Small children & pets

Question
My girlfriend is interested in buying her daughter a small or medium dog.  Since I am allergic, we were interested in buying her a short-hair dog.  We were wondering about a dog that can get along with children easily and is first-time owner-friendly.  We are hoping for a good-tempered housepet.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Since you are allergic, you need to do a lot of research into what breed(s) might work for you. Generally, most people with dog allergies can handle miniature schnauzers and poodles, but you need to go and spend some hands-on time with these dogs to insure that you can indeed tolerate them.

Schnauzers are a much "sturdier" dog than poodles, and if raised around children, they make wonderful family pets. This is, of course, assuming that the children are well-behaved and are respectful of animals.

Don't bring a puppy home before nine weeks of age so that it has had some time to learn bite inhibition from mother and littermates, and be sure that you don't get a dominant dog; you want a dog that is more mellow and laid-back. These two things are *VERY* important in a household with children.