What is a good small dog for children and a cat? please read?

Man small breed dogs are not good with children, because they are so small they are always on the defensive from children who like to pull ears, tails, and just generally irritate the hell out of a little dog.

As far as growing up with a kitten - if both animals are young and introduced to the house at the same time - usually they grow to be great friends .

Do not go to pet shops - there are hundreds of GREAT dogs at shelters all over the country. Usually these pet shop dogs are products of puppy mills - have a bad gene pool and are in the end very sickly. A mutt is always your best bet - you get a varied gene pool - a dog that wants to be loved bc it was abandoned.

I personally would look to find a mixed breed dog from a shelter. Mixed breed dogs tend to be healthier and live longer than pure bred dogs. You can use petfinder.com to search for shelters in your area. Many animal shelters will let you foster an animal. You basically take care of the dog until the shelter can find it a home. This is a great way to find a dog that is a good fit for you and your particular situation as they will certainly allow you to adopt the dog if you wish to. If you have a lot of problems with a particular dog you can return it to the shelter. (Though this may be a problem if your children have become attached.) If you still want a pure bred dog I would look in the classified ads of your local papers. That way you can meet the person who bred the dog. Another good place to look is at a vet. They often have several free dogs on the bulletin boards in the lobby. I would use a pet store as a last resort as they often buy animals from puppy mills and that is a bad thing indeed.

Don't go to a petshop as they carry puppy mill dogs/puppies which are known for their poor health.

Are there other rescues groups or a shelter in a nearby county that you can check for puppies? You may have to ask to be put on a list for a particular preference of puppy (i.e. size, good with children/cats, etc..) and you may need to make regular visits.

If you are looking for a purebreed, or feel that you will find a dog that suits your needs better by knowing exactly what you're getting into, then research some of the smaller breeds to see what will work with your family. Then contact that breeds club in your area and ask for breeder referrals. Be sure you're not dealing with a backyard breeder too, as they are usually just small scale puppy mills most of the time.

Here is a link to a site that recommends small breeds good with children... tho you'll have to check on their ability to get on with cats in your research.

http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dogs/miniature-dogs.a...

Good luck finding a puppy!

I would try http://www.petfinder.com/ you can look up the breed and/or age of the pet and it will tell you shelters in your area that have breeds that you are looking for. If you decide not to use a shelter, I would look for a rescue organization for the breed of dog you are looking for, or a reputable breeder (they usually have puppies that may not be breed standard that you can get for cheaper). Whatever you do, do not get your puppy from a backyard breeder or a pet store. Aside from their bad breeding and care practices, your puppy is also more likely to have health problems if you get it from a bad breeder or pet store.

As for breeds, I'd look for mixes that are expected to be small, they tend to not be as yappy and to have less anxiety than pure breed small dogs, and also tend to have fewer health problems. Beagles have a very good repuation as being good dogs for children, as do pugs and cocker spaniels. I wouldn't go with very small dogs like pure breed pomeranians, chiuauas, or miniature anything, because they tend to be very high anxiety, and usually won't tolerate children or a cat very well, especially as they grow older.

PLEASE, for the sake of the animals, do NOT go to a typical PetShop to get a pet. Those animals are often highly interbred (in what is typically known of as a Puppy Mill....the animals are horribly treated!!) and usually have terrible health problems later on.

There are 1000's of animals near you waiting for a good adoptive home. I work in animal rescue, and dedicate my life to helping these poor babies being left behind. Check with your local shelter...heck, even do a web search under the name of dog rescue or cat rescue. You will find dozens of groups out there that do the same as I do.

Know that when you are talking about younger animals, they usually have no trouble adapting to other breeds or even species. I, myself, have 3 dogs and 3 cats of my own, as well as a tank full of fish, and a baby squirrel (which my oldest dog AND cat have adopted and let him ride on them). It just takes patience to teach them, that's all.

If you have any questions, or want to know some private contacts for adopting animals, please email me at your convenience at ndars1@yahoo.com. I will be more than happy to assist in whatever way I can!!

Please, do not buy cats or dogs in pet shops. These pet shops get their animals from puppy/cat mills and the poor beast that you get from there, is just a wreck of the real animal. It is huge chance, kittens and puppies from such places are full of worms, have diarrhoea and usually they are psychically damaged. You can´t even imagine, in which conditions their mothers and them are kept, before they come to the shop. And the conditions, under which they are kept in the shop, are often disastrous, too. Please do not support this.

As regarding to which dog to get to your kids, it would do to make a bit of research. Any puppy, that will grow up with kitten, will be fine to it, as they will get used to each other since their early days. So think better, which kind of dog your daughters are able to manage. And do not forget, that dog is not a toy for kids, but a living animal and will require feeding, grooming, veterinary care etc. for at least ten years. And don´t count on your daughters to be ready and able to do all of that.

For small and non-complicated dog breed, I´d recommend for example Welsh-corgi. It´s happy smiling small-ish dog, does not require a lot of grooming and is generally not difficult to keep.

Yorshire will require grooming, chihuahua is too small and somebody could sit on it and kill it. Beagle will be howling and hunting. Daschunds are stubborn. Poodles are smart, but require a lot of grooming. Jack Russels are great, but very active dogs and they do need to have some work. And so on and on. Get some book on dog breeds and look it up.

regrettably there is not any particular breed to examine your standards as all dogs have unique personalities and might behave very in yet otherwise in spite of in the event that they are the comparable breed. dogs are often petrified of young ones with the aid of fact they make rapid movements, loud noises and don't consistently handle animals as gently as they must. the terrific subject to do is to coach the youngsters approximately a thank you to safeguard your dogs and consistently supervise their interactions. As for the cats, returned it purely relies upon. often if the dogs has been raised around cats they are going to be ok. your terrific option could be to bypass to a safeguard (the place the terrific dogs are chanced on!) and talk over your standards with an adoption councellor there. they often attempt the dogs with toddlers and cats, so which you will understand in enhance no count if the dogs which you like will slot wherein incorporate your existence type.

i know you said you went to the humane society but some pet stores have animals that the humane society has taken there for adoption and alot of time the ones there are social with children and cats....so you can do that, its worth a try

I have a 14 week old Bichonpoo that weighs 5 pounds she will be about 10 pounds when full grown.I have a cat and they get along great. In fact Esperanza gets along great with everyone and every animal. She is hypoallergenic and doesn't shed. She is very smart and easily trainable. I got her from a breeder.

Small dogs really aren't good with children and they are hard to potty train.

It's better to wait until after the holidays to get pets because it is such a hectic time.

Pets aren't just for christmas, they are forever.