So my partner and I are planning to start a family in the near future.
We are also keen to have a dog in our lives. I have had dogs growing up we now regularly dogsit for a friend's dog when they are away on holiday. We both work from home much of the time and know (from the dogsitting) that a dog would fit nicely into the rhythm of our lives. I've given a lot of thought to the next dog I'd like to have and know I would want to rehome a young adult dog from a rescue. The major thing putting us off rehoming now is that we know we want to start a family soon and I'm not sure how the two would tally.
I guess what I am seeking advice about is the realities/practicalities of having a dog and then starting a family. Obviously I know all about the hard work of taking care of a dog, but I don't know from experience about having children yet (though I am very involved with my friend's babies/young children and know how lifechanging it is). I am aware that lots of dogs end up in rescue precisely because someone can't cope with dog + young child and that rescues are rightly wary of this happening (for me, getting rid of a dog is an unthinkable prospect - a dog is for life, which is why I'm really thinking this through). Is getting a dog before you have children just a bad idea full stop? Or, with your eyes open is it perfectly doable? What should we be thinking about?
Part of me thinks that it's a shame to have so many nice dogs sitting in rescue when we have a good home here, and at least a year to settle a dog into our lives before any babies. What think the wise women of the Doghouse?
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Getting a rescue dog / starting a family
8 replies
Quodlibet · 05/05/2012 14:51
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