Puppy = Parenting

When Tom and I decided to get a dog, this was our criteria:

• Must be smallish/medium-sized. Under 35 lbs.
• Not a puppy.
• Non-shedding a plus.
• Calm demeanor
• Easily trained

This is the kind of dog we got:

• Small now. May grow to 40 lbs. Or more.
• 14 week old puppy.
• Short-haired, shouldn't shed, but does. (I'm covered in white hair, and I wear a lot of black. Awesome.)
• Crazy. Loves attention. Usually goes crazy when not receiving enough attention.
• Doesn't listen.

We really picked a winner, didn't we??

I'm convinced that having a puppy is like being a parent. The catch is that we are SO not ready to be parents yet. In a perfect world, we're at least five, if not more, years out from even thinking about being parents.

So why am I looking into daycare, keeping track of doctor visits for vaccinations, calling Tom when the dog misbehaves saying "You will never believe what YOUR dog did...," and speaking in baby talk?

More similarities between puppies & babies:

• They both need structure/schedule in their lives. We have feeding and bathroom schedules pretty much down to a science in our house.
• When Tom's not around, I feel like a single mother, and when he walks in the door, he is usually greeted by me saying "Your turn. You deal with him."
• Dog walker = baby sitter. I never wanted to be the person with a dog walker. Alas, I'm spending more money on this than I do on myself in three months...
• Parenting strategy. Tom and I already started playing the good cop/bad cop game. Not a good idea...
• Boundaries. We set them, he tests them. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
• Being constantly interrupted while on the phone. "What? What do you want? Why are you barking [crying]?"
• They climb into your bed at night. No joke. Okay, so I let him sleep with me 1 night. Then I stopped. Then Tom let him once. Now I wake up every morning to find him on Tom's pillow. Well done, Murdock. Well done.

So in summary, this puppy, while giving us much joy, is a TON of work. Hello, parenting.