Thoughts and suggestion on choosing a small family dog, including recognizing if your children are responsible enough for the addition to the family
Many factors need consideration when choosing a family dog. Designating that the dog will be of a small breed increases the factors needing deliberation.
Recognizing Family Readiness
Knowing if your family is ready to bring any pet into the household is your first step. Consider the dynamics of your family; work and school schedules, is anyone home full time, who will mainly be responsible for feeding and care, are your children old enough to be partially responsible for the newest member of the family? Does anyone have allergies that could be affected by the addition of a dog? Does the breed you are considering have a coat that will require extra care? These basic questions need asking when bringing any new dog into a family situation. In addition, financial factors must be considered, such as what the standard yearly veterinarian costs for a small breed are.
Small Breed Considerations
When the pet is a small breed dog, you must also ask yourself if your children are old enough to be careful beyond what they would normally be with a regular size puppy. Small breed puppies are often so tiny that toddlers and young children sadly can step on them causing severe injury. They are oftentimes noisy or "˜yappy' themselves yet do not like a lot of noise and ruckus. Young children may want a dog that they can rough house with and truthfully, most small breed dogs shy away from this type of play. They are also not normally good with strangers coming into their territory. While there are always exceptions to these generalities, unless your children are older, it may be advisable to wait a few years to bring a small breed dog into the family.
There are advantages to a small breed though that can be enticing to people looking to bring a dog into their family. They do not require a large amount of room and typically travel well. Food bills are also relatively small in comparison to a large breed dog.
Small Breeds to Consider and Their Reliability with Children
When you have made the decision to welcome such a dog into your family, a sample of small breed dogs include; Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Bichon, Coton De Tulear, Maltese, Miniature Poodle, Pug, Yorkie, Pekingese, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, and Toy Fox Terrier. Some slightly larger dogs, but still relatively small includes the Cairn Terrier, Australian Terrier, or a small breed Beagle.
However, many of these are not considered well adjusted around young children. Pomeranians, for example, are only considered well adjusted around older, considerate children, as are the Chihuahua, Maltese, Miniature Poodle, Yorkie, Pekingese, Shih Tzu, and the Toy Fox Terrier. Though the Bichon, Coton De Tulear, and the Silky Terrier are usually well adjusted in houses with younger children, supervision is advised. However, Pugs and beagles are considered very well adjusted in a house with children, completely enjoying their company.
Supervision Required
Keep in mind when considering any of these breeds; dogs are as individual as people are. Any household with children should take the task of bringing a pet into it extremely serious. No young child should ever be left unsupervised with any dog, even a trusted family pet. Puppies require both love and time in addition to food and water to grow into responsible adult dogs. Your whole family must be prepared to give one hundred percent to the care of a puppy to help them grow into an addition to the family, not just the addition of one more chore.
