We got our labrador puppy Phoebe when our son was 6. Whilst we thought he was old enough to understand that sometimes you must give her space / not excite her etc, it has still been a bit of a shock to him that it's not all fun and playing, especially during the biting stage!!! However as long as you make sure the puppy has some separate space for when necessary and as long as there is good supervision am sure it will be fine. Our son adores her (even when we are annoyed with her or think she is a bit of a pain!) and Phoebe clearly adores him, which is lovely to see. Phoebe is almost 10 months now and still a bit of a nightmare (to put it nicely!), just as you think you sort one difficult behaviour, another one emerges but we wouldn't be without her. I met a woman in the park today with a labrador which was very well behaved and calm so I assumed it was an older dog, however she announced it was 10 months (the same age as Phoebe), she also told me her dog was always that calm and chilled, never jumped up at people and basically did what it was told. Made me feel a bit inadequate although to be honest I was just grateful Phoebe didn't completely disgrace me and try to eat her dogs poo!!!
Our Tess is now almost 7 months old and we have four children, aged 3, 5, 8 and 9. I was also a childminder when we got her as a puppy I haven't found it difficult to find the time to look after and train Tess. When you're busy with several children you're used to fitting lots in to any given day and you just get on with it and I get such a lot of enjoyment from it - even some 'me' time! Tess was crate trained and we made/make good use of stair gates. There was a phase when she was hardly ever around any of the children, right in the thick of the croco-pup phase, but we managed it and they are together (supervised of course) a lot now and we enjoy lots of lovely walks together. Don't expect it to be easy, you'll need to dedicate lots of time to training good manners, make use of a crate and/or stair gates to separate the dog and children when necessary and read lots so you're prepared for what you're getting. You'll also need to train your children ;-) Often when Tess isn't in the room with us it's not because she's playing up but because my 3 year old isn't acting appropriately around her, as often they don't when tired, wanting your attention etc. That's when I get to escape to the garden with my fur baby!
Just trying to give an honest answer to a great question about puppies and youngsters. We work very hard on training. We do have puppy gates, a long term containment pen , a fenced in acre of land, click ser, whistles and a crate. He attends socialization class and I work with an obedience trainer. I purchased both of Pippa's books and refer to them almost daily. My point was that things can still happen, even when all the supports are in place. My young neighbor has never been around dogs and my pup who was on a leash jumped up. when the boy came running into my yard. He was playing but his sharp teeth got caught on his shorts. We are working on jumping but it takes time. I am going to invite my neighbor to work with the trainer, myself, and the pup at my house but there's no guarantee he won't ever get mouthy or jumpy again before he matures. Training is a process. We have so many labs and lab mixes in the US shelters. Some people don't know what it takes to train a pup and they aren't prepared for the long haul. I've had 5 dogs and each one has responded differently to training. My current "English/show" puppy is proving to be a bit more mouthy than my previous 2 "American/field" labs which surprised me. But he is very smart and responsive and I am confident we will work through the challenges. I agree training is key, but it does take time, commitment, and possibly some financial output if you need to reach out to a trainer. I think it's great that she is seeking advice before getting the pup. Labs are the best!
I think your answer is right and there are definitely testing and difficult times, but the good out weigh the bad - I think its a shame that no-one has mentioned the plus side of a child growing up with a puppy, and becoming best friends - almost like siblings. Dogs are now being trained as companions for children over here with autism - Im sure they wouldn't look to do this is there was the chance that this was dangerous - dogs and children CAN be fab together as long as they are supervised, which comes down to parental responsibility.
Absolutely, we love having a dog as part of the family. Today my 8 year old, who used to be terrified of dogs, said to me on a walk 'I feel safer when we're with Tess'. My 9 year old led on the sofa and stroked Tess while she led at his feet, all the while looking like he'd won the lottery. It made my 5 year old's day that I let him recall her and drop some treats for her on our walk, he felt very accomplished! They all tell me regularly how much they love her and, now at 7 months, she potters around the garden while they play (noisily, on bikes and scooters, with balls etc.) like they're just a part of the furniture - if only she was so relaxed about meeting strangers! It has taken us a while to get here and the crocopup days required extreme management. I do think it's important to know what to expect and to understand that it will require lots of hard work but it will be worth it
