What age was your youngest when you got a dog?

[Moongazingbare]

We have two children and would eventually like to have a dog again

I want to rescue a dog ideally and know that might be more difficult

What age was your youngest children when you got a dog and were you able to rescue a dog? Or did you get a puppy because you couldn’t rescue?

We got a puppy when DS was 7 and DD was 11. We have quite a large breed and I am very glad we didn’t get him any earlier.
Personally I’m not keen on big dogs and small children due to a nasty accident that happened to a family friend.
DS could just about cope with DDog but he’s quite large so was the size of a 9/10 year old at that point

Our youngest was 6 when we got a lab. No issues at all. The kids have very fond memories of growing up with him.
Kids had always been around dogs though so were pretty confident with them.
He wasn't a rescue though.

Youngest was 3, oldest was 5. She was a small breed so her puppy bites didn’t hurt that much. We already had a dog (ds was 2 and dd was 4) so she slotted in nicelyn

Dd was just 10. I'm glad she was a bit older as puppies can be a bit boisterous and nippy and I think she would have found it quite hard to deal with. Nigh on impossible to get a rescue when you have children. We tried for 3 years.

Our youngest was 10 , we got a 4/5 month old puppy from Battersea , he had been found in Eltham and had obviously not lived in a house before .

Our youngest was a year old, and we got a small breed puppy.

The only issue we had was finding the time for training, and the destruction of a couple of toys (which DC had been told to keep safe). Dog and DC always got on brilliantly, and there was family mourning when she died.

14 - it’s good as they can take dog out on their own responsibly and were old enough to deal with naughty puppy biting etc. Not sure I would have wanted a dog before the kids were old enough to leave on their own at home (means I don’t have to drag small kids out on a wet rainy winters walk).

6 he still complains about it and says he wishes he could throw balls etc in the house without them being stolen.

My youngest was 3.5, older ones 10&12. Kids were all used to being around family dogs and love dogs but in hindsight would have been easier if the youngest had been 4.5 and at school full days.... but then I might not have been at home all day to be with a puppy and train it etc.

As a pp said one of the hard things is having to take younger children with you on walks even if it's cold/wet and they get tired and moan if you walk too far and they can't go on the swings as dogs can't go in the playground!

Youngest was 8, we wanted to get her when DS was about 6 but for medical reasons we had to delay

Youngest was 4. Dog is a rescue but only 3 months old when we adopted her. For the first few weeks it was really hard and I felt like I was neglecting my youngest to give the puppy enough attention. Also the puppy found the younger kids really exciting and chased and nipped a lot which they hated. My 9 year old coped much better and I think that would be a more sensible minimum age.

Our pup is five months, youngest child is nearly 8, others are 15 and 17. I timed it so that when the teens have left home (although DS is autistic, so I think might be later to leave home), youngest will be old enough to leave for a couple of hours if he doesn't want to walk the dog (DH usually works away so won't reliably be here.)

The idea of properly exercising a cocker spaniel whilst trailing a moaning, whinging child around does not appeal in any way.

Youngest was 5, and we got a puppy. All worked perfectly well as he was old enough to understand how to behave around the dog.

We has an 18 mo and 5 yo when we got a rescue greyhound. She was amazing

had

Youngest was 11 (although we had started looking for a suitable dog when youngest was 9), we got a rehome dog.

For us, I wouldn’t have got one when the children were younger, I love that if I’m not feeling well, they can walk the dog or if it’s raining I can quickly run him around the block while kids stay at home.

We've just had a blue GSD puppy. DS is eight. He has been a much wanted dog for the last 10 years. Whilst I would love to rescue, many won't let us have the breed we wanted because we have DS and DP and mine work hours cross, so he would be on his own for two to three hours, twice a week, unfortunately.

Eldest 4, youngest 1. Got a Labrador puppy.
Was hard work initially but the bond they all have is incredible. There were days at the start where I thought "what have we done" but they passed and now we are several years down the line and they have all grown up together.
My parents had a dog from before I was born. He died when I was 4 and we got 2 puppies. They were with me throughout my childhood up until I was 16. I have so many happy memories of being with them. I wanted the same for our children.

My DS was 4, we got a puppy because most rescues don’t rehome to people with young children but I wouldn’t have trusted a rescue dog around young children anyway.

It was fine but there is no way on earth you could have a puppy with my other DS at 4 because he is far, far livelier and more ‘testing’ than my oldest DS ever was.

It depends on the child’s personality basically.
I think 4 is alright for quieter, more sensible children.

my youngest was 18 months when we got our first dog. we rehomed her from a couple who had rescued her from the local council shelter but couldn't keep her as the woman had got a new job involving travelling abroad. She was 6 months when we got her. My other dc were 3, 5, ,7, 9 and 11. Everyone thought we were mad! But it was the best thing we ever did.
She was absolutely the best dog ever and was such a loyal faithful companion. our youngest son especially developed such an amazing bond with her.
Sadly she passed away last week aged 12 1/2 and we are all just heartborken. we have another 2 dogs now as well, but she always had a special place in our hearts.