Getting a dog

[Sleepless93]

So DH and I have been talking about getting a dog (or 2) again. Our old dog sadly passed away nearly 3 years ago and I haven't had the heart to even consider another (have had 2 kids since though!)
We've grown up with dogs, mainly border collies and German shephards.
We were offered a choice of litter from a colleague of DH (german shephard x border collie, mix of mine and DH favourite breeds) but had to sadly refuse as I'd just had DS2 and didn't think I could cope with a toddler, newborn and a puppy!
Anyway, fast forward a few months, DH talking to his colleague and she mentioned that she was thinking of breeding her dogs again to have one last litter, either end of this year, beginning of next, so either way it will be next year they are born. I'm very tempted.
The thing is we have so many factors that I'm unsure about:
-DS1 will be 3, DS2 will be 1.
Has anybody got a dog when they had young children and if so how did that work out?
-We have a cat who can be quite territorial towards new animals and although I know he will be ok eventually its the upset it will cause in the beginning.

We have a decent sized garden, beautiful places for walks nearby and I work as a dog groomer so am able to take dog with me if needs be, so making sure they are cared for during day is not an issue.

I'm not not sure if I'm letting my heart rule my head a bit? Or do people think it could possibly work?

We have also discussed the option of waiting a little longer and getting 2 dogs a border collie and German shephard and that will be when DS's are both school age (4 and 6).

TIA

I’ve got a 3 and a 1 year old and I can’t think of anything worse than getting a puppy right now...I already don’t have enough hands!

At those ages you won’t be able to leave them together at all so you will have to crate the puppy (or the kids....) or shut it away a lot. Also I wouldn’t love the thought of a dog in the house with a crawling baby, maybe that’s just me though!

Personally I think you will be less rushed off your feet, and the kids will get more out of it, if you wait until they are more like 4 and 6 - old enough they can be a bit more trusted with the dog, join in with looking after it and will learn something from the experience.

I feel like I’ve read a similar post to this already this evening which has since been deleted!

What do your parents think about it?

My youngest was 3yo when we got a giant breed puppy at the start of this year. Not perfect timing but my eldest is 14 and wanted a dog. It's had its challenges. I wouldn't get a puppy with a child under 3yo though. Too much attention needs to be given to the puppy when toilet training. It's a stressful time.

My 3yo will feed his puppy by putting kibble in the bowl, grooming her (with supervision) and feeding treats to her.

There's no way in hell I'd have had a puppy when my kids were that age. I waited until youngest was five and it was perfect. They grew up together and dc were old enough to respect the dog, plus I had time in the day to walk the dog when they were at school.

I wouldn’t - it’s so much harder than I ever imagined and that is without a toddler and baby!

Some days I wish we hadn’t got ours. He needs so much attention, it is like having another child. I would definitely wait.

Dd was a year when we got our first ddog. Older dc also. Proper supervision is an absolute essential for at least 3 years!!
We now have 4 ddogs and a ds6. Ddogs are 7, 7, 11 and 1
Sadly lost first ddog last year.
Ime one of the best bits of parenting is watching the relationships between my dc and our ddogs..

The colleague sounds irresponsible, deliberately breeding her dogs like this, I wouldn’t be encouraging that.

I wouldn't encourage frequent breeding so it'd be a pass from me on those grounds alone.