Pets
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Familys w/ children under 5
When did you decide to bring a dog into the mix?
My DH and I both grew up with dogs and we would love our kids to have the same luxury. We've done some research and we have decided to adopt a boxer. Currently we are a family of 4. It is my H, 2 sons and I however we are expecting a 3rd child in a few months.
We have time for a dog. I stay home and H is usually home 5:20-5:30. What are the suggestions?
Re: Familys w/ children under 5
I actually don't have kids yet so you may get some more helpful answers, but I would wait to get adopt until you know you will have enough time to focus on the new pup and properly train them. A new dog, no matter the age, requires a bit of attention to teach them the rules of the house and promote appropriate manners with a newborn on the way it can be a real struggle to take care of 2 young children and an infant.
Waiting until the infant doesn't consume as much time would be my recommendation.
I agree that you may want to wait until your new LO has been born and you've settled into managing life with 3 young children. Even adopting an adolescent/adult dog will mean quite a bit of time dedicated to proper training (extremely important with Boxers! I know, I have one!).
Really, exactly when you choose to add a pup to the mix is a personal decision, and everyone might tell you something different. I have a friend who got their lab when she had one young son and another on the way. It was crazy, but they made it work. She was definitely a little hard to handle the first couple of years because they just didn't have the time to really dedicate to intense training.
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We already had two dogs and a cat before our son was born, so our situation was a little different than yours. Our pets were all older and pretty well trained before DS was born, but even so, man the first year or two were tough.
IME, I think the crawling and early walking stages are the hardest, because the erratic movement of a child that age is alarming to most dogs and the children are too young to understand or remember rules for handling the dogs and have to be redirected constantly and supervised 100% of the time. Every child is different, but my son seemed to understand how to act around the dog better by around age two. Even now, though, at two and a half, we're running into him testing some boundaries, so we still have to supervise pretty carefully.
Honestly, I would probably wait until at least sometime in your youngest LO's third year before I'd consider adding a dog on a permanent basis. I think the timing also depends somewhat on the dog you're adopting. With very young kids, I would look for a medium- to large-sized adult dog that has lived with kids successfully previously and has a moderate energy level. If you're looking to get a puppy, a very delicate toy breed or a breed that has intense physical or mental exercise requirements, I might wait until your kids are even a little bit older.
It's important to note almost any situation can work if you're determined. Plenty of the ladies who post here, including myself, are doing a great job of juggling dogs and small kids. But if you're asking what's ideal for everyone, I would really say waiting a few years will give you the best possible, least stressful experience.
Good luck!
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
I appreciate the advice ladies.
I think we will wait a little longer (at the very least until I am not prego).
We are looking into adopting from our local shelter and most likely will get a dog that is a little older. Boxer is our choice because I grew up with boxers as did my H. So we have experience with the breed.
Thanks again!
We got our Aussie when DD was 14 months old. She wasn't a wobbly walker and our dog was a still a puppy. We also took her about 3 days after we moved into our new home. It was a lot of transition at once but after we found this dog we KNEW she was perfect for us and we had wanted a dog for over a year prior.
She was already potty trained and cate trained so that was nice. We had to tackle a puppy bite issue and are still working (and making tons of progress) on jumping up and leash manners.
I wouldn't haven't done it if I was a working mom but I SAH and have plenty of time to devote to the dog and DD. How old are your current boys? Can they help with feeding, letting pup out to potty, brushing?
IMO I think it depends on your family and the dog you adopt. If it was an older already semi-well trained dog, I might consider doing it sooner than if it was a puppy. Good luck and be sure to post pics when you do decide to adopt!
Sounds like a good idea. I was going to suggest an older dog too. We've always had pets so they were here before the kids and adapted to the kids well. So I don't have much advice on when to introduce in the other order. Do you have friends/family with a dog that the kids interact with regularly? That would help prepare the kids in advance of bringing one into the house.
We had ours long before ds came along. She's 10 now.
My personal age limit would be after the youngest is potty trained. At that age they can be a huge help and can participate in training, which I find to be really important.
Also at that point they understand more about gentle touch and compassion. Ds and our dog are very close and sweet together but we have our challenges. And they don't lie at the fault of the dog, if you KWIM!