Do boston terriers bite (snip), and are they good with children?

by Heather
(Longisland,NY)

Question:

I read that bostons are good with children. And I also read that they shouldn't be around them. I have a 2 yr old daughter, and I am thinking about getting a boston pup next month, when he is ready to go. I want to find out for sure if you think it will bite/snip at my daughter..? I don't want that to happen. Also, are they food aggressive? Let me know what you think, please. Thanks.

Answer:

Hi Heather, I think it's great that you're taking time to make sure that you get the right pet for your family. Our Bostons are great with our kids (5 and 7 yrs. old). We raised the Bostons from puppies starting at 8 weeks old, so they've always been around the kids. We have had a lot of discussion with our kids about how fragile puppies are and didn't leave them alone with the dogs while they were small.

No matter what kind of dog you decide to get, you'll need to be very careful about having a puppy and a small child together. A small child may not understand how fragile a new puppy is and may accidentally drop or hurt it if they're left unattended together. {For example, my mom has a pomeranian who was dropped by my nephew and it's leg was broken.} Also, the child may not mean to hurt the dog, but could end up being bitten or snapped at if they do hurt it.

As far as food aggression, our Bostons eat from the same bowl and don't fight over it at all. We have always told our kids to stay away from the dogs (any dogs for that matter) while they're eating just as a precaution. The only time we've had the dogs growl at the kids is when the two dogs were fighting over a chew toy and the kids tried to get in the middle of it (which they shouldn't have).

Our personal experience is that Bostons are fine with children, but dogs, like people, are all different. I would use extreme caution with ANY dog and a very small child, and would not leave them unattended together.