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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Best DC age to get a puppy/dog?

48 replies

SunThroughTheGrey · 02/03/2022 23:42

What's the general opinion on what's the best age for the DCs to be to get a dog? I am dog savvy, know what the responsibilities will be but it feels like if wait until DC is 5/6/7years old then that's a long time plus isn't that when weekends are taken up with activities? So you wait a bit longer, 13/14 but then they can travel further with you or you have more independence. I keep wondering if there is no good time and/or the only good time is retirement. Bleh. My DC is 16 months, I've been offered a puppy from a rescue who is almost 3 months, they've had no interest in the litter because of the time of year/ lots of younger puppies available.

OP posts:

Walkingalot · 02/03/2022 23:50

Got mine when DC was 7 as he wouldnt sleep on his own. He's a great companion. I think any age is OK as you'll be the one looking after it anyway!

AwkwardPaws27 · 03/03/2022 00:03

I think 5+.
Puppies bite, trying to manage that with a baby or toddler sounds really hard. I have a scar on my leg from my cocker spaniel where he bit me through jeans, it's not just nipping.

At 5+ they can understand and follow instructions like "put your toys away or they will get chewed". You can leave them colouring or playing to stand out in the garden every 30-60 to take puppy out to toilet without having to try and take baby/toddler with you.

Is there another adult in the house to help? If the weather is awful or DC is unwell & dog still needs to be walked, or when you are still training alone time & DC wants to do a weekend activity/go to a birthday party, another pair of hands would make life much easier.

Babadook76 · 03/03/2022 00:18

If you’re dog savvy then just go by your own instincts. Mn is probably the worst place on the internet to go to for pet advice. I think a 16 month old and a puppy is manageable. I’ve got 3 large guarding type dogs that have been brought up with 3 children. I’ve never had a problem with mouthing because I use common sense with disciplining them, instead of following daft mn advice like ‘yelping’ and giving ‘time outs’ to puppies 🙄 if you’re asking for the best age for a child to have a dog then I’d say around 5 years old. Mine were all inseparable from the dogs from about 5 years old, they were completely involved in their care and children that age and puppies will play together all day :)

Kanaloa · 03/03/2022 05:55

I wouldn’t want a rescue puppy and a 16 month old. You’d need to be on top of them all the time to ensure the toddler didn’t get bitten by the puppy. And it’s easy to say you can just use ‘common sense’ discipline and apparently never have a problem with mouthing but some puppies bite. And one year olds aren’t exactly known for their reasonable behaviour and understanding of animals.

So for me, having had a dog with young kids, I would wait. It’s a lot of stress trying to sort a toddler and a dog and it’s hard to give them both the best.

Totalwasteofpaper · 03/03/2022 06:01

Anytime 😍
We got ours when our baby was -1…
They will be awesome friends 🥰🥰🥰

hidingfromthemouse · 03/03/2022 06:42

I've got a 3 year old child and 4 month old puppy. I love them both and it's easier than I thought it would be generally but the biggest issue I didn't count on is my DC hitting out at the puppy. No matter how many times he goes in time out he still does it. We've told him if he carries on she'll end up hurting him and then she'll have to go away and he still does it. She's very tolerant of him but did drag her tooth across him after he hurt her once, I didn't see what he did to her but heard the yelp and saw what she did. From her point of view, it was a very controlled warning, didn't even leave a mark on him but was enough to shock him.

He is getting better with it but can't help but think if he was a bit old he wouldn't do it.

Ylvamoon · 03/03/2022 06:46

The best time is when you are ready for a dog!
However if you are a first time dog owner, I would be inclined towards 5+ or even 10+ depending on type of dog. This is simply because a dog needs your time and patience.

rainbowandglitter · 03/03/2022 06:51

I thought rescues didn't rehome to houses with children under a certain age? I got my dog when my ds was 6. I wouldn't have done it any earlier.

autienotnaughty · 03/03/2022 07:11

My sons 6 and tbh it's been really tough. It does depend on breed/start in life. But we thought we had put all the right thought and planning but hadn't anticipated how hard it would be. We got a lab pup and the constant watching the dog for jumping/mouthing has been hard. We can't leave them alone so either have to put dog in a separate room or take dog with me if going in kitchen etc. plus he's destructive if left alone and the walking takes a lot of day. We are training him so that takes time and energy. I seem to spend more time managing dog than I do with my son! Plus expense of dog food etc. have you had a dog before do you know how hard they can be? Would you be ok taking lo out on rainy days to walk? All the dog hair while lo is crawling? Poo in garden? Accidents in house? Young dogs take a while to sleep through. Most rescues are very cautious about dogs and children I couldn't find one that we could get a dog from, most said 12yrs plus. I wish we had waited a few more years in hindsight.

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 03/03/2022 07:19

We just got our first rescue once DH started working from home and both DC are at secondary school
The kids walk him on their own
They can be left alone with him so that means we can still go out and not worry
They aren't at risk or scared from his jumping up and mouthing and can be consistent in discouraging him
They enjoy helping to train him

GeneLovesJezebel · 03/03/2022 07:20

When your youngest goes to school.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 03/03/2022 07:23

Out of interest, what rescue is offering you a puppy when you have a sixteen month old at home?

I wouldn't do it until my child was in primary school. Too much stress otherwise - constant supervision and dragging reluctant toddlers on muddy walks isn't my idea of fun, though

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 03/03/2022 07:24

DS was bitten by my MILs collie when he was around 18 months
I had mistakenly thought she would supervise and keep them separate but she trusted the dog too much and let DS harrass him so he gave him a nip
It would be beyond me to manage a pre schooler and a puppy
Primary age would be OK but life is still busy and the kids would not be an active help
My secondary age kids genuinely wanted the dog and take some responsibility for him

ComDummings · 03/03/2022 07:30

I would love a dog, but my children are primary school age and I feel I just would not be able to relax with them and a pup. I know many people who have toddlers and got puppies and all was fine, if not very hard work at first, but I think I’ll just wait until my DC are secondary school age. It very much depends on what would fit with you. I just wouldn’t want the responsibility of a dog on top of having a toddler.

Iheartmysmart · 03/03/2022 07:35

I got my puppy when DS was nine. He was old enough to get involved and help with training, plus I could leave him at home if he didn’t want to come out on walks as pup got older.

DDog is now 11 and DS is going to miss him far more than me when he heads off to Uni in September!

Ostryga · 03/03/2022 07:42

I’ve always had dogs before Dd. She’s now 5 and I’m considering a dog in the next 3-4 years.

Puppies are hard work, I’ve had 3 spaniels from pups and the first 6 months are hard (whatever the breed). Then they hit adolescence and are dickheads for a bit. Not a chance in hell I’d have a puppy and a baby. Nightmare.

The thing that would worry me most about an older puppy is you’ll have missed the socialisation window, so it will depend entirely on the rescue to have socialised properly. Could you cope with a reactive, unsocialised dog and a young child? Why would you want to

Unmute · 03/03/2022 07:43

We got a puppy when ds was under 18 months. No issues with biting and they loved each other. I think it's easier with younger children because you never really leave them alone anyway, so you don't have to be extra vigilant just because of the dog.

I've had puppies with no children, and with much older children, and I think it's also easier to train the puppy with tiny kids. You just don't have the energy to tolerate any nonsense, no matter how adorable the puppy's naughtiness is.

WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor · 03/03/2022 07:45

The probably is it all depends on the puppy and you won’t know what he/she is like before you them. We got our puppy when youngest dc was 6 and I wouldn’t go younger. Our pup was a nightmare and Chewed all the children's toys, shoes etc. He would bite the children in play and bark at them if they wound him up. He also snapped at their friends which was the hardest to deal with.

GrendelsGrandma · 03/03/2022 07:45

Are you planning any more children in future? That's a factor.

Depending on how much time you've spent round kids, with a 16mo you might not have a clear picture of what toddlers and preschoolers are like. They poke things they shouldn't, do cheeky things as soon as your back is turned, scream a lot. They might also refuse to accompany you on dog walks. A slow 3yo and an energetic dog would be a bad mix.

Plus puppies can cause sleep deprivation and my nearly 3yo still wakes at 5 a lot, no way I'd want a dog joining the action.

I'm a bit like you wanting one but I'll think about dogs when DC are at school, old enough to be trusted not to prod where they shouldn't when my back is turned and when I have more appetite for cleaning up poo than I currently have!

GrendelsGrandma · 03/03/2022 07:45

Plus good luck differentiating between baby toys and dog toys!

MintyGreenDream · 03/03/2022 08:00

We got our first dog when ds was 2.5 and our second when he was 8.

EdithStourton · 03/03/2022 08:01

DH and I had grown up with dogs and the DC were used to dogs, and we got our first puppy when the youngest was a year old. The only real issues were lack of time to train the puppy, and sometimes having to haul all the DC out in the rain for a walk. There was also the odd chewed toy.

The dog had a long and happy life with us, and the DC have all grown into massive dog-lovers, so we must have done something right.

Lazypuppy · 03/03/2022 08:06

Before children come along, time to focus and settle and train puppy, our dog was 2 when our dd was born

Wolfiefan · 03/03/2022 08:06

We got our dog when youngest was 6. I think school age.
@hidingfromthemouse your child is very likely to be bitten if you don’t stop that behaviour from ever happening again. Plus your dog could be terrified of children in future and bite outside the house too.

pumpkinpie01 · 03/03/2022 08:17

I would say the biting around toddlers would be very stressful , I would wait til child is 5/6 and can understand that a puppy needs space.

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