Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

Am I wrong in thinking that we should adopt a puppy instead of an older dog?

I just feel that because we have two small children, we can get the puppy accustomed to my girls and their behaviors , so that the dog can be more patient and loving towards them. Does that make sense?

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

We got my dog when he was between 10 months and 1 yr. old. His exact age is unknown. We had some trying times with him. But he is now 3 and he is calming down so much. In some ways it is great that we had a shorter road, timewise, to an age in which he is calm. But I wish I hadn't missed out on some of his puppyhood and I wish I did not have to undo some bad habits. Oh, he really was housetrained when we got him, so that was awesome. The rest of his behavior was crazy!!!!

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

We got Misty at nine months. For us, it was the better thing to do since we both work and it would have been hard to housebreak a puppy. If you are home during the day and because you have children, I would lean towards a puppy. You don't have to worry so much about temperment issues with a pup.

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

not necessarily. It depends on the dog. If the dog came form a home with children then they are already knowledgeable of how to behave around kids. I know 2 of my dogs that I adopted as puppies were very hard to train to be around children. They were great around infants - very gentle & all, btu not so great around toddlers.

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

Puppies love to nip and they have tiny, razor-sharp teeth. They are a LOT of work. We got a 2 month old puppy in December since I am due in May. I am just hoping that by the time the baby comes he has learned not to nip and has calmed down a bit.

He is very sweet but even my cousin's kids who LOVE dogs are afraid of him because of the nipping.

If I already had children in the home, I probably would have gone with an older dog, that had already at least passed the teething stage.

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

I thought that when DH and I were looking to adopt a dog it would be a puppy because I wanted to raise one. However, we didn't see any puppies we would want to adopt and fell in love with JJ (he was 1.5 years then) a purebreed cocker spaniel.

Sometimes it stinks thinking that someone else got to enjoy him as a puppy and watch him grow, but DH and I couldn't love him any more than we do, it wouldn't be possible.

It was also REALLY nice that we didn't have to deal with housebreaking or tearing up of furniture (from teething). And luckily he is really good around the house and never gets himself into trouble so we never have to worry about him.

Since you have children, I would definitely check out adopting an adult dog. Good luck!!!

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

My brother has a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 month old. He just got a 1 year lab mix. He is AWSOME
so good with the kids, already housebroken, and just a total mushy sweetheart. I know for him, getting one a little bit older out of that puppy stage was wayyyyyyyy better!

GL!

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

I would actually go with an older dog for a few reasons
1) everyone wants puppies so there are so many older dogs out there that need homes.
2) you can already tell the personality of the dog. the shelter will be able to tell if you if the dog is good with kids, playful, etc. with a puppy, its a crapshoot.
3) the older dog is already housebroken so you don't have to worry about cleaning up after your kids AND a puppy!

Re: Adopting a puppy vs. an older dog

We adopted Snickers when he was 2. He was already around children so I knew he would be fine. He is also the same age as my son. The great thing was that he was already passed the chewing everything in sight stage and he was housebroken. It was so easy to take him in, which was a bonus because chasing a little one around and a dog who needed to be trained would have been a lot harder.