...to think that raising a dog is brilliant training for raising a kid??

[Sheilasfeels]

So me and DH are trying for a baby. We have a two year old dog. Basically I'm pretty sure that I've got this whole parenting thing sussed now and raising a child will be a walk(ies) in the park. How do I know? Let's look at the evidence:

Cleaning up poo - check
Being woken up at 6 a.m. to play a game - check
Me and DH not having sex because the dogs asleep in the middle of the bed - check

AIBU or am i basically a parenting expert right now?

Both babies and puppies come ready-skilled at adorability, which they use to make you their willing slaves :)

You happily bend every rule you'd decided on before bringing puppy/ baby home. Throws sleep routine and cot into bin. Replaces with attachment parenting and cosleeper bed (how the hell did DS read all that attachment parenting literature in the womb huh?!)

Accept that the baby will train you, not the other way round.

Oh I thought of one difference... Puppies do not breast feed or chew your nipples: At least you know where your body ends and the puppies begins!

Laiste I think the man is desperately - desperately! - waiting for the day that your husband realises what he is passive-aggressively trying to tell him: stop boring childless people with accounts of your child and its tantrums.

Well, on the minus side you won't have much experience of the dog pointing out to you that by the time it is grown-up you will be dead. Or that your house looks like the house of a neglected child. It will not regale you with stories of how much vodka was consumed at X's party or ring you in hysterics from London because it has missed the last train.

On the plus side, you will have to wait a long time for that dog to make you a decent cup of coffee and bring it to your desk.

A dog can give you unconditional love in a way a child never will. But the waitering service is better with a child.

I thought that OP until I had a child.

Mine are still only 2, 4, 5 but the main differences I've found so far are:

1. You don't need stitches, surgical cuts or many different people looking up your foof when you buy a dog
2. You don't have half the world telling you your wrong for whichever way you choose to feed you dog
3. Your in laws don't calculate how much time they get to spend with your dog versus your parents
4. You don't have a weird hormone crash after buying a dog that causes you to develop a weird crushes on Mr tumble from CBeebies
5. You don't spend the early days covered in vomit though you do get weed and pood on with a puppy too
6. When you want to go away for a holiday you can't find a professional who will take your kids for less than a tenner a day so you can go on your own
7. Kids don't get dog hair all over you though and this is a bonus
8. You can leave a dog for several hours
9. Dogs don't tell relatives 'my mummy's having a baby but it's a secret shhhhh'
10. Dogs don't out you in changing rooms 'your belly is floppy mummy' which leads me to
11. dogs don't make your belly saggy if anything they do the opposite because you walk then so much

But to be honest OP in a way I find my dog was a lot more tying than having children. We couldnt just go off for the day to the seaside and leave her behind because it would have been mean, but then that limited us to what we could do as lots of places won't let dogs in but can't really say that about children as much as they'd like to And if you want to go in a museum or something it means someone has to stay outside all the time to be with the dog.
A dog is more tying in someways but definitely not as much responsibility or work

I actually agree with you OP, getting a dog was a shock to the system and forced a lot of discipline, routine and compromise into our lives that made having a baby fairly straightforward in comparison. I would go as far as saying that having a baby has been easier than having a puppy/dog, although I may reconsider once DC gets a bit older and can answer back!

I can't say this IRL though, because it makes me sound like a dick.

Good luck with the TTC!

hyper, large breed dog, 2 cats all pre DC, having the DC was incomparably harder because of the relentlessness of it. Borrowing other people's kids and having even 2 dogs is not preparation. I can leave my dog for 4 hours and go shopping, I can't leave my toddler for 5 minutes without her trying some dare devil maneovre.

You can also leave a dog in a crate overnight.

Honestly if I could have my time again I'd stick with my dog, parenthood is overrated imo...

Y'know, though, here's the other side of dog vs child:

1. Children are welcome on public transport, in cafes/ restaurants, in shops and hotels. Dogs are (generally) not. Therefore, much easier to travel with child than dog.

1. Children do not escape from house and run away too fast to be caught, across busy roads.

1. Children do not run outside and shout at the top of their voices at birds, causing you to have to bolt from the bed and wrestle them inside before the neighbours complain.

1. Children do not jump up on visitors, except in ways that are considered adorable.

1. Children eventually become able to talk, and tell you their feelings and if they are happy or being mistreated, unlike dogs: an advantage when you are forced to leave them in daycare

1. Grandparents love taking care of grandchildren for a few days while you fuck off for mini-break; barking, jumping, shitting dog - not quite so much.

1. Children mature and become more independent. Dogs stay needy fuckers for up to 15 years.

Source: 'parent' of high-energy greyhound-X rescue dog who hasn't had a holiday for 1.5 years due to said dog.

(please note - all of the above is my experience only. Experience will vary from person to person and dog to dog. Is also light-hearted )

If you can deal with a dog with patience, understanding and good humour, set boundaries and use No, then yes its good training for parenting.
I dont think anyone claimed it was an identical experience.

DH and I were never very sold on the idea of having kids. Then we got a puppy. "Puppy" is now 3yo and we are absolutely sure we don't wants kids!

Actually, I found my dog harder work in the day, when she was a puppy. She used to follow me everywhere and try to round me up, nipping my trousers or ankles. If I sat down she would try to play, very bitey. So far, despite the odd very tough day, my four month old is a bit easier in the day. He has a routine, sort of.
However, the dog is now 4 and very easy, in comparison.
Nothing prepares you for the sleepless nights of a young baby.
Overall, baby is harder as you have a bigger effect on their life and childhood lasts longer. Puppyhood only lasts a few years.

Do you realise babies grow into real human people? 8 yr olds, 12yr olds and 16 yr olds are a lot more complicated and expensive than dogs.

Babies are also not a lot like dogs either really.

Good luck ttc

My 10 month old golden retriever reminds me a lot of a toddler in that she's clumsy and adorable.

That's where the similarity ends - my dog is obedient and eager to please, sleeps 20 hours a day, bends her mood to fit mine, eats whatever I give her, etc.

Puppies are adorable toddlers in that hell bent on destroying everything and getting as mucky as possible phase and then they grow up into dogs who are like eternal preschoolers except they don't talk as much.

Kittens are like hyperactive preteens who grow up into cats who are just like teenagers. They ignore you, only demanding vast quantities of food, stay out all night so you'll wait up worrying and drag no end of bizarre things home.

See. Easy Totally prepared.

This reminds me of my cousin and partner who couldn't wait for the baby to be born so they could get back to normal

I call reverse
I have friends who think the same. They're in for a huge shock if they ever have children.

This reminds me of my cousin and partner who couldn't wait for the baby to be born so they could get back to normal

Hilarious. 'We're so fed up with this pregnancy! Things will be so much easier after the baby is out!'.

Snort.

i don't have to pay £10 per hour for someone to babysit my dog...dog babysitting maxes out at £25 per 24 hours. He's a bargain!

Hmm.

Dogs can give you a flavour of what its like to have a dependent whose physical exercise and companionship needs you need to take care of.

But at the end of the day they are a lot simpler and you have much more control.

Dogs sleep (don't they? Does anyone have a dog that refuses to sleep).

They are happy to be fed. If you give a hungry dog some food they eat it thankfully. They don't have a major grump because they are hungry, ask you for toast and then have a tantrum because you cut it up the wrong way, chuck it on the floor and say they hate you.

Dogs do sleep, but not necessarily at the time you want them to.

Op I think you've definitely got a point.
I have a very difficult child and a clingy dog, there's lots of similarities!

I actually have to agree with you, certainly for the early days, and if you have had no really big responsibility before
Our puppy had us up late at night, during the night and early in the morning crying and wanting out to pee. I never let her out of my sight, feed her, made sure she had every thing she needed and gave her all my love.
Now I have a 12 week old baby I've noticed there really similarities!

A dog doesn't hang off your tit for 15 months.

Is your dog currently sat on your lap refusing to let you move (cup of tea juust out of reach) making a sort of "Ah wah dih dah nah..." whiney cry over and over whilst refusing to eat lunch. I bet he wont nap either, despite being very obviously tired.
On the other hand it's probably easier to cut a 2 year olds nails than a dogs.
I have pins and needles in my leg and I can't move. If it was my cat on my lap I'd have pushed her off by now without a second thought, but not the toddler.
You can't teach a dog to call people a silly sausage.

MargaretCavendish Wed 22-Jun-16 10:37:46- Laiste I think the man is desperately - desperately! - waiting for the day that your husband realises what he is passive-aggressively trying to tell him: stop boring childless people with accounts of your child and its tantrums.

So many assumptions. Projecting perhaps?

Our DD doesn't have tantrums for a start, why assume that? Plus DH doesn't give ''accounts'' about his life to anyone. He simply tells his mate on a Monday morning (building site) that he's had a tiring weekend with DD4 and the guy regales DH with boring accounts about life with his bloody dogs - and how much it must be like having a toddler. So stick that in your pipe.