Sadly we had to have our dog put down last month cause she had cancer, the final straw of several serious health complications that seemed to surface suddenly over the past six month, she wasn't that old; just eleven and a half.

Course the whole family was upset, although I think more myself then others since she was very much my dog, I walked her, I usually feed her and I gave her the most attention.

In fairness to the family, their quite young, which indeed is the reason for my post to ask your opinion and experience. The kids are six and two, the six year old old enough for a puppy, but I am not sure about the two year old. What do you think?

Yes, we could try and get a slightly older dog from the RSPCA or something, but is that not jumping from the frying pan to the fire; with no knowledge of their past experiences of kids may well not be ideal...

Very sorry for your loss. Some would consider 11 1/2 to be quite old, particularly as today there are many younger dogs never seeing maturity due to cancer and other illnesses.

All our dogs are rescues, and while the dogs had no experience with very young children, they are excellent with them. Bassets are known to be good with children. At shelters here often the dog's history is known. But you will have an opportunity to meet the dog, take her for a walk, and see what the dog is like. The shelter has an interest in placing a dog in a permanent home and if they feel the dog does not belong with young children, they will tell you. I think a slightly older dog, not a puppy, and female, would be a good fit, and choose the breed/mixture carefully.

What breed/mix was your dog?

I have had a couple of rescue dogs but to be honest, with such young children a rescue could not be a good idea.
One of my rescues bit me one day and with young children it could have been pretty serious(luckily mine were teenagers).
You just don't know what sort of life a rescue has had so although I would always say to get one, I wouldn't with youngsters.

I am sorry for your family's loss.

The best thing you can do is to speak to shelters near you. Visit them on a weekend and have a chat with the volunteers to suss out if there are any suitable dogs for your family environment. I used to volunteer at shelters and it was definitely a case by case basis when families come in with young children wanting to adopt.

Some dogs are so placid that they dont mind children all over them - especially those who've grown up with children but have been given up due to old age/owner having no more time. The more nervous ones will definitely not be placed with children no matter how much the family likes the dog.

Having owned a dog previously puts you in a good position - the volunteers will be best to advise you. Their paramount concern is to ensure the dog's welfare and that it gets placed with the right family so you can be sure that their opinions and recommendations will be honest and candid.

Good luck

This has certainly been our experience.

When we visited the SPA in Fribourg last year, the woman on duty was very helpful indeed. She said the dogs they had (at that time) were difficult, and would be unsuitable for us as a family with a 3 year old child and no previous dog knowledge.

We were actually matched up with the 6 month old rescue dog we ended up with (from elsewhere). They felt she would be very family friendly, and would do well with training.
And she is! Our girl is a very sweet natured dog, and gentle around kids.

We had no preference regarding breed, age. etc. so being matched up worked well for us.

Good luck!