My partner and I have decided to add a puppy to our family (two daughters aged 3yrs and 15 months)
We did lots of research and decided to get a smallish dog (not nec. a puppy) like a King Charles or Pug. We also joined an animal shelter as we ideally wanted to rehome and were not in any rush to get a dog, we just wanted to make sure we got the right one.
This is where the issue lies - I phoned the shelter, they told me they had a 3-4 month old puppy that would grow into a small dog and was very gentle with children - this seems to be a rare find at a shelter. We went to see her w/out the children and we fell in love, she is gorgeous and has the most amazing temperament, they said she would be a smallish dog. We went back again the next day w/out the kids again and were told that she will be a medium dog as she is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier Cross.
Before we take the kids to meet her please can you offer me some advice on Staffies with toddlers and whether this is a good idea?
Thx
Hello again!
Thank you for being so supportive.
I have done lots of research into dogs with children so know the basics. I have also researched the breed (although I had not come across some of the links you have posted below which are great) however I appreciate that there is also going to be a degree of the "unknown" regarding the dog's inherited characteristics and size with her being a cross-breed.
I wonder in addition to this whether any of you who have/had young children could tell me what I would be letting myself in for. Some real experiences would be invaluable as reading about it and actually doing it are going to be two wholly different things and I want to be as prepared as possible!
Thanks again x