How the Gosselins and other parents should decide on a dog for their family

Source: TLC

If you watched the new episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 that centered around the family adding puppies to their home... or are thinking about adding a dog to your family... you may be wondering the best way to do so. (Read about Jon and Kate's choice of dog and tips for selecting the right breed of dog for your family HERE.)

As Kate and Jon both clearly showed in the episode, adding dogs to a family is a big responsibility for everyone involved. So I asked Temma Martin, longtime dog owner and spokesperson for the Utah Animal Adoption Center, for some answers about how families should go about adding a dog to their household.

Examiner:  What are some tips for selecting a family dog?
Temma: Start by doing a lot of homework. Read about the different breeds and mixes you might be interested in, and then acknowledge that every dog is a little different.

If you choose a breed that's generally known for being patient with children, like the Retriever-type dogs, you're starting in the right place. Mixes often have more stable temperaments than pure-breds, and somehow mixes seem to get the positive traits of each breed in their recipe.

Next visit a shelter where the staff can help your family choose an individual dog that is right for your family. If the dog of your dreams isn't in the shelter the first time you visit, check other shelters or check back in a week or so.

Also, look at www.petfinder.com to see a variety of dogs and puppies available in your town, your state, or a neighboring state, if you're up for a road trip to pick up your perfect pet! Shelters are preferable to businesses who seek to make money selling puppies because the staff are motivated to find loving permanent homes for the pets in their care. They don't want to talk you into the wrong dog just to "sell" it, and then have it come back a few weeks later. Also, shelters often have history on their dogs--especially if they were given up by their owners-- so they know if a dog came from a home with children and how the dog interacted with them. Even shelters who take in stray animals often know how a dog may be with children from observing the dog in "get acquainted visits," where families who are looking to adopt a pet spend time getting to know the shelter pets.

Be sure to bring the kids with you before you make your final selection so you can see how the pet you have chosen interacts with your individual children, and to make sure none of the children are afraid of that particular dog.

Examiner: Is there a best age a child should be when adding a dog to your family?
Temma: The older a child is, the more likely he or she is to understand the rules involved with having a new pet.

Toddlers and puppies, for example, are a very dangerous combination because the child is really too young to comprehend that the puppy is a living creature with feelings. The potential for injury to the puppy or the child is high, since the child could pick up the puppy in a way that hurt, and the pup could bite or scratch in self defense. The child may poke the puppy in the eyes, pull on his tail or ears, or ever sit on the puppy and hurt him.

Young children should never be left unsupervised with pets to avoid situations that could be dangerous for either the child or the animal.

Children of all ages need to be taught appropriate behavior around animals, because sudden movements, loud noises, throwing things or other types of wild behavior can scare even calm pets and cause them to react.

Of course, the pet needs to be trained too, especially if he is young, so that his behavior is not out of control or scary to the child.

Examiner: What about adopting a puppy versus adult dog with young children in the home?

Temma: I am a fan of adopting adult dogs as opposed to puppies when a family has young children in the home. Most people think it's best to get a puppy and "have the puppy and the children grow up together."

The truth is, puppies are cute, but they require an enormous amount of work, training and patience. Puppies chase, jump up, bite and scratch as part of their play behavior, and If the puppies aren't taught appropriate behavior, and if the kids aren't taught how to act around the puppies, the relationship often ends up being a frustrating failure.

Puppies are very often turned over to animal shelters weeks or months after being purchased because they are "too hyper" with the kids, even though their activity level is actually totally normal for a puppy. This is why a slightly older dog, even one who is 7-12 months old, or older, can be a perfect match for a family with kids. They have lost their sharp baby teeth so their play bites don't hurt as much,  and they have done most of their teething on someone else's shoes and furniture.

Many people give up on their puppies just at the point that they would have started to calm down, so their desperation and frustration is your gain when you visit the shelter. Many young adult or adult pets are already housebroken, and some even have had some training in their former family, making your life much easier, because your pet has a head start.

A calmer dog with some training will be a much smoother addition to the family, especially if there are children under five or six, who might be intimidated or hurt by a bouncy, mouthy puppy.

Examiner: Anything else you want to add?

Temma: Having only watched the excerpt online where the family is choosing their puppies, I am concerned for the future of the puppies in that household. Maybe it will work out for all of them, but with all the chaos of the kids, I don't know how the parents will have the energy to train the puppies and help them to become well behaved family members, or deal with the inevitable puppy destruction.

The older two girls may do okay with the pups, but with six excited four-year-olds in the mix, someone is bound to get hurt.

I'm also concerned that the mom wasn't really a fan of having dogs, and this particular breed sheds a lot, so even when the puppies are fully housebroken, and no longer chewing up everything in sight, they'll a lifetime of hair to clean up. And incidentally, most of the individual hairs on a German Shepherd are half black and half tan, so they show up on all color of surfaces.

One of the younger children said that one of the pups' parents was "too big" for her, but that is most likely the size their dogs will be when they're full grown.

Another question is how the adult dogs will be with the children's friends when the come to visit. German Shepherds are known for being very protective, and while they may be wonderful and gentle with their own family, they may not feel the same way about visitors.

They should definitely have the dogs spayed and neutered as soon as possible, because dogs who are not sterilized are three times more likely to bite than those who are fixed. The parents will also have to be very dedicated to training and socializing Nala and Shooka, in order to make this a happy, healthy relationship for the whole family.