child nervous of dog...
My family & I are really interested in getting a dog before we move. Presently, my 2 yr old daughter is not a fan of dogs. She's never had a "bad experience" with a dog, but she loves them from afar. Is this a good enough reason for us not to get a dog, or if properly socialized she will be ok with the puppy> |
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| I think you should wait. Your daugther is very young, and not comfortable with dogs. Couple that with an upcoming move--this will be stressful to you, to your 2 year old daughter, and to any new pet. It sounds like too much, even if your daughter were really comfortable with dogs. Here, I'm thinking of everybody: you, child and dog.
To be honest, I wouldn't get a puppy until your daughter is older. Puppies of all ages are, well, puppies, which means they will chew things, including fingers and toes --and little girls' toys and shoes! and hair, etc. Puppies also jump up a lot until they are taught not to, and until they grow up enough to gain some impulse control. A bigger breed, such as an OES, will grow quickly and at some point, will knock down a small child. A medium sized puppy will also do this, in all likelyhood. This would probably not help your daughter to become more trusting and comfortable with dogs. What might and I want to emphasize might work, after you have settled into your new home, is if you adopted an older dog, one that was already out of the crazy puppy stage, potty trained, and not likely to chew on toes or toys. Dogs past the puppy stage often are given up because people are tired of the puppy stage and the dog is no longer 'cute', mostly because they weren't trained well. It is possible to find an older dog who is well accustomed to young children and who enjoys them who might be a good companion. This would be the most important feature of the dog: good with young children. And I mean the specific, individual dog, not just the breed in general. If that goes well, at some point a few years down the road , you might look into a puppy, but only if you find that a dog works well with your daughter and your life. I love dogs, too and couldn't wait to have my own--but both circumstances and my extreme desire to make sure that having a dog would work well with our whole family made me wait until I knew my kids were ready to handle a puppy. It was a good decision on my part. |
| I agree with guest - I would not get a dog if your child is nervous around dogs. |
| I think I'd try to socialize your kid with other people's dogs. Let her have some good experiences and get comfortable with them so when you do decide to bring one in your home, it won't be such a shock to her-- and the dog. It'll be an easier transition for all of you if you don't have the stress of chasing a puppy and worrying about your terrified toddler.
One of our nephews was scared of dogs. It seemed the big ones were the worst for him and because all of us have big dogs, he never even realized dogs could be small too. Once he learned that even the big ones start out little, and some dogs are always little, they weren't so scary to him anymore. It took him a couple of years but he's much better now and the family even got a little wiener dog.  |
| wait |
| My son was TERRIFIED of dogs around the age of three until five. When he hit about nine he started asking for a dog and I knew it was time. He is twenty-two now and waiting until he was ready made him a great dog brother. |
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