Similarities Between Babies and Puppies

I love my baby and my dog. They both bring so much joy to my life. However, since raising both a puppy and a baby, several similarities have popped up between the two that bear mentioning. Obviously, both are the young of their species, are adorable, and inspire limitless odes of love. But there are several other things, funny, gross, and cute, that babies and puppies have in common.

First of all, the bathroom business, arguably the messiest part of having either. Both will have potty accidents until trained. At first it is purely an accident. Later on, both can do it to spite you, especially if you won't let them do something. Then they stick everything in their mouths, especially the stuff that you don't want them to. Anything and everything they will chew on, and this includes their own body parts. Babies go for their feet and hands, while dogs prefer their tails and paws.

Though they can focus on chewing for a little while, both have extremely short attention spans. They like to watch and try to play with other species, especially each other. But they soon move on to other things, like pulling every toy out of the toy basket and, having accomplished this feat, move on to pull out other things elsewhere. The trash is usually the next no-no place. For some reason, a trash can equals immediate fun, even with nothing but dirty diapers in there. Once you have gotten them away from the trash and put them in front of the expensive toy that you got them, neither wants anything to do with it. Instead, all they want to do is play with the empty cereal box or cardboard tube from the toilet paper.

After all that play, both babies and puppies can keep going. At times, it seems that they have boundless energy. But when both crash, they crash hard. Each will sleep as hard as they just played. Then they both wake up and are ready to play again. But watch out if you've recently given either a bath. Babies and puppies both will find a way to get dirty within 3.5 seconds of being changed or groomed. You always have to watch both like a hawk, lest they get into something dangerous or yucky. And you have to safety proof the house for both.

It is fun to watch as each learns that they have a voice. Both will test out the limits of that voice by howling, shrieking, barking, babbling, and making lots of happy noises. If you're lucky, once the baby becomes mobile, she'll crawl to you when you call to her. More than likely, she'll be like her friend the puppy and run the other way. Both love to be played with and cuddle. They also both return affection abundantly, with tail wags for the puppy and kisses or snuggles from the baby.

Having both a dog and a baby, or one or the other, is a lot of work, but it is work well worth doing. It can be hard at times, but the rewards are plentiful. We just need to remember to laugh as the baby pulls all of the dog treats out of the jar as the puppy happily gobbles them up.