What are good SMALL dog breeds for a family with 10 and under children?
Boston Terriers, Pugs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers or Beagles are the only small breeds that can really be recommended for children. Typically the bigger the dog, the better. You would be wise to avoid any of the toy breeds and whatever you do, do not get a chihuahua. One breed that might be OK with YOUR children (provided they are well behaved) is the Shetland Sheep Dog. However, it will be in the nature of this breed to THOROUGHLY dislike your kid’s friends. Instead of a small dog, get a large slow-moving one such as a Mastiff, a Newfoundland, or a Saint Bernard.
Small dogs and small children are typically not a good mix. It does depend a lot on the dog and the children. Spaniels have a solid temperament, for the most part. Possibly a medium dog would be more suiting. I find that toy breeds are easily frightened by things that children would not think twice about, so I would not recommend one. Also they can be easily injured. You want a mellow easy going dog that can put up with the rough handling children tend to do….a lot of shelters do temperament testing and could pair you with a young child friendly dog.
boston terrier, beagle, toy poodle, pug, cavalier king charles spaniel on google type in: dog breed selector and it will come up with several quizzes to help find the dog right for you! try adopting, because that way you arn’t taking a risk on what the dogs personality will be like, many are trained (and potty/house trained), and you will know for SURE that they are awesome with kids and love kids, and your kids love the dog. plus, you are saving a life and the dog will appreciate your respect, i’ve always adopted, and we’ve had great family dogs that did awesome in training and are the favorite dogs of the neighborhood! All the little kids come over to see our two dogs.
my dogs are Tenterfield Terriers…I have 4 these dogs are classic ‘rat terriers’ they have lots of energy, are affectionate and playful they are great dogs with kids…they are very active and love to play they are quite robust so can tolerate a bunch of kids they LOVE to be cuddled and petted they are ‘self exercising’ so dont NEED to be walked but will love you for it if you do they are small…under 12 inches they are short haired so not lots of work and not such a haven for fleas and tick, although this is still on the dog care agenda no matter what breed of dog you choose they are VERY cute!!! like little circus dogs. I have the tri colours, so they are white with a couple of large black spots and very cute black, tan and white faces they are pretty…they have lovely almond shaped eyes and pointy ears (ears stand up so are not as prone to ear problems as furry dogs or dogs with floppy ears) they are small so they dont eat a lot and they can fit into small places, like find room
