# Raising a puppy vs raising a baby



## ZiggytheSheprador (May 6, 2015)

Ok so some of you may know we recently rescued a sheprador (possibly a malador). He's definitely been a handful trying to lay the ground work for an obedient dog. He's 5 months now and we're also expecting a baby in October. 

In discussing our puppy issues with some of our friends who are also new parents, I feel like we're discussing similar experiences but I'd hate to compare our dog with their baby. 

For those who have raised both, would you say raising a puppy was easier, harder or about the same as raising a baby?


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Well, it would have been against the law for me to crate my daughter when I wasn't home. It would have been easier than hauling her with me, but society frowns on stuff like that.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Baby is a thousand times harder. You will laugh at this question when you have yours,


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Lilie said:


> Well, it would have been against the law for me to crate my daughter when I wasn't home. It would have been easier than hauling her with me, but society frowns on stuff like that.


 100%!! Been saying for years that the problem with children is you can't crate them, and most lack obedience training. Although my son did get stuck in Sabs puppy crate once.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

....and I don't think dog poop ever made me hack up my lunch.


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## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

I'm probably the only one to think this, but I think babies are way easier. And I could nurse in my sleep, so overnights were generally easy for me. Overnights with pups, nope, unless you train yourself to sleep walk to take the puppy potty all night long


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I'm fairly certain my daughter could have given the best landshark a run for it's money during that wonderful phase.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

About the same,but the kids never chewed up my shoes or scattered the contents of the trash can


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## wick (Mar 7, 2015)

On a funnier note, imagine if we had to worry about our children being "kid reactive" and every time they saw one they began screaming and lunging till we drag them away  For some reason this just made me laugh so hard my stomach hurts.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Never really gave much thought into teaching my daughter to ring a bell every time she had to go to the bathroom. Opportunities lost.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

ZiggytheSheprador said:


> Ok so some of you may know we recently rescued a sheprador (possibly a malador). He's definitely been a handful trying to lay the ground work for an obedient dog. He's 5 months now and we're also expecting a baby in October.
> 
> In discussing our puppy issues with some of our friends who are also new parents, I feel like we're discussing similar experiences but I'd hate to compare our dog with their baby.
> 
> For those who have raised both, would you say raising a puppy was easier, harder or about the same as raising a baby?


Real blunt here because its something I think is pretty important Ziggy, there's no comparison. He's a dog. The best thing for you guys to do right now is really concentrate on your training with your puppy. Do everything you can to teach him to be the best behaved dog possible, before you have the baby. And congratulations.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Steve is dead on.

This is a dog, no comparison. Respect the species he is.


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

I'd definitely say the puppy was "harder" than a newborn. 

You're just a lot more sleep-deprived with a baby, which can often make you more emotional, and obviously the dog matures quicker.


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## ZiggytheSheprador (May 6, 2015)

i appreciate the honest responses. like everything else, it seems the response would be it depends. when i posed the question, i know the comparison really isn't fair to either, but i couldn't help but smile and think all the corrections, rewards and ...experiences parallel each other.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> Baby is a thousand times harder. You will laugh at this question when you have yours,


There is a reason why I have a puppy and do not want a baby! I don't need to experience the baby to grasp that truth!

I'd say the experiences sound alike in some ways and are totally different in others. Some parents get super offended - like to an absolutely comical degree - if you make the comparison, other parents will beat you to the punch and make it for you.

Common themes across the two experiences seem to be a need for responsibility, structure, and sacrifice. The manifestations just won't look the same for a puppy vs a baby or be to the same degree.

One thing I've noticed is that there's not only "mommy wars" but "dog owner wars." It's exasperating but humorous to me how there is this whole culture around dog ownership much like parenthood and it is just as fraught with judgment as parenting is. I'm totally guilty of it, too, so I'm trying to back off and keep my judgment strictly inside my head (as opposed to unverbalized but probably expressed by my facial expressions).


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## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

Wick, I just imagined that in my head when I read your comment, and I cannot stop laughing. Especially since I have a 3 & 5yr old that I could imagine doing just that with each other. Oh what a world that would be!


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

wick said:


> On a funnier note, imagine if we had to worry about our children being "kid reactive" and every time they saw one they began screaming and lunging till we drag them away  For some reason this just made me laugh so hard my stomach hurts.


Hahaha... I'm imagining all the parents in our neighborhood working out schedules for when little Timmy can safely play outside without little Suzy losing her mind because she sees little Timmy. Oh man. Thanks for this.


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## AnneJet (Jul 8, 2015)

I married at 18 and had a baby by 19 and was utterly clueless about anything baby. I read a lot and figured it out, but the one thing I realized and continued to practice throughout my son's life from pretty much day one was consistency. 

I'd read it was important for a variety of reasons, and it made sense, and I had good success. So years later when I got a puppy and began to raise her, I read a lot, took puppy classes, read some more, and quickly heard myself saying, "Raising my puppy is like raising my son!" I think it's very similar -

Gentleness, kindness, firmness, consistency, love, clear boundaries, letting them know when what they're doing is right and wrong, reward, positive AND negative reinforcement - it works the same way for humans and canines. 

With a later dog, I tried the new trend in training by shaping behavior, rewards, and ignoring the negatives, hoping the puppy would figure out what I wanted, and what an utter mess I made of my dog's first year! Finally I threw away all the new books and ignored the new trainers and went back to my common sense approach of communicating directly. My dog was so relieved. I could actually see her relax because rather than ignore a behavior, I would gently tell her , "Nope," or "Hmmm, not really," or and lower my voice, perhaps shaking my head, have eye contact and she'd stop. I'd redirect and make sure to praise her lavishly when I saw her doing things I wanted her to do any time during the day. I never let a teaching opportunity pass.

I had done this with my son and then my first puppy with great results, and when I went back to this method with my second puppy, all was well again.

So to answer your question again - I think the basics are very similar when raising a child and a puppy if you are after connection and loving relationship-building. It's a huge commitment, and I don't get puppies with much relish because I know the first year will be nothing but focusing on the puppy to ensure s/he gets a strong foundation, so we can all live together cohesively for the next 15 years, but oh, it is so worth it. 

And yes, my son, he's turned out pretty well, too!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

It was easier to get my mom to watch my daughter, then it was to get ANYONE to watch my puppy.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

Baby is definitely harder over here, but totally agree with what you're saying. You can't throw a baby in a crate, but the basic principals of how we as animals learn is really all the same, haha! Having dog experience first SERIOUSLY helped with my kid. That is, until he grew to be past the consciousness level of a dog, then I was way out of my comfort zone! Hahaha! 

If you haven't looked into it already, I'd suggest picking up Colleen Pellar's book, "Raising Kids and Dogs". It's really fantastic for every stage you're going to go through, including prepping for baby to come home.

Congrats, and good luck with everything!


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Lilie said:


> It was easier to get my mom to watch my daughter, then it was to get ANYONE to watch my puppy.


I don't have any kids BUT ... this is SOOOO true! People lined up to babysit my nephew but NO ONE ever wanted to look after Kyleigh!


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Entertaining to read the responses. I don't have children yet, though I suspect in the next year or so that will change. When my sister had her first daughter, I found I was giving her parenting advice based off of how I raised Titan, though I never told her. LOL. I would just say "have you tried...." :wild:


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Our kids were easy and so were our dogs that I got as pups (or adults for that matter). I also raised them together. If you are a fair and consistent trainer you can also raise your kids well. (MHO). Both are a lot of work, it is not always easy but totally worth it as both will bring you a ton of joy. I didn't mind their dirty diapers, vomit or what not. Same as with the dogs. As long as they are your own 
To the OP; get as much done with this pup asap so you'll have an easier time once your baby arrives. He is a dog and your baby is human so don't compare the two. Be prepared that after the birth your dog will not change his own needs. He won't understand that you have been up all night and need to sleep if the baby sleeps. I would get some people lined up who can work with the pup after your birth and before to get them both aquainted.


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## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

wick said:


> On a funnier note, imagine if we had to worry about our children being "kid reactive" and every time they saw one they began screaming and lunging till we drag them away  For some reason this just made me laugh so hard my stomach hurts.


I don't even have kids and this still made me laugh.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

AnneJet said:


> I married at 18 and had a baby by 19 and was utterly clueless about anything baby. I read a lot and figured it out, but the one thing I realized and continued to practice throughout my son's life from pretty much day one was consistency.
> 
> I'd read it was important for a variety of reasons, and it made sense, and I had good success. So years later when I got a puppy and began to raise her, I read a lot, took puppy classes, read some more, and quickly heard myself saying, "Raising my puppy is like raising my son!" I think it's very similar -
> 
> ...


Agreed! You wrote the post I would have written if you hadn't beaten me to it. Actually, much better than I would have written it, but anyway...


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## AnneJet (Jul 8, 2015)

newlie said:


> Agreed! You wrote the post I would have written if you hadn't beaten me to it. Actually, much better than I would have written it, but anyway...


Ah, great Newlie! It's always reassuring to find a kindred spirit. Did you see the youtube video that another member posted recently? It's about how to clean an "aggressive" GSD's ears. The handler is absolutely lovely. I've been reading so many posts that I have no idea who to give credit to for posting this video, but I thank him or her. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2v8b_mEmTg


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

AnneJet said:


> Ah, great Newlie! It's always reassuring to find a kindred spirit. Did you see the youtube video that another member posted recently? It's about how to clean an "aggressive" GSD's ears. The handler is absolutely lovely. I've been reading so many posts that I have no idea who to give credit to for posting this video, but I thank him or her.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2v8b_mEmTg


 Yes, it's a great video. I had to start out doing Newlie's ears with my fingers, too, but he wasn't growling or anything, he would just wrestle to get away. The longer I had him, the more he would trust me and allow me to do. He has come a long way, although he still wants nothing to do with anything that has a nozzle.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Kids bite other kids all the time, at least then nobody gets put down.


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## familydag5 (Jan 24, 2015)

Oh my gosh babies are much harder than puppies! It's apples and oranges.


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## ZiggytheSheprador (May 6, 2015)

Whatever I said about pups and babies I take it all back


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

ZiggytheSheprador said:


> Whatever I said about pups and babies I take it all back


So congrats are in order and it looks like the baby has a furry guardian too


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## mjackson0902 (Sep 14, 2015)

That picture is too sweet. I am going to say my pup was harder to raise, however my pup is now helping me herd my kids lol. I have four children and bath and bed time is a chore for them so LJ helps me herd them into the rooms where they need to go. I really need to video it. All I have to say is "its bedtime" and LJ springs into action!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

A word of caution about the automatic baby swings as posted in Ziggy's picture: there have been instances in which the family dog has attacked the baby while it was in motion. See this article or google for others:
USATODAY.com - Coroner: Baby swings can trigger a dog attack
Never, ever leave a baby alone with a dog.... any dog.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

ZiggytheSheprador said:


> Whatever I said about pups and babies I take it all back


Hahahahahahaha!!! This is too funny!!! Congrats!!


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## d4mmo (Mar 27, 2013)

As some one who has had a baby boy in the last month, i had to laugh at this question.
I had my pup sitting, staying, drop, come and most importantly quiet within in a week. 

i still haven't figured out how to get my new born to stop crying


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## ZiggytheSheprador (May 6, 2015)

wolfy dog said:


> A word of caution about the automatic baby swings as posted in Ziggy's picture: there have been instances in which the family dog has attacked the baby while it was in motion. See this article or google for others:
> USATODAY.com - Coroner: Baby swings can trigger a dog attack
> Never, ever leave a baby alone with a dog.... any dog.


thanks for this article. we haven't used it since. seemed unlikely that it would happen but i'm sure the others would have thought the same.


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