The best way to find a puppy good with children is to adopt one from an rescue center. And there you can ask them what kind of temperament the puppy has. Many shelters test puppies to see how they react to a child environment. Puppies from shelters normally live with volunteers who train them to get used the experiences they’ll find in their permanent home. Ask for a pet that has lived with children.

When at the shelter, test for yourself how the small dog reacts to a gentle touch to his ears. Touch the paws and try putting your finger in his mouth to see what he does. On the floor, try running around and make some noise. Watch the reaction. You are looking for a puppy that accepts the same behavior you’ll have around your house.

Did you know you can adopt dogs from guide-dog training programs? These are pups that didn’t make the cut as a seeing-eye dog, but make wonderful pets.

If your heart is set on a purebred dog, my advice is to look at the Motherand dad of the puppy you’re interest in. Their temperament will tell all. If they’re sweet, the puppy will be as well. It would surprise you to find many dogs considered good with children are mean spirited because of the parents.

That said, there really are some breeds betterthan others for homes with children. For example, the sporting breeds of retrievers and spaniels are known to be gentle. They enjoy to be touched and their bite is generally soft. They are high energy, however, and as puppies can have sharp teeth that can hurt when they nip.

As the world now longs for toy breeds, believe it or not, these aren’t the best with children. The are more self-preserving and can get hurt much easier than a Largebreed. Dogs that were bred to herd, like border collies, can chase kids and bite them.

If you’re serious about finding if the dog will be ideal with your family, you can employ the services of a professional dog trainer in your area and have them run a temperament assessment. They charge around $75 an hour – but it may be worth it. If you use the trainer later with your dog, they’ll probably do the assessment for free.

In a 2006 study on dog bites by Pediatrics, they recommendthat parents wait until kids are of school age before getting a dog. Babies were the mostprone tobe bitten by dogs they knew. Always supervise interaction between dogs and kids.