Anonymous wrote:OP here:

17:26- thank you so much, your post was very helpful and I really appreciate it.

20:46- I already have a child. That I had as a newborn by myself while my DH was deployed overseas. She was born, in the NICU and back home, crawled, walked and turned one all while he was overseas and I was by myself (I have no family in the country, his lives hours away.) I never once wondered how I was going to be able to take a shower. I'm not saying this to try to seem superior or whatever, I really don't think that highly of myself. But some people have an easier time dealing with certain things than others. The idea of having a dog and two kids doesn't freak me out.

Sorry OP but you sound like a bitch. I am sure you do not mean it but you really do sound like one.

This is a question better asked on a dog forum than a parenting one then, I think.

They'd probably give you the dog psychology centered answer you're seeking.

OP here:

17:26- thank you so much, your post was very helpful and I really appreciate it.

20:46- I already have a child. That I had as a newborn by myself while my DH was deployed overseas. She was born, in the NICU and back home, crawled, walked and turned one all while he was overseas and I was by myself (I have no family in the country, his lives hours away.) I never once wondered how I was going to be able to take a shower. I'm not saying this to try to seem superior or whatever, I really don't think that highly of myself. But some people have an easier time dealing with certain things than others. The idea of having a dog and two kids doesn't freak me out.

Oh hell. I showered with my first and I showered with all the subsequent. There is no instant sign up for martyrdom that comes with childbirth. Women coped for centuries and you can cope now----don't project your incompetence as a universal condition.

Anonymous wrote:OP you are insane to even be considering this. You are just completely insane.

If moms are strategizing about how to get a shower with a newborn, what brand of hell is this FTM bringing upon herself with this dog business? She. Has. No. Idea.

OP you are insane to even be considering this. You are just completely insane.

i would go for an alligator but first thing real hard whether to do it before or after the baby is born

You should get a tiger, if that is legal in your state.

My kids had bottle lambs as well as puppies at 4. The guy who helped me, his kid was 5 when he entered a steer calf in 4H and won. Sorry your parents were so lame.....

And our dogs worked but came in at night. Dogs don't belong outside.

Anonymous wrote:Btw, remember that most farm kids are raising lambs and calves at that age.

Whatevs. I grew up on a farm and, believe me, we were not raising those animals at the age of 4. My parents worked their asses off with kids and animals. We had dogs too but they were outside pets. If my mom had to vacuum up dog hair and clean up dog vomit from the carpet (after the dogs inevitably ate horse manure or mice!), she would've keeled over from exhaustion.

Btw, remember that most farm kids are raising lambs and calves at that age.

Get a medium to large breed pup now. Lab, golden, poodle, pwd, staghound. Start training both pup and 4 year old now....get a gentle leader so the kid can "walk" the pup. Be sure that the dog has good parents with good temperament, and pick a nice middle of the road pup. You want the one that comes up to you, not the one hat hangs back OR the one that runs up and jumps on you. Fairly calm. Do not get a herding breed, you'll have problems with nipping for years.

By the time the babe is here, she'll be potty trained---and yes, I vote for a bitch, not a dog. By the time the babe is mobile, she'll be old enough to stand a little mauling and young enough to like it. Goldens and labs have nice soft mouths---I prefer labs with kids myself. The four year old will soon be five, which is plenty old enough to work a do with supervision. Try agility classes. There are some really good trainers in the area. Have your daughter work with the pup i puppy class.

The 4 year old will hurt the dog and the dog will hurt the baby. Good luck keeping an eye out on all of them at once. This will not be a happy ending. The dog will end up being locked in the basement because it is a problem, or the baby will be eaten by the dog.

Anonymous wrote:It's not even the work I'm thinking of, necessarily -- it's the fact that very small children don't really understand dogs and can hurt them out of frustration. The dog does a doggy thing, like chew up a toy, and the child gets really mad. I'm sure you think your 4 YO would never do that, and that you'll never have toys laying around to be chewed
on, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. But it sounds like your mind is made up, so I don't know why we're all bothering to post!

I got a puppy when my kids were 4 and 5. We had lost our older dog about 6 months beforehand. My 4 year old was way too immature for a puppy. They bite,chase,jump on your children. Honestly I'd be more worried about the dog hurting them.Young children don't understand how to play appropriately with a puppy. We still have him (our dog) but it's one of the hardest things I've ever done.

It's not even the work I'm thinking of, necessarily -- it's the fact that very small children don't really understand dogs and can hurt them out of frustration. The dog does a doggy thing, like chew up a toy, and the child gets really mad. I'm sure you think your 4 YO would never do that, and that you'll never have toys laying around to be chewed on, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. But it sounds like your mind is made up, so I don't know why we're all bothering to post!