A puppy & pregnant… am I crazy?

[apt72]

Pretty much as the title states! We are a family of 3 with a cat and a new puppy. For context, he’s 12 weeks old this week. I’ve just gone into my 12th week of pregnancy with baby no.2.

He’s quite the dream, listens very well and training wise we’re doing okay! I only lose the will to live a few times a day, which I imagine is normal with a puppy anyway - particularly with a 5 year old involved. 😂

We’ve always wanted a dog and felt it was the right time to get one, my TTC journey wasn’t as quick as I hoped but 2 days after securing pup I got two lines!

Has anyone else had a puppy and had a baby in such a close timeframe? Am I completely insane? He’ll be 9 months when baby comes. Would love to hear all stories. 🥹

Eek, but also congratulations!
Adolescence can be quite a challenging time - even if you have a very well trained puppy it can go out of the window during adolescence. What breed is your pup (as the onset and duration of the adolescent period can vary by breed)?

AwkwardPup is 5 now, but completely lost his (previously brilliant) recall from around 9-15 months so we had to go back to a longline. He needed a lot of input at the that age to reinforce his training and deal with boundary pushing (I remember him also deciding to dig up half my plants one day, completely out of the blue, and run around the garden with them...).

From a practical perspective, I had DC2 a few days ago and DH had to completely take over responsibility for walking the dog twice a day for the last 6 weeks or so as I couldn't actually bend / squat down to pick up poo, and my mobility was quite limited during late pregnancy. If you have a C section or difficult delivery you may be unable to manage walks for a good few weeks after too - so I'd suggest planning how you will handle this time period (DH/dog walker/reliable family or friends?) in advance.

Also, think about where puppy sleeps etc now and how that will work with baby. Better to make any changes well in advance of baby arriving.

Yes.

Wellllll… The couple people I know who had a puppy/baby combo soon gave up on the puppy! I waited til my kids were in school before we got one. I love dogs but you have rather put a lot on your plate at the same time.

@AwkwardPaws27 Haha! This is what I’ve been reading about with the teenager stage. He’s a show cocker spaniel, but a spaniel none the less.

I’ve already found and saved some contacts for doggy daycare and dog walking for the initial post partum stage so that we can relieve any pressures, but we have lots of support around us thankfully who are happy to help with child and fur child.

He is in the process of being crate trained, we are strictly not allowing him upstairs, to free roam when we’re out or to sleep in our bed. I’m working really hard to ensure all his training is what suits us for 6 months time as opposed to now.

You have no choice really so I am sure you will manage - I hope so for the pups sake as that will be the one that gets ingored or disposed of if it gets too much.

@mondaytosunday that’s sad! Our daughter is in school, we learnt that fertility isn’t a given and seemed to trick the universe by putting our energy into something else.

You know this wouldn’t have been well planned but you find yourself in the situation so need to make the best of it. I got our dog when second DC had just turned 4 and I felt it was too young. I’d been frustrated we couldn’t get a rescue but having been through it, I now understand why they wouldn’t home where there are kids under 5. My puppy blues were way worse than my baby blues! But you’ll at least be through the worst of that by time your baby is here.

@Hoppinggreen my original post doesn’t mention any form of “disposal”. I’m purely here to read of some experiences and hopefully a few positive outlooks so I can feel slightly less bonkers, if that’s okay?

@stickydough no puppy blues so far! But oh yes, I knew it would be a challenge for sure. 😂

Everyone I know that had a young dog and a baby ended up rehoming the dog - often to in-laws/parents.

Yes, nobody does think they will ever get rid of their dog when a pet arrives and still many do. You often see threads on here about it
BUT many do cope and hopefully you will be one of them, having a partner and/or family to help makes a big difference.

I think it’s a great time for you and puppy, by around 6 months old, puppy hopefully will have settled down. I know a couple of friends who have Show Cockers, one had her before baby, the other is childless. You already know they need a lot of exercise and stimulation. The idea of a dog walker later in pregnancy is a good idea, although my friend was still walking her dog twice a day, an hour each right up to day of delivery.

You'll be fine! Show cockers aren't like working cockers, they need exercise but not a huge amount.

Having a dog walker is a great idea though.

@Lennonjingles @DownhillTeaTray thank you for a positive spin! We’re an active family anyway but we chose the show for their slightly calmer personalities. I’ve barely sat down in 5 years with a neurodivergent child and that’s before the puppy joined us 😂 he also comes from therapy dog lines, although I’ve not researched the route of having him trained to be a therapy dog just yet. I like the idea!

A lot of people said that my B and SIL were mad for getting a puppy while TTC. They got a black Labrador, who is said to have been easily trained, and he's always been laidback. He was brilliant with the baby, because if DN cried, he'd take one of his toys over in the hope of cheering the baby up 😂

They're now both two, and are incredibly close... so much so that DN was quite lost without the dog when on holiday once! The dog was used as a leaning post when DN was learning to walk, likes to be involved with everything, and DN does their best with trying to throw the ball to keep the dog entertained sometimes!

It sounds like you are thinking and planning ahead with the training and settling in regime and lining up possibilities for outsourcing walking if you need it.

You might be pleasantly surprised as not all dogs have a challenging adolescence. My parents had 3 dogs (one quite young) when first baby was born and apparently no trouble at all, mum used to walk them all and push the pram too but that might have been very lucky! We never owned Cocker spaniels so don't know what they are like.

I had a show cocker when I was pregnant. One important thing to think about is where the dog goes when you're in labour/hospital. The recommendation at the time was to take the dog out of the house for a day or so, bring the baby into the house, and then bring the dog back into the house to meet the baby. So the dog is less territorial.

We also gave the dog (who was staying with a friend of ours) a blanket from DD's basket, so the dog could get used to her scent before coming home.

ETA: My friend had been primed that the minute I went into labour, she would come and get the dog. It just took a whole load of hassle off our hands.

If you were debating getting a puppy while pregnant I'd say no, but as you've already got the dog and are settling in to puppy-hood, I'm sure you'll make it work! And hopefully they'll grow up together being great mates.

I'm days away from 1st baby with an almost 4 year old labradoodle, she's not calmed down that much from puppy hood, but I think those first few months are the most challenging when they're nippy and have the most energy. I'd say focus on training pre baby, getting dog to learn away/leave commands, crate training a good idea, and outsource walks and training if you can. You've got a fair bit of time to nail the training so even if there's regression, you're in a good place! Good luck

Work on any separation anxiety NOW!

Training the pup is good. I hope you train the children too. That’s even more important. Cockers are among the top biting breeds ..and I have one I’d say would never bite, but I don’t have small children. Children have to learn to respect the dog. Don’t give a dog something to react to. Limit touching, watch for ear pulling and generally pushing dog boundaries. Obviously, there are different personalities in dogs, but assume the worst and train the children too.

Our puppy was 7 months old when our first baby arrived. By that time the puppy was toilet trained and had been through puppy school. He was also past the mouthing stage thank god. He was really put out when baby arrived and looked quite visibly depressed, but after a good long walk with just us and no pram he was fine again. It was absolutely lovely watching them both grow up together. We’ve just had our second baby and the dog couldn’t give two hoots about this one 🤣

Are you playing baby screaming /crying noises?
Will pup have a safe place the baby can’t get to?
Will you teach your child respect.

We have an 11 month old pup and although trained, she would dive all over a baby 🥴 or toddler. She’s muscly and wants to play. She’s lovely but OTT at times, body slam zoomies, that sort of thing. I don’t know how I’d manage, depends on the dog I guess.

My previous dog was five when I had DD and had calmed down but occasionally knocked her over. She loved him though, we had carpet, no coffee tables so could handle the odd bump.

Not the same but we had a cat and then got our first puppy when my youngest was 18 months. I enjoyed them all being little together, I like that the children have grown up with dogs. They are teens now and dog (plus another!) still here! It might be tricky at first but I’m sure you can cope and it will get easier as they both grow.

I picked up my pup on 10th January and gave birth on 10th November 😂 I also had a 2 year old, all was honestly fine he was 11 months by the time the baby arrived and had settled in fine I didn’t have any issues. This was 15 years ago, no longer have my doggo RIP 😢 but still have my 15 year old son 😅

I had a very similar time frame to you! The day before we collected our new puppy, we found out I was pregnant (march 25). We also had a one year old dog aswell. Both pugs so not a big breed but gosh i won't lie, having a puppy and being pregnant was tough in the final months but now baby is here it's not been so bad. First few weeks after babys arrival was tough but we soon adjusted and got into a routine.
How i see it, is that we're getting all the hard moments out the way and our boy will have two furry best friends when he's older.
Good luck and congratulations x