Getting a dog as a "test child"

[ACooper]

Oh krisykris & jessie.................I hope we are all still on Chaz together when you have a baby! HAhahahahahah!

If bottles and diapers were the worst things you had to deal with babies would indeed be easier than dogs. Kids are way more than potty training, feeding right, and teaching them the rules.

Just think about when they go to school and you don't know what kids they are being exposed to, or when they start dating, or DRIVING, that is the time you are really gonna wonder how well you taught them.

 

[girlbuffalo1]

I think..

I personally think that there should be foced lisences for being able to get a pet AND forced licenses for babies...but then again perhaps I am crazy. I think people do not do the math as to the money, time, energy, resources and mental stability needed to have a dog and much less a baby. Personally I think there should have to be a certain amount of money in the bank, a certain IQ and other things such as a good home, good jobs ect--for either!

I don't think a dog in any ways compares to a baby. It would be like comparing baby sitting 1 child to running a daycare or working at a restaraunt to owning a restaraunt....

What I can't stand is that people rarely put the same time and effort and attention on their pet one the 'little miruhkul' comes along and it makes me sick.

I volunteer at a local no kill shelter and I would say having a baby or kids is one of the top reasons that dogs are given up.

So while I think that a dog does test your responsiblity for a pet it is like comparing apples and oranges when it comes to children.

 

[Meggie]

Dogs are test children? Oh dear, we had the kids first. Should I tell them that they're my test dogs?

I think that anybody who does this needs to give their heads a shake. Babies and dogs are not in the least comparable. Although I did consider diapering Quincy when he was a puppy, LOL! Rather change a diaper in the middle of the night than having to get up, throw clothes on and take the dog out for a pee before his bladder bursts in the middle of a very cold winter.

I like the idea of drawing a face on a raw egg and pretending it's a baby to prepare for parenthood. Not comparable either, but sure funny to watch.

 

[casablanca1]

I think carry-over skills include: not killing a dependent when they're being completely impossible, cleaning up dependent when they're sick/hurt, taking on the financial and time burdens of the health care of the dependent, training the dependent in basic good behavior, ensuring the dependent is fed and in shape, keeping the dependent groomed, and nurturing an appropriate loving but healthy relationship with the dependent. And coping with your repeated, disastrous, humiliating failures in all these fields.

They're actually a good prep for children, but I think a couple that's so unsure of their future that they want a 'test run' before conceiving or marrying or whatever should invest in counseling rather than a puppy.

 

[bumhouse]

I had my children first - then got a dog who is now 8 months old. The dog was definitely easier!! My children were old enough to somewhat understand the "sacrifices" we were going to have to make for the puppy - mostly having to stay close to home for the summer to be with the pup - i.e. no beach, boat, etc. And it was difficult...

I think you should acquire both out of "love" and no other reason. I agree that dogs can teach you some of the things you may need to raise children, but by no means can you compare - it's like apples and oranges. I think both are a lifetime committment - I wouldn't give my kids or my dog away because things got too tough.

A good rule of thumb to me is if you don't think your ready for children, don't get a dog. It does require many of the same skills and I would certainly hate to see your "test" fail.

 

[ACooper]

Dogs are test children? Oh dear, we had the kids first. Should I tell them that they're my test dogs?

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I think I may tell my kids that the next time they are on my nerves quarreling with one another!! Maybe even call the pound and see if I can drop my "test dogs" off to them! :lol-sign: :lol-sign:

 

[Meggie]

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I think I may tell my kids that the next time they are on my nerves quarreling with one another!! Maybe even call the pound and see if I can drop my "test dogs" off to them! :lol-sign: :lol-sign:

Gosh, I'd say a lot of things to my kids (including threatening to duct tape them to the ceiling, next thing I knew my daughter was trying to haul the ladder up the stairs....) but NEVER that, I was kidding! They'd like it too much (food service is better, wouldn't be expected to clean up their own "rooms").

Come to think of it, I've never seen a dog throw a full-blown tantrum equivelant to that of a two-year-old child before. I have had plenty of furniture ruined by both kids and dogs. Huh, guess it's a good thing we had the kids first.

 

[Boemy]

I think that dogs would be very effective "test children" if people would pay attention to the results. For example, if Fido is going to the pound because you encouraged playful nipping as a puppy and now the dog bites or because you didn't have the wherewithal or brains to housetrain it or because you expected him to be perfect without training, then that is a clear sign that you should not have children.

Unfair on the dog? Yes. But if people actually didn't have children following their "test child" failure, then within a few generations there would be less and less irresponsible owners as they stopped reproducing.