thecatinthehat - Do you have room in your budget for a dog walker? Or have a friend or neighbor that could help you out?
You could have someone run/walk your dogs hard for 30-60 minutes which will help with their energy.
I do this for my BFF sometimes and his dog is *completely* different after a hard play session. He's a lot more nice to be around after he's totally worn down.
I remember reading this when it first came out. DD was an infant. I was so grossed out by the article. Now? I hate it even more. Watching DD fall in love with our dogs is one of my very favorite parts of parenting. She's just starting to try to help around the house, and her favorite things to do are prep the dogs' dinner and try to leash them up for walks. My dogs might not get as much attention as they used to, but they are still adored. So fuck you and your "near universal truth," lady.
Post by thecatinthehat on Jan 29, 2015 19:19:11 GMT -5
lime Thank you! We did this when we used to live in the mainland they were about half the price. Finances should get better in a couple months and we might be able to swing daycare for the first dog (our second dog is actually not as intense). We are just waiting to free up some money to also get a dog trainer come to the house (no classes nearby) to help us with our first dog. We previously had fighting issues with food between them but it was from the stress of the move. They still are not trusted to have toys but have thankfully been okay with the DS's toys. Overall our first dog has never been easy and just having two makes it worse. I complain a lot because sometimes I just don't feel like doing the work.
She has 3 kids and still hadn't figured out how to let go? I didn't think that was possible. Your 4 yr old can't wipe himself? You actually care that Legos are spilled? You still think spit up = puke? C'mon now. I actually get why she's too stressed out to be a good pet owner. I couldn't take care of 3 kids and a dog either. But she seems like the kind of mom who would feel just as frazzled without a dog because she cares too much about things that don't matter.
Post by penguingrrl on Jan 29, 2015 19:28:02 GMT -5
She's a fucking asshole. Any dog owners I knew who had kids still loved and cared for their pets, she just can't handle parenting if she feels that way.
Post by julianabixby on Jan 29, 2015 19:45:23 GMT -5
This is horrible. Poor dog for having to live with her. I don't have kids yet, but we had dogs growing up and my Dad and I always joked that my mom loved the dogs more than she loved us. I know things will change when we have kids, but Bailey was here first and I can't imagine not loving him like I do now.
3 boys 2 dogs here. And even in the midst of our unraveling overt the past year, not ONCE did I want to get rid of my dogs. (I'll admit I thought of rehoming for their safety at the worst of things)
Kids should make you appreciate dogs MORE. I can rely on two damn things in this house to fucking listen to me on a regular basis.
"Not gonna lie; I kind of keep expecting you to post one day that you threw down on someone who clearly had no idea that today was NOT THEIR DAY." ~dontcallmeshirley
She has 3 kids and still hadn't figured out how to let go? I didn't think that was possible. Your 4 yr old can't wipe himself? You actually care that Legos are spilled? You still think spit up = puke? C'mon now. I actually get why she's too stressed out to be a good pet owner. I couldn't take care of 3 kids and a dog either. But she seems like the kind of mom who would feel just as frazzled without a dog because she cares too much about things that don't matter.
Her kid dumped aaaaaaaaaaall the legos on the floor, probably after being told multiple times to stop doing that shit and she thinks the dog is her problem?
Fuck that bitch. Every time my kid's face lights up upon seeing one of the dogs first thing in the morning and delightedly squealing their name, it makes all their little annoying doggy habits and the care they require worth it. Even though they drive me nuts.
We have two dogs, two kids. Our dogs get a little less attention now, sure. But we also bought a one story house for our golden's hips, and got our huge back yard fenced immediately upon moving in for our lab. So, no, we don't love our dogs any less.
You guys sound like us. We bought the house we did because it has a huge backyard for future dogs to run around in...even though we didn't have dogs yet. And the two reasons we don't bedshare are because 1. it doesn't work for us and 2. we don't want to disturb the dogs' sleeping patterns, their lives have been disturbed enough by AJ
Post by jordancatalano4ever on Jan 29, 2015 21:18:52 GMT -5
I'm going to go against the grain here and say that she has a point and I think it's an honest point of view for some individuals to hear. If only that young couples who are planning on having children in the near future should consider this for the sake of the animals. Most of the young couples we know gave away their animals or treated their animals like shit post baby. Not all of course but most. I've remarked to my husband that I feel bad for our dog because she doesn't get anywhere near as much attention as she used to. With both of us having stressful demanding jobs and a four year old and nine month old she is just much lower on the priority list. Of course this lady portrays herself as a right asshole but it's also worthwhile to stimulate a discussion.
This was just posted on my FB with the comment "This is so true." It took everything in me to just hide the post from my wall and not go off on the idiot who posted it.
I would probably take more offense to this than the majority of things people balk at on fb. Unfriending would happen immediately.
I know I don't actually have a kid yet, but there is not a chance I won't love my dog after the baby gets here. I recognize she'll get less attention, but she won't be loved any less.
eta: Also, my parents had a golden they raised from birth (they had to bottle feed him because his mother didn't produce milk) before either my sister or I came along. I can still remember my dad all out sobbing when they put him down. They loved that dog like they love their children and he had an amazing life.
Post by hokiegirl82 on Jan 29, 2015 22:04:50 GMT -5
2 very needy labs and an 8 month old DS here. This lady can go fuck herself. Yes, my dogs don't get the 150% attention they got from me before having DS, but they still get plenty of love from us. I became a SAHM in November, and in addition to being excited to being home with DS, I was also excited to be home with the dogs to give them more attention than when I was working full time.
Just this morning I took one dog to the vet twice in 2 hours for a torn nail, lugging the kid with me once and making H come home from work the second time because DS was just not having another trip in him without a nap.
We will probably only have one dog at a time after our current dogs pass (hopefully not for years) solely because 2 dogs is very expensive, but I never regret having my current dogs with our kid.
I absolutely hate stories like hers. I will say at least she kept the dog. Volunteering for rescue, you see lots and lots of people who want to dump their animals as soon as they get pregnant or as soon as the baby comes. It's extremely common and sadly this woman is not the exception.
I think her advice is good....for people like her. For a lot of people pets are their starter babies and once the real baby comes they have no use for the pet. Very sad.
This was just posted on my FB with the comment "This is so true." It took everything in me to just hide the post from my wall and not go off on the idiot who posted it.
I would probably take more offense to this than the majority of things people balk at on fb. Unfriending would happen immediately.
I know I don't actually have a kid yet, but there is not a chance I won't love my dog after the baby gets here. I recognize she'll get less attention, but she won't be loved any less.
eta: Also, my parents had a golden they raised from birth (they had to bottle feed him because his mother didn't produce milk) before either my sister or I came along. I can still remember my dad all out sobbing when they put him down. They loved that dog like they love their children and he had an amazing life.
DH's family had a golden/cocker spaniel/who-knows-what-else mutt when he was born. It was DH's first friend and apparently they hung out all the time, because in photos of DH's first years the dog is always around him. My FIL was so upset by the dog's death that they didn't get another for two years because he needed time to grieve. I'm sure he got less attention when there were two young kids and a baby around, but he was part of the family and well loved.
The dog died not long after my youngest SIL was born. Apparently, the 2.5-year-old thought you could only have five "people" in a family and asked to trade away her sister to get the dog back.