Myth 1: I have small children, so I want a puppy.

Without a doubt, this is the most common reason people want a puppy. A sweet, small puppy just seems like the best choice for sweet, small children.

You know that cute Kodak commercial with the puppies climbing all over the giggling little boy? Have you ever noticed how short it is? That’s because they could only film for a few seconds before the welts rose, the blood dripped, and the boy began to scream for his mother. Puppies have needle-teeth that they happily sink into anyone who walks by. They also have sharp nails that scratch when they jump up -- and on little Ryan, those front feet land right around his face.

Puppies leave  "presents" that your toddler always seems to find before you do. Puppies wake your children during the night. And a puppy doesn’t know the difference between his stuffed toy and Sarah’s Piglet that she MUST have to fall asleep.

And suppose you get a puppy when little Morgan is 2. In six months, Morgan will be about 1 inch taller and 3 pounds heavier. However, the 8 month old puppy will now be as tall as Morgan and outweigh her by 30 pounds. And those baby teeth will have been replaced by big snappers that need to chew.

Of course, puppies and small children do successfully cohabitate. But, in our experience, your child will go through far less Neosporin and Band-Aids with a calmer 2 + year old dog who is road-tested with children.