Reply to Weighing pros and cons to adopting a puppy to add to our family--what is the tipping point to a yes?

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[quote=Anonymous]We recently went through this as well.  For us the tipping points were:

Youngest child was old enough (almost 5) for me to feel that she would behave appropriately around the dog.  Kids are also far more manageable than they used to be so it felt doable to add a dog. On the flip side--and I know it sounds a little crass--I appreciated the idea that we would (hopefully) have the dog through their childhoods but not beyond the time they were in college.   At that point we may be moving into a new phase of life and I just don't know how a dog will fit in.  Maybe we'll get another one!   Or not.  Who knows.
I had given it a lot of thought and felt we had achieved a good life balance, a good setup, and room/time to welcome a dog.  I'd sat with the decision for awhile and it didn't feel impulsive.

To me what was unexpected was how difficult it is to leave the dog alone.  I knew this but experiencing it is challenging.  And as a pp said, it's another being in the house that needs attention, care, play, etc.  It's a really big adjustment.

For us we are very very glad we went with a puppy.  There are obvious challenges to doing so, but I did not feel our family was equipped to take on a rescue (young children and first time dog owners).  Having since seen other families adopt a rescue and run into some difficulties I am even more secure in our decision.  I think the difference is that the challenges with puppies are predictable, and the same goes for the challenges with specific breeds, generally speaking.  You kind of know what you're going to get.  With rescues/shelter dogs there are more unknowns and uncertainties and your ability to manage those will likely vary based on your situation, experience with dogs, and of course what the issues are.  [/quote]

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