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Making It Work With Puppies And Babies


ncarter
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Crazy idea.She is in for a shock when she finds out how much work twins will be.Ask her if she could cope with 4 babies at once;as that is what it will be like.Not fair to get 2 pups just to keep each other company.Unless she has someone to train and care for the dogs she will not have much time or energy to cope with them herself.Tell her to wait untill the twins are about 3 years old ;out of nappies and sleeping all night;then maybe think about getting a dog.

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Its madness, I would just be doing everything I can to convince her not to do it.

Yes, me too!

Some of my own ideas about parenthood before having children were very idealistic. Life doesn't always go to plan. Dealing with the 24/7 responsibilities, sleep deprivation, unexpected illness etc. can be a real shock. And my babies were years apart, not twins. Friends with twins really did have their hands full, especially in that first year!

Perhaps your friend is a super-organized, with awesome family support? Perhaps she is an experienced dog-owner with boundless energy and commitment to make anything work? If not, why choose to make life harder than it needs to be? :confused:

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A friend of mine with Twins basically didn't get out of her Pj's or did not have a baby feeding for a period of two days when they had a growth spurt.

My Dobe died 7 weeks before my secong sone was born. As much as I wanted another dog I held off as I had no idea what my baby would be like. Would he be laid back, a screamer etc.

Turns out I did have complications that meant I barely had the energy to get out of bed for the first few weeks. Not to mention as I had been on fluids and ended up a bit obver hydrated I had very fluidy puffy legs that by the end of the day were huge and very painful for a good week or so.

Turns out my son was very laid back and when he was 5 months old we did welcome a new puppy. I admit I agonised over the decision as I wanted to make sure the puppy didn't miss out. While it worked some days were a trial and it seemed children and puppy were conspiring to make as much trouble as possible!!!!

And I agree with the hormonal rush and wanting to mother something. We have welcomed a new kitten, a rescue via the vets. We are his second home and have had him since around 9 weeks. The reason??? It was harder than they thought looking after a kitten and a newborn - they got the kitten just before their baby was born. On the scheme of things kitten are MUCH easier to look after than puppies, especially large breed ones.

Edited by OSoSwift
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Do you think you could talk her into fostering two pups for us Ncarter ........ probably the easiest way for her to get a small taste of what it would be like

Alternatively she could come to my place to practice walking two babies in a twin pram with two large breed dogs ...........if she makes it around the block I'll be impressed :)

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I don't think she truly understands how busy she will be....I have a 19 month old daughter, and a 4 week old son....both are very cruisy, easy kids, but there just isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done *and* have quality fun time with them as it is, never mind adding not ONE, but TWO puppies into the mix!!! :eek:

Having spoken to mums who have twins, they are MUCH harder work than a baby and a toddler together.

Nothing really prepares you either for the all consuming love you feel for your babies, and all you really want to do is spend every minute adoring them, especially when they are so new....she may end up resenting the dogs for the simple fact they also need her, and take her attention away from her babies...

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I will start looking for new homes for the dogs now because I know the poor puppies will get rehomed anyway. It's a silly thing to do really. Stubbornness is one thing but unrealistic thinking is another. Does this potential new mum really understand the demands of a newborn, let alone 2??? Even with family support twins are hard work. Twin bubs and twin pups-- please. That's asking for trouble.

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I find it hard enough with 1 baby and 2 dog's!!

My little girl had horrible colic and reflux problems that she only grew out of at 5 months old! Because of this she would screamm the house down she would only have cat naps of 10 - 20 mins every 3 - 4 hours.. some days she would be awake for 6 - 8 hours screaming this was even with medicine!!

can you imagine that if both or even 1 of her twins has reflux and colic?? My dog's DID suffer because of this. My husband and I were exhausted! They got maybe 1 walk a week. Having puppies is a whole other story! She really needs to wait until the baby is at least 6 - 12 months imo

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A quote from a friend of mine who has twins whom I spoke to about this thread:

"Can someone point out that she is going to be much less physically capable possibly within weeks and has higher chances of being admitted to hospital or put on bed rest during the pregnancy and or have prem babies. Does she have other plans for the dogs in these cases? I think she's in denial about what she's actually going to be going through here. "

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Can you convince her to hold off til the babies are at least a couple of months old, once past the very real possibility of bed rest, c-section, early bubs still in hospital, and 6 weeks of taking it easy after c-section. Perhaps then once she's seen what not 1 but 2 babies are like she might be more inclined to hold off getting a puppy (let alone 2 large breed puppies!!) for a while :laugh:

I deliberately made sure we got our 2nd dog about 2 years before we'd planned to have a baby. That way we had a better chance of the dog being well trained and past the puppy/teen stage before adding a baby into the mix.

I know a few that have twins (some first babies, some not) and they honestly at times have been very sleep deprived and struggle to find time to shower and eat, let alone keeping on top of the daily household tasks. Forget having time to properly look after 2 puppies! Ask would she actively choose to have quads?? ;)

Edited by Bailey9
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A quote from a friend of mine who has twins whom I spoke to about this thread:

"Can someone point out that she is going to be much less physically capable possibly within weeks and has higher chances of being admitted to hospital or put on bed rest during the pregnancy and or have prem babies. Does she have other plans for the dogs in these cases? I think she's in denial about what she's actually going to be going through here. "

:thumbsup:

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NO! why should the greyhounds suffer just because they are so obliging.

I tend to agree.

I also agree with the fostering two pups idea ASAP , while she is still fairly active and organised . That way she will get an idea of what two are like together :)

I was thinking she may still have morning sickness and puppies tend to poo alot , so may cause a rethink .....sometimes telling a friend they shouldn't do something makes them more determined to do just that . If the younger pups don't put her off , I can always follow up with a pair of delinquent 6+ months giant/large breed crosses :D

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I will start looking for new homes for the dogs now because I know the poor puppies will get rehomed anyway. It's a silly thing to do really. Stubbornness is one thing but unrealistic thinking is another. Does this potential new mum really understand the demands of a newborn, let alone 2??? Even with family support twins are hard work. Twin bubs and twin pups-- please. That's asking for trouble.

I totally agree with this.

I have two adult dogs and 9mo twins. I have to say you can't imagine how hard it is to have twins until you have two screaming newborns and only two hands.

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