Getting a dog

You can be around. You mean touch? Never touch the puppies! I never did and I was not pregnant. My mom told me not to touch. Let her do the work. You shouldn’t interfere/intervene with the birth but you CAN be there. Nothing wrong with that. I was present when my husky had her puppies a few years ago before I had my boy🥰 the year after or year and a half. P.s you don’t want to intervene unless it is very necessary. Or an emergency…etc.. “Your dog won’t normally need help during her labour, and although it’s important to monitor her, it’s best not to examine her or attempt to help her give birth – interfering too much can cause problems after birth. If you’re worried your dog is having problems while whelping, it’s best to contact your vet.”

Not sure about question 1 but honestly if you really want the puppy and you're willing to put effort into training etc before baby is here then absolutely go for it, my baby loves my dog and is constantly laughing at him. Plus toilet training overnight, getting up and letting them out is like practice for getting up with baby 😂

i think you’ll be ok! my son was born on the 1st november and we got a puppy on the 17th december lol, there’s a week between them in age, and so far it’s been okay!! as long as you stay on top of training your pup should be absolutely fine by the time baby comes x

I don’t know about question 1 but we got a puppy when he was 2 months and I was 2-3 weeks. It was planned to get a puppy from beginning but omg it’s hard 😂. But now I’m near 39 weeks and my pup is 10 months wouldn’t be any happier. Especially on maternity leave I can’t imagine myself alone all day 😂. Don’t get me wrong he’s still a little devil and it is still tough as he’s still young but at the same time I can’t imagine not having him around. Xx

@Lisa I think MIL is on hand for emergency interventions so don’t think I’ll need to intervene at all. Previously I did think I can help if really emergency but now I’d like to be able to watch and be there if it’s not risky. This is really helpful thank you

@Kirsten this sounds so sweet. I’m sure they’re best friends!

I wish I could give a different answer, but I'm talking from personal experience and I have had dogs all my life, so didn't even think twice but if you can wait! A baby (especially if you are a first time mum) is hard work and a puppy is a huge responsibility they both are! And if I'm honest allow your self to enjoy the experience one at a time! That would be my advice! I've struggled with mum guilt with regards to my baby girl who is now 3 and my fur baby who is also 3 and now we have another one on the way in 2 weeks (human) it's A LOT of emotional heart space that these little one need and it can be really tough! Good luck! X

I wouldn't personally. I'd wait until the kids are older and can really appreciate a dog. When kids are 3-5+ they're also a lot easier to manage. Do you really want to resent a puppy because it woke up the newborn you'd just spent an hour trying to get to sleep? 🙈

We've had to rehome our puppy as I struggled as I found out I was pregnant not long after getting him, and I struggled so bad with training he wouldn't listen to me I was getting angry it was stressing me out and we ended up rehoming him as it wasn't far on the dog. But as others said if your will to keep up with the training as well as looking after a newborn I would say go for it 😊

I honestly wouldn’t. The stress of a new baby and adjusting to life in addition to a puppy that will need a LOT of guidance and training could be too much and not fair on puppy. The baby obviously should come first and you’ve no idea how your labour/birth/baby will be. My friend’s baby had colic and had to give her dog to her mum and dad for the first 2 months because she couldn’t cope. Best to wait till baby is a bit older and you can devote all your time to a puppy and baby will enjoy it more too x

Have you had a puppy before and are you aware of how exhausting they are? Then assuming you’re a FTM I can assure you that is a whole new level of walking dead exhaustion. Honestly our dogs got very little interaction the first few weeks we brought little one home. The lack of sleep for both of us was crippling. We were aware that might happen and had fully prepared the dogs for it and they are all fine but they are also all very well trained and older. I wouldn’t want a puppy with a newborn you would then have a toddler and a teenage dog. Dogs when they hit their teenage stage forget everything you have ever taught them and can be complete buggers. It’s when you need to be firm and consistent in your training which when you also have a one year old is going to be so difficult. Having a newborn with trained adult dogs is hard enough and even now at 5 months needs constant supervision and management and that’s only going to get worse over next couple of years.

@Lisa I had a totally different experience, if we left my dog be the first two or three pups would have died. Mum was terrified and didn’t want to be anywhere near them. She needed loads of love and reassurance. And the first puppy needed resuscitated, and the second we needed to break the sack. By the third she was getting in the hang of it, and we could leave her to it, just being in the room with her. With regards to the pregnancy. I can’t imagine anything in that situation is bad for you or baby - but check. It is stressful though. Same when the puppies are little, mum cleans up after them. It will be when they are a bit older if you have having to clean up after the puppies. I have stopped cleaning out the chickens as I heard their pop is bad for you, but still picking up my dog poop. I think it will be totally manageable with a puppy while pregnant. You just need to let them out a lot. Training when they are a little older will be hard work. Worth it though

@Jenny that sounds like a big dog and yes, you have to watch the puppies and I did! I didn’t get sleep for the whole month lol. Otherwise she would have squashed them and from experience yes, they do die if you not carefully watching them. My moms dog squashed one of the puppies.. sad! But for the birth, we didn’t have any complications. She had a very easy delivery/birth. She only had 5. She also had a semi easy pregnancy.. well, not so easy. She had nausea, regular pregnancy pains we go thru and her wobbles although she carried super small. Otherwise no complications! There was nothing to worry about. The vet said she was perfectly fine and not have to worry.

Labradors are the best dogs to get if that’s the breed you’re wanting - but they can be super hard to manage! We’ve had 2 and both of them only started to calm down once they turned about 18 months😅 they need lots of attention and exercise but if you’ve got the time to give then I don’t see why not! :)Our current lab is 10 months and whilst he’s trained in aspects like potty training and commands he’s still an absolute menace and can be so tiring some days, especially when you’re just wanting to rest!🙈 I’m not sure about the first question x

@Amber an absolute menace has made me laugh. I think we are going to skip this litter and just go to my in laws for doggy time. Breaks my heart but I’m not sure I can cope so best not to chance it. It’ll be a Labrador since that’s what the family has and will breed :)

@Christabel he’s a nightmare sometimes honestly!🫣 I don’t think i’d be able to cope with a newborn and a lab puppy but like i said it’s all down to what you think you can handle! everyone’s completely different!☺️