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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

Getting a puppy while 24 weeks pregnant

64 replies

Bumble84 · 27/07/2020 18:28

Looking for advice. Would it be daft to get a puppy while 24 weeks pregnant? It would be a Labrador pup. We have a large house and garden but I’m wondering if it’s too much to take on. DH is very keen.

OP posts:

lakesidesummer · 27/07/2020 20:16

We got our dog when dc were four. It was like having another baby for a while.
The dc love the dog and can't really remember much of life before the dog arrived so you have years to go before your dc and dog won't grow up together if that makes sense.

carly2803 · 27/07/2020 20:38

you are nuts.

but if your partner is prepared to walk the dog every morning and night while you are tending to a newborn.....

teach the dog to walk nicely asap and it will be fine with pram and baby. You will walk your newborn loads (hopefully!), so the dog needs to walk nicely and betired out also.

i would be lost without my dogs !

carly2803 · 27/07/2020 20:38

you are nuts.

but if your partner is prepared to walk the dog every morning and night while you are tending to a newborn.....

teach the dog to walk nicely asap and it will be fine with pram and baby. You will walk your newborn loads (hopefully!), so the dog needs to walk nicely and betired out also.

i would be lost without my dogs !

Gingerninja4 · 27/07/2020 20:52

I would say no as life can throw curveball I would wait and see how you feel after baby born

.My daughter arrived early no way I coped with that and puppy and she was not a sleeper unlike my older ones.

I got our long waited dog when my youngest was 10 and for us that was right

tabulahrasa · 27/07/2020 21:12

If you’re already on a breeders waiting list - Just tell her and ask to stay in touch for when the baby is a better age...

tabulahrasa · 27/07/2020 21:14

Though, I have no idea why your breeder is a her lol, that’s a weird default.

MyFartWillGoOn · 27/07/2020 21:53

Ohhhh I feel for you I really do!

We have the most amazing Labrador (5yrs) and now A beautiful Ds (6 months). Seeing them together is amazing and I know that's what you're envisioning

But the reality of those first 6 months with our Labrador was a whirlwind. Sharp needle like teeth and claws with no control. Having to teach him how to be gentle and bite control.

Coming downstairs to poo and wee in the mornings while he learnt to toilet train. Getting up in the night to let him out (we slept downstairs with him for a week but are soft dog parents!!)

Then at around 6 months he hit the teenage phase and would have mad bouts of energy where he'd throw himself around and we'd have to shut him in a safe space to learn to calm down.

He is the most amazing dog now but I'd say until he was 18 months he was still learning and wouldn't be totally reliable on walks and I'd have to keep an eye on him.

Now I cast my mind back to those first few weeks with my DS and it was a crazy, horrible, amazing, life changing, depressing, exhilarating whirlwind, I would not have wanted a puppy as well!

DS at 6 months is now reaching for DDog and actively wanting to touch and stroke him but as a baby, he doesn't understand being gentle. We have to be super careful and watch all interaction and luckily DDog is a calm and gentle Labrador but I would still never take my eye off them. I don't know how I'd cope if he was still in the puppy phase!!

I know you've probably taken the advice now but perhaps look into Borrow My Dog or sites like that where you can take a dog for a walk and sort of foster it alongside the owner?

Best if luck with the baby!

Thirdlifecrisis · 28/07/2020 12:04

A lab will typically chew your entire house as soon as you leave the room, until it turns two. It's also like having a baby but no nappies. Don't give yourself the stress 🙂

Mostlylurkingiam · 13/08/2020 07:29

A puppy is a LOT of work and you'd need a good plan for when you were in labour/giving birth if you're not planning to do that at home. Would you consider an older rescue dog that would be less intense than a puppy.

strawberryplanting · 13/08/2020 07:30

Terrible idea. Wait until you've had the baby to see how much work they really are

Cauterize · 13/08/2020 08:07

I kept two puppies from a litter I bred when I was pregnant. I'm a very experienced dog owner and honestly it was so hard trying to balance their needs with the baby, which I absolutely did, but it took its toll.

I'm now six yrs down the line and everything worked out fine, the two pups (now dogs!) are incredibly special and I have a very close bond given that I also bred them. However, would I do it again? No.

My advice would be to wait five years.

HopelessSemantics · 13/08/2020 08:19

Even having an adult dog and a baby, which is my case right now, is hard work.

A puppy, especially a lab? Foolhardy at best.

IHTC · 13/08/2020 14:20

Don't do it!

Puppies are such hard work even when all of your attention is on them. Focus on one thing at a time for your own sanity and for the sake of the pup. Look after yourself and prepare for the arrival of your little one! You have so much to look forward to. xx

Motorina · 13/08/2020 21:50

I adore my dog. She's now 18 months, and asleep on my feet. She's a delight. But I cannot tell you how hard work the first 6 months were. Puppies are basically so cute because their owners would drown them if they weren't.

I have no personal experience, but I suspect babies are similar.

The two together?!? Ohhhh my.

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