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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Young children and a dog?

12 replies

Imsosorryalan · 04/09/2012 15:22

Am I mad to consider getting a young dog/puppy with a 4 year old and a 20 month old?
We've never had a dog but have been around mums dog.
Please tell me it's really hard work to it me off!!

OP posts:

WTFwasthat · 04/09/2012 16:58

IT'S really hard work! There, has that dissuaded you

shoutymcshoutsmum · 04/09/2012 17:55

I did it with a 6 year old, a 3 year old and a 18 month old. Yes, it was hard work for a dozen reasons. I am glad I did it but......dog would definitely have been better trained if I had had time just me and the dog. Still wouldn't give him back though xx

NimpyWindowMash · 04/09/2012 18:01

If you have a garden it's not too bad. Don't get too worked up about hygiene as your toddler will sit in the dog basket, play in the dogs water and they will probably share toys

DizzyKipper · 05/09/2012 10:27

My mum got a puppy when sister was 8, DB 6, and me and other DB were 4. I'm sure it was hard work for her but it really was lovely for all of us.

stowsettler · 05/09/2012 12:18

Yes you're mad. But if you do it I doubt if you'd regret it. Dogs are ace

mrsmarzipan · 06/09/2012 20:25

It is very very hard work. We got a puppy two months ago and my dd is 5, ds is 3 and other ds is 8 months old. She is a gorgeous, good natured intelligent black lab. I wouldn't do it again as much as I love her. Wait until kids are older and you can give her all the attention she needs. My kids love our pup but they do view her as a toy and I have to work very hard to keep the house calm!

sununu · 06/09/2012 20:33

my youngest is 4, and when we have had babies and toddlers over I have been glad that we waited that long to be honest - he's just that much higher and more stable than a toddler. our smaller visitors always seem to get food snaffled out of their fists or a wagging tail in their eye when they're sitting on the rug, but I'm sure if dog and baby are actually sharing a household you have things better organised to give each their own space. actually even with bigger kids it was a godsend to divide the kitchen using our old playpen.
dogs + kids in general though are great!

reddaisy · 06/09/2012 20:33

I would LOVE a dog as we always had a dog growing up but we just do not have the time or the money at the moment.

I have just talked myself out of it for now by asking myself - on the difficult days with the kids where I feel like the house will never be tidy and we are all tired and grumpy - whether I would actually be able to cope with a dog on top of all the stress. The answer was no so far!

discrete · 06/09/2012 20:37

It is really really hard work for the first year - and then it's all worthwhile.

I got dog 1 when ds1 was just under 2, dog 2 when ds1 was 4 and ds2 was 1 and I don't regret it for a second (although I have cursed many a time in the early days).

Booboostoo · 06/09/2012 21:42

Probably yes. A puppy is in many respects like a baby/toddler, for example the puppy may keep you up at night crying or needing the toilet, the puppy will need a lot of supervision to learn the 'rules of the house' (what it can and cannot chew, where it can and cannot sleep, what it can and cannot climb on, etc.), the puppy will have mad energy moment when you will have to drop everything and take it for a walk, the puppy will need a lot of time spent on socialisation and training. A puppy is not quite as demanding as a baby/toddler but on the other hand hormones don't kick in quite as strongly and you don't love them (and forgive them) quite as much.

Having said, I got a puppy and DD is 15 months. However, we had 4 dogs till recently when we lost two elderly ones, so I needed to replenish the numbers!

AllOverIt · 06/09/2012 22:13

We got a cocker spaniel puppy when DS was nearly 5 and DD was 2 and a half. Hard work - YES! But we all love her to bits. She is mental though, but then so are my DC

BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger · 06/09/2012 22:21

We got our rescue Wei when DS was 2.5. As she was also 2.5 it was really easy

Sadly she died suddenly (gastric torsion) 2 years ago. We said we would leave it 6m before we got another dog. 3 weeks later we got a puppy.

Fast forward a bit and we now have DS 7, DD 3, BigDog who is nearly two and a 4mo GSD.

It is hard work but my reasoning is I am tied to the house with nursery and school pick ups so this is the best time for us to have young dogs. In a few years when I think about returning to work full time the pooches will be older and more settled, so I won't feel as bad if I need to sort out a rota of visitors/dog walkers/popping home at lunch which I wouldn't even consider with young dogs.

So yes it is probably a crazy idea, but it worked for us. As long as you realise it is like having extra children!

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