Like us and thousands of couples all over the world, you might also be hoping for your own little miracle. That little mini-you that actually changes everything in your world. Someone so tiny, but whose arrival can have an immense influence on your life. A breathtaking miracle that could turn your world upside-down- in a good way. While you wait, have you considered adopting a pet dog? Adopt a Dog when TTC, and it can help you prepare.
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Here are five reasons why I think it’s great to adopt a Dog when TTC or trying to conceive.
- You learn to be dependable.
- Happy dogs lift your mood.
- You are forced to adopt healthy habits.
- Dogs can help promote relaxation and reduce stress.
- You learn basic nursing skills.
1. Adopt a Dog when TTC and You Learn to Be Dependable
To train for parenthood, having a pet dog in the house teaches you to be more dependable. Adopting your own dog means you will be responsible and in charge of another life. A life that would rely on you for many things. These include feeding it at least twice a day, giving it a bath, scheduling and bringing it to the groomers, taking it to the vet for vaccines and regular check-ups, giving it medicine and caring for it when it’s sick, walking it every day and more.
According to canine researcher Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia, it’s interesting that some behavioral measures indicated that dogs’ mental abilities are close to a human child aged around two years old. So it will be similar to taking care of a baby until it grows into a toddler—at least in terms of intelligence.
Although it could include a lot of walking in the park, it surely won’t be a walk in the park. And although it will not be comparable to having to take care of another human being, as tested and proven, having a similar experience would be an enormously effective teacher.
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. — Josh Billings (a.k.a. Henry Wheeler Shaw; humorist and lecturer)
2. A Happy Dog Will Lift Your Mood
A healthy, well-loved dog would reciprocate and show love in its own little ways. A happy dog could easily uplift your mood, as it expresses its happiness to see you in the morning or when you get home, even just from an hour-long errand.
Having a healthy pet dog is equivalent to waking up to happy barks, loving licks, and a wagging tail. You can just imagine all the licks, love, and excitement you have to endure when you’re away for a few days. So much happiness and love in the house, and you’ll be excited to welcome more family members!
3. You Are Forced to Be Healthy
Having a dog in the house would somehow help, or rather force, you to stay healthy. If you’re trying to conceive, your obstetrician would normally advise you to eat and live healthily, as this would increase the chances of conceiving.
It is frequently reliant on the breed, but more often than not, having a dog in the house would require you to walk with it almost every day. Some playful pups might even oblige you to accomplish a regular running and sprinting session. Or else, you would need to save your slippers, shoes, hairbrush, or anything it could sink its teeth into— sometimes even items from the trash—from total annihilation.
If you’re not the very active type, you could take comfort in knowing that you’re gaining a healthy heart in the process. Needless to say, caring for a dog could keep you and your partner in tip-top shape and make life more exciting.
4. Having a Pet Promotes Relaxation and Helps Lower Blood Pressure
To stay in the best shape and easily get pregnant, you are advised to stay away from stress and to constantly de-stress. In these modern times of technology and capitalism, when money can get you practically anything, there is a multitude of expensive ways to do that.
But why shell out your savings when you can de-stress at home for free? According to WebMD, petting your dog could feel good, effectively lower blood pressure, and help the body release relaxation hormones. Yes, giving your beloved pet a belly rub is also beneficial to you. So after a stressful workday, reward yourself by spending quality time with your puppy love.
Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished – Dean Koontz (author, Whispers)
5. You Learn Basic Nursing Skills as a Pet Parent
Being a pet parent will help improve your basic nursing skills. Like human babies, a dog cannot say exactly when they doesn’t feel right. They are not able to say when there’s something painful or if they feel uncomfortable.
It will be left to you to determine, based on their symptoms, if it is something that can be dealt with from home or if it is already serious and needs a veterinarian’s attention.
These are just a few reasons why it is encouraged for trying-to-conceive couples to adopt a dog. For sure, having kids is going to be on an entirely different level compared to taking care of pets. But for now, this is something that you can experience that is relatively close to having your own little family. Let’s be thankful for having these loyal, loving fur balls around.
Disclaimer: This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
Our adopted mixed-breed Poodle/Terrier, Belle, celebrated her fourth birthday last week. She and her sister, Pepper, an Aspin (a Philippine local mixed breed), give us so much joy, and they’re such wonderful additions to our little family.
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