Do babies and puppies mix?

[Scheherezade]

I've always been a big big lover of irish Water Spaniels, had a few as a child and friends with a couple of breeders.

I'm not working, and would absolutely LOVE to get a puppy to bring to our little country cottage to keep our young, active terrier x company (he's very very good with other dogs, lives part time with MIL and her elderly girl). OH is also tempted by the idea, but our thinking is timing... I'm 18 weeks pregnant, due mid October.

I'd love to have a puppy now - to train it these next 5 months and maybe learn about working it as a gundog. But is it a bad idea to have a puppy when there is a baby due? Apparently a friend of a friend has a litter due soon, so the puppy would still be quite young when baby comes, though I suppose the advantage of getting puppy first is that I can housetrain it.

 

[Scheherezade]

Or would it be worth waiting another year, till baby is 6 months old or so? Bearing in mind we are stuck with our little dog now anyway! And nobody could convince me to part with him

 

[littlemisslauren]

No advice I'm afraid. I am trying to work out the whole baby / new puppy timings myself.

A friend of mine got a puppy when her baby was about 6 months, I thought it would all end in tears but they get on brilliantly! The baby is now nearly two and demands her 'dogdog' goes everywhere with her and the dog is very patient with her. I do think my friend was very lucky with temperment of the pup.

 

[Booboos]

I can't advise re the baby, but ask me again in 4 weeks time! The one thing I can say about the pregnancy though is that even with no serious problems it is a very difficult time. The 'normal' complaints, e.g. nausea, fatigue, nosebleeds, swollen ankles, headaches, back pain, etc. are bad enough and I would never want to add a puppy to them (and there is no one more dog crazy than me!). All my friends are saying that the first few months of the new baby you get absolutely no sleep either, so that may add to the general stress. So if you go from sleepless nights with the puppy to sleepless nights with the baby it may turn out to be a bit too much!

 

[Clodagh]

I think it would be a nightmare! When you have your first baby you also get a bit of 'lioness syndrome' and for a week or so will probably have hysterics if the puppy looks at the baby...or maybe that was just me! You will be tired, irritable and unreasonable.

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

Dunno really, I am inclined to say probably better to get puppy now so you can go through all the new born puppy stuff before you have new born baby stuff......

6mth old babies are a nightmare they are rolling around crawling, best not for baby to be rolling around in dog wee and poo lol... also baby will be teething around this time and be full of colds and grumpy.. also I used to walk the streets alot when mine were that age, best to do that with a partly trained puppy than a new one who is awaiting vaccs etc.... only you can decide really?

I think younger children say 1-3 are much harder on puppies, I was forever telling my 1 yr old not to lean on the dogs etc or pull at them, ears are a fascination with babies!
xx

 

[Scheherezade]

Ach you're all right. I'll just add it to my list of daydreams for the future, including having horses again, a massive horsebox and a silver cross pram

 

[echodomino]

I don't think there is a problem with it, the two will grow up together and the child will grow up to learn how to behave properly around dogs.

I can't speak from personal experience as I haven't got children but my mum had dogs before I was born and had another not long after (he was a puppy) and never had any problems, well except my Nana telling her the dogs would have to go now I was due - to which mum said under no uncertain terms - no they wouldn't! Lol.

I suppose only you know what you can cope with, agree with the above post that it would probably be easier to start a pup now though

 

[SusieT]

IMo depends on your setup and how practical/easily stressed you are! If you have a small flat/house and nowhere nice to pop the puppy (and I would get one now if I was getting one and confident that it wouldn't be a case of 'oh dear..need to rehome as I'm pregnant)I wouldn't. If younhave plenty of space and are onfident in your ability to train pup to be a decent doggy being by the time baby is born, don't see why not
Have you thought about the fact dog will be hitting boisterous 18month.2yr old stage about time baby starts walking?

 

[Scheherezade]

We have a decent sized house and fantastic garden - lots of trees and hedges and bushes, and we live right out in the country, our garden opens onto endless fields and woodland covered in footpaths.

I know baby getting knocked about could be an issue. But my mum was a single parent and went back to work when I was 1 year old, and for the next 5 years i went to my childminder everyday - who breeds IWS and I got used to tails across face and getting knocked down! But it is an issue to consider.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I would not recommend an IWS in that set-up, no, sorry

I'd wait until everything is settled and baby is a good age. As mentioned in another thread, having a puppy and a baby is pretty much the same as having an extra baby to keep an eye on.

 

[quirky]

No, I wouldn't get a puppy until your child was a little older.
Get used to life with a little one around before getting one I'd say .

 

[Scheherezade]

I would not recommend an IWS in that set-up, no, sorry
.

That's ok - i appreciate the honesty!
x

 

[Broodle]

I don't have children (so take my advice with a pinch of salt!), but the OH and I are planning a family and we decided early on that we wanted to get the puppy stage over and done with before moving on to the baby stage. Personally, I think I'd rather be dealing with the early puppy months without children around to complicate matters and drain my attention. Also, early socialisation and training of puppies is so important, and realistically you are likely to have more time now rather than with a baby around.

So, if I were you I would go for the puppy now option. Congratulations on the pregnancy

PS Slight disclaimer is that I know literally nothing about Irish Water Spaniels, their temperaments, or how easy they are likely to be to train etc.

 

[Scheherezade]

Oh dear, so mixed responses then! OH is likely to put his foot down on this and decide against, so that makes it easier!

Have had IWS all my life, and we'd be getting a bitch so I'm pretty used to them! Clever, stubborn and big daft doofus' is the general norm

 

[Brownmare]

Well my son is now 3 and we had 2 mature dogs before I got pregnant (4and 6 at the time). I worked to the 8th month of pregnancy so life was normal until I popped then I'm sad to say the dogs did get pushed to the sidelines rather but mostly because i had postnatal depression for the first 6 months and this was despite my OH being able to cone home at lunchtime and give me a breather! I was glad though that we had 2 together because they could play together in the garden and when i was uptairs for what seemed like HOURS trying to get baby to sleep they at least had each other for company.

Last year we got a rescue dog - I deliberately chose a young adult dog because my son would have had a field day with puppy poo and we happened to end up with a dog who had grown up with children. I have to say he is sooo much more relaxed with my son than the other two so I think on all counts I would say it is better to wait until your baby is at least a year old. I for one would hate to have a teenage dog at the stage where he suddenly "forgets" all his training with a tiny baby to care for and in all honesty your priority WILL be the baby at that point.

Sorry to be a voice of gloom but, as my mum says, you can have it all - just not all at once