Dogs and kids

jessicah628 · July 2011

Kernal's suggestion of getting DH a dog for his bday made me think...TTC is not far off for us, and I've been trying to figure out how that impacts us getting a dog. I have two thoughts:

1. Wait until after kids because our lives will be crazy enough, plus dogs can get jealous.

2. Better to get a puppy now and train it before kids, because it will be harder to do when we have little ones running around.

What are your thoughts on babies and dogs?

Kernel14 · July 2011

Well, I obviously don't have kids so I can only offer what I know as of now:

I think get the dog first, especially if you're planning on getting a puppy that will need to be trained. I have to imagine that if you had a newborn/toddler and a puppy, that life would be totally nuts. Train the dog now while you don't have any other responsibilies.

Your other option is to adopt a dog thats a little older..like a 2-4 yr old dog that wouldn't require as much work, in which case I'd say you could probably go either way with when you get the dog.

Why do you think he'd kill you if you got him a dog for his bday?

ETA: if you adopt/rescue a dog, you can tell them you plan to have kids and hopefully get a dog that is already good with kids.

jessicah628 · July 2011

Kernel14:
Well, I obviously don't have kids so I can only offer what I know as of now:

I think get the dog first, especially if you're planning on getting a puppy that will need to be trained. I have to imagine that if you had a newborn/toddler and a puppy, that life would be totally nuts. Train the dog now while you don't have any other responsibilies.

Your other option is to adopt a dog thats a little older..like a 2-4 yr old dog that wouldn't require as much work, in which case I'd say you could probably go either way with when you get the dog.

Why do you think he'd kill you if you got him a dog for his bday?

ETA: if you adopt/rescue a dog, you can tell them you plan to have kids and hopefully get a dog that is already good with kids.

I don't know if he's really ready yet. Plus we greatly disagree on what breed we want, so I don't know what I would get.

ButtonsPepper · July 2011

We wanted to have a trained dog before we brought kids into the picture, and it's worked out really well for us so far. We introduced her to infants/children from a puppy age, so she would get used to it, and she's fantastic with all types of kids now. I feel like when you have kids, it doens't ever "calm down" so the training to go outside/sit/heel/stay is much easier without kids as a distraction.

Kernel14 · July 2011

jessicah628:

I don't know if he's really ready yet. Plus we greatly disagree on what breed we want, so I don't know what I would get.

Gotch ya! I hope you agree on something soon so you can get one!

larrysdarling · July 2011

I have both. Def dog first. Or be prepared to wait a few years til kids are bigger. Once you have a kid you won't have time to train a dog. My dog doesnt get as much of my attention now, unfortunately. But dh makes a bigger effort to pay him attention.

MRS_MBW · July 2011

larrysdarling:
I have both. Def dog first. Or be prepared to wait a few years til kids are bigger. Once you have a kid you won't have time to train a dog. My dog doesnt get as much of my attention now, unfortunately. But dh makes a bigger effort to pay him attention.

ditto this. we got our dog about 4 years before we had dd. we got him as a puppy and could take our time to train him. plus he was able to get our undivided attention. and he's very good with dd. (i.e.- he just sits there when she tries to dress him up - last week i found him wearing her pink eagles jersey and he was just sitting there with this pathetic look on his face. such a good dog

but i agree either get a dog before kids so you can train him properly and give him the attention he needs or wait until the kids are older for the same reasons (attention, training) otherwise i think you'll be making it harder for yourself as far as training goes.

ButtonsPepper · July 2011

And also, good luck TTC

jpfeifer · July 2011

I cannot imagine having a dog right now, I can hardly take care of myself these days.

So, I agree with the others on timing.

jessicah628 · July 2011

omg Jen, that picture is so cute!!!

lachute · July 2011

i'd wait until the kid is older. i've had my cats 3 and 6 years, they do well with milobut get way way way less attention. i think it be easier to start the pet out not knowing what full dedication is like.

i know sounds awful.

ooodsie · July 2011

I don't have kids yet, but I would definitely vote for getting a dog first.

I think owning a dog actually helps prepare you for kids. Dogs are pretty high maintenance in terms of you can no longer stay out all night, crash at a friends if you don't want to drive home sort of thing.. you always need to be aware of how long you've been gone so you can get home to let the dog out, or make sure you have a petsitter lined up if you want to go away.

It sounds silly, but having a dog really helped prepare me for having kids in the future - in terms of responsibility/accountability to someone/something that depends soley on me for everything.

jessicah628 · July 2011

ooodsie:
I don't have kids yet, but I would definitely vote for getting a dog first.
I think owning a dog actually helps prepare you for kids. Dogs are pretty high maintenance in terms of you can no longer stay out all night, crash at a friends if you don't want to drive home sort of thing.. you always need to be aware of how long you've been gone so you can get home to let the dog out, or make sure you have a petsitter lined up if you want to go away.
It sounds silly, but having a dog really helped prepare me for having kids in the future - in terms of responsibility/accountability to someone/something that depends soley on me for everything.

We've had a dog, so that's not really an issue for us.

larrysdarling · July 2011

jpfeifer:
I cannot imagine having a dog right now, I can hardly take care of myself these days. So, I agree with the others on timing.

Oh my. I'm melting from the sweetness that is this baby.

kross605 · July 2011

Just a heads up---if youre thinking of going the rescue route (whenever the time is right), keep in mind that some rescues wont adopt to families that have very small children so you may be waiting an additional 3 or 4 years anyway. Some rescues arent as particular and of course you could go the non-rescue route but its something to consider if you have a particular rescue in mind or a type of dog that has a specialty rescue etc. Ive known people that have gotten a dog both pre and post kids and it always seems to work out--just personal preference and what your lifestyle can handle right now.

ooodsie · July 2011

jessicah628:
ooodsie:
It sounds silly, but having a dog really helped prepare me for having kids in the future - in terms of responsibility/accountability to someone/something that depends soley on me for everything.
We've had a dog, so that's not really an issue for us.

Oh crap, I knew this. and now I feel like a *** for bringing it up. Sorry about that.

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