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AIBU?

Is a puppy harder to raise than a newborn?

88 replies

KeepCalmLadybird · 15/04/2017 23:37

I had ds around 8 months ago. At the same time my friend got a new puppy. We were texting one day to see how the other one was getting on. She made a comment along the lines of 'a puppy is harder work than a newborn' mainly because of their energy, toilet training etc. I didn't make any comment on it at the time but have thought about it a few times since. I was so tired at the time, emotional and recovering from a traumatic birth and was a bit taken aback.

AIBU to think a newborn is harder than a puppy? I am happy to be told IABU as I've never had a puppy before so don't know what it entails really! I just can't imagine having that newborn fog, all emotions and no sleep with a puppy. Although I guess some babies are easier than others, same with puppies probably.

The reason I have been thinking about it today is because she is due her first baby soon and I just wonder if her mind might change.

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justdontevenfuckingstart · 16/04/2017 17:32

Our little Boo nearly broke our relationship. When we got Sam he was even worse (was ignored because it was his dog) They are now 4 and 2. They were definitely harder than kids.
It's no defence, we are way softer with the dogs than children so totally our fault.
I also don't agree with what hist said but we're all different and that's just my feeling.

isthistoonosy · 16/04/2017 17:29

We had dc1, 8 months later got a puppy, 8 months after that had dc2.
Barely remember the puppy being any bother at all tbh. A couple of weeks sleeping downstairs with it and waking to let it out at night and that was it really.
If only babies were that east.

ToothTrauma · 16/04/2017 17:28

I think having a puppy is probably MORE like having a newborn than some other baby animals. But - I don't have DC - I'm not sure I think one is really much like the other at all.

histinyhandsarefrozen · 16/04/2017 17:25

Ooooh.

GinIsIn · 16/04/2017 17:24

histinyhands if you did zero research and didn't care about getting a puppy, you really aren't cut out to own a dog.

histinyhandsarefrozen · 16/04/2017 17:18

With my babies, i worried, I cared, I researched, I feared the worst, i hoped, I dreamt, I felt guilt- and of course that tremendous petrifying love. I want to be the best I can for them.

With the puppy? Nah, just need to make sure he's walked. It's so piss easy compared to the mind-fuck of child rearing, I find even the comparison perculiar.

Kitsandkids · 16/04/2017 17:11

I'm glad it's not just me who finds puppies hard! I've just been out for a couple of hours with the kids and pup in the pouring rain. The kids would have been fine staying in but I couldn't stand the thought of an evening in with the dog if he hadn't had a walk!

GrimDamnFanjo · 16/04/2017 16:21

Hmmm different things to compare but I thought my puppy was harder. I may have had an easy baby and a difficult puppy though!

TiredMumToTwo · 16/04/2017 16:18

Widdlin - shit & piss everywhere for 7 months??? I've house trained a number of puppies & all have had it cracked by 5 months, most by 4.

RiversrunWoodville · 16/04/2017 14:44

Actually tbf I can see her point, we currently have 4 dogs 2 of whom we've had since pups and have previously had many others and have 2 dds, dd1 was a preemie and although a good sleeper was a terrible eater and a little delayed in some milestones and is currently awaiting testing for SEN, dd2 co sleeps although I use the sleeps part lightly but somehow I find that I found them easier to cope with than puppies.

OutComeTheWolves · 16/04/2017 14:39

I have a very easy baby & my dog is a right pain in the arse so I'd be tempted to agree with her.
The only aspect of the dog that's easier is that I can leave the dog alone in the house. It's frowned upon when you do that to babies!

Hoppinggreen · 16/04/2017 14:37

Newborns bite less but you cant pop them in a cage while you go out for a few hours

Badgoushk · 16/04/2017 14:33

I found our puppy harder than my two newborns. But we had the puppy first so there was the new loss of freedom to deal with.

SparklyUnicornPoo · 16/04/2017 14:31

Hm, having 2 DC and had a few puppies, yes a puppy is harder than a newborn, newborns don't piss everywhere, or chew everything with their tiny razor teeth, they don't find the tiny gap in the fence (seriously I swear puppies can shrink themselves to get through gaps i can't even see) newborns don't slip off the lead or jump up at people, or steal food off the counter and no newborn has ever made me get out of bed at 3am to take them out in the pouring rain for a wee.

Toddlers however are definitely worse than puppies.

WiddlinDiddling · 16/04/2017 14:21

If you've not had both to compare then its possible someone might find a difficult puppy harder than an easy newborn.

Or not.

Everyone is different.

So puppies, done properly, are full on, 24 hours a day for the first three or four months and then a bit easier and by about 6/7 months should be able to spend some time alone (of course lots of people just leave them alone but those tend to be my clients in 12 to 18 months time so let them carry on or I'd have no business)...

Puppies unlike newborns, generally can't be taken everywhere and people are generally a lot less sympathetic to your need for help if you have a tiny puppy who can't be left, vs having a baby.

They shit and piss everywhere if you take your eye off the ball and will continue to do this for around 7 months and you cannot strap on a nappy.

On the other hand, you can leave them home alone if you are careful and put in the training, for around 3 to 4 hours by 8 months of age - it will be probably 12 years before you can do that with a baby.

You can also sell them in Loot if you have no morals and cant be arsed - you really can't do that with a baby, no matter how few morals you have!

Orangeseed · 16/04/2017 13:08

Admitted I have only had one dog from being 8 weeks (but had 2 dogs rescued at around 5 years) my current dog is the one we got as a pup and according to our dog trainer is 'the most hyperactive dog she has ever met!'.
Still a total breeze compared to my children as new borns.
Yes she needed watching like a hawk while she was toilet training and a few accidents here and there meant I needed a new carpet. I have to be ultra careful to move all toys, remotes, shoes etc or she will destroy them.
BUT I have never had to carry her with me when I make a cuppa or a sandwich, she doesn't want to be in a sling when I wash pots and clean up, I don't have to take a whole bag of essentials like nappies and spare clothes each time we leave the house. She has never kept me awake for days on end because she is ill or teething and if she barks a dog chew will shut her up for ages.
Seriously not even in the same league as a baby.

RainbowBriteRules · 16/04/2017 12:48

Hmmmm, I have two DC and we are contemplating a dog in the future. From seeing friends with puppies I fully expect it to be harder with a puppy than it was with my babies if we did get a puppy. Also even when they grow up dogs need work, walks and you cannot leave them for long periods whereas children grow up and get more independent.

I really hope I am wrong though and that a puppy is much easier than a newborn.

histinyhandsarefrozen · 16/04/2017 12:46

They are such different levels of responsibility...
She is nuts.

TiredMumToTwo · 16/04/2017 12:43

YANBU, you can't leave a baby in a crate whilst you go to the pub for a break - or at least you shouldn't! Have had lots of puppies & two babies & there is absolutely no comparison, I've never had a night of broken sleep with a puppy.

Funnyface1 · 16/04/2017 12:37

What a joke!

burdog · 16/04/2017 12:14

It's not easy, but it's positively encouraged to lock your puppy in a cage overnight and leave them to cry, and bribe them with food to make them do what you want. With babies, less so.

DixieNormas · 16/04/2017 11:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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Wolfiefan · 16/04/2017 11:34

My enormous puppy just shat all over the boot of my lovely new car. And trampled it everywhere.
At least babies wear nappies.

arbrighton · 16/04/2017 11:30

I'm currently saying I wish we'd rather had another puppy rather than me getting pregnant.

We were quite lucky with DDog that she has always slept through, downstairs in her own bed, and we had very very few accidents and very little chewing.

Cherrysoup · 16/04/2017 11:22

Although there is also a trend to take on very young puppies. A 9 weeks old puppy should be with his mother IMO and being socialised with his brothers and sisters. 12 weeks should be the very minimum age to take the puppies away from their mother. Dogs need to learn that they are dogs instead of being taken away from their mothers too yoing and treated like human

Only mini breeds are supposed to stay with their dams til 12 weeks. 8 weeks is the new law being proposed, but I got my first at 7 weeks and he was easy. The second at 9 weeks was a devil. There's a crucial socialisation period between 8-12 weeks and you miss that if you get a puppy late.

Some puppies are weaned by under 4 weeks and mum is fed up up, especially if it's a big litter. 12 weeks is horrendous if there's 13 or so. Learning to be a dog? Do you mean bite inhibition etc? An owner can teach that.

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