I have 3 small children and would like to add a puppy. Some people have been telling me to wait until the little one is at least 3. What input do you have?

I’ve found that the success or failure of adding a puppy or dog to a home has less to do with the number and ages of the kids, and more to do with the level of time, training and leadership the adults in the house have to devote to a dog.

Realize that a large working energetic breed is going to have a large exercise requirement in comparison with a smaller, lower energy type of dog. My dogs require a couple of hours of structured exercise every day, and would be hard to manage without it. When my son was small I don’t know how I would have managed meeting all their needs on a daily basis. In my opinion, many people have unrealistic expectations from a dog and as the pup grows and hits adolescence things can sometimes be challenging to manage, even without small kids in the mix. There are also a huge number of families that do a wonderful job raising a pup in a multi kid family. I think education and realistic expectations are the key.

We have a section on the website that deals with dogs & kids.

My hat is off to you for doing the research ahead of time, more people should do this! If you get a pup and need some help choosing training materials or equipment, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope this helps.

Cindy