We are about 6 weeks into taking care of our new puppy, Riley, and everyone is asking us how we are adjusting to the ‘new baby’?
The short answer is that it DOES feel like we have a new baby in the house. There are late night wake-ups to take him out, regimented feeding times, and lots of teaching basic commands. He has really restructured our lives and been a lot of work.
On the Reddit thread r/puppy101, someone asked “which is more difficult to take care of – puppies or babies?” Most of the responses confirmed what I would say – that puppies are more difficult in the short term!
Why? Well, babies are obviously more work over the long-run, but at just s few months of age they aren’t running around your house, barking, biting, pooping, and getting into almost constant trouble.
The dimensional difference is pure speed. Babies hardly move, but puppies can outrun you with at least 2x the speed. Their almost instant acceleration and laser-like agility to bolt through tight obstacles magnifies the speed difference. This allows them to quickly get anywhere they want – to poop/pee, gnaw the furniture, or grab anything they find loose.
To combat the speed demon, we’ve outfitted our house with three big doggy fences stretching a combined 48’. Upstairs, we have the 16’ ‘Great Wall of Riley’ separating the kitchen & living room in an attempt to stop illegal border crossings onto our white carpeting. Downstairs, we have two more 16’ fences around the seating area in front of our big TV.
When he first came to our house he was the perfect lapdog, but now approaching 5 months old, three walks a day, the indoor fences, and an occasional chewable bully stick are the only way we can contain his boundless energy and keep him in check. He has too much energy to sit nicely in our lap anymore.
Overall, the ‘parenting’ effort Riley requires reminds us of when our son was born. It is a major effort and we are almost 25 years older than then. We find ourselves saying what we did then … “it’s a good thing he’s cute, because he is a LOT of work!”
How would you compare parenting puppies & babies?
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
Image Credit: ‘Devil Dog’ Riley
MrFireStation 
We had four requirements when began looking for our pup:
1. Smart
2. Hypoallergenic – non-shed
3. not too big, not too small
4. lazy
Bella is 9.5 lbs and sleeps till 8-8:30 each morning plus lays around all day looking for an ear scratch or a treat. Could not be happier – now. but those first few months were a challenge!
Enjoy!!
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That’s a good list – pretty much what we were looking for too. #4 has been the surprise so far – we’re hoping he’ll grow into some laziness – that’s what his breed is known for!
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Congratulations on “having fun “…. and you thought life would be easy after retirement and Jack’s College graduation!😁
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Let us know when you want to meet ‘The Beast’ 😆🐶⭐️!
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It’s been 12 years since we’ve had a puppy in our house. “Jackson” (our golden retriever) was an old sole even at ten weeks, so he has actually been a breeze. However, it’s also been 27 years since our youngest daughter was a baby, but our new granddaughter (now ~11 months) has been quite a handful since entering the world! She has slept over a few nights with us, and is already into everything. I’d forgotten what a handful babies were! So, I’d definitely have to say the new grand baby is more work, but we were definitely spoiled with Jackson. They are both a lot of fun though!
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We really thought this puppy was quiet and mellow when we picked him out! I may have forgotten how difficult a baby is – especially the not sleeping though the night months. Our son was pretty chill though – much quieter than the crazy beast, Riley.
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I’m past parenting days for any species. Grand-parenting of human babies is all I can handle!
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The ‘grand’ approach is probably the right one, but that would be a ways out for us!
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