Our dearly beloved dog, Toby, has been a part of our family since the beginning. After only 4 months of marriage, my husband and I fell head over heels over a miniature Schnauzer with floppy ears and true "puppy dog eyes." It was the day after Christmas that we brought him "home" to our apartment, bringing life and new joy into our existence.
I have memories (and plenty of pictures) of Toby cuddling up with us on the couch, in bed, and taking him everywhere with us. Dog parks, City Market, and nightly walks were often times on our agenda with him. It was a unique time in life, just starting out, and life was much simpler then.
Toby is almost 7 years old now, and he's endured "moving down the ranks" now twice, after the births of our two children. Suddenly, typical dog behaviors really bugged me, now that we had a baby in the house and rolling on the floor. I was able to still take him on walks with just one child, but now with 2, it's much more difficult maneuvering a double stroller and a stout dog that pulls ferociously. We still love the little guy, but he's not our first priority anymore. It has surprised me, but it happened.
Between nursing, playing with kids, discipline issues, art activities, play dates with friends, working on puzzles.......and don't forget paying bills, making meals, doing the laundry, cleaning the house and so forth.....the dog is not a priority for us in this stage of life. The silver lining is that both of my kids LOVE Toby, and give him attention that we may not anymore.
If I could do things over, I would probably opt to wait on getting a dog until we're past the baby/preschool stage of life. It's such a hands-on, busy time of life, that any extra energy or time I have in a day will usually not be spent on the dog. Kids adjust priorities, and for me, this is the way it's being adjusted.
How do you feel about this personally? Did you get a dog before kids, thinking this would "help prepare you" for when you had children? And if you did, how do you feel now?