Traits of great family dogs

August 29, 5:48 PMDog Breed ExaminerKoshie Lamptey

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In choosing a dog for the family, consider the following traits to help you find a good fit!

AGE - Choose a young dog - ideally between the ages of 4 months and 6 years old - for a family pet.  (Do keep in mind that bigger dogs have shorter lifespans so while 6 may be middle-aged for a medium-sized dog, 6 years is old for a large breed dog).  And even though older dogs can be calmer pets, health problems (if any) usually arise as dogs get to the geriatric stage (generally considered to be 7 years) and a hurting dog won't tolerate children as much. 

SIZE- A good family dog is usually medium to large in size.  Not that small dogs can't make good family dogs, it's just that children (especially younger ones) tend to handle pets roughly intentionally or mistakenly, and larger dogs can tolerate more physical mishandling from children without suffering serious injury.  For instance, a rambunctious 3 year old might shove the sleeping family dog off the couch for whatever reason; a toy poodle could be injured in such a fall whereas a larger dog would not. 

TEMPERAMENT - Passivity and tolerance are absolutely essential in the personality of a family dog.  Not only do children inadvertently mishandle pets routinely, they can also provoke and tease them on a regular basis.  Fake growling, barking, eye stares, wrestling, pushing, etc, are a few examples.  If a dog has dominance or aggressive tendencies, any of these behaviors coming from children would be perceived as physical challenges and could lead to bites or worse.

TRAINABILITY- You don't want a dog that doesn't train easily for a family dog.  Children can be troublesome enough on their own - the last thing you need is a dog who refuses to become housebroken or won't heel for walks.  Another reason is that children are understandably inconsistent masters themselves therefore a challenging dog would end up taking much more time to learn simple yet important commands and rules as a result.  A highly trainable dog's aptitude could make up somewhat for the inconsistency of the children's influence.  A third reason to seek a highly trainable dog is the fact that at some point in time, the dog may be under the care or control of a child (i.e. leash walking) and if the dog was to get loose (rather inevitably, I assure you), simple commands can bring the dog back to safety.

ENERGY - Try to choose a dog with a medium to low energy level for a family setting.  Children can be high energy themselves and an active or high energy dog (i.e. Jack Russell Terrier) can become hyper-active and hard to control when around screaming, running, teasing children.  A large, bounding but placid, happy-go-lucky dog is a much better play companion for children than a zooming, yapping, hyper dog. 

Lastly, keep in mind that each dog breed was specifically bred to serve certain purposes.  In general, guard breeds (like Dobermans and Rottweilers) are very protective of their family units and can make great pets but they are bred to be wary of strangers so problems might arise if they have to constantly interact with strangers or new settings.  Herding dogs (like Australian Cattle Dogs and Collies) can be ideal family pets because they have stamina, endurance, and high intelligence but some of them instinctively nip at heels to herd children and they don't enjoy long periods of down time (like school time).  Large breed drafting or working dogs (such as the Newfoundland, Bernese, Great Pyrenees) make excellent family dogs because they are relatively low-energy, large and resilient, as well as passive and  trainable.  Unfortunately, these gentle giants shed a lot, eat a lot, and have shorter lifespans.  Retrievers are great too because they are medium energy dogs bred to have endurance, sociability, and a high desire to please.  Be sure to consider other lesser known retrievers like the Portuguese Water Dog and Curly Coated Retriever too.  Hounds and terriers are gregarious and therefore love company but they can be independent thinkers bred to follow their senses (i.e. scent hounds like Bloodhounds & Bassett Hounds; sight hounds like the Borzoi and Saluki) so they are seldom trustworthy off-leash.   Choose your family pet by taking all of these traits into consideration first and you are likely to make a well-informed decision!