Easier or harder to have a puppy after kids?

[Anonymous]

We have a 12-week-old puppy now. Of course it’s easier than a baby but I’m also 50 and it’s been 15 years since I had a baby, and ten years since our older dog was a puppy. I also have always thought that everyone minimizes how hard having a baby is almost as soon as it’s over, because if we didn’t do that no one would have another one and our species would die out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 11 week old puppy and while I am exhausted I definitely am not as tired as when I had our kids. I am on Reddit puppy group and all of these people post about puppy blues and how hard it is to be in charge and responsible for a puppy 24/7 and all I can think of is, maybe these people don’t have kids? While obviously having a puppy is a lot of work I feel like I am already in the throes of having to always think of another living things so it’s not exponentially more.

I don't understand posts like yours. People have different experiences with both kids and puppies and for some it is harder than others. Your puppy is a newborn though so perhaps give it time. Your post comes off very smug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how any puppy is exhausting especially at 11 weeks? I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. I have three kids, a dog and a puppy and I don’t feel exhausted, although sometimes my teen wears me out.

I think it’s more about the personality of the human posting, and their innate tolerance of activity, not about the reality of having a puppy.

Depends on the breed. Some are pretty high maintenance when they are puppies. My Lab had so much energy. She chewed on everything. You couldn’t take your eyes off of her for a second.

I agree breed plays a role, but also house set up too. All puppies chew, but I didn’t mind so much because I put up a fairly large puppy play pen so I knew if I needed to not supervise her for a period of time, she had room to play in a safe gated area. I would have had a much harder time if my only options were to supervise or crate. With a large play pen, the puppy can be social with us while being contained and unable to do damage to the house.

We bought a play pen but the dog outgrew it within a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had two tween boys when we brought our schnoodle puppy home when she was six weeks old.

On the difficulty scale: child 1 was an 8. child 2 was a 5. The puppy was a 2.
We got lucky with the puppy. The kids kicked my butt - hard, draining, sleep deprivation and finances.

Wow that is young. The standard is 8 weeks.