- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I don't have kiddos yet so I can't speak from personal experience but I think that the main thing with dogs is structuring your life differently. Making sure you feed them on time, get them outside and exercise, but they're so low maintenance compared to kids. Mine are lying on my lap and on my feet right now, I'm pretty sure kiddos would be running a muck and I wouldn't have as much time on WB! :)
I'm probably a bad judge because we don't have kids, but I will say that having pets has really taught us how to budget and self-sacrifice. They eat first, always. We've had to make hard decisions (putting one of our young cats down) and definitely had to learn how to discipline - we can't have one person be the "fun parent" with a 1,000 lb Mustang!
I don't have any kids either, but maybe a dog would help in some ways because you are responsible for feeding and caring for a living thing. But I'm sure my dog is MUCH less maintenance than a child. My dog also doesn't wake up crying in the middle of the night, and she costs a lot less money. I certainly don't feel anymore ready for a child after having my dog though.
I think so!!
We got our puppy last July and I'd imagine it's fairly close to caring for a child. The first few months we were up with him 4-5 times every night and we never, ever left him alone. We felt as though we were caring for an infant.
That being said obviously parenting a child has many more challenges than parenting a puppy, but I do think a couple that can successfully parent a rambunctious puppy would be better prepared for a baby.
Dont have kids yet but I think in some ways it does prepare you but I dont think you can ever be fully prepared for parenthood!! I think learning that you have to care for something else and that your day isnt always about you is a good thing pets help with. Also, cleaning up messes, making other arrangements when traveling and having to go to the doctor and/or emergency room are all things you will have to deal with as a parent so maybe having a pet may take the shock factor away from those things but I think its probably 100% different when you have a child!
i have a daughter and three cats and one dog. i always have cats. before i got pregnant we got a kitten and a baby bird. the kitten wasnt that much work, at leat for me because i already had another cat, and my oldest cast was like a foster dad for that kitty. but the baby bird was a whole full work. we took him with us to collage because we need it to feed him every two hours with a little special bottle. we did that for three months. we took turns in collage to take care of him. some hours i will have the bird with me and other he will have it. it was a lot of work. up to this day the bird still alive and living with my step dad in puerto rico. he is 8yo today. that experience prepare us for our daughter
No.
I love my dog, but it isn't a baby substitute. They don't compare to the all-consuming animal drive/need to protect a baby, to the time commitment, to the expense, to the months of exhaustion, to the decades of worry you face as a parent. Even more than marriage, it is the event that most changes your life. I don't live for my dog, but parents live for their children. When you have that baby, it isn't about you anymore.
And you can't leave them at home unwatched for hours.
I definitely think it teaches you a lot about sacrifice/changing your lifestyle to take care of someone/something else. I don't have kids, but I have two dogs (including one 7 week old puppy!) and FI and I have learned a lot about sacrificing sleep/things we want to do to take care of the dogs!
I stayed with my sister the first few weeks she had a baby. I was shell shocked. It is absolutely nothing like having a puppy. A puppy you feed twice a day. A baby-well you feed it every two hours for twenty four hours a day. That pretty much takes up your whole life. Even if you don't nurse you still are pretty much doing nothing except trying to sneak in a nap and feeding. I mean honestly i came home and said I did not want children. it was scary and overwhelming to watch.
Definitely not even close.
But, a baby is the most wonderful thing in the world, and it's a million times worth the self-sacrifices.
Our dog has taught me that it's not all about me. I have to wake up early enough in the morning to take her out and fix her food bowl. And I can't just come home and collapse, I have to take her for a walk because she's half chihuahua, half jack russell so she has A LOT of energy to burn. She might not have prepared me for kids but she's taught me a lot.
I don't think it is very comparable but I do think that it is a good step to teach self sacrifice, time management, and caring for someone besides yourself & SO.
I can't wait to get a puppy :)
I don't think anyone would argue that it perfectly prepares you for caring for a human baby. But I think caring for a pet definitely shares a lot of the same qualities as caring for a human baby. Not only do you have to make sure you can afford its food, litter, and medical expenses, you need to make sure it's fed at the right times, that you can come home to take it out frequently enough (if it's a dog), you need to learn about training it (ie "raising it") properly, and you need to constantly be on the look-out for symptoms of sickness, injuries, and changes in behavior. And when they get sick, you need to devote yourself to nursing them back to health. It demands a lot of you.
Side note, FI said he couldn't have ever imagine me being a mother till he saw how maternal I was with my cats, heh.
don't have kids... but i feel like it could be a good first step, without getting the full feel of it. you have to make some sacrifices for your pup, make sure you're there to walk him and feed him, budget for him, clean up after him. but as others have said, it's way less than what you have to do for a baby. that's a full time job, a dog is part time.
Where is Bellenga on this one?? She knows what goes into raising a parrot and how high maintenance and senstive they are! I also have a puppy and two cats. I have to say they definitely are a lot of work and I can't be gone all day long and do exactly what I want when I want like I used to in college (where my only responsibility was myself) but I can't say they have prepared me for Children because I simply don't have that personal experience.
I have plenty of experience when it comes to raising animals, but none raising children. But I imagine raising pets has to prepare you in some way because you simply have to put others first and your responsibilities change.
Oh heck no! My puppy was NOTHING like my child! For one, you can leave a puppy alone, especially after they are house broke. You can shower, leave the house, stay out at night, do whatever you want when you have animals (just as long as you take care of them first!) but not so with a kid! And disciplining an animal is way different than a kid. Having pets did not prepare me for a child one bit!
I don't think it prepares you for being a parent but I think it's a good transitional phase. You are responsible for another living thing that relies on you for everything. While it's not remotely the same as having a child, there's a mindset there that some people do not have before they have a pet of their own and I think it makes a good stepping stone before parenthood.
IMO it may not be comparable to having a child, but as some have said it's probably a good transitional phase. I don't have kids, but I do have a dog, and I think it at least gives you a taste of what it's like to be resposible for a vulnerable, living, breathing thing. I tell my dog that I love her all the time, I worry about her running out on the road, and I do everything I can to make sure she gets proper health care, the best food, lots of exercise, toys and a backyard to run around - she gets everything and more that a dog deserves - she my daughter! Like was said before - we do make sacrafices for our pets.. maybe not to the magnitude that we would for our own child, but like I was saying it gives you a little taste. Heck we had to sell our car and buy an SUV so we could keep a crate in the car for her (she was a chewer as a puppy, and was destroying our car if we ever had to leave her alone for 5 minutes!). Anyways, that's my 2 cents!
I don't have kids, but when we got our 10 week old puppy I was often comparing her to like having a baby! In the way that the puppy woke me up early like at 4-5am to go to the bathroom.. We had to take her outside to the bathroom every 1-2 hours because she wasn't fully house trained yet.. (She couldn't sleep throughout the night). I was constantly watching her 24/7 so she wouldn't get into trouble.. I only took naps when she did otherwise I was watching her.. I was exhausted during the first month and cranky.. Also I took her on multiple walks a day since she had so much energy.. Then I would try and teach her tricks.. Brought her to obeidence classes etc..
But now obviously it isn't like that beacuse she grew up and is house trained and we can leave her alone and she doesn't have any accidents in the house. I know obviously you bring a baby with you always.. But it taught me that I have to be mindful of her like not leaving her home for a long time and letting her out.. That I make sure she has everything she needs..
My FMIL calls our puppy her "grand furdaughter" and spoils her a lot.. But hey she also wants real grand kids too but oh well she has to wait ;)
My brother and quite a few friends have babies now and I know it is 100% more work and effort with a baby.. But I felt having a puppy is a good stepping stone to knowing having to care for something else other than yourself.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Brielle | 44 |
| ndreighton | 29 |
 vorpalette |
29 |
| caseyleigh10 | 26 |
| les105 | 24 |
| ellisrobertson | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| fishbone | 23 |
| lionskitty | 22 |
| SouthernGirl | 21 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| NehaPrasad92 | 5 |
| Cady | 5 |
| abbyful | 3 |
| jaguar | 3 |
| Irish Terrier | 3 |
| takemyhand | 3 |
| Mjubeck | 3 |
| SouthernGirl | 2 |
| Bichon Frise | 2 |
| mtrl01 | 2 |
I’ve heard lots of couples joke after marrying about getting a puppy before having a kid. Do you think owning a pet prepares you for parenthood? Why or why not?