WTF compare your dog to my child, really?

JRsquared · February 2009

I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day catching up and she asked how things were going with DD. So I told her How things have been mostly good but a little rough in the sleep area because she is teething and both DH & I have been sick on and off so we've been dragging. She bristled a little and kinda of gave me a little attitude saying how she has a dog and she has to get up very early every day to take care of the dog, not to mention that the dog wakes her up several times in the night either barking to go out or barking at the paper guy or whatnot. So I basically she ended with saying she knows she'll be all set when it comes time to having a kid because she's used to getting no sleep and we should consider ourselves lucky because at least when we have to get up with DD we don't have to go outside in the cold we just get to snuggle with the baby.

I know a lot of people consider their animals their children but I was a little taken by surprise at her comment

Jessibell · February 2009

So she's of childbearing age? She sounds like my 400 year old coworker that never married or had kids.

katydid2007 · February 2009

dogs do not compare to babies.. but my cocker spaniel was a huge pain in the a$s to train as a puppy. She was up 3+ times a night. Sometimes she would go to the bathroom all over the place and we would have to clean it up in the middle of the night. We always needed to take her out in the middle of the night too, which required getting dressed, getting in the elevator and walking around the block with her. It was miserable and it was great practice for a baby. DH and often say that Layla was more difficult than Mason. I wouldn't take offense to what your friend is saying. If she doesn't have children she really doesn't get it and yes, puppies can be a lot of work too.

Erika6504 · February 2009

Yeah, don't you know...kids and dogs are exactly the same!

Some people are just too dumb for words. Hopefully when/if she has kids, she'll realize what an idiot she was.

tre777 · February 2009

My parents dog is now up there in age. He wakes my parents up all night to go outside... they have to go out w/ him. I would rather stay warm & toasty inside my house w/ the baby when he wakes up.?

Comparing a dog to a baby, um...NO. That is like saying that you are ready for a pet because you watered & kept your plants alive for a month. lol?

JRsquared · February 2009

Yes, she's 28. I almost said something somewhat nasty back but I held my tongue but really I don't think there is any need for someone to make a comment like that. I wasn't complaining or venting to her. she asked how things were, and I told her. and I'm sorry...getting up a few times a night to let your dog out is NOT the same as getting up every 1.5 hours to feed or comfort your baby. I mean, there have been times when I've gotten maybe 3 hours of broken sleep and still had to function the next day. that's not the same

took79 · February 2009

Yeah puppies can be hard during the training phase, but if you train them well... oh wait I think your friend missed the training part.

JRsquared · February 2009

tre777:

That is like saying that you are ready for a pet because you watered & kept your plants alive for a month. lol

LOL !

MirandaHobbes · February 2009

DITTO! I have close friends that do the same thing- I commiserate with their having to get up early with the dog but it is not.the.same. She gave me attitude once saying "we get up the same time as YOU Miranda!!" But then she admitted that when she has to get up to feed the dog or let him out she can go back to sleep. Not so much with a baby.

JRsquared · February 2009

I think because she doesn't have a lot of people around with babies or young kids she probably doesn't know and I'm probably a little over sensitive to it because I'm so cranky and tired, lol so I'm glad I didn't say anything I would regret but it just rubbed me the wrong way...

Sept0906 · February 2009

Oh jeez! 2 weeks after DH & I found out I was pregnant, we picked up an 8 week old Goldendoodle - IT IS NOT THE SAME!!!!!

I love my puppy but IT IS NOT THE SAME!!!!!

TakYelgif · February 2009

this post reminds me of the time my MIL & FIL suggested that DH and I get a puppy before having children to see what being parents is "really" like.

Seriously WTF?

We did not follow that little tidbit of advice.

violets_are_blue · February 2009

Well obviously it's idiotic to compare a baby to a dog. But I have to admit she has a point. I wouldn't want to have to get up and go outside in the freezing cold in the middle of the night either! Luckily you can feed your baby in your comfy and cozy (and warm!) home.

wvagirl · February 2009

i have a friend who does this constantly. maybe her way of relating when i talk about ds? she is expecting her first child, and i think she is in for a surprise about how much different child rearing is from caring for her dog.

tribe99 · February 2009

I have a friend who does this too... no matter what anyone says about their kids, she has a "relevant" dog story. ?I always got the impression that she felt kind of left out because she doesn't have a baby yet, and was just trying to grasp at some common ground to fit in. ?I know it annoyed you, but I think it's great that you let it go and didn't say anything nasty to her.

IckyThump · February 2009

Yes, a dog and a baby are two different things, but I honestly wouldn't be upset or offended if someone offered up a pet story after I talked about DS. I think you might have been a little oversensitive.

eowynmn · February 2009

I've had four different people try to empathize with my sleep issues citing their dogs as examples. Dog people are crazy.

citygirl_ · February 2009

IckyThump:
Yes, a dog and a baby are two different things, but I honestly wouldn't be upset or offended if someone offered up a pet story after I talked about DS. I think you might have been a little oversensitive.

Ditto.. it's the only thing she has to compare to and she's probably trying to empathize with you. No big deal, really.

katydid2007 · February 2009

eowynmn:
I've had four different people try to empathize with my sleep issues citing their dogs as examples. Dog people are crazy.

I think I may be a crazy dog person. Embarrassed

DS never STTN and I still think it's easier than it was getting up with the dog. I think it was b/c we live(d) in the city and it was a huge production to get the dog out. We'd be holding her in the elevator and sometimes she wouldn't be able to hold it and pee on us. The good thing was it only lasted a few months until she was trained, where we're going on month 7 with DS.

Is this a bad time to AW my dog? C'mon... she's cute, isn't she?? Stick out tongue

7/04Bride · February 2009

JRsquared:

I know a lot of people consider their animals their children but I was a little taken by surprise at her comment

Don't you worry - she'll be "taken by surprise" when she realizes it's nowhere near the same once she has a baby. I remember when DS was tiny and was still figuring out nights and days, so when he would get up at night, he was often up for 2 hours before going back to sleep. It was awful getting up and having NO IDEA when I'd be able to get back to sleep. With a dog, it's usually within minutes.

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