A child is a huge commitment. It drains your time, emotions and finances. It’s going to consume most of your life. For potential parents who want to make this commitment, they should first know what they’re getting into. Getting a dog can be an eye-opening experience for a couple. Think of it as a trial run. You’ve got to know whether you and your partner are reliable. It’s not that raising a puppy and raising a child are directly equivalent, but the puppy provides you with experience. The real purpose to raising a pet is to see how you and your partner behave when you’re taking care of a living thing together.
One of the first things that causes newlyweds to divorce is the discovery of each other’s living behaviors. How one behaves in the privacy of their own home is most likely nothing like how they present themselves to the public. And the birth of a child can deeply change one’s behavioral patterns. That’s why adding a third element to the relationship, a pet that has constant needs, can reveal signs as to how the family might behave with an actual child. People fear divorce but for the wrong reasons. There’s nothing wrong in getting out of an unhealthy relationship. The real problem is the fear of alimony. And this comes as a result of parents who either had a child too early in the relationship or thought that having a child could somehow save the marriage. The reasons behind divorce may not appear immediately, only coming to the surface when it’s too late. Even when living together a couple might not understand how the other interprets responsibility.
It’s much cheaper to take care of a dog, but it’s also a lot safer. It’s a great way to discover more about your spouse. And if you feel you’re not right for each other, you don’t have to pay nearly as much in alimony, if any at all. Divorce is a scary thing, but it’s even scarier when you constantly have to donate a piece of your paycheck to a family you’re no longer a part of.
A dog may be low-budget, but it’s high-maintenance in terms of attention. Of course, a child is much more complicated than a dog, but a dog is a great way to find out whether you’re capable of supporting a living organism as opposed to just living together. It’s not that it develops a healthy marriage, but rather it helps newlyweds discover new and different aspects of each other and their relationship. If you can handle the responsibilities of training, walking and cleaning up after a puppy, without infuriating or being infuriated by your significant other, then you just might be good for each other.