Puppies and Children ..... Just the same, right?

Apologies for not writing in a while, but those of you who visited recently may have noticed me looking a little 'rotund' (think beach ball stuck up the jumper and you're half way there), and on the 19th Feburary 2012, our first child, George Saunders was born. He's keeping me quite busy as babies do.

Our newest recruit, Baby George.

Before his arrival me and Lee would often joke about how little we knew about babies, and how George would be brought up in the only way we know how - like a puppy! 

Of course I'm joking! (you can get away with alot more with a puppy!) - but it has given us a laugh to think about the similarities...

1.) Sleeping through:

Both puppies and babies will cry at night. Your cot/basket is a very lonely and scary place when you're so small and helpless. Apparently both babies and puppies are comforted by bedding which smells of their mum/owner. George was in special care for a few weeks before we brought him home and after reading this I did actually spend most days with a blanket stuck up my jumper so that when we visited him in the evening I could wrap him up in the hope that it would be some comfort when I wasn't there. In both cases with patience sleeping through will eventually happen - and you need to stick to your guns - you're just making life harder in the long run if you let puppy/baby into your bed on a regular basis!

Getting puppies and babies to sleep through the night is no easy task!

2.) Teething:

 You give the puppy a rubber bone, or a pigs ear, and you give the baby a teething ring. The only difference is, that a baby won't chew up your favourite shoes if you neglect to give them a suitable teether!

3.) Potty training:

The day your puppy/baby becomes toilet trained is a happy one indeed. No more nappies or accidents on the kitchen floor, and the end result of lots of hard work and patience in both cases!

4.) wrecking the place:

George is only 8 weeks old at the moment, so I still have the toddler phase to look forward to (lets just say Im enjoying him while he stays where I put him!). But I have seen the havoc that toddlers bring and it's just as bad as having a puppy. Chewed carpet (puppy), scribbles on walls (toddler), bins emptied all over the floor (both!). Lets just say that until they are adults, your house will never be tidy again!

5.) Sick and Poo!

Puppies and babies both have less mature immune systems than adults. Couple this with a tendency to put every new object they find in their mouths (and in both cases - sometimes swallow them!) and the result is they are going to get sick quite often! When I used to be a dog walker I walked a Spaniel pup called Jasper and every day I would enter the house to be greeted by a new object he had sicked up. Socks, paper, plastic bags, he even poo'd a whole wristwatch once!

6.) Manners

As a responsible parent/owner, it is up to you to turn this tiny and adorable thug into a well rounded and polite individual.  You need to nip in the bud any nervousness, over excitedness, and aggression in order that they can grow up and fit into society.

Joking aside, I don't think puppies and children are really that dissimilar. They are both hard work and oh so cute - the only thing is that if I'd owned a pup for 8 weeks I'd probably have it half trained by now!