I would really love to get a dog/puppy but?

I would really love to give a dog/puppy a good home but i have 5 children who aren't very well behaved. I think i should wait until they're older and hopefully calmer. Or even wait until they've left home.What do you think? Am i doing the right thing?

I think you are. It would be unfair to mistreat the puppy. You must also be prepered to give it up the the chaildren are that bad.

This is a difficult one - it is important for you kids to learn about caring for an animal, it's good for their development. On the other hand, you have to consider the animals' welfare too. Can you take the responsibility?

You'd have to be mad to get a dog, especially a pup with 5 badly behaved kids! Either take your kids to training classes (that's what I would recommend for a badly behaved dog) or as you say, wait until they're gone!

Maybe start with something smaller like a hamster or some fish. Once you see whether your children can be respectful of even small animals (this was how my family raised us to take care of animals). If they show they can behave then you can start thinking about a dog...

Make it a big dog so it can defend itself from five kids.

you should wait. First get a handle on your kids then move on to the puppy.

yep , u r right.

I would say yes dogs if they are abused at a young age can be ruined like humans. If you must have a dog do not let the children near him or her unless you are there.

yes wait untill they can be responsible for a dog and take care of it. you are doing the right thing by waiting..U don't want to see if the litlle dog gets hurt...

u r surely doing the right thing here,by that, both ur children and puppy can hv the attention and love without other distractions.

Err, no, teach your children to behave first

Do not get one. Wait until they seem to be ready, and can try to take care of it (and you will probably end up taking care of it anyway). You've got your hands full with 5 kids.I have children and multiple dogs. If I were you, I'd wait. There are plenty of dogs, and you can always get one later.

Five children behaving badly must be terribly hard to cope with - why would you want to take on another responsibility? I don't want to seem harsh, but surely you should devote your time to improving their behaviour rather than to another dependant to train? You could try combining the two - would the children see a puppy as a big treat? Try telling them that there are rules in your house, and if everyone can demonstrate that they can obey them, then in six months time, you will reward them by taking them to choose a puppy.

I definitely think you are doing the right thing. If your children accidently hurt the puppy, the puppy may nip at them. A rowdy bunch of children is asking for a hyper active, mis-behaved, possibly even abused dog. If you want your dog to be sweet and well-mannered, you may want to wait until your children are older and more considerate. A new dog is a TON of stress and drama in most cases, I think it would probably be overwhelming for you to deal with that on top of five children. I applaud you for your wisdom in not adding a dog or a puppy to your family at this point, a lot of people would selfishly get the dog anyway. It lets me know that when you eventually DO decide to get a dog, you'll be mature enough to handle it. Good luck!

You should sort your kids out first. If the kids were spiteful to the dog and it bit one of them, who'd get the blame??? You're doing the right thing in waiting.

yes it may be best to wait until the children are a bit older,or you could try calming the children somehow? puppies are very timid and need lots of love and attention,and caring at first,they've just come from thier mother and need that caring till they settle in,rowdy kids may make it nervous or they may unintentionally hurt it thinking they are playing,best to wait.

Maybe getting a dog will calm them down take them to look at dogs and see what their reaction is

I do not agree with this theory where you can get your puppy now without any fear . the children love animals , May they are not very well behaved but this can be overcome, through preparing them to good deal with dog To make them understand that the dog would become a friend to them and protects them from bad people and i think you can use a psychological doctor to dealing with the children psychologically to make them accept the dog .Scientific research has shown that pets help children to become better person when they grow up.

I'm so glad you have the intelligence to wait. it would be a disaster to get a dog in your situation. wait until the children are gone then get a lovely dog and enjoy the wonderful company and loyalty they are. also you'll get all the dogs affection for yourself!!