Kids vs Dogs

I know I've discussed this topic before, but I just need to revisit for a bit.

As I type this, that dog of mine, Rudy, is barking at the back door, because the neighbor dogs are barking.  Rudy loves to bark.  He barks to go out.  He barks to play.  He barks when we throw a toy in the pool and he can't get at it. He barks to go to daycare.  He barks at other dogs.  He barks at people.  He will lay down or stand in the backyard and bark at seemingly nothing.  That seemingly nothing sometimes may be other dogs far away that I cannot hear, or not.

Kids don't bark.  They talk and yell.  If other kids yell, they may also yell.  But if kids yell, you can't grab them by the collar and shove them in a crate.  Kids will tell you exactly how they feel (I hate you mommy) while with dogs, there is a lot of guessing (I hate that you don't feed me all day long and aren't hanging out with me 24/7).

Dogs can be as expensive as you let them.  So can kids.  If you don't spend enough on kids though, there is more of a chance of you getting in trouble for it.

I've spent a lot of time training this dog, but not nearly enough.  If he was a kid, it would be even less quality time than what would be acceptable.

I like sleep.  This dog, who is not yet a year old, sleep soundly enough most nights.  I don't have to worry too often that he will wake me up in the middle of the night to go potty or whatever.  Not like babies and kids.  I see so many facebook posts about people being tired because the kid kept them up all night.  Those first few months of having to get up a couple of times a night to let the puppy out were so exhausting - and that was only a few months.  Now this guy has a bladder bigger than mine.  I have to get up in the middle of the night sometimes, way more often than Rudy.

Kids are nice, but so are dogs and cats and miniature ponies and pot bellied pigs, etc.  No one ever nags couples to ask them when they are going to get a dog, cat, miniature pony, pot bellied pig, etc, do they?