To get a puppy, or not to get a puppy.

Hey Ladies,

I apologize in advance if this is not the right forum for this topic.

I am 24, DBF is 29. I am about 6 weeks pregnant and this was an unplanned pregnancy, huge surprise in fact. We are not married, and we wanted get married in a couple of years and then think about babies after a year or so of being married.. ANYWAYS, water under the bridge. I'm pregnant and we've embraced it and are now planning on being the best parents we can possibly be.

We just recently bought a house in the country and closing is coming up in December. We had planned on getting a Golden Retriever puppy shortly after moving into the house. We have been so looking forward to getting this puppy as we have been waiting for this moment for years. Well things have obviously changed now as when we move into our new home I will be entering my second trimester.

Would I be completely stupid to get my puppy 6 months before I am due to give birth? Would I be even more stupid to wait and get the puppy shortly after giving birth? Would the smartest thing to do be to wait for several years from ow or just not get a dog at all? I am very excited to be a mom because this was always something I wanted in life, but as this was an unplanned pregnancy the thought of losing the opportunity of getting the puppy I was so excited to get makes me pretty sad. Clearly i'm a huge animal lover and a dog is just something I can't imagine living without forever. I want to do what is best for my baby to be and my boyfriend and I, but also for the puppy.

I would appreciate any advice on this or similar experiences and what decisions were made and why.

Thanks  

ah. don't do it.
lol.
I am 38w, and we got a new puppy a couple weeks ago. I get so tired chasing the damn thing around... granted I'm further along, and it might be easier since you're not as far along....
but I also have a 3yr old... and a 3yr old dog...
yeah. wasn't happy with SO when he brought the puppy home..

I say go for it. By the time the baby arrives the puppy will have already been potty trained and all that good stuff which will make things way easier. You don't want to have the baby and then get the puppy.

Getting a puppy would be crazy right now IMO, but rescuing an young adult dog would be fine, as long as ya'll can afford it. We got out dog when I was about 6 months pregnant, and she is awesome. She was already house trained, and kid friendly, and very well behaved. She was only 10 months when we got her, so she still had some puppy in her but it was waaay easier to handle. We plan on getting a pup when the kids are a little older so they can be more involved with it.

i say go for it. you'll have 6 months with the puppy before the baby comes, and he should be housetrained by then at least. plus, when you have baby, he's gonna sleep most of the time anyway so you will still have time for the pup.

I got a puppy when I was 3 months pregnant. It wasn't a big deal. I would never ever get a puppy any time closer than 6 months to having a baby. It would be way too much work. But by the time a puppy is 6 months old, they can be very well trained already.

I suggest to get it as early in your pregnancy as possible so you can have the puppy somewhat trained. At 6 months a puppy should be potty trained and house broken not to chew/whatever. I have two dogs that are 3 years old so I'm lucky because they are already down with the routine. Research the breed though because I have to clean all the time my dogs shed fur like crazy. I do their grooming so it is cheaper and they are house dogs. To me if you are going to have a dog it should be in the house because they don't like to be alone. Be prepared for digging, poop eating, escapes, etc. I would not get a dog once the baby is born until he/she is around a year old. To me it is best to have older dogs or older baby so you aren't overwhelmed. Also have to think about the money aspect if that is an issue. One of my dogs has food allergies so her food is pricey. Natural Balance 30lbs is like $55 at petco. The bigger the dog the more they eat. Lastly they need exercise especially when they are young. I say go for it if you really want a dog and can manage it.

Puppies take time to train & they need attention too, if you feel lol you can be patient and train the puppy and still spend time go for it! It woul be so nice to have your child grow up along side the puppy! (My son was unfortunately allergic and we had to get rid of our dogs that we had for 6 years before our son came and it was totally devastating so waiting might not be a horrible idea either :-/, either way I hope the best for you guys!)

If you think you can train a puppy in 6 months and deal with a hyper puppy and NB then go for it. I honestly wouldn't and couldn't do it but if you think you'll be able to still give the puppy enough attention then have fun.

If you're going to get a puppy, I'd get it now and not wait for when the baby is born. We did that. Got our puppy at 6 weeks old when my son was 6 weeks old. Ohhhh my stars, it was hard having a newborn and potty training a puppy, lol. It's totally doable, but I would never do that to myself again.

I would wait a few years on the dog. We got our puppy a week before I found out I was pregnant. Between all the drs appointments, work, andpreparing for baby we barely had any time for the puppy. It only got worse once the baby arrived. Babies and puppies are both alot of work and it's been really hard to have both at the same time.

Quoting Soon 2B Mom of 2:" Getting a puppy would be crazy right now IMO, but rescuing an young adult dog would be fine, as long ... [snip!] ... it was waaay easier to handle. We plan on getting a pup when the kids are a little older so they can be more involved with it."

That is a good suggestion to adopt an older dog. One of mine is a rescue and he is great. The only thing was that he was used to getting on furniture which is a no-no in our house. Didn't take long to teach him not to do it though. Just bought him a doggie bed so now he uses that instead of trying to get on the couch. An older dog will have less energy which could be beneficial.

Got a puppy when I was in my second trimester and it was the stupidest thing I have ever done. She took forever to potty train and still had accidents after DD came. Plus, she still acted like a puppy which was hard to handle with a new baby. It really sucked when my dog would be chewing on a shoe or something and id have to stop feeding DD to discipline the dog. It was no fun.

Soooo, I would not suggest it at all unless you enjoy going crazy

I am a huge dog lover and I say if your dog is going to be an in side dog then do not buy it now. I think getting a puppy right before a baby is a very bad idea. I would wait until the baby is about a year old then get a puppy.

You will not be able to give this puppy as much love and attention as you want because you are going to be having a baby. You will need to find a sitter for the dog for the time you are in the hospital having the baby.

A puppy is a ton of work and so is a baby I think you would be happier and the dog will be happier if you hold off a little until you are settled in the home and in the roll of parenting.

I moved out of my fathers house, he kept the pets. and I am pet free for the first time ever! And im so happy! ( I love all our pets, really..but with a baby...i can't stand them!) And i will never be getting a pet ever. ever. They can be so loveable..but they make messes, hair, you never know the personality of the animal til you get one. They are just alot of work. and babies are a TON of work.
With that said..if someone held me down and told me i had to get a dog..i would probably pick a golden retriever lol.