Hello I’m looking for some advice on crate training a puppy and having a newborn at the same time and wondered if anyone had a similar experience and could offer any advice. Basically we are wanting to get a Labrador puppy to coincide with my maternity leave. I had a Labrador growing up and absolutely adore dogs but have never got one due to always working full time. As I am now pregnant and due in March 2016 I will have a full 1 year maternity leave and then will be going back to work after that part time. Both myself and my husband would love to get a dog to add to our new family and as this is probably the only time (until we retire!) that someone will always be in the house for a full year it seems like the perfect time to get and train a puppy! I know that it’s going to be hard work with a newborn and a puppy at the same time and I’m not under-estimating this but I believe the benefits will far outweigh the hardship in the long term. I’m just concerned that it might be totally impracticable! My main concern is how long it generally takes to crate train a puppy to the point where I can determine when we go out for walks/to toilet? Obviously with a new baby then I won’t be able to just drop everything and take the puppy out straight away if it poos/pees in the house so I will need it to be at the stage where it can hold its bladder until me and the baby are ready to go out. If we made sure we got the puppy mid February at approx at 8 weeks old when I start maternity leave early then this would give approx 4 weeks with the puppy to crate train before the baby arrives. After that my husband would be home to help for a further 3 weeks giving us 7 weeks to train and the puppy would be approx 15 weeks old. After this point I would be home alone during the day with a 15 week old puppy and a new baby which I know is hard work but if all goes to plan with the training should the puppy be able to wait until we are ready to take it out? Any advice/comments on this would be much appreciated! Nicola
Three words - don't do it! Your first baby is 100 times more hard work than you can ever imagine. Your first puppy is 1000 times harder work than you can ever imagine (just like a baby with no nappies and VERY sharp teeth, which they use to great effect!) Having had six dogs, three Lab and Lab/GR puppies and two babies in my lifetime I can't say it strongly enough - don't do it.
Hi! I haven't had a human baby yet (due in January) but I have had a new puppy in my first trimester of pregnancy and I can honestly say it was 100 times harder than I thought it would be. From all that I have spoken to, those last few weeks of pregnancy you tend to feel like a whale so I can't imagine trying to look after a new puppy then. Perhaps it might be easier to get a couple of months of human parenthood under your belt and then consider adding a puppy to the family. Good luck with your decisions ☺
I agree. I don't have any kids, but have seen plenty of friends with newborns. I was as prepared as possible for my puppy's arrival, but OMG! It is seriously (no, seriously, seriously) hard work! And I had a relatively easy puppy! I work from home, so could give her all the time in the world, but still, you just cannot prepare yourself for how disruptive they are. You just will not have the time you need to focus on both your baby and the puppy, so something will end up giving. To answer your main question, all puppies are different. At 15 weeks, Willow was still not able to hold her bladder for very long, and still needed regular toilet trips. She probably needed to go outside about ten times a day. Shadow was far better, but still had a few mishaps. When they are awake, you have to watch them like a hawk, all the time. That's a lot of attention. When you don't watch, trouble happens. Sorry to be a Negative Nelly because puppies are great, really great, but I really, really think this is a bad plan!
Hi , good advice here and I would agree 100% . My children all grew up with dogs, but I never had a puppy and a new baby at the same time , both are tremendously hard work , quite exhausting at times . When my last baby was born in 1976, the dog I had then was four years old and I found this tiring enough , to ensure that the needs of my baby were met and that my dog didn't miss out on his walks . I truly advise you to wait , for everyones sake .
Hi, I agree with all the advice above. I would never eve consider having a puppy and then in a matter of weeks having a newborn in the house. I know with my first, who was born 4 weeks prematurely, I had my hands full just feeding him, changing him and getting him settled without the demands of a puppy for toileting, playing, walking and training. With a puppy it's not just about crate training and toileting there's a whole world of training to embark upon, it's not a four week event before the baby is born. Not to mention the crocopup stage just as you bring home a new baby.
Hi, please please don't do it, if not for yours or the babies sake, don't do it for the puppies sake. My puppy is 15 weeks old and we got him at 8 weeks, and it's harder work than any of my children. Yes he crate trained and toilet trained really easily but the rest of the time, you need eyes in the back of your head. Oh and the crocopup stage would be in full swing when your baby is born and it is tough and rather painful. Wait until your child is older otherwise you run the great risk of the upset at maybe having to rehome your puppy. Babies are very demanding and they aren't babies forever, ENJOY your baby and maybe more than one baby first, knowing that in the future you will have the chance, even working part time to give a puppy a loving home. My puppy is 95.5% a true Angel but that .5% of crocopup is really difficult and he doesn't do this to any schedule. Yes he's our first puppy, and we have a lot to learn but if you are in the position to make a choice, which you are, definitely wait. Good luck with your baby and I wish you all the best, I don't want to burst your happy bubble but do take the advice given on here by much more experienced dog owners than me.
Yep, don't do it. There are a thousand other challenges with a puppy besides toilet training and this goes on for months, not just the first 15 weeks.
I have to agree with the others, I am afraid. Indeed, I don't think any really responsible breeder would sell a puppy to you, knowing that you are going to be totally and utterly busy already with your tiny human bundle!!! There will be other times in your life when a puppy will fit in with your family - for instance once your children are older and can help with walking the dog and can really enjoy him/her - but now is really not the right time - not for you, your baby, or for the puppy.
Well, swerve the puppy bit, it took me until my 6 week check to venture out the house with my baby on my own! The thought of doing all the baby bits as well as the puppy stuff......... Sorry if you feel we have scared you off, but its the truth.
My lab was a year old when I brought my baby home and that was ok - just Riley got short rations on walks and attention for a good while bless him. He was pretty stoical but he is a calm dog generally. Some dogs would have been completely mental with what he put up with for the first month or even two. I've just gone through the puppy stage with a toddler and that's been really hard. Teaching her to leave the dog alone because the dog still needs to learn quite a bit of self control and can easily hurt her without meaning to is an ongoing challenge.
I don't have kids, so while I'm tempted to wonder just how hard it can be, it's sensible to listen to those who have some experience of human babies. On a more positive note, you do not have to wait years for a puppy just because you will be going back to work - I work, and got a pupply. It takes a LOT of planning to arrange cover and care when the puppy is small, but what with puppy care, puppy day care, puppy creche...dog walkers....a bit of help from friends and family, a bit of time off work...and so on, perfectly do-able.
It sounds like a perfectly good plan when you just say it, however, I have to agree with everyone! I have a 12 week old lab and he is WAAYYYY more work than I could have ever anticipated. Right now he is incredibly bitey and I cannot imagine having all kinds of nice baby things around him, he would eat it all simply because he just doesn't understand yet. I don't have any kids of my own but I have heard from several puppy owners that they think their puppy is 100 times worse than a newborn baby because along with all of the regular baby stuff that they share in common, puppies bite and don't wear a diaper! I don't know what the best time period would be, but I would say definitely either a puppy a few months before the baby comes or maybe a few months afterwards, but definitely not at the same time unless you want to go absolutely crazy!
Hi, you have had good advice here. You really need to focus on your baby and not be distracted by a pup. What if your baby has colic, sleep problems, health problems. What if you have a rough delivery, prolonged hospital stay or you feel poorly afterwards. Then walking a buggy/toddler with a bouncy adolescent lab !! It's just a recipe for disaster all round. You would be much better waiting until your child is old enough to enjoy having a dog as a family member. Just wait and enjoy your baby. Emma Mum Of twins age 7, Meg and Jasper (my 4th and 5th dog )and health visitor
I'm so sorry but I have to agree with everyone elses views. I have 4 children and all were premature ranging from 4 weeks to 7 weeks premature, I had very prolonged stays in hospital with serious pregnancy conditions with 2 of my babies and they were all in special care for some weeks, my youngest being re-admitted to Intensive Care with a serious lung condition. I can't imagine the extra stress worrying about a puppy. You just don't know what's going to happen, how tired you will be and the adjustment to taking care of a tiny little person is huge. You want to enjoy this very special time with your baby and not be worrying about walking a puppy, not to mention it would need to go to training classes, socialisation etc. We waited until our youngest child was 7 before we got our first dog so all of our children could help with Hattie, feeding, grooming, walking, playing just everything. My daughter was 13 at the time and we both took Hattie to puppy and then onto obedience classes so we shared the enjoyment of training. A neighbour of mine had a newborn and an 8 week old Labrador plus 2 small children and to watch her trying to manage them all was horrible and to this day 9 years on she still doesn't walk her dog very much, and I'm guessing she got into bad habits when the baby was born. You can always get a puppy a few years from now but you will never have the very precious time back with your baby Of course it's totally up to you and only you know what you can manage, but I wish you all the luck in the world with your pregnancy and your baby. Please let us know how you are and what you decide to do. Helen xxx
My niece's husband bought a Springer spaniel puppy when my niece was pregnant with twins (!) Bryn was 5 months old when the twins were born - we looked after him during the birth and for the first week, he's a lovely boy. At home he had a kennel and run outside where my niece had no choice but to put him when they came back from a walk as he was always wet and muddy - she had no time to sort both dog and babies out. She has a barrier across the main room they all spend their time in, Bryn is often on the other side from everyone else The twins are two and a half years old now and fine together with the dog - except that he keeps getting their toys, so he still often ends up at the other side of the barrier. He's a great dog and a super gun dog for my niece and her husband - but he never had the attention a pup deserves imo. He is hopeless and scared in traffic as there was never any time to carry him out and socialise him. Labrador puppies are much, much more bitey than springers. Twiglet is 18 weeks old now and there is no way on earth I could feed a baby while she was in the same room. And some babies take hours to feed! Small pups need watching ALL the time - which would be impossible with a newborn around. When the twins visit us both Labs (2 year old and 18 week old) have to be on their leads or they would knock the twins over. I have a pup every year (I'm a puppy walker for guide dogs) and by the time the new pup comes I have forgotten how full on the first five months are! I say it again - DON'T DO IT!!
NicLouP, I hope you are not feeling too down about the advice you've got... I know you mentioned that this may be your only chance to get a puppy, but never say never, an opportunity might present itself in future. And as Julie mentioned things like daycare open up a lot of possibilities for a time when your baby is older. Wishing you all the best for your pregnancy and the arrival of your baby.
Hi Thanks everyone for your honest opinions. I have taken everything on board and it would seem that it's not the best idea for the baby or the puppy so i'll no longer be doing it. Thanks again and for the good wishes. ;-) Nicola
This is so true. We always wanted a big dog like a Lab, but my parents always cared for our dogs while we were at work - so we had smaller dogs they could manage. So it wasn't until we retired that we got Tatze, who is now two years old. It was worth the 40 year wait!! I have always had dogs, but the Labs have made me dog-obsessed like no other lol! I also wish you all the very best. If you do get a Lab still come on here - you will get lots of advice from folk who have 'been there'
I agree. "Please do not do it" . I have 3 year old and we got a puppy, first few weeks were HARD to say the least . When my daughter was an infant , I had to give my 100% attention to her and it is the same with puppy for his few months. My daughter has so many scratch marks now, eventhough Rocky is so nice with her, sometimes just when he touches her, she gets scratches (kids have such delicate skin), I can't imagine how it would be with newborn I am not sure , how you will be able to manage both, unless you have some help 24/7.
