{"id":130988,"date":"2016-08-18T11:05:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T09:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/130988\/choosing-the-right-dog-for-your-child\/"},"modified":"2016-08-18T12:22:11","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T10:22:11","slug":"choosing-the-right-dog-for-your-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/lifestyle-news\/2016\/08\/18\/choosing-the-right-dog-for-your-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing the right dog for your child"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Simbithi-based 1-2-1 Personal Puppy Training owner Belinda Bolte gave us some tips on how to choose the right dog for your family.<br \/>\n\u201cHaving your child grow up with a dog will teach them many valuable life lessons \u2013 and choosing the right dog for your family is key in making the bond last forever. Parents need to be aware that they will need to be actively involved, especially if the child is under the age of 10 years,\u201d says Bolte<br \/>\nA few questions to consider:<br \/>\n\u2219 Do we have time to bring a puppy or dog into our lives?<br \/>\n\u2219 Are we able to adequately provide for our puppy\/dog\u2019s basic needs?<br \/>\n\u2219 Food\/shelter\/vaccinations\/fenced off garden\/general well-being?<br \/>\n\u2219 What breed of puppy\/dog will suit my child and family the best?<br \/>\n\u2219 Remember there are a number of initial costs \u2013 the price of the puppy, vaccinations, food, spaying\/ neutering and puppy school fees (a must).<\/p>\n<p>A short video showing how intelligent and fun dogs truly are. This is definitely something for your child to look forward to<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<div class='tie-fluid-width-video-wrapper tie-ignore-fitvid' style='margin-bottom: 30px;'>\n\t\t\t<iframe style='width: 100%; min-height: 300px; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;' src='https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/AFgjox4QaAs' loading='lazy'><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #800080\">Gundogs<\/span>: Labrador \/Retriever \/Spaniels \/ Pointers \/ Weimeraner \u2013 perfect for a sporty child and family who loves to exercise. They are naturally intelligent and their easy-going nature and willingness to please makes them a popular choice.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #003300\">Hounds<\/span>: Beagle\/Afghan\/ Whippet\/Africanis\/Rhodesian Ridgeback \u2013 peaceable family pets which thrive on love and companionship. These dogs need a good amount of exercise and enjoy active dog sports. They are affectionate family dogs and may be easily distracted.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #ff0000\">Toys<\/span>: Biewer Terrier \/ Chiihuahua \/ Cavalier King Charles Spaniel \/Yorkshire Terrier \u2013 a small dog and an indoor companion. Although small they are not necessarily the right dog for very young children. They need extra grooming and some do suffer from separation anxiety and possessiveness.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #0000ff\">Terriers<\/span>: Scottish Terrier \/ Jack Russell \/Boston Terrier \/ Staffi \/ Bull Terrier \u2013 dogs with high energy levels, inquisitive characters and a high prey drive. Terriers are headstrong and need early socialisation and training. Without a good foundation they can become extremely aggressive towards other dogs and may develop behaviour problems. Suited to children over ten years old.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;text-decoration: underline\">Working Dogs<\/span>:<\/span> Great Dane \/ Boerboel \/Bullmastiff \/ Doberman \/ German Shepherd \u2013 these are dogs which need a job. Many are still used in their working capacity today, but are equally suited to life as a devoted family companion. They need plenty of opportunities to work off their abundant energy levels and make great watchdogs and family protectors.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #993300\">Herders<\/span>: Australian Cattle Dog \/ Border Collie \/ Corgi \/ Old English Sheepdog \/Australian Shepherd \u2013 known for the ability to work with livestock and have plenty of energy and stamina. May be difficult to deal with in a suburban setting as their herding instinct is very strong and they may be found herding small children, cyclists, other pets and possibly even nipping at the heels of guests, which may be a challenge. When mentally and physically challenged they can make outstanding companions.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #808080\">Utility<\/span>: Bulldog \/ Dalmatian \/ Shih Tzu \/Schnauzer \/ Shar-pei \/ French Bulldog \u2013 a mix of dogs that do not fit comfortably into other groups. It is a broad combination of small and large breeds. Most of the dogs are companion dogs today, however many have at some stage been working dogs.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-below-post-content\">\n<div class='tenancy_slot tenancy_slot_1 jannah_ad' style='display: none;' data-query-id='f4a3effdb165bf69de017b92a244a79f'><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A home is not a home unless you have a dog (or two) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7868,"featured_media":130991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3686],"tags":[11706,12062,1209,1411,5713,1204],"class_list":["post-130988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle-news","tag-bonding","tag-breeds","tag-dogs","tag-family","tag-kids","tag-pets"],"amp_enabled":true,"category_labels":{"Category":"Lifestyle","SubCategory":"Entertainment"},"tag_labels":["bonding","breeds","dogs","family","kids","pets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}