A baby or a dog first?

DH and I differ about the order. What does everyone think?

Re: A baby or a dog first?

I would say baby first. I am not having luck with my dogs since having DS 2 yrs. ago. They are very jealous and pooping and peeing in my house.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

In our case we did the dog first because a dog works with a 1 bedroom apt but a baby does not. I also heard a dog is like a baby with training wheels so why not do the dog first?

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we did the dog first because we are not ready for a baby. i have to say puppies are a good training.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

We got the dog first. 3 years later our dog is completely trained and totally calm.


IMO, I think it would be difficult to have a baby/ toddler and try to find time to train a new dog.

Message edited 4/20/2009 9:04:16 AM.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

I says dogs. They are great training for parenthood, plus, odds are if you have a baby first, you will be so busy with the baby that the dog won't come for a long time.

We did dogs first, then baby partly for the above reasons and now that I see how much work a baby entails, I know I would have NEVER gotten my dogs had I had the baby first. And I would be missing out then on so much love. I just said this to DH the other day, "thank God we got our dogs before the baby b/c I would have hated to not have them in my life should we have had the baby first".

And the baby is soooo exhausting (as were the dogs as puppies and still are a LOT of work) that I am sure my dogs would only be a dream if we had the baby first. Dogs take SO much time to train and care for and give love to that having a baby first would not be a good idea IMO and experience.

Message edited 4/20/2009 10:02:54 AM.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

Re: A baby or a dog first?

We got a dog first. Don't have kids yet though.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

Dog first! Best training tool to see what you can handle.

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We did dog first and we are now pregnant. We wanted to see how it would be for us to care for another living thing, etc. We've had Charlie for 3 years and it's been great.

Having such a good experience with our dog kind of reinforced our desire to have kids.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

Re: A baby or a dog first?

We did a dog first and I definitely feel that was the right decision for us.

We had our Golden Retriever for a year and a half before our DD was born (we had her since she was a puppy). We felt we wanted a dog first, so that we could have her trained the way we wanted by the time we were ready to have a baby. And it worked for us. Now they are the best of friends and are growing up together

Re: A baby or a dog first?

we don't have kids yet... but we have a dog. i definitely feel like a dog is great practice for having a kid. Just the whole aspect of having to care for another living thing... you can't just run off and go on a trip, you have to plan for someone to take care of the dog ( good practice for planning a babysitter), you have something bugging you to play with it, you have to sometimes get up in the middle of the night so it can go to the bathroom, you have to teach them how to behave in social situations ( with friends, meetin other dogs), and you have to keep an eye on it in certain situations ( like this weekend when we were outside working in the yard)... all of these are things you have to do with a kid, so it just gets you in the right mindset.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

I don't really see how one has anything to do with the other.

I had a dog when I was single ... and not for "practice" for having a baby/knowing responsibility.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

We pretty much decided that when we bought our house and had a backyard that we would get a dog; so in 2007 that's what we did. We had been married for less than a year at that point and were not ready to start TTC. It wasn't a matter of dog first/baby later; it just kind of worked out that way.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

For training purposes I would say a dog first BUT....
I also know MANY people who regret having a dog when they have kids. Most of them say if they had a child first they wouldn't have even considered a dog for a few years, especially those with small dogs.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

In our case we got a dog first. In a way its to prepare ourselves for parenting!!!! LOL

Re: A baby or a dog first?

dog.

kids are overrated.





I kid, I kid.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

We had the dog first. I don't think it matters a lot which you do first, though.

Re: A baby or a dog first?

I'm torn. Both have pros and cons. I got the dog first. Then met my DH and his dog. Then the both of us got our dog. Three dogs later and we wonder how they are going to handle future baby when they are jealous over each other.

You are just talking about one dog. If you are planning on having a baby right away, wait. If not...say a few years, get the puppy.

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Re: A baby or a dog first?

Re: A baby or a dog first?

I said dog because as a relatively new, first-time dog owner, I am always busy training her! I couldn't imagine doing this with a newborn or even a toddler!

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Re: A baby or a dog first?

My DH wanted to adopt a dog when our kids were older (and we don't have any kids yet!). I did Not want to wait that long. I worked hard to convince him to adopt a dog first and he is head over heels in love with our dog.