The Best City Dog: When Kids Are In The House

A neighbor of mine lived with two Labrador retrievers in the city for several years. Living in the city, they were perfect gentlemen. Every fall season, they were the best behaved dogs you could imagine in a duck blind. Dogs, like people, can learn to become accustomed to almost any environment. That's why canines have become household pets and not transferred to a zoo like most other animals.

Now, of course you have to be rational about all of this. If you live in a one room apartment or studio, while driving a little car, you're going to have a big problem with raising a Great Dane; but then maybe not as much as with some feisty terrier yelping underfoot.

In choosing a dog for the city that you live in, there are several books and websites that will give you basic information about the characteristics of different breeds. This is a good starting place, but be aware that this is not the full answer, as we will show you.

City Dogs and Children Within Your Home

If you have very young children within your home, the information below can be a great benefit in making that choice:

Here Are Dogs That Are Excellent With Kids (From the Beginning)

• American Water Spaniel
• Basset Hound
• Beagle
• Boxer
• Brittany Spaniel
• Bulldog
• Coonhound
• English Setter
• English Shepherd (Rare Breed)
• American Foxhound
• Golden Retriever
• Great Dane
• Irish Water Spaniel
• Labrador Retriever
• Old English Sheep Dog
• Pointer
• Standard Poodle
• Saint Bernard
• and the Springer Spaniel

Dogs That May Not Work Well With Children (but may get used to them in due time)

• American Cocker Spaniel
• American Toy Fox Terrier
• Chesapeake Bay Retriever
• Chihuahua
• Chow
• Dachshund
• Doberman Pinscher
• German Shepherd
• Husky
• Italian Greyhound
• Japanese Spaniel
• Kerry Blue Terrier
• Malamute
• Maltese Terrier
• Mexican Hairless (Rare Breed)
• Miniature Pinscher
• Pekingese
• Pomeranian
• Samoyed
• Scotch Terrier
• Spitz Several breeds are in the Spitz family)
• Toy Manchester
• Wire-haired Fox Terrier
• and the Yorkshire Terrier

Just Give and Take

It was a few years ago that I collaborated a list of dogs that were good or bad for children, but by no means does that mean that a dog cannot be taught to love kids. It's just a bit more difficult for a dog that does not automatically feel comfortable around hyper small children while dealing with city life at the same time - especially if the dog owner is not properly training them to be content with both experiences.

Lastly, some dogs were not included in this list because the sampling was too small and some breeds have not been tested. So, the lists above are not complete. Many breeds may be on the bad list because they required a little too much care or didn't take to training easy. Nevertheless, if you are willing to put in the time and effort that is required to raise a city dog with children, then any dog can be a work in development.

Article by Amy Christianson of Oh My Dog Supplies, check for current specials on dog beds

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