What comes first: the dog or the kids?

What would you recommend to couples who don’t yet have children or a dog: get a dog first or have a kid first?

Getting the dog first has its advantages. One mom told me that having a dog first gets you used to all the poo you’ll be dealing with when you have babies. Another friend of mine said if you have the dog first and then kids, the dog will get ignored once baby comes, and life would change dramatically for him/her — and that would be cruel.

What do you think? My husband and I had a dog before kids, and then after she died last year, we adopted another two weeks ago. So I’ve seen both sides. And I have to say that I would recommend that couples have kids first. It’s easier and less mean to a dog to have him/her come into and adapt to an established family, than to have a dog first and then children, quite possibly making the dog’s life change suddenly.

Our newly adopted Labrador Retriever, Ruby.
Dog first or baby first?