What Dog Size is Right for Your Family?

What dog size is right for your family?? Medium sized dogs? Small dogs? Big dogs? There are a ton of choices when it comes to dog sizes.

But size does matter, especially when you are researching what type of dog to adopt into your family.
Your spouse may want a large, muscular dog, you may want a lap dog, and your kids might want 101 dalmatians. Getting everyone in your family involved in the dog adoption discussion and decision making process keeps expectations realistic. Be aware that there can be wide range of variations within breed and dog sizes.

In general, large breeds, or big dogs, over 75 pounds can be gentle giants, but do require more space and more physical ability to handle. Newfoundlands and Bernese Mountain Dogs are examples of gentle, affectionate large breeds that are very family oriented although they may not realize their own size when interacting with your young children. And large breeds do tend to have shorter life spans than their small sized dog counterparts.

Medium sized dogs between 30-75 pounds can be just the right fit for many families. They can adapt to a variety of living spaces, be easier to handle than large breeds, and have a range of activity levels from the extremes of high energy Border Collies to low energy Basset Hounds.

Small sized dogs under 30 pounds provide a range of compact, energetic companions from Beagles to Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that don’t generally require the amount of space of larger dogs. Although, very tiny or teacup breeds under 10 pounds can be physically frail and not the best choices for active children/families.

As your family prepares to adopt a dog, make sure to contemplate the size of your future dog. Your family members may need to make some compromises in order to make decisions that will work with your family’s lifestyle.

What size dog is your family thinking about? What discussions have you had with family members about dog sizes and different dog breeds?