To think getting a puppy as a practice baby is a terrible idea?

[dinosaurkisses]

I was chatting to a new member of my team in work today - were both fairly newly married (~2 years) and I'm heavily pregnant with DC1.

Colleague started asking if I was excited about the baby and making general chit chat- I said I was, but I was scared about how much our lives were about to change.

Colleague then said she knew how I felt- she and her husband had recently bought a puppy to practice for having a baby later down the line and it was really difficult.

I was a bit when she said this- surely a dog is a massive massive commitment on its own without being used as a practice baby? What happens when you decide to go for it and ttc- has the puppy completed its purpose and then has to make room for the actual, non-practice baby?

AIBU to think this is a really crap reason to get a dog?

[x2boys]

Yanbu but having had two babies and we now have a puppy I have to say a puppy is way harder (although she is lovely) they are and poo everywhere chew everything in sight and you are very limited in where you can go ie shops etc with a dog I love my pup but she's damned hard work.

[x2boys]

Wee and poo*

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

It's a crap reason. However, they're both a commitment so I guess that's what they're thinking.

[GhostCurry]

It's common, but crap. Having to deal with a dog and a baby is really hard, I know a few people who have had to rehome their much- loved dogs when the baby comes along a few years later.

[BarbarianMum]

Meh - as ling as they treat it like a dog, not a "fur baby" it'll be fine. Lots of people have a dog first and then a baby. If dog has a good temperament and is well trained all should be fine.

[MinesaLattecino]

I would have joked that our dog was a practice baby. He wasn't really, it was more that we knew we wanted a dog and children and didn't want to have a puppy and a toddler, so we got the dog a year before we had kids.

But it is practice in the sense that you cannot just bugger off without planning so you have to plan your lives slightly differently, although I've yet to find an overnight kennels for toddlers. I wouldn't take the comment any more seriously than that.

[x2boys]

Holidays for example we are trying g to book a last minute few days away in a caravan nobody would say you couldn't bring a baby to a caravan but lots of places (understandably) don't allow dogs.

[Mrscropley]

Yabu not to send her savlon for her nipples. Bf a puppy must be excruciating. .

[user1494426473]

I very much doubt they got the dog specifically to act as a "practice baby". More likely they genuinely wanted a puppy, got said puppy, realised how much hard work puppies are and that there are some similarities to young babies (the sleepless nights, bedtime routine, toilet training, socialising, constant trips to vet/doctor, anxiety over whether you are being a good puppy parent/child parent etc) and now lightheartedly joke about the fact that puppies make good practice for babies.

My DH and I have no current plans to have children and adopted our dog purely because we wanted a dog. We love her to pieces however now I know how much hard work she is and the sacrifices you have to make when caring for another living being it certainly would make me think even harder about having children, and I sometimes say to people that having her was good practice.

[KatharinaRosalie]

Actually I found it quite good practice. The things that people find so shocking and difficult with first babies - like frequent wake ups, responsibility for someone else, that you can't be spontaneous any more etc - we were already used to thanks to the dogs.

I would not have a newborn and puppy at the same time, but that's not the case if they already have a dog and not even ttc yet.

[ApplesTheHare]

I probably joked about the same thing though obviously didn't mean our dog was an actual pre-baby training aid. I'm sure she was just being flippant and making work smalltalk

[dinosaurkisses]

She was sincerely saying that puppy was practice for a child and that was the reason they decided to get her- she wasn't joking!