This post contains affiliate links that I earn a commission through. Thank you for supporting Twins and Coffee!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Purina. All opinions are mine alone. #proplanprobiotic #CollectiveBias

There are so many things you never think about before becoming a parent.

Even with the best planning, I learn something new every single day with the twins.

One of the most surprising things I’ve learned over the last year and half has to do with raising your baby with the family dog.

I have to admit, I was nervous about how our massive Shepherd, Sig, would react to the twins arrival. He is such a protector, and my only hope was that he would be the same way with the twins.

Lucky for us, he has been the absolute best. His reactions to the twins actually surprised me.

He took to them right away and hasn’t let go since!

But raising your baby with the family dog comes a lot of things you flat out would never expect.

At least my husband and I didn’t.

Here are a few realities of raising your baby with a family dog.

Seven Realities of Raising your Baby with a Family Dog

1. It is a lot harder to get them out than you thought!

For REAL. I guess I never put too much thought into how much of a struggle walking a 120lb dog while pushing a double stroller would be. But, yeah that is a NO! I tried it once. We went back inside real quick.

Click here for a few tips on getting out with your dog after baby.

2. You might accidently give the same nicknames…OOPS!

I didn’t realize this for the longest time. My husband pointed it out after a few months when I kept getting frusterated that the dog would come every time I was playing with one of the twins.

Well, that is because our nickname for Sig was Bubba, and I had started calling our boy twin that also!

Oops!

3. Those bowls on the floor have to go

I tried to stick it out. Make it work. But nope. Raising your baby with the family dog means no food and water bowls laying around the kitchen unless you love wet socks and a giant, uncessesary mess.

We keep the dog water bowl in our room now and his food bowl only comes down when he is eating.

4. You might find hair…everywhere

Not to get too graphic. But by everywhere, I mean everywhere. Alllll over baby. Diaper and all. And yes, it is gross!

5. Suddenly you’re sweeping 20 times a day

This might not apply if you don’t have a German “Shredder” like we do, but dang. I have never swept more than I do now. I never noticed how much dog hair was laying around during the week until one of the twins started pulling themselves around on the floor.

I was sweeping all the time. Pro tip? Invest in some sort of fabric pad sweeper. Much easier to grab all of the dog hair!

6. Dogs just know, and it’s weird

I was so worried about Sig reacting poorly with the twins. But he ended up really pulling through. Dogs just know. Somehow. They know. They know to be gentle (for the most part) and have yet to sit on top of a baby on the couch.

I call that a WIN.

7. You’ll start to pay more attention to their food

This comes from the baby getting into the food, and you starting to pay so much more attention to what is going into your families bodies.

I remember when we were introducing foods to the twins, I started to really notice a lot of the ingredients that everyone was eating.

Yes, even our dog Sig.

We ended up finding out about the Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® varieties and decided to give them a go just a few months ago to see if the food really had a great impact on Sig’s health.

And girl. Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® actually turned him around.

His coat has never been shinier, he actually asks for his meals now, and he hasn’t had any potty problems since.

We decided to go for the Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Dog Food because they have real high-quality poultry, meat or fish as the #1 ingredient and has a money back gurantee.

So for me, that was a win win. I figured if the Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Dog Food didn’t bring out the best in Sig, I at least could head back to Petsmart and get my money back.

Petsmart is my pet store of choice, so I was happy to find that they carried the large variety of Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Dog Food.

They also offer an in-store pick up. So all you have to do is get online and order the specific Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Dog Food that you’re looking to try and then you have five days to get to the store for pick up.

As a crazy busy working mom of twins, that kind of flexibility is everything to me!

I ended up snagging the Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Shredded Adult Dog Food in the Chicken & Rice Flavor during our first go around back in October, and have been purchasing the same variety since. Click on that image above to shop for yourself and grab a sweet deal!

Buy Pro Plan Savor Dry, Get $10 Back in the form of a digital prepaid card. (begins on 1/20/19 and runs through 2/28/19)

When looking through, keep in mind that not all varieties of Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® Shredded Adult Dog Food include probiotics. But the ones that do help with the digestive system and that statement has held true for Sig!

If you’re getting ready to bring a baby into the family, or welcome a new dog to the team, I hope you keep in mind these few realities of raising your baby with a family dog.

Life is about to get a little crazy either way youre diving into this world of baby and dog, but it’ll be good.

And don’t forget, check out that link here to score that $10 offer as well as learn a bit more about the Purina® Pro Plan® Savor® products.