A pet in the family, what about two!

Having pets is a personal decision. In my experience, we already had a pet before our son came along. However, when buying Lemonade (our first pet) four years ago, I did briefly think about what life would be like with kids as well as a dog. Four years ago, both my husband and I worked many hours and it became clear that I needed to think about working from home so our new dog wasn't at home by himself all day. So there are a few considerations in having a pet in the family...

These were a few things I thought about;

• How easy was it  to maintain the breed?
• Ability to stay at home to keep the dog and in the future be comfortable with your pet being with your kids.
• The extra work initially of having a puppy in the house.
• Dog Training, was I prepared to do this?

I am glad we got Lemonade before we had kids. I did think about the breed and opted for a miniture bichon x maltese, with a friendly temperament. I also preferred smaller dogs as opposed to bigger dogs (as I am quite small myself). Trying to look after a big dog was daunting for me. As Lemonade became a part of the family, it also prepared me in a way for parenthood, in shifting my mindset at the possibility of be capable and responsible for little baby when the time came, (three and a half years after getting Lemonade).

Adjustment issues with your new arrival

Upon the impending birth of our first child, I was a little concerned about how Lemonade would react to a new baby being in the house. I got some great advice somewhere about getting a cloth and have this cloth next to baby in the hospital. When our family members visited, I then asked one of them to take this baby scented coth home and place it on Lemonade's mat. It was reported back later that he sniffed this cloth for a while, as well as sleeping with it. When we did eventually bring Codi home, Lemonade was sniffing around the capsule and never left his side. He became very responsible for staying close. It was like he had to protect his new little human brother.

Attention

As Codi grew older and got most of the attention, Lemonade began to withdraw from asking for attention. I was a little concerned about this. Apparently, (from my dog trainer) that some dogs get rewards from cuddles and others from verbal praise. As you may guess, Lemonade's reward was cuddles, which he wasn't getting much of. So I think he thought he was in trouble for the past year!!! I had also felt that having one dog just wasn't enough, here enters Raz, a little girl (as Lemonade is a boy dog). They are both the same breed, bichon cross maltese and it was the best thing I could have ever done. Raz loves verbal praise, so jealously when we are cuddling Lemonade or Codi is not so bad. The great thing now is that Lemonade asks for cuddles and he is so much happier with his new 5 month old pal. The dogs also keep each other busy playing all day, which is great for me. Codi also loves watching the dogs play together and coming home to see them.

Both dogs are very gentle with Codi, apart from a jumping puppy, however the puppy enthusiasm will pass once Raz has been de-sexed. Codi does get a little jealous of Lemonade, which is a toddler thing at the moment. However, I see older kids absolutely adore our dogs, and I think Codi and our subsequent kids will really grow up having these hounds as best pals, as well as learning to care for them and having some responsibility, early in life.

In short;

If you are an animal lover, it is a great experience for kids. My son is really trying to interact with each pet and I think having a good tempered animal/s in the home really increases the  family dynamics and I think my house would be too quiet without them.