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suicide bi cop posted:Regarding my future baby, is it as big of a deal as you guys are making it out to be? A'ight, you're a guy, so I'll bet you have absolutely no clue what you're about to be getting into, even if you do the whole Minimal Daddy shtick where your wife does all the midnight feeding and changing and soothing (don't do that unless you want to be divorced afterward). You're still going to be incredibly sleep-deprived for probably 5 months straight. Add a puppy (just think of it as a second baby, you have to do a FUCKTON of work) or a brand new dog having to learn a new routine and perhaps have small behavior quirks to deal with, and guess what you have. A puppy or dog that is sent back to the breeder or shelter. There's a reason "We had a baby and don't have time for the dog" is basically an archetype for people getting rid of dogs. In addition, toddlers are basically sociopaths who are incapable of empathy before a certain age. Yes, you can teach a small child to be nice to a dog. Will they always be? Not a chance. My parents neglected their CAT once I came along. Don't get a dog until long past baby stage.
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Mar 19, 2015 07:51
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Superconsndar posted:You can't socialize out genetic traits duder 100% agree, just sharing my experience and yeah the dog is brindle which is against the breed standard blah blah blah and his ridge is pretty easy to miss. He is not winning any shows but whatever.
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Mar 19, 2015 14:50
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the ridge is a hideous genetic fuckup anyway.
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Mar 19, 2015 14:51
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it's basically a mild form of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spina_bifida
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Mar 19, 2015 14:53
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I have an (almost) grown rear end dog that I would probably end up having to rehome if I have a kid because I know for a fact that he will end up extremely neglected, because he is higher energy and more driven than my other two (and he is still significantly less high energy than any herding breed.) He'd end up sitting in my yard barely getting glanced at until he went nuts, I can p much guarantee, because high energy working dogs and infants mostly do not go together. I'm saying that as someone who pretty much just does animal poo poo 24/7- I'm nuts and will tolerate more management bullshit than most people when it comes to balancing dogs with my life, and I still know I wouldn't be able to do it without losing my mind. Wait till the kid is 5 and you've caught your breath from the whirlwind of parenting an infant/toddler and then get a gentle middle aged lab who enjoys being manhandled.
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Mar 19, 2015 17:38
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thatbastardken posted:the ridge is a hideous genetic fuckup anyway. Yep, I remember that from the documentary by the BBC about purebred dogs where they interviewed a Ridgeback breeder who admitted she was having problems finding a Vet to put down perfectly healthy puppies that didn't have a ridge because it was against the breed standard 
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Mar 19, 2015 18:01
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Adding to the don't get a dog crowd. Having a kid completely turns your world upside down. A friend of mine just got a dog last year for her 10 year old son, and this year "whoops! I'm pregnant!" She's now trying to find a home for this ugly rear end byb pom because it's too active for her + baby, and her son isn't stepping up to care for it. A loving pom. A high energy puppy + baby is a recipe for disaster. I don't care how prepared you think you'll be, it's still a bad idea. Don't add more stress to an already stressful, life changing event.
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Mar 19, 2015 18:02
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wtftastic posted:here is a dog you can run with: laughed irl
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Mar 19, 2015 18:27
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Get a dog now. And then don't have a baby ever.
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Mar 19, 2015 22:13
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~Rescue lady~ here and I'll just add to what everyone else is saying that Belgian Shepherds and ACDs are like some of the worst choices for a home with young kids. We get a ton of ACDs especially, but both breeds are on our "no homes with young kids" list by default unless they happen to be remarkably calm (which in my experience also means old), and we're not one of those shelters that is against having kids and dogs together and adopt to tons of families with young kids...just not those breeds. Both are notoriously bitey breeds. I know a Belgian who, as a puppy, used to like to say hello by jumping up and snapping in your face close enough to scare the hell out of me (she pinched me cheek once...and keep in mind, they're big dogs so even as puppies they can be pretty close in size to a toddler). And heelers are just bitey as gently caress. All of 3 mine are still mouthy, although they've been taught bite inhibition. One would be trustworthy around kids but the other two (who are the two that are more typical heeler in terms of drive...my chill one is a shelter dog from who knows what breeding) have a tendency to get over-excited and bite harder than they should. You should have seen my legs when I was teaching my red how to bike with me...anytime I'd praise her it would send her over the edge and she'd jump up and bite me hard enough to leave a pretty decent bruise through my pants. I mean, none of this is a huge deal in a home without kids. It's just playful happy nipping and isn't going to cause any serious harm, and they'll eventually learn not to do it. But when you introduce small children into the equation, stakes change a lot and suddenly "harmless" nipping becomes something that terrorizes the poor kids and gets the dog surrendered to the shelter because it bites. Even the most easygoing dog in the world will bite in the right circumstances, so I don't think getting a dog whose default setting is "bite" is a good idea with children. The amount we get surrendered because of exactly that issue (nipping/herding children) speaks to that. Also, if the only reason you're ruling out a GSD is because of ownership restrictions, you probably need to rule out Belgian Shepherds too. I have a GSD and it does restrict you a bit but it's not that big of a deal, but everywhere I've looked that restricts GSDs also restricts Belgian Shepherds/Malinois. I've never heard of laws against GSDs but homeowners' insurance policies and landlords that restrict breeds generally include similar types, at least where I live.
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Mar 19, 2015 23:28
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Even the most well-socialised dog can snap at a kid if they do toddler poo poo like pulling tails or putting fingers in mouths or shrieking. It's not fair to have dogs around kids at that age, because you have to supervise them 100% of the time so the dog ends up getting not enough attention. (Because it's easier to stick the dog out in the yard when Junior is playing.) I run puppy and dog basic training classes and get loads of families with small children and a lab/amstaff/collie/mix puppy. Most of them find it very stressful because puppies are naturally mouthy (how they learn to control their bite strength), jumpy (because it gets attention), pull on the lead (so you can't walk them with the stroller), among other things. It's a lot of work to get to the well-behaved three year old lab you see jogging around the neighbourhood. I wouldn't wish it on anyone with a young child. I also wouldn't wish it on the dog or the kid. I have a suggestion though. Ask a local rescue if you can foster a dog. You can foster one appropriate for your household as it is now, see how having a dog would change your daily life, and be able to pass it on to a new home before you have baby. You might even get through several before the baby, so you can see more what kind of dog works for both you and your wife. You might find that the super high energy breeds are actually too much for you; or you might find that they're the only ones that can keep up. Then you'll know what to look for when your kid is ready to start preschool and understands what "Be nice to the dog" means.
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Mar 23, 2015 18:30
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My parents had dogs when I was born. Black lab mixes (one was a rott/lab), god drat saints the both of them. Both were terrors as puppies though, and I don't think mom and dad could have handled both puppy and baby. They were 4 and 6 when I was born. And I feel terrible, but I am absolutely blanking on their names. I remember their faces perfectly though. Some of my earliest memories.
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Mar 24, 2015 06:04
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