Pittsburgh Nesties
Lys1011
member
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Talk me down!
I want a dog but I don?t know if I?m ready for the mayhem of taking care of a 19 month old and training a new dog. On top of that, DH is taking classes on Saturdays.
Our first dog succumbed to cancer a little over two years ago, and my lovebird that I had for almost 10 years died a few weeks ago. My house feels so empty without any pets.
I found the cutest 1 year old boxer mix on Petfinder.
Would I be crazy to do this? Someone talk me down!
Re: Talk me down!
If you want talked down, stop reading.
I'm all for pets in a home...especially when you're thinking of introducing pets at the time that you have children. They should "grow up" together and learn together. Plus, I think that having pets is like having children...never a perfect time, always something to make you think you should wait...but, if you have the love to give, you should give it. Though some days will be tough...there will be plenty of times where that pet gives you so much joy...and for that, it's worth it, in my opinion.
Good luck in your decision!
It depends on the dog. I will never get another puppy. They are just too much work. A 1 or 2 year old would be perfect IMHO. You get an idea of their personality and they are out of the worst of the puppy stage.
If this was the first dog you ever had, yeah maybe crazy. But you are totally aware of what owning a dog entails, so you aren't going in with rainbows and butterflies.
Now, a boxer mix might be a bit crazy. But who am I to call anyone crazy when I took a 125 lb American Bulldog when we had a 90 lb lab and a 80 lb shephard/great dane mix?
I can't talk you down either. We bought a Doberman puppy when DD was around a year old (after our 6 year old dobe passed away).
I kind of disagree with Kris though, with a little one, I would suggest getting a puppy. Is it more work, absolutely. However, I think that a 1 year old puppy has a ton of energy, and if it hasn't been around kids, it won't necessarily know to be careful around your DD.
Maybe we just lucked out with Deuce, He's huge and full of energy, but he knows that he needs to play differently with the kids than he does adults. If one of the kids touches his toy (that is in his mouth) he immediately drops it. It's awesome watching them grow up together.
Well, there are tons of young dogs in shelters and rescues because they don't do well with kids or they are too aggressive with young ones. With an older dog, shelters/rescues usually test them to know if they are good with kids and what their personality is.
I'll be your voice of reason.
My parents got a puppy golden and while I know she's well bred, she's not like any golden we've ever had. She's fearless and tireless. She and Simon body check each other constantly and run and chase. It's amazing for him. He will have a friend like no other, however, if I had to train her and take care of him as well, I don't think I could have done it. It made for a long 3 months while she was tiny and Sims was just over 2 years old.
That being said, they are amazing friends now. Misty knows how to be gentle and she tolerates so much.
I will talk you down! Haha! We just got a 1.5 year old dog. She is a lot of work! Honestly I didn't even want a dog that young and definitely not a puppy. She is past the real puppy stage but is still very much a puppy. She wasn't trained so she still has a lot of learning.
If you do it I would definitely make sure you know the dogs personality. They didn't know much about our dog which was a mistake to just jump into it without knowing. I think she will end up being a good dog but is a lot more work than I had wanted. I really wanted a dog more around 3 and that was more laid back.
And I will say I was surprised at how jealous dd has become!!! I feel like there is sibling rivalry! Dd is even more needy and demanding of attention.
i'll help talk you down! sometimes having dogs is worse than having kids since dogs aren't allowed everywhere. therefore they can be a pain when you want to travel- you are very limited on where you can stay with them- or you put them in a kennel- or have family/friends watch them, etc. plus you always have to get home by a certain time to let them out, feed them, etc. let's see what else- dog hair everywhere, the possible risk that the dog and your child do not get along and then you are stuck getting rid of the dog (which is upsetting to the dog and the kid, and the family), the expense of grooming, vets, flea and heartworm meds, cleaning up dog poop, etc....
we have 2 dogs from the shelter so everything is really double the cost for us. when we got them they weren't barky at all and we liked that. little did we know that once we got them home they would get territorial and then start the barking. we had them for 2 years before we had our son that was really fun when he was a baby and we would have to try to keep the dogs from barking so they didn't wake him up.... every time someone talks outside or the mailman comes, etc they bark. drove me crazy. their barking still does.
now for the good- they are old but the one likes to play fetch with our 3 year old. it is adorable and both of their favorite things to do at the moment. he thinks they are his real brother and sister and talks to them. he LOVES to feed them his food....oh yeah another big plus is we have never had to clean up after our son throws his food on the floor!
This describes my lab to a tee. He was 10 mon. when I got him and he is the anti-lab. It makes me scared to get another one thinking I will get a crazy one!
Best of luck!
Thanks. :-)
I thought about waiting until Spencer was a little older, but I know we'll be trying for #2 in the next year and a half or so, and then we'll be in the exact same position. It's either adopt a dog now or wait about 5 more years. It's a tough decision.
Well then in that case, I wouldn't wait. Because another 5 years without a dog would drive me more crazy than having a toddler and a new dog would. Plus it lets you adjust to the new dog before adding the new baby to the mix. We got Mo about a year before I got pregnant with EJ. It was a nice time frame for getting life settled again before turning everything upside down again!
im the opposite! I would wait if I were having another kid. The only reason we got a dog is because we weren't having another. But that's definitely a personal thing. I didn't want to deal with dog and newborn.