Too soon for a puppy??

[pollypurebred39]

The only thing I can add to this is to do your research. Not all breeds are good family pets. It's wise to pick a dog that does not have skin tenderness. Kids, even older ones can yank at fur/skin and not mean to. There are dogs that have looser skin (seriously) and are not as easily hurt. Some dog breeds are just natural babysitters and love nothing more then the kids heads resting on them, they don't mind a hat or a pair of sunglasses plopped on their heads, and enjoy even heavy handed affection. There are breeds that are mellow, seriously mellow and have low biting incidents.

You want to be totally sure about what breed you want to introduce into your family. I'm not saying don't get a dog from the pound, I'm saying, know your breeds so when you decide it's a good time to get a dog you're not swayed by that cute face and wagging tail. A lot less would be surrendered to the pound if people did their research first. Remember 101 Dalmatians? After that movie came out, people went out in droves and bought Dalmatians. A few months later the pounds were overrun with them. Why? Because in "general" Dalmatians make very poor family pets.

Wishing you the very best on picking out your puppy when the time is right for your family.

[wanderlusting]

I would wait. We've had our dog for 7 years before I got pregnant, and it's still hard with our 8 month old twins. I can't imagine with a puppy! Puppies need lots of attention, guidance and discipline which is hard to give when you have a baby that needs the same. Plus puppies don't know their strength and can end up hurting baby accidentally.

ITA with what the other ppl said- don't get a pet for Christmas. It sort of says that the pet is an item, not a living creature.

Even if you adopt an adult dog, you'll still need to work on some training.