Ask The Dog Guide: Rescue Dog Personality

January 14th, 2008 by Dan

Question: My mother in-law has a rescue Boxer cross Mastiff. She has had the dog for 7 days and has settled in quite well. A normal trip to the vets ended in the vet saying she was a bad dog and would be no good with children (we have a 17 month old boy). Is this type of breed good with children?

Answer: Hello! This is a pretty difficult situation to assess without being able to see the dogs behavior around your child. However the cross of the two breeds (Boxer and Mastiff) alone should in no way make this dog unsuitable to be around children. While every dog is an individual, typically both breeds are usually quite good with kids. If there is a specific personality trait that this dog is showing that concerns your vet, that is another story and has very little to do with her mix of breeds in this case. Was she aggressive towards the veterinarian? This dog is a new rescue and does need to be given time to settle in order to assess her true personality. I usually tell new owners to give this process at least 6 weeks. That way you are able to witness the dogs reactions in many different situations.

Sometimes very large breeds or mixes are not recommended for homes with small children because the dog is not fully conscious of its own size. Thus it may run into a child and knock it down just by chance, or in an attempt to play. Interactions must be supervised because of this factor. This does not mean that large breeds are not good with children! In fact many of them are incredibly gentle and aware of the small beings around them.