I just got in a bit of a heated discussion regarding this topic on a maltese board. They thought kids and small dogs should never mix. But I really agree that small dogs and kids can get along in a household just fine as long as the parent is a good parent. In fact my yorkie is my son's best friend. They play so much together. My kids were born into a home with maltese. They learned from day one how to treat a small animal. They are wonderful with any animal at the ages of 6 and 3. My children do not pick up the animals and they sit on the floor to play. They do not jump around or off the furniture when the little dogs are running around the house. But I also keep the dogs in the kitchen if I can't watch everyone. Not only for the reason that the kids might forget one of the rules but also because our yorkie puppy can play bite pretty ferociously sometimes and my 3 year old doesn't appreciate it or know what to do when she does it. I would recommend a larger sized yorkie. My maltese is 7 lbs. and I don't feel like I have to worry about them with her quite so much at all. Tinkerbell is 3 lbs and hasn't learned how to stay out from under our feet. All of us has stepped on her a little at one time or another. We are hoping she gets to be 5-6 lbs. I do know that as good as my maltese is with my children and other children, I remove her from the room when my nephews are over. They did not grow up with dogs and they absolutely love her but they can be very overbearing and it scares her. I am so glad she is so well socialized that I do not have to worry about her ever biting but I feel bad for her when they do that and I don't let them treat her that way. You have to teach children how to play with animals and teach animals how to play with children. Good luck! |