Taking vacation was a tempting possibility, but I wasn't convinced a young pup would be reliably trained even with a 3 week vacation. Coming home at lunch time isn't possible and my working day is long for even a well trained adult dog. Deciding to bring an adult dog into the house was the right thing to do though it wasn't my preference. Concerns with adult dogs centered on our need for gentle, tolerant dogs that were unfailingly reliable with children. I love big dogs and prefer medium to giant dogs with young children.
Sturdier dogs are less likely to be fearful of tumbling kids, curious fingers, and clumsy handling.
While big dogs are often gentler with small children, any aggression displayed is also riskier. I'm a discerning judge of canine character and decided to consider only those dogs I had absolute confidence in. Cochise was a bad idea from the beginning. The man placing him admitted that he'd become an incorrigible escape problem. Professional changes and the addition of their second son 9 months previously had severely limited the time available.