if your attention was on another dog in those few seconds it took him to launch himself ifyswim. The book Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas is very good on this.

Three members of our family were bitten by our rescue dog before we learnt to "read" him. He's actually a very gentle dog (if slightly sensitive) and we haven't had any problems in years now , but that first year was difficult. He would just go very quiet and slightly "stiff" so subtlety it was barely noticeable to the human eye.

Our whippet is so wonderful. They're so so loving

Don't do it! We got our retriever when dd was 3. I love him to bits but it has been a nightmare at times.
He was very mouthy
He steals her toys and ate a few -hundred- of them
You cannot walk a 3 year old and a puppy, it just ends it tears
You cannot train a puppy whilst supervising a 3 year old
You cannot supervise a deranged teenage dog with a 4 year old.
Honestly, ddog is now 18 months and we are only now entering the time of long enjoyable walks with the pair of them and relative harmony at home.
And, I am an experienced dog owner, DD was our dc3, all kids raised with dogs since birth. Dpup came 6 months after losing our old boy.
I can't imagine doing it as a brand new owner

I've had dogs all my life but was still shocked at how much hard work a puppy was compared to an adult dog. It would be a lot harder with a young child around as well. Read some of the puppy survival threads on here to see some of the problems people encounter! As said above, almost all puppies bite like fury and their teeth are needle-sharp. This is not aggression, this is natural puppy play behaviour and they eventually learn that it is not acceptable to treat humans in this way. But will obviously require a lot of supervision to stop a 3yo child being bitten during that phase. Toilet training also requires a lot of work, you will need to take pup outside at least once an hour during the daytime and most very young pups can't hold on all night so will need you to get up and take them outside at least once during the night. And if there is an wee/poo accident inside you can guarantee it will be when your back is turned and the 3yo will be toddling through it. A lot of pups don't sleep very well when they first come to a new home, which is not surprising when you think they have had the company of their mum and littermates up to then. So you may have to contend with howling in the night, which will wake you and your 3yo up. Pups also go through a phase of chewing everything in sight which will include your 3yo's favourite toys. I would wait until at least your child is at school full time so you have some child-free time to devote to a puppy, but as others have said better to wait until they are a bit older so they can be trusted to fully understand how to behave around a puppy.

Had a SBT with a 2 year old. She was excellent with my daughter, but has never stopped stealing her socks when she see's her 😂

Now have two. Step son is autistic. They are fab with him.

Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to reply.We've spoken about this and agreed to wait until Dd is older and more responsible. Lots of food for thought here on what breed would suit us in the long run

Good decision, well done 👍

In the long run get a rough collie. THE best dogs and brilliant with children and other animals.

We have a rough collie puppy named George

He's a much calmer puppy than our last dog even though

I truly loved her

I'm on my 3rd Golden Retriever and all three have been lovely, good natured and tolerant dogs. However, they do need to be trained like any other dog and for the first 18 months, while they're still considered puppy/juvenile, they can be very bouncy and over excitable. Once mature they're the best dog ever. Personally I'd wait until your child is a little bit older and would have a better understanding of how to treat an animal. Pet ownership shouldn't be one person's decision - both parents should be fully on board and you need to agree in advance who will be responsible for grooming/walking/feeding/cleaning up after etc.

Glad you're waiting till your child is older, our daughter was nearly six when we got our first dog. We have a basset hound and she is incredibly gentle and loving, known for being great with children and ours definitely lives up to that reputation.

I grew up with a Jack Russell and it never bit, high energy and strong willed though. I definitely wouldn't get one unless you felt confident with dogs, Although if you did get one make sure you socialise it from day one meeting all kinds of people, dogs and cats. Take it to puppy training and further training once a year if you can. They are intelligent dogs and enjoy training and learning tricks even though they often have their own ideas.

Good luck if you do decide! When I had kids we got an English Bull terrier and a Maltese later and they were both awesome with the children.

Hell no to border collies, llaso apso and Jack Russells, you're more likely to be bitten by these three breeds than any other( UK government statistics). I read the first few comments and saw collies and llasos mentioned, please don't listen, not with such a young child. I've owned several breeds and gods honest truth is that the staffy is by far the easiest to train and best with kids. Labs are also great but are very hard to handle when young so strict training regime from very young puppyhood is a must when you're also trying to control a toddler.
I know many people suggest getting smaller breeds but TBH there are no small breeds that have the patience to put up with a boisterous toddler, even the kennel club won't suggest any of the small breeds for living with small children (as far as I'm aware the only 2 they do suggest for under 5s are the staffy and the lab).
I have a 6 yr old rescue staffy and a 15month son. Good luck

Another thing to consider is if there are allergies/ chest infections/asthma. Dogs that shed a lot can be a huge problem. We were warned against e.g. Labradors and retrievers because of this

border collies, llaso apso and Jack Russells, you're more likely to be bitten by these three breeds than any other( UK government statistics). I read the first few comments and saw collies and llasos mentioned, please don't listen, not with such a young children

Actually, according to statistics, Dachshunds, Jack Russell, spaniels, border collies, German shepherds, labradors and golden retrievers are consistently in the top 10.

Dachshunds and jacks and labradors (which you recommended) especially are frequently found in the top 3...

I have three young children, DS was 4 when we got our border collie.
My border is great with children thank you.
So much so that she sometimes does pet care days at my oldest's school and we were considering training her as a therapy dog at one point.
I know plenty of people with borders and all are soft and gentle with children.

Their herding instinct can make them challenging to live though if you don't manage it properly.

We have a shih tzu , great with the kids. The younger ones were 3&4 when we got him though and I do wish I’d waited until the youngest was at school

We had a dog when DD was born. Sadly she passed away not long after. We waited till DD was 18 months and decided that it was just a bit rubbish without a dog and we started looking for another and brought her home about a year ago (DD will be 3 towards the end of the year). Both dogs have been rescue pugs and have been absolutely brilliant with kids. Our current DDog especially is very good with DD. I would never recommend that you buy a pug puppy, it's criminal to breed them the way they are but if you have the time to devote to a rescue one they make excellent family dogs.

Rough collies have the benefits of and similar looks to a border collie but are gentle and calm and the most beautiful of all dogs. Just saying..