Dad’s Best Friend - Man’s Best Friend- Boy's Best Friend - Baby's Best Friend

Rivi and Tanner Looking out Dad Blogs Window

We all know the first best friend for a dad is their wife. I am lucky to have a great wife in Melissa. The next best friend, our man’s best friend, is the dog.

Melissa really wanted a dog. So I though to myself, “Happy wife, happy life.” We had to find a non-allergenic breed because she is allergic to most dogs. We found one that would meet our family needs in a Cavachon (King Charles Cavalier and a Bichon Frise mix). We really wanted a good family dog and we came upon the Cavachon breed. We found the dog before we decided to have children. We made the down payment and a few months later, we found out Rylan would be in our future.

Tanner came into our life as a puppy. He was full of spunk and energy that is still in there 18 months later. I never knew a puppy could be so much work with a pregnant wife. I ended up

Tanner and Rylan - Baby's Best Friend

doing a lot of work because Melissa couldn’t handle some of the care with being pregnant. I thought to myself that this was a lot of work and I hope having a child is not this much work. I was the one responsible letting the dog out in the middle of the night, cleaning up the poop and urine and taking away the “toys” he was not supposed to chew on like our rugs and chairs.

Just like parenting though, days did get easier with Tanner and a lot better by the time Rylan was born. Tanner is still a lot of work and sometimes more work than Rylan. He still has a lot of puppy in him. He still gets Rylan’s toys like his stuffed animals and balls. He needs to go for his walks and sometimes be encouraged to pee and poop. Rylan is a content baby and it is pretty easy to get the kid to laugh. Tanner can be stubborn. You can tell he is thinking of the next way can get in trouble without us knowing.

Well, dad blog, how does this relate to the title? Look at the pictures. The pictures speak for themselves.

Rylan and Tanner First Halloween - Dad's Best Friends

With all of the troubles a dog can be, there are many benefits to having a dog. One of the great benefits is seeing your child and dog growing up together. The day we brought Rylan home from the hospital, Tanner was excited. He was most excited about the spit up. Ever since they have been together, Tanner has been an excellent dog to Ryaln. Rylan is now playing with Tanner, and Tanner lets him pull his hair while Rylan laughs. You can already tell that Rylan and Tanner love each other.

I grew up with dogs. Rylan is lucky enough to grow up with man’s best friend, the dog. I am excited to see Rylan to grow up with best friend. He will play catch with him, take him for walks and run around with him in the backyard. Rylan and I will grow up together as father and son, but we will grow up with the same best friend, our dog, Tanner.