Is a chi suitable for our family - please help

[helg]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum and am thinking about getting a female chi puppy but I've heard mixed opinions as to whether a chi would be suitable for our family.

I have two children aged 9 and 4, I would supervise the 4 year old at all times with the puppy until it was older. I also have quite a few other animals - 2 cats, a rabbit, guinea pig, 2 rats and a hamster. The rabbit is allowed to run free in the garden and someone told me that a chi would attack a rabbit and the rats and even kill them! The cats should be fine with a chi as they are used to other animals running about! I would of course introduce them gradually and with supervision until they are used to each other.

I love chi's and had my heart set on one but i've heard so many different opinions that i'm unsure of what to do. Someone also told me that smooth haired chis are more aggressive than the long haired variety - is this true?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated as I would like to give a loving home to a chi!

Helen

[veguroev]

Hi Helen! I would say go for what your heart tells you to go. As for you 4 year old, as long as you supervise him around the doggy it should be ok. People don't recommend small dogs to a family with small children especially if it's a rescue group, also a lot of breeders won't sell you the pup either if you have small kids. By any means I'm trying to discourage you.
I don't think Chi's are aggressive I think they are more territorial, they like to bark a lot and they don't like a lot of people, they are very good watch dogs, but if you show them who is the alfa leader they will obey you. They are so adorable!:)
Good luck and you get that Chi let us know and post pics.

[kgutman248]

As long as you keep it well socialized and used to being around people it'll have less of a problem adjusting. Mylee is a doll around people. She's actually quite shy at first. She'll stay near me or Aaron then she'll kind of break out and start playing with other people.

She did just fine with my little brother..He's 7. So he's a rough one with her, but she didn't seem to mind. :)

So as long as you train it to be around people (especially children) it shouldn't have a problem.

[Nanobb]

Hi Helen!

I would say that as long as the interaction between your 4 year old and the pup is supervised, you should be okay. However, make sure that the puppy comes from a breeder who socializes their pups with young children so that they are already used to the handling. My puppies' breeder has a 4 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 year old and Lexi was raised underfoot with them so loves children. Patches loves THOSE kids but are wary around children that she doesn't know. All of her dogs, shortcoats and longcoats are good with children. I haven't heard of the shortcoats being more aggressive than the longcoats in general. I will however recommend that you get a pup in the larger end of the spectrum, that will be at least 5.5 lb full as they are better able to withstand rough play than say, a 2 pounder.

[Nanobb]

Oh, and also: Lexi and Patch grew up around guinea pigs, and we have one of our own. We also have two cats and had a hamster up until last week (passed away of old age). I've never seen the girls try to attack the rodents although Lexi seems to think the guinea pig is a puppy and will try to play with him like a puppy. They do chase cats but seeing as the cats are a fair size bigger than they are I'm more concerned for them than the cats; also if they are being very pesky the cats will just jump up higher and ignore them. Good luck in your search!

[love_me_cody]

i agree with the rest... go with what you feel is right.... maybe you can go to a breeder that will allow you to keep the dog for a couple weeks to see if they are the right breed for you. Or maybe you can visit some meetup groups where you can see if they are right for you. Remember, every dog is different so you can't know if they will chase after your rabbits. I'm sure some will and some won't... When I had rabbits , they slept with the cats and dogs in their bed, since they grew up together, they had free reign over the house because they were litter box trained