Children & Dogs

Adopting a golden retriever when you have young children

Well, as they say, “it’s complicated” but not impossible

The presence of small children in the home makes an adoption through a rescue group more challenging. In fact, we normally recommend families wait until their children reach the age of 7 before they consider adopting a golden retriever, particularly if you have never owned a large sporting dog. We do consider applicants with children on a case-by-case basis especially when the parents have a history of owning a large dog.

Why are we so careful about adopting a golden retriever to homes with young children?

One of the most common sources of dogs turned into us is from families with young children. Many parents purchase a golden for their children believing it’s the perfect family dog they see in movies. What they don’t count on is that cute little puppy growing into an 80-pound adolescent dog in just a couple of years. Unless considerable time is spent on obedience training and meeting the exercise and attention needs of a young golden, they become an unwelcome family member. Often, they are knocking over the children and creating havoc in the household, only to be sadly given up as being “too much to handle”.

Family dynamics matter — who really wants the dog?

Many people think that adding a dog to their family with children is a way to achieve that perfect vision of what an American family should be. Realize that adding a dog is like adding a toddler to your family!

Don’t ever expect your children to play a primary role in caring for the dog, it just doesn’t happen. A child may beg for a dog today, but often that enthusiasm doesn’t continue as they age and become more interested in other things.

Safety concerns for families with young children

Our safety concerns regarding adopting a golden into a family with young children:

• Children have been known to leave doors open or unlatched, presenting an opportunity for the dog to escape, where it can be hit by a car, lost, or stolen. This happens all the time.
• Often children want to take an active role in walking the dog, but a golden may be too strong for a child to walk on a leash unless an adult is assisting. This can result in injury to the child, or the dog should it get loose.
• Young children can play rough with dogs, pulling tails and ears, which increases the probability of a dog bite. Even the best of dogs can get tired of being pulled and jumped on.
• Children left unsupervised around any pet can quickly make a wrong choice when it comes to their interactions. Children often don’t understand the “signals” a dog may be sending to “back off” and as such, the situation can quickly escalate.
• Just as children can’t be expected to understand a dog’s language, dogs are not “little people.” They are driven by instincts, and they have a different language. Some dogs have temperaments better suited than others for tolerating boisterous and active young children.

How we match goldens to families with children

Our considerations regarding adopting a golden into a family with young children

• We carefully consider the background of the dog we adopt to families with children. For families with children we match dogs whom we know have lived with kids previously or their foster home experience strongly indicates they will be good with children.
• If you are approved for adoption, you may have to wait a bit for a child-friendly dog to be matched with your family. We take care in screening both family and golden for the best possible match. We want our families and goldens to experience a lifetime of safe, happy and loving memories together.
• We strongly recommend that you fence in at least a portion of your yard if you have not already done so, creating a safe play area for both dog and child. (In fact, for homes with younger children, we do require a fenced yard.) Please read our web page on “Fences” for more information on recommended fence types and other safety tips.

Our commitment to safe, thoughtful matches

Given all these factors, you can probably appreciate our desire to screen families with children very carefully before we place a golden in their home, and in turn, screen the golden we place with them very carefully. No one wants a bad situation for either the family or the dog.

Questions about our adoption policies?

If you have any questions about our policies involving adoptions to families with children, please email us at info@grrmf.org.