Is there really a commonality between dogs and children?

There are many mothers and fathers who will tell you that having children cannot compare to having dogs. These individuals are very wrong. Either that or they have never ever owned a puppy and they have never owned a German Shepherd.

My husband and I were not fortunate enough to be blessed with children. We had fertility treatments, we looked into the foster care system, which we ran from. We looked into adoption as well but we did not have that kind of money that it takes to adopt.

We were very sad and lonely for quite some time however, we knew that if it wasn’t meant to be then it wasn’t meant to be. As it was my husband suffers from a seizure disorder, that can be brought on by too much stress and lack of sleep. We looked at it as if God was protecting us.

As the years went by we decided maybe a dog would be a great idea. First, we adopted but that turned out to be a disaster, the dog we got bite both of us several times. We tried for two years to give this dog a chance but after it jump up and bit me for just walking past it’s food dish, my hubby said, “That’s enough!”

A couple of years later I searched out some German Shepherd puppies from a breeder we found, for she was wonderful and it was not a puppy mill. We got the opportunity to visit our puppy on weekends until she ready to come home with us.

We picked up Chloe three days before Thanksgiving and we were expected to go to New Hampshire for the holiday to be with my family. I told my sister well in advance we were bringing her. No problem.

Chloe Bliss turned out to be very comfortable at my sister’s house and all my nieces and nephew just adored her. We really felt as though we were bringing our new baby to meet everyone. My sister even bought a gift for her.

Seven-week old puppies sleep often, just like babies. They get up, eat, play and poop, not necessarily in that order. Just like their human counterparts, this “honeymoon” stage does not last long. The long naps are replaced with play time and more play time.

Playtime, oh what fun! The nipping, the chewing, and the games are very fun…mostly for the puppy. My husband spent almost two hours trying to retrieve a Tupper-ware cover that Chloe Bliss had gotten a hold of. It was hilarious at first, for me and Chloe anyways. My husband…not so much. Like other parents I was close by to video tape it.

So, how can we compare our puppy to your child? Well, we got another one, a male named Charlie Boy. He was twelve weeks old when we got him from another breeder, because in the back of my mind I wanted to have puppies, although I didn’t tell my husband this.

New parents change diapers and they do it often. I had to teach my puppies how to go outside and not in my home. While you collected the diapers, and tossed them in the trash. I had to find a place to put all the dog poop. We have to scoop it and put in somewhere that one of our dogs can’t get to it. Why? She eats it. Has your kid every eaten its own poop or their siblings?

Ever just change your baby’s diaper to only have them soil it minutes later. Well, I have been there so many times, I have lost count. Just yesterday I did poop control in the back yard, took about 45 minutes to get it all. As I put the poop scooper up against the fence and headed back to the deck, both Chloe and Charlie were busy doing their business as I sat down in time to see them. Really?

Your Toddler wants to play and play all the time. Well, my two GSD’s want to play, they want a job and it is usually it’s catch in the back yard. If I try to ignore them they sit in front of me or better yet, in front of the TV and whine or they sit next to me and do the paw thing on my arm. Chloe knows how to push my buttons. If I am sitting in my chair at my computer, she comes over and licks my hands and will not stop until I play.

Your child is ready for school and you are sad at first until you find yourself enjoying that time alone, in fact, you love it and you live for it. Well, there are nights when I crawl into bed after the last pee and poo time is done and I just smile. Why? Because tomorrow they’re going to Doggie Daycare! I get the entire day to myself! I feel born again.

I have health insurance on both my dogs. Like your children they get sick and they need vaccinations…every year! Chloe had pneumonia when she was a puppy, that was scary. Charlie has chronic ear problems as well as allergies and needs special food.

Do you punish your children if they misbehave? Lucky, for you! Yesterday, I was outside planting new plants. As I dug holes for the plants, my two kids were annoyed that I wasn’t spending enough time with them, even though I just spent an hour throwing the balls, I thought my shoulder would come off. When I turned around to place the plant into the holes, one of them had refilled the holes. I suspect Charlie.

I am a dog parent and my dogs are my children, and I miss them when we go away. I talk to them, and when I leave the house I tell them where I am going and when I am going to return. Sometimes I leave the TV on for them. I bring them back goodies. I fight with them to take a bath. I reward them for doing something good.

In the end, the only difference I find between your kids and my kids is sadly I won’t have them for as long as you will have yours. I will love them no matter what they do, good or bad. I hurt when they hurt. I do look on the bright side though, I do not have to pay to send them off to college and I can bury them in the backyard.