Would we be suitable for a dog?

[Mississippilessly]

Hello - i'm after honest opinions please!
I have always wanted a dog. I cant picture a family home not having one. My DH is very keen, too.

We have a 9 month old baby and a cat. I would love our baby to grow up with a dog, I think it teaches children a lot and I think it's fun for the dog too!
I go back to work in September, 3 days a week. I would be out from 7 til 5. I would of course get a dog walker in and we would also walk before and after work. I'm a teacher and have 18 weeks off a year so I'm actually only at work for less than a third of the year. DH often works from home (he is WFH tomorrow til next Friday for example, but there isnt much routine to it). We plan on having a second baby and after that I may give up work entirely but that's not decided. As a family we walk a huge amount. We have a garden which we could make dog proof very easily. We have a large, 4 bedroom, 3 storey house. We can afford bills, insurance etc.

We would prefer to rescue as we did with our cat and we dont particularly want a puppy (as much as i would love one i dont think i can cope with the demands).

So - does this sound doable? It's a massive decision and above all I want to be fair to the dog.
Thanks in advance.

[homemadegin]

Yes absolutely

[CMOTDibbler]

I think my concern would be that you are planning a second. Dealing with a toddler, dog and new baby would be a lot esp if you plan to have your second quickly. Also going back to work is a big change which is stressful enough in itself.

I'd leave it until after you've had another baby (all things working out of course) before getting a dog

[homemadegin]

Sorry non sleeping baby hit post.

I would probably do it before toddling, get everyone used to each other before wee one on move. I have a divide across room so we are all together but I can pop baby down safely. Ours is a big kitchen sitting area.

[Alwaysgrey]

Personally I’d consider having my children and waiting until they’re a bit older. Depending on whether you get a puppy or not they’re very much like babies.

[Floralgizelle]

Hi, i absolutely agree with you about the family home feeling more homley with a dog. We are headig for our 1 year anniversary on monday of adopting our rescue gsd. We have a toddler and they are the best of friends its lovely to watch she was 2 when we adopted her which was lovely not having to do the toilet training, the introductions take a little longer as you need to get to know the dog. I also think dogs adapt pretty well and as long as there we're things in place (the dog walker etc) then im all for it. However, having never had experience of rescue dogs, i must warn you. Typically, they have some issues. For example our rescue suffered severe seperation anxiety and has took us 6 months to prevent the howling and chewing when we left the house (im a sahm so was able to provide training) she is also lead reactive to other dogs which we are still working on. It was been really hard work but the rewards are great. Her description on the rescue gave little indicators of these issues but did not actually state seperation anxiety, so i would definitely advise researching and asking more questions when looking at rescues. Our rescue was good as they did put us in touch with a behaviourist who helped enormously . So perhaps adopting during the 6 weeks, would be beneficial to try and iron out any issues. Not trying to put you off as our girl is an absolute joy but just wish someone had given us the heads up about how complex some rescue dogs can be. Hope this helps :)

[Mississippilessly]

Really helpful, thank you everyone.
We would like DC number 2 fairly soon - when DC1 turns 2 really - but we dont plan on any more