Parenting a Puppy
Several weeks ago, my family decided that two dogs just weren’t enough for our family of seven humans. And so we added a third dog. A Golden Retriever puppy, to be precise. His name is Dallas, and he’s just about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.
Cuteness aside, though, he is a puppy…a baby…a lot of work. We’ve had puppies over the years, but I think we tend to forget just how much attention and energy they demand. I think the same can be said for human babies. There is a beautiful forgetfulness about how much work is required for such a tiny being. I imagine this was God’s intention–to help us have more recall for the preciousness of the little lives than for the exhausting effort it takes to care for them.
And so we mainly remembered how great it is to have a puppy dog, and we brought Dallas home.
I must confess here that my husband Kevin has been the primary caregiver for Dallas. He is the one who gets up with him during the night and early in the morning; he monitors how much food Dallas eats each day; he takes him to the vet; he is teaching him simple commands; and he is training him to pee and poop outside.
Did I mention that we have two more dogs? And seven humans? Who has time to tend to all this training of a new puppy?? Well, those of you who have pets understand that if you put in the consistent, hard work now, it will pay off greatly in the future. I mean, what if we decided we didn’t have time or were too tired or just didn’t care enough to teach Dallas to “do his business” outside of the house? Our home would be disgusting. Or what if we determined that Dallas would just figure it out on his own eventually? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t happen. Or what if we only took Dallas out once a day, assuming that should be enough for him to learn the habit? Right. That doesn’t work.
You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? Folks, if we put this much time and effort into teaching our pets how to do the right things, imagine how much more time and effort we need to be putting into teaching our children! Don’t get caught up in the fact that I’m comparing kids and dogs, but do consider that there are some similarities. Hard work, commitment, and consistency during the early stages often produces great results in the later stages. This doesn’t mean that disobedience and accidents will never happen, but the likelihood is lessened.
Parents, when we are the ones entrusted with the care of little lives, we must take this responsibility seriously. We must be proactive in teaching and training. We must be consistent so that they have a greater chance of learning the lessons for good. Whether you’re currently caring for a puppy or a kid or both, love them well by teaching them well.
P.S. I can’t be the only one who learns parenting lessons through pups. Share with me what you’ve learned in the comments!
