10 Ways Dogs Are Easier Than Kids…and Vice Versa

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10 ways dogs are easier than kids

Dogs.  Often referred to as a man’s best friend.  We are one of those couples who decided to get a puppy a few years into our marriage, you know, sans kids.  Years later, we now have two beautiful children and two dogs.  Dogs and children are alike in many ways.  They eat a lot and rely on you to train them.  However, there are many ways in which they are different.

10 Ways Dogs are Easier than Kids:

  1. They eat the same thing every.single.day, without any complaints or whining!
  2. They never outgrow napping.
  3. It’s not frowned upon to leash them.
  4. You get to leave them at home alone, by themselves nonetheless (even when they are a baby!).
  5. They are easily fooled by a pill covered in peanut butter.
  6. They don’t complain about what’s on the television or radio.
  7. Once they know their basic commands, their training is done.  There are no flash cards or kindergarten readiness tests.
  8. You never have to worry about them leaving sticking food remnants all over the dinner table, chairs and floor.
  9. They will always welcome a hug or kiss from you no matter what public place you may be in.
  10. There is no greater example of unconditional love than what they give their owners.

10 Ways Kids are Easier than Dogs:

  1. Picking up poop for your pup is forever.
  2. Kids are accepted more places than your dog (i.e. your friends house, restaurants, retail stores, vacation rentals, airplanes, etc).
  3. If the weather outside is frightful, kids are content with staying in to watch movies. Your pup will still need that walk.
  4. During the teething stage, your kids won’t go for your expensive boots or bras.
  5. Dogs require monthly medication to keep them bug free.
  6. Kids are less likely to leave hair on your sweater.
  7. Kids outgrow climbing into your bed at night (not to mention sleeping on your face).  
  8. Dogs are not capable of grabbing themselves a snack and water (that is unless you count chewing up the plastic food container, proceed to eat all the dog food in said container, then proceed to get sick all over the house).
  9. Along with #8, when kids get sick, you can pick them up and place in the bath without them touching anything or making a bigger mess.  It’s a little more difficult with a 120 lb. dog.
  10. Did I mention the lifetime commitment to poop scooping?  

What did I miss?

It’s true. Dogs annoy me sometimes (a lot of the times) but they truly are our family’s best friends.  I was very reluctant to getting a dog in the beginning.  Mainly because I was foreign to the animal having grown up with no pets.  But they have grown on me and our family dynamic wouldn’t be the same without them.  Do you have a dog? Can you relate? Are you avoiding jumping on the pet bandwagon?

4 COMMENTS

  1. We are currently looking for our first dog as a family. I have 2 kids that are 8 & 3. They absolutely LOVE animals of all kind. My husband has fought this for a long time but has finally given in. I am so excited but nervous at the same time. We have been going to SICSA every week looking but haven’t found “the one” yet. We just have no idea what we want.

    • It is definitely hard. I would say the bigger dogs are a little easier with the children than the littler dogs (depending on the dogs age). You will know when you find it! We have a black lab who is only 6 months but so well behaved, much better than our Bernese was at age 6 months. Both breeds are great with kids in the fact that kids can poke their eyes, pull out their hair and jump on them and the dogs don’t even act bothered by it.

    • I inherited a grumpy little jack russell mix when I married my husband. He’s a pain, but he’s also the most wonderful little guy (kind of like kids!). He absolutely loves our 8 month-old and she is obsessed with him. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where we always had a dog and a cat. I can’t imagine a home without them, now. I hope you find your new family member soon (and SICSA is an excellent place to find him/her!).

    • Stacey,
      I don’t exactly want to steer you away from SICSA, but have you considered going through a rescue?
      The difference is that (if I’m correct) SICSA runs a shelter with dogs there and rescues have their dogs living with foster families. This means that a foster family can tell you exactly what you’re getting in a pup- i.e. this dog hates cats, this one loves kids, that one steals food off the table, etc., but examples from everyday family life.
      You just have such a great chance of getting exactly the dog that will work for your family with no risk involved. Might help with those nerves, ha!
      …. just my observations after watching my sister foster dogs for the last year.

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