March 2, 2016 - Written by: Lauren Williams

How Looking After a Puppy for Two Weeks Has Taught Me That I’m Not Yet Ready for Motherhood

Sometimes, just sometimes, you think you might be ready for something. And sometimes, when my friends are having babies and getting pets and doing all of that grown up stuff, I think I might be just about ready for that next step in life too.

We’ve been talking about getting a puppy for some time. A lovely little bundle of fluffy joy to take out for walks and travel with and go camping and all the good stuff. Something to hike with and Instagram the hell out of and snuggle down with in front of Netflix with when I’m home alone.

But then along came Buddy. Buddy is my friend’s, boss’s beautiful Lab puppy who couldn’t go into kennels whilst they went on holiday because he got a cough. And, as I’m a work-at-home-freelancer, I was the perfect candidate to look after a big ball of energy.

‘It’s practice!’ I squealed, when the other half agreed to looking after him for two weeks. ‘We’re going to get one soon anyway, so at least we’ll know what we’re in for’.

Little did we know, that a puppy is akin to having a child, but needs twice the amount of attention.

Now, don’t get me wrong, when we didn’t have to work and didn’t have deadlines to meet, Buddy was the absolute best. He loves walking and playing and is the cuddliest thing I’ve ever had fall asleep on top of me.

But here comes the crunch: when it came to work, it was impossible. Because the dog always had his head in the bin or was dragging socks out of the laundry basket or was jumping up searching for food on the kitchen counter for the 10th time in as many minutes.

It was exhausting. And barely any work was achieved. And how on earth do people manage to have a family and a dog and work from home? Mind. Blown.

(Image via)

You see. I believe parenthood would be harder – you can’t simply take a child for a walk to chill them out a bit. No, if you take a child for a walk in the rain they’ll make your life worse.

Sleep? Forget it. The puppy woke us at 6.30am sharp, every single day. When you have children, you give up sleep entirely. Am I ready for that? No. I couldn’t even handle just getting up an hour and a half earlier than I usually do to let Buddy out for a wee without grumbling.

And you know what else? You can’t give a child a treat to make them hush. Because you know what treats are full of? Sugar. And that will make life worse.

And how about going out for dinner? I felt guilty for leaving Buddy by himself whilst we went out for a couple of hours to eat and have a beer or two. Imagine the guilt that would course through me if I left a child with a babysitter? Which costs money by the way.

And then there are suddenly all of those places that are off your frequent-flyer list because you have a four-legged friend. My favourite pub. That cafe we usually go to for lunch. Our friend’s house. I think I prefer my freedom, thanks.

Looking after Buddy was a pleasure, but it was a serious lesson learnt in where I am in life: I am far too young and selfish to be responsible for another life just yet. And that’s just fine.

If you enjoyed this post, why not check out ‘To The Singletons‘?