To Get a Dog or Not Get a Dog

My husband and I are dog-people. We had dogs for as long as we can remember. We always wanted our children to have their own “fuzzy, lovable partners in crime.” It’s a recurring conversation in our family that recently came up again. Here is our current list of pros and cons:

We are considering many “working dog” breeds but many share some requirements/specific needs :

• They need room to get their energy out.
• They must be exercised/run.
• They are very smart, so they need special attention and stimulation.
• Very dominant dog, so a strong alpha is required. Otherwise, they will think they are the alpha, which can be a risk for bites.
• Must be regularly socialized, so their naturally protective instincts don’t see other humans and dogs as threats.

Pro:

• Great for the kids’ health/immune system, it lessens the chance they will be allergic later in life.
• Would force us to run again and get the kids out of the house. We already do take time kids for a walk, run and/or park time every day so this is a lifestyle we already practice.
• Our 2 year old has had “chores” for about a year now so adding feeding/watering a dog would be an age appropriative addition to the things she can do.
• Having the puppy training phase complete before we move into something we might own or a bigger place would be nice (I would rather not have to deal with repainting or having the dog chew a new to us sofa).

Cons:

• As a family of four we live in a two bedroom apartment, so space is on the tighter side and we have a patio but no yard.
• We don’t have family locally with animals so I will have to intentionally socialize the puppy at a park with the kids, which is going to be an active, balancing act.
• I am a stay-at-home mom with a 2 under 3. Between all the meltdowns, toys, yelling, winning, adding a barking, toy chewing puppy, peeing/pooping (children and puppy) to the mix just seem overwhelming at the moment.

After a pretty quick conversation, the puppy has been punted for another year. My husband and I have always been in agreement on the breed of dog we want. We want the dog to have a good life. We currently feel the life we have would not be fair to the puppy/dog. Personally I feel like most of the responsibility will fall on me as I am home (100% okay with that). Right now with my youngest being so small, I feel like they still need my full attention. I am hoping once my kids are a bit older, this will free up some of my time for dog training.

What do you think? Should we move up the timeline or should we wait?