baby friendly?

[BecKate]

hi all

we're thinking of getting a doodle, and am due in a few months time....anyone have any experience with doodles and babies / young toddlers?.....are they are easy to train? (the dog that is! :))

[Leslie J]

I agree with Sue- having a doodle puppy and a baby would be like having twins... and as a mother of twin boys I can tell you it's not easy! I waited until my twins were 4 before getting the puppy, and it has been great. They are now old enough to be secure and tell Cocoa "sit"when she jumps on them or "no bite" when she nips. I am SO glad I waited. She is developing into a dog that is lovely with children.

I would worry that a feisty puppy would make it hard for your baby as she learns to crawl and toddle. Think of a puppy jumping on her or nipping at her- because the puppy would still be right at that stage! A doodle is very trainable, but a puppy has low impulse control and needs a great deal of supervision. I suggest that you enjoy your baby for now and get the puppy when she is older.

[Melissa & Porter]

My kids were 3, 5, 7 when we got Porter. I was very glad that I could step out for a second and know my youngest was not going to tumble down stairs or climb onto the dining room table the minute he was out of my sight. Having one creature hell-bent on self or other destruction is enough for me. My first two kids were 15 mos apart and I have no desire to live on edge like that again :-)

[Holly Doodle]

I agree that it may be better to wait and see how you feel once the baby is born. Matt and I got Holly shortly after getting married, and we joked we were preparing ourselves for having children. It turned out not to be a joke though, it was so much more work than we thought it would be! It's like having a new born for the first few months, waking up to take her out multiple times during the night, giving her all of our attention, etc. Good luck!

[Nugget's Family]

As a mom I would say it would be VERY difficult to be a first time mom of an infant and a new puppy owner at the same time. Doodle puppies are amazing, but they do require work to be amazing. LOTS OF WORK. I agree with everything else that has been written here about the difficulties of the situation. Now, I've had other dogs, all different breeds and they all require a lot of time as puppies if you want them to grow to be well-behaved, happily socialized dogs.

If you plan to add a dog to your family in the near future, consider giving yourself a break and waiting a bit. New motherhood is more tiring than you think it will be. It is fantastically wonderful, but it can be exhausting.

Good luck with your decision.

[Liane Thakur]

Have you thought about trying to get a rescue doodle? You may be able to find one that is already good with babies, who would already be potty trained and perhaps have some other training as well...you may need to put in some work in the beginning but if you can get the dog a few months before the baby arrives, it could work out well. Personally I would wait as you don't know the requirements your particular child will have.

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

A puppy and a newborn baby at the same time is a recipe for disaster. But, a trained young puppy, even 6-8 months old, can be integrated into a house with a newborn. The biggest hurdle would be house training while attending to the baby, and teaching what it can and can not chew or jump on, like your baby! So a little older with house manner would make it a better story.

Or if you have time to get the dog first before you are due, but that might be too late.

Or if you wait until your baby is 6-8 months old, you can then tell if you will have the time/energy for a puppy. That really depends on you baby. We had a litter of puppies when our son was 4-5 months old and because he was an easy baby it was a resounding success. He was in the whelping room giggling at all the sounds in his playpen for hours while we whelped 9 puppies. Our sons 3rd word was puppy and 4th was doggie. So cute.

[F, Calla & Luca]

What a great picture of a handsome boy and doodle.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, very cute kids you have here :)