When I've dropped my son off at school there's often a lovely black lab tied to a gate waiting for its owner to come back from taking their child into school and my little girl who's 3 always goes over to him and strokes him, he's very gentle with her and her with him and today he gave her a kiss as she's about his height when sitting, bless. Makes me even more excited to get our own puppy, though I know it'll take a while for it to be as gentle as that lab
Labs can be amazingly calm and sensible when they settle down. I hope your puppy grows up just like that black lab.
Heh, you should(n't) have met my two a few months back, when they believed children were the devil in disguise. Not your stereotypical laid-back kid-lovers, my two. They're a lot better now, but I don't think they'll ever be entirely comfortable around children. Yours will be fine, though, in time - my two very rarely mix with children, which is why they don't like them.
Me too. Do you think the breeder can advise which of their litter to choose that they think would be good around children or would it be too early to tell at 8 weeks? I guess the calmest of the bunch could always turn out to be the naughtiest
I guess this lab outside the school is very used to children as the lady has a baby as well. I'm not sure how old the dog is though.
I think most conscientiously-bred Labs will be fine around children, if children are a part of their upbringing. We did the normal puppy socialisation with ours - outside shopping centres, cafes, local fairs etc, where they met plenty of kids at a young age. But, because we very, very rarely see any children in our day to day lives, that slipped once they were bigger, and so, when they did see children, they were a novelty and something to be unsure of - especially the way they talk and move. A pup growing up with this probably won't take any heed. However, of course any pup you bring home will be a monster at first, towards you, towards your children, towards anyone it can sink its teeth into! I'm sure you've read about the crocopup phase, but it's only when you're going through it that you find out just how upsetting it can be. Moreso, I imagine, when you have children in the house. Your visions of child and puppy playing happily together probably won't come to fruition in the same way that you imagine. There will be a lot of separation of the two of them for the good of them both, and you're going to be exhausted, taking care of two babies and thinking it will never end. But, it will end and, with love and care, they will become the best of friends. Just have lots of wine ready for the interim.
There are no guarantees on how any dog is going to act but you can do your research. Talk to the breeders and see what they say about their dogs in a family setting. Ask if you can bring your kids around to see how the dogs act around them. Once you get a puppy make sure your kids are part of the routine with them. Labs are amazing dogs but it takes a little work to get them trained.
It's lovely that you have met a sweet-natured lab, who likes children. Hopefully you will get a pup who is as gentle as he is! It's part nature and part nurture, so check what the parent dogs are like, maybe take your own children to meet them and see how they react. Then later, when you have your pup, socialisation is the absolute key, make sure he/she has lots of positive exposure to children of all ages. By the way - and this is not meant as a criticism of you, as you were there and could judge the situation and know the dog, and I am just reading your post, so very second hand, but I have to say I would never, ever leave a dog tied up outside, where children could touch him. I personally know of too many experiences where something has gone wrong, and a reliable dog ended up biting a child. Just recently at the school where I work we got a call that a child was bitten by a dog tied up outside the school waiting for its owner to come back from picking up their young child. I love and trust my dog, but never, ever would I leave her somewhere where she couldn't get away from a child petting her. Children - and adults - sometimes misunderstand canine body language, and it can end badly.
I would be worried that my dog would be stolen, too. Or get spooked, slip his collar and run under a car. Even living in a very safe place, these things can happen.
When we went to visit Pongo's breeder, there were six pups in the litter (aged 7 weeks), of which two were yellow boys (which was what we wanted). One was very lively, the other very quiet. We were attracted to the lively, excited one - very yappy young pup, very funny. But the breeder was keen to know what our home set-up was like. We said we lived in the countryside, worked from home, and had no kids at home. She steered us very, very strongly away from the lively pup and towards the quiet boy. She said that she was sure that the lively pup would need an environment with children to play with who could provide lots of stimulation and exercise, while the quieter boy would thrive in a quieter home with just the two of us. Obviously we took her advice, and Pongo really has been the perfect dog for us. So..... that breeder certainly thought she could take a good guess at how each of her pups might be likely to turn out, and she seemed to be right. So I do think it is worth asking! Also, I'd agree with what others have said..... labs are beautiful, calm and gentle dogs once they grow up but OMYGOLLYGOSH they are nippy little creatures as puppies!
Absolutely, I totally agree. I would never leave my dog tied up and left either, however I imagine this person does it there as there is a security man standing watching the school gates every school drop off and pick up time so i imagine he would say something if someone tried to walk off with the dog. I don't normally let my children go up to dogs I don't know however I have seen this one lots and know it is in a family with children and I had a tight hand on my daughter as she approached the dog with me right with her, always wary just in case. I would hate to put her off being friendly to animals though, my son who is 5 didn't have much contact with animals and is a little wary of dogs, not scared, he likes them just is not used to them.
On the flip side, when we were choosing our pup, we had three to choose from - two black girls and one yellow boy. We quickly discounted one of the girls (sorry, Georgie) because the other one was more affectionate. So we were down to one black girl and one yellow boy. We ummed and aahed for ages over which one to have, not having strong views about either colour or sex. Their personalities were so similar. We spent a lot of time with the litter before they were 8 weeks (I accidentally helped to whelp them, then looked after them for several days when they were a few weeks old) and so we knew that they really were peas in a pod. Cheeky but relatively calm. Ultimately, and even though it wasn't our initial plan (we chose the girl, who came home at 8 weeks), we ended up with both of them - the boy came home at 14 weeks. But, despite being brought up in the same environment, and even with the starting point of being so similar, they are such completely different personalities now they're older. Shadow (boy) is a cuddle-bum and likes to lay on us as much as possible, have tummy rubs, and generally act the fool. Willow is "The Duchess" and doesn't like to snuggle at all. She is a lot more serious, a real "thinker" and gets stressed easily. It's lovely to have two very different dogs with very different needs, but I do think back to how they were so similar to start with and wonder how much of their adult personalities is down to their experiences, and how much is innate.
