A couple weeks ago Josh and I got a golden retriever puppy. His name is Thor and he’s about 3 months old now. I’ve been told a few times that having a puppy is good practice for having kids. Well, I still haven’t had kids but the following are the top things I think are similar for puppies and kids:
1. Getting up at night
Lucky for us the stage of getting up every few hours to let Thor relieve his bladder was pretty short. About a week. I don’t think it will be that short with a baby! Also, it only took 5 minutes from leaving bed to back in bed. And either Josh or I could do it. So…not too similar!
2. Disciplining
We want to have a good dog someday. That means training and being consistent. Talking to each other about what words and techniques we’re using when we take him for walks. It’s hard to be consistent when you feel like you keep saying the same word over and over again (ie. heel). It’s also hard to always be stern when he’s really cute.
One difference here though, once he’s trained, he’ll be a good dog for life. Can’t say that much for our future kids…
3. People who would never have shown that they notice you now smile and even stop and chat
Both puppies and babies are great ice breakers! There are several people who I wouldn’t normally talk to who have said things like “Wow, he’s growing!” or “Golden retriever? I had a dog once…” or “My wife wants a puppy like yours every time she sees him.” I guess people notice more than I realized!
So yes, I think we are learning a few things about parenting (even though we do not refer to Thor as our child, or each other as mommy and daddy). And I’m thankful for the new avenue of connecting with people. I hope that can happen more and more!
the.happenings 