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Original poster

Am I completely nuts to consider a puppy with a 10mo?

92 replies

doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 11:50

DH and I have been talking about getting a dog for a long time. DD is 4 and DS is 10mo.

We would love a puppy soon - before the summer - but we are novice dog owners (looked after dogs, but never had our own) and oh yes there is the thought of DS crawling about, probably through piles of puppy crap.

Obviously we would need to look at gentle patient breeds who are tolerant of children too - been doing some research on that as well.

Positive stories and/or cautionary tales wanted please!

TIA

OP posts:
bella29 · 22/04/2009 11:54

You won't be able to go anywhere for more than an hour or two for the first 6 months.

After that you can go out for 4 hours max.

Puppy will need taking outside for a wee every hour for the first few months, plus a couple of times at night.

Puppy will chew everything left in its reach.

Those are the negatives that spring to mind.

If you can cope, why not?

bella29 · 22/04/2009 11:56

Then there's the walking, with a toddler/pushchair. in the cold and wet too...

(am I sounding really negative here?)

Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 11:57

I think we can cope. (Actually it would be DH doing the coping as he is SAHD and he seems to be up for it)

It's chaos in our house anyway most of the time. It would be adding to the existing madness - I think that would be dealable with.

Has anyone got any experience?

OP posts:
Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 11:58

Well I need the negatives bella!

I don't want to get carried away by Google image cuteness and do something rash.

OP posts:
RubyrubyrubyRubis · 22/04/2009 12:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 12:08

Ruby, did you have dc when you got the puppy? What age were they, if so?

OP posts:
RubyrubyrubyRubis · 22/04/2009 12:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

countingto10 · 22/04/2009 12:22

Rehoming my puppy at the end of May because my 4 yr old and 6 yr old DSs are awful with him. The puppy keeps nipping and chasing them (encouraged by them), I've caught them tormenting him as well.

Unfortunately the kids will not leave him alone and now they are paying the consequences. They know he is going to another home now. He is great with slightly older kids and adults but I think it is just the age of my youngest two.

I had a dog before I had my 1st DS and the dog was about 18 months old when my eldest was born and I had no problems at all so I thought as my youngest was now 4 it would be lovely to have a family dog. My old one was put to sleep 6 years ago.

It is a shame, the dog is lovely but he is going to be a big dog and I can't run the risk of an incident (biting) through no fault of the dog. He is going to a lovely home with a retired couple and their older dog which is the best I could have hoped for.

Think about how your 4 yr old is going to be and type of dog you want.

My cousin also had to rehome her dog (young puppy about the same age as mine) because of her kids who were about the same age as my youngest.

bella29 · 22/04/2009 12:23

I've had dogs and puppies all my life and wouldn't ever be without them but I thought it was worthwhile pointing out how time consuming they are, especially at the start. A lot of people don't realise exactly what they are letting themselves in for.

Got my latest puppy when dd was 4 and ds 6 - I must admit dc's being older made it much easier to give puppy the time he needed.

Having said that, if DH is willing and you already have a chaotic life (just like us!) then why not?

Crates are a godsend btw

LongDroopyBoobyLady · 22/04/2009 12:24

My youngest was 6 months old when we got our puppy (6 years ago) and I can't say it made any difference to the workload or chaos in the house but I didn't realise just how guilty we would feel when we leave him on his own. He pretty much does come everywhere with us (except shopping in town) so we have nothing to feel guilty about but looking at his little face as we close the door...

Oooh and there's one thing that really annoys me about him. He's not a barker so when he does bark there's usually a reason for it but it always seems to be in the dead of night!

bella29 · 22/04/2009 12:24

xpost with countingto10 - how sad for you

RubyrubyrubyRubis · 22/04/2009 12:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MadameCastafiore · 22/04/2009 12:28

We waited until our youngest was 4 - you have to watch then constantly when they are you (the puppy) to see the signs that they are going to poo or wee and then take them to where you want them to do their business.

Our pup is 7 months now - she has never chewed anything that didn't belong to her other than a few buckets (of the buckets and spade type) that the DCs had left out in the garden, she only goes to the loo in one part of the garden where the DCs don't play and she is a joy.

We have a huge crate for her, take her on lots of long walks so she doesn't get bored. only feed her dried food so she doesn't smell so much and we made her realise she was the lowest in the pecking order in the house from the start so she has never gone for either of the kids or their friends.

She is actually a joy most of the time. Wait till your youngest is a bit older though it is stressful at first and some dogs take forever to be trained and you don't want an untrained dog around a child that is so small and isn't in a way trained either.

LongDroopyBoobyLady · 22/04/2009 12:32

Madame raises a really good point about being last in the pecking order.

bella29 · 22/04/2009 13:06

No, please, I cannot bear it!

Are people still spouting the completely disproven and outdated pack theories?

Please, please read:

here

gemmummy · 22/04/2009 13:14

hi we got our lab puppy in feb when my ds was16mo. i don't know if we've been lucky but she's brilliant, she gets left during the day but i work close to home so she gets let out for an hour every lunchtime and long walk in the evening. My dh away a lot, but izzy is fab, and i can walk her and the pushchair no worries. As for housetraining, get a crate, that is the best thing you could do for the puppy as it also gives it a refuge when the chikdren are too much. Your children and your dog both have to be trained to live together. My pup does still chew, but mainly my plants i've just put in she just likes uprooting them! She is a very placid animal, I think we've been very lucky as most pups are more active but she's a joy and my ds loves carrying her food bowl (and eating the biscuits when I'm not looking) he sits next to her in the living room to read his books. It's time consuming, me and my dh took a lot of time off work to settle her in, thats important too.

MadameCastafiore · 22/04/2009 14:11

Maybe Bella but we never got up in the night to take our dog to the loo so you obviously aren't Barbara Woodhouse afterall!

MmeLindt · 22/04/2009 14:25

We got our puppy just before Xmas. DD is almost 7yo, DS is 4yo.

She was housetrained in a reasonably short time, has never chewed anything except her own toys, could be left for up to 4 or 5 hours from about 5 months.

DS was a bit of a rowdy with her to begin with but soon settled down. She loved DD to bits and often sleeps in her room (not on her bed, although DD does try to sneak her on there)

I would say that you have to allow lots of time in the first 3 or 4 months, these are the crucial months that decide whether the dog is going to be happy with you and if you and your family can live with the dog.

I must say, that if I had 2 boys like DS then I think that the outcome may have been different, similar to Countingto10's story.

We have a Maltese Terrier x Cavalier King Charles and she is absolutley fabulous. As are her brothers who still live in the village, they are all very good with children.

countingto10 · 22/04/2009 16:08

I'm glad you said that MmeLindt - it just confirms to me that I am doing the right thing for the dog.

We will get to see him fairly regularly too which will be great but it's going to break my heart when he goes because he is lovely.

I caught my 3 youngest DSs (9,6 & 4) all cuddling him on one of their beds this morning and I thought it might work but then this afternoon, I caught the two youngest yet again tormenting him , this time by throwing sand at him and on him and they were only alone with him in the garden for a couple of minutes.

Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 16:24

Just typed a huge long post and it disappeared harumph.

Thanks for responses - Mme Lindt your dog is absolutely gorgeous. So cute!

Countingto10 that is what I'm worried about. I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you.

OP posts:
Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 16:27

DD (4) is hyper and always has to be told to leave DS alone. She is very well meaning, but tries to cuddle him, pick him up, pull his arms and legs about etc. She gets too rough just from excitement.

She would be exactly the same with a pup now I come to think about it.

Maybe we have to wait a while??

DH and I have just about talked ourselves into it - reading up on training, discussed crates etc - but we are both pretty cautious by nature. We would have to be 100% sure.

OP posts:
bella29 · 22/04/2009 16:33

MadameCastafiore - not quite sure what I have done to provoke such venom but I am a bit

Original poster
doggiesayswoof · 22/04/2009 16:40

bella what kind of dog do you have at the moment?

(I thought Madame C was joking btw - haven't read your link though as I've not had time)

OP posts:
countingto10 · 22/04/2009 17:08

doggiesayswoof, if you are constantly watching your DD with your DS, you will be doing the same with a puppy and they have very sharp teeth. They seem to copy the behaviour of the child ie if you have rowdy children, you will have a rowdy, excitable puppy unfortunately, as we have found to our cost.

I have been very fortunate to find a good home for mine without going through rescue agencies which is a blessing.

MmeLindt · 22/04/2009 17:46

Counting
I don't know about the DC affecting the puppy so that the pup becomes too high strung. DS is pretty excitable, and DD can be too. Our puppy just learnt to wander off or hide behind me if it got to much for her. She was always a bit timid, although she has come out of her shell.

I do sometimes even now have to seperate the children and the dog as a my 4yo DS still finds it a bit difficult to control his excitement and he gets the dog too excited and she starts nipping. In this case the dog is put in a different room or I hold her on my knee for a bit to calm her down.

Saying that, our Ddog is a small dog and reasonably easily controlled. I can see that with a bigger dog that it would be more difficult.

Doggiesayswoof
What kind of dog where you thinking about? I think that is very important in the decision making process.