Is A Dog A Good Pet For A Child?

While dogs are popular pets, sometimes they do not make good children's pets. It all depends on how old your child is and what bred of dog you get. Young children should never be left alone with a dog no matter how good natured that dog usually is. This is because children like to play with things by grabbing them, poking them and sometimes shaking them. If the child tries to poke the dog or grabs its tail etc, there is a good chance the dog might snap. So if you have a small child the answer is generally no.

However, with an older child a dog can be a good choice of pet as it teaches the child responsibility. Making them in charge of walking, feeding and cleaning up after the dog will help them realise that owning a pet takes a lot of responsibility and they aren't just cute and cuddly.

I agree with Blurto.  When I was born, my father owned a dobermann who hated me, and if I was left alone with the dog at any point, he would try to attack me (it's believed that he was jealous of a new arrival in the home!).  He died a few months later.  However, he very quickly bought a Rottweiler who was, in my father's words, "the dumbest dog he has ever owned", and absolutely loved me.  Although the breed does matter, both of these dogs are considered very vicious, but one ended up being very kind to me at 2 years old.

It all depends on what kind of dog it is.
a small dog such as a Maltese or tzih tzu would be good but rather large dogs such as pit bulls or grea tdanes it might not be the best

I think a dog can be a great pet for a child, but only if the parents are willing to put in all of the work.  Remember that puppies are prone to nipping, and some older dogs don't like kids.  We have two medium sized adult dogs (adopted from the pound so breed unknown) who have so far been great with our six month old baby, so if you are willing to put in the effort they can make wonderful pets even with kids.

Yes my fiancee and I got our son a dog and he is much happier and that dog is like his best friend.

A dog is a great pet for a child, it is better to get a puppy so the child can learn to trust the dog and the dog can learn to trust the child. You have to be careful about getting an older dog from someone you don't know because the dog may have been abused. The breed of the dog definatly makes a difference also. Dogs are a fun way to teach children responsibility.

It depends how old the kid is and the size of the dog. Get a small one and be sure your kid is old enough, because when I was younger, I had a dog and he was like my best friend and he died and I was so depressed! I could not get off my bed without bursting in tears.