getting a dog....advice.

ashydol

Hi, I'm but looking for some advice as to which dog would be good to get.
I have always wanted a golden retriever, as I had one as a child and thought they were great with kids.
We have a 4year old boy and have a lot of sheep around our house and I'm wondering if they are safe to have with sheep. I do not want to get a dog for it to go and kill all the sheep, only for us to have to put our dog to sleep.
The other dog we have been looking at was a Cavalier King Charles, however I don't know how these are with kids nevermind sheep. I was thinking though that with their size they might not be as likely to try and play/hurt the sheep.
Has anyone any advice? We really want to get a dog, esp my son who would love a dog to play with and talk to outside!!
thanks!

Delancey

I'm not sure if there is any breed of dog that you can assume will not have the potential to be a sheep worrier - the only guarantee to avoid that is to keep the dog under control at all times.

Cherry Blossom

Firstly, there is no such thing as a dog that won't chase sheep, that's what fences are for. Secondly, no dog should ever be left in the company of a child unsupervised. In terms of size, a medium sized dog works best for most people with kids, not small enough that the dog can get stood on by accident and not so big that it will send the child flying if it bumps into him. Proper socialisation, training and bite resistance training is essential for anyone with kids considering bringing a dog into their home. Usually it's the child that needs more training than the dog and you have to be fully prepared to reprimand the child if he oversteps the mark with the dog.

As for breed, you need to take your entire lifestyle into consideration eg. how active are you, how long will the dog be left on it's own on a daily basis, can you cater for all the exercise needs of any breed your are considering and can you provide suitable ways of satisfying the dogs instincts so it doesn't make it's own entertainment. eg a bored collie will it on itself to herd your son if it doesn't get enough mental stimulation elsewhere. Retrievers are easy in this regard as long as you know how to through a ball but they are big bouncy dogs that could easily knock a child over. On the other hand Cav's make great pets but they are almost all riddled with health problems including syringomyleia and mitral valve disease which come with a lot of heartbreak especially for a young child, never mind the cost of treatment.

Make a list of your requirements of what you are looking for in a dog eg. couch potato or marathon runner. Bear in mind that individual traits also have disadvantages:
Highly intelligent can become highly-strung and destructive if not enough mental stimulation is given.
Extremely loyal or owner focused dogs usually cannot cope with being left alone for any length of time whereas independent dogs are much harder to train and everything will be on the dogs terms but will cope much better if no one is home all day.

No matter what breed you decide on, where you source the dog from is the single most important factor, go with a rescue dog that has spent enough time in a foster home that you can be given a through insight into the dogs character and provides support for any future issues that may crop up or a responsible breeder that can supply in depth details of health problems and the temperament of the bloodlines the dog has come from.