That's a toughy, but I'd be inclined to wait awhile. Here's why, as you know 2 1/2 yr olds are impulsive, energetic & often noisy and that can be a tough combo for a new dog to take patiently. With time & coaching (from you & your husband) your son will learn to approach dogs more slowly, pet gently, etc. and things will go much better then when you adopt one. If you introduce them now in this busy toddler stage, I think that it could be problematic. Other's may disagree with me here, but I have 3 boys and I'm not sure that I would have introduced them (for the first time) to a new pet when they were that age. I would have been worried about what choices I would have faced if the toddler & the dog didn't get along well, because for me when we adopt a furry family member it's for life. Does that make sense? It would probably be better IMHO to wait a few more years now to give it a better chance of success. What does everyone else think?