Eight Reasons Why I’m Glad My Toddler has a Dog

Did you know today, April 26th is National Kids and Pets Day? I just recently learned about this day, and I thought, what better way to “celebrate” than to write about our pet.

I grew up with a family of dogs, and it feels weird living in a house without one. My husband didn’t have a family dog growing up but he always wanted one. When we got married, we were going to get a dog as soon as possible. For us, that happened to take three years.

We finally adopted a German Shepherd when I was 8 months pregnant with Rowan. She was a fully grown, two-year-old pup named Ezra, the calmest one in the shelter. She came home with us that day.

Some people said we were crazy for introducing a new dog and then a baby within a few short weeks of each other. But it just felt right to us, and we wanted our unborn son to grow up with a dog.

Here we are, a year and a half later, and Rowan (the baby, now toddler) and Ezra (the dog) are best friends. One of Rowan’s first words was daw (dog) before he even said Mama.

I’ve come up with eight reasons why I’m glad my toddler has a dog.

1. Having a dog and a baby makes for some adorable pictures.[spacer height=”10px”]
2. I never have to clean up the floor under the high chair after we eat or Rowan’s face.[spacer height=”10px”][spacer height=”10px”]
3. The dog and the toddler play together. I’m convinced that our dog will teach Rowan how to share.[spacer height=”10px”]
4. When we get home from an outing, the first thing Rowan wants to do is find the dog and say hello.[spacer height=”10px”][spacer height=”10px”]
5. Having a dog makes us take family walks nightly. The dog and Rowan remind us after dinner that a walk needs to happen.[spacer height=”10px”]
6. Rowan makes sure we are feeding Ezra. Having a dog is apparently teaching Rowan responsibility. [spacer height=”10px”][spacer height=”10px”]
7. Experts say having a dog helps with development. I honestly believe that Rowan started walking to keep up with our dog. One of the first things that happened after Rowan started walking was that he chased the dog around our kitchen island and laughed with joy the whole time.[spacer height=”10px”]
8. Not all dogs will do this, but our dog puts up with a lot. Rowan climbs on top of her, sits, and cuddles. Rowan can do no wrong to our dog and our dog can do no wrong to Rowan.[spacer height=”10px”]

If you have pets, are your babes best friends with them too?