Yorkies & Children

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Also, I've observed families with teenagers that I would never place a pup with.....

Totally agree... (I'm not a breeder) but I just mean that I've seen some teens act horribly around dogs. Most little kids I've come across know how to act better, most approach properly by holding their hand out first and letting the dog sniff, etc. Jackson prefers younger kids (1-6ish) than the older (8-16). I don't know why particularly... he gets nervous around my cousins that are between 9 and 13, both boys, maybe he knows they're rougher.

However, he is around a 2 year old girl and a 6 year old boy nearly everyday who he just LOVES! He allows the 2 year old to get in his face, be near him while he's eating, she can go up and take his bone away and he could care less (I try to avoid these things of course but it's not caused an issue). Basically the children that he sees weekly, and sometimes only monthly, he doesn't care about it.. he loves them. It's the strange children he's a bit more cautious about. I think if a pup grows up with a child and they BOTH learn the rules, it shouldn't be a big issue.

[AmyChristine]

I have a 6 year old, and sometimes watch my 18 month old niece. We just take extra precautions because there is really not much room for error. My daughter (6yrs) has very specific things that she is allowed to do and not do with the dogs. She may not pick them up or carry them around, can't run in the house, if she wants to play with them she can get a toy out and play fetch or sit down and they can climb in her lap.

My niece has just learned to pet nice, and how to sit down when the dogs come up to her. So she is just now getting to be around them more. I hold my smaller yorkie or put her in the other room when my niece is here. My other one is about 5 lbs and my niece only gets to play with him when I am watching and right there beside the two of them. There is no child/dog interaction in my house without direct supervision. This works well for me and my situation.

But I also think that it depends alot on the individual children, not all children will be a good match for such a small dog, regardless of what rules you have or what you try to teach them.

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by AmyChristine

I have a 6 year old, and sometimes watch my 18 month old niece. We just take extra precautions because there is really not much room for error. My daughter (6yrs) has very specific things that she is allowed to do and not do with the dogs. She may not pick them up or carry them around, can't run in the house, if she wants to play with them she can get a toy out and play fetch or sit down and they can climb in her lap.

My niece has just learned to pet nice, and how to sit down when the dogs come up to her. So she is just now getting to be around them more. I hold my smaller yorkie or put her in the other room when my niece is here. My other one is about 5 lbs and my niece only gets to play with him when I am watching and right there beside the two of them. There is no child/dog interaction in my house without direct supervision. This works well for me and my situation.

But I also think that it depends alot on the individual children, not all children will be a good match for such a small dog, regardless of what rules you have or what you try to teach them.

That all sounds like great advice. You mentioned running and I remember - on here - someone's 12-yr old daughter was running thru the house with her friends and stepped on it - killing it. I also remember another story where a 7 yr old little girl fell into a doggie gate and smashed the little yorkie when the gate fell on him/her.

[BamaFan121s]

I think it depends on the child and adult supervision. My daughter has been around Yorkies since she was 3 and we've never had any issues whatsoever. She's also been around small dogs since she was born and how to properly handle then and act around them has been drilled into her head, so it's like second nature to her. Likewise, I've seen some much older kids that I think could probably endanger a moose if they had one as a pet.

Realistically, many breeders simply will not place a Yorkie in a home where there are young children. Their dogs, their rules, I always say. Can't blame them for trying to do what they feel is in the best interest of their dogs.

[RONLYNN]

When I got Teddi my nephew was only 1 year old and my neice was 4 years old. They have LOVED Teddi from day one. They have always been so good with her. Killian used to carry Teddi around for hours and she wouldn't move at all. He thought it was so cool that he could actually carry a dog (because they have a cockapoo so their dog is too big to carry). They take naps with her and she just loves being around her. I think it definitely depends on the kids. They are very gently and would never harm her in any way. If they were rowdy kids I would definitely not recommend it but there has been nothing but positive things that have come out of Teddi being around them.