What kind of puppy would you get for a 7 year old boy?

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

I posted before and I pray you read it as it was full of insight and info. But I forgot to mention something...

www.dogbreedinfo.com has thousands of dogs listed with info on temperment, development, health issues, etc. Thousands of pics also. Then go to the Animal Planet website and type in a breed that interests you. Often you will find videos of that breed or fancy mix.

again let me say...I would rather see a happy outside family dog than a dog in a no kill shelter for months or more with minimal love and attention.

 

[cubalaya]

i think this site has a lot of beagle 'haters' lol.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:
We loved our Beagle of 14 years. Matt named her when he was 2. So for 14 years her name was Girl. Girl loved us and we loved her. She loved to dig, climb, run away (by following her nose) etc. She didn't even seem to mind when she would get shocked by the underground fence that we installed especially for her. After all, somewhere on the other side was a rabbit or a squirrel or a deer or a turkey....One of my favorites is the time she barked so much over the arrival of a new horse that she lost her voice but continued to silently bark for days!

Edited for spelling.

 

[juliechick]

I'm loving all the replies and trying to read each one. There's a lot of wisdom and good advice here. We are going away for a week, so I won't be posting while I'm gone. I look forward to reading this thread when I get back, and... beginning our search for the right dog!

Happy New Year everyone!

ETA: The Komondor is awesome looking!

 

[SillyChicken]

I don't like it when dogs are left primarily outside. (unless they have a job).. cause that's where a lot of them get left, esp with kids involved... If you want them to bond, the dog should be staying with the boy as much as possible. When I screened potential puppy buyers, I would not sell to someone who planed on leaving their dog outside. sorry personal pet peeve.

I was going to suggest a boston, but considering you live in AZ, I wouldn't recommend a short muzzled dog as they have a harder time cooling off in the heat... unless you can provide a dog pool or AC inside for them.

I would also look at what your child is like. Some little kids tend to be too rough or careless with a pet and have no business with one...
What does your son like to do? Does he get outside and do stuff, have future interest in hunting, sports or is he more inclined to be laid back and play video games on tv? Try to pick a dog based on your son's activity level and personality.

A terrier of sorts would be a good dog for an active boy. They're hardy, but they are active and need training and discipline too. There's also a good old fashioned mutt. Plenty of them at a shelter.

I'd never get a beagle though they like to take off! Not a beagle hater, they're bred for a purpose and should but used for it, and not one left to it's own desires such as what can happen with a dog left outside alone a lot. I wouldn't get one for a young child.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Ive only read a couple pages, but here it goes.

Id say a Golden Retriever. They are amazing dogs. BUT, they can not be outside dogs. They need to live in the house with the family and be actively involved with the family, like any dog. If you decide on a Golden Retriever, do lots of research on breeders. Make sure all the breeders have the OFA certifications done on their dogs, and the parents of the pups are older than 24 months, otherwise they can not be certified by the OFA. Goldens can be affected with lots of different problems. There are some lines are more prone to cancer than other lines, etc. Look around and research lots of different breeders. It took me a year before I finally found the breeder which I wanted to get a pup from. This should really be done with every breed of dog you are looking at.

 

[A Dunne]

The shelter is a good idea.
If I had to pick a breed, I would say a smaller size mountain cur. Very loyal and pretty resilient.

 

[ebwy2]

I grew up with female springer spaniels (the working variety rather than the show variety), they were incredibly loyal and tolerant. So if I had to chose I'd say one of those. But I've known some amazing mutts too. I think it's down to the personality of the individual dog rather than the breed, to be honest.

(I do know the correct word for female dogs btw but I didn't want to fall foul of any over-enthusiastic censors)

 

[ksacres]

I'm going to second the pit bull suggestion. They are INCREDIBLY loyal, resilient, VERY SMART, and pain tolerant/non-reactive. They will protect their loved ones with all they have should the need arise. Forget about keeping a gun in the house, we keep a loaded pit. Our pit is friendly and polite with people we've "ok'd", but puts on a good show of barking until that is given. Between him and our mastiff, no one EVER got out of their vehicle on our property without a word from us first. Our mastiff is loyal and beautiful and sweet, but not a kid's dog. She doesn't like to play with children-she hides and pouts. Our pit is always ready for a rumble.

One thing-we don't allow ANY of our dogs to bark at us or use their mouths on us. From the earliest puppyhood on. My MIL watched our dogs while we moved, we got them back and had to correct some behaviours in our pit. My SIL has (what I consider to be) bad habits with large dogs- teaching them to bark/growl/lunge for food/toys/treats. It only took a few corrections to get back on track-did I mention Pits are smart?? Our mastiff considered that whole scene beneath her elevated status and never took up the bad habit to begin with.

 

[joeyg4583]

Standard poodle. Ours is the best dog we've ever had. Extremely smart and loving, incredibly affectionate, and took 1 day to train with no previous training (he was a rescue that was malnurished, mistreated, and kept in a cage). Plus no hair all over the house!