Adding puppy into wedding?

Butting a little white bow tie collar on him would be so adorable! I think having your little puppy walk down the isle with your ring bearer is a great idea!

I love the idea of pets in weddings and I wish we could have our 3 with us, but the more I thought about it, the more hassle it was going to be. You'll need to designate someone to watch him for the day and it's not really fair to have a family member do that. It's not fair to Charley to hang out and probably be on leash all day. Maybe you could have him in the ceremony and then have someone take him home?

Yeah maybe someone can take him home during cocktail hour or something

If you have a DOC, you could see if they could take your dog after it reached the altar and put him into his kennel somewhere comfortable for the dog. I would personally find this really stressful, and if your dog isn't 100% at recall, he might not actually walk down the aisle like you want him to (also calling out "Doooooooooooogggg come boy! Come!" during the ceremony seems weird). If your ceremony is outside, what if your dog decides that it's bathroom time?

Also, is your dog calm and reliable in large crowds with music and distractions?

We wanted to have our furbaby at our wedding too, but the logistics didn't work out. Think of how busy and crazy you will be on your wedding day even without your pup. Now factor in; Will your venue allow the dog there? How will he get to the wedding? Will someone bring him just for the ceremony? Will you have a handler for him? Where will he go after the ceremony? How will he get there?

I don't mean to be a Debbie downer, I am just saying that though it was something we really wanted, we decided it would be in everyone's best interest to not have her there. We are going on HM right after the wedding, so we plan to board her the day before the wedding. Perhaps some brides that have had their dogs or other pets at their wedding can give you some more constructive advise. He looks like a little sweetie, and I totally understand why you want him there. Congrats on your new fur baby!

We really wanted to have our animals in our wedding, we have to 2 cats and just got a puppy back in feb. The chapel wont allow pets, and our puppy is insane! lol. he is WAY to excited around people, especially that many, however i do plan of getting pictures with them, and getting a "family photo" i hope

Aw he's adorable! We wish we could have our dog in the wedding, but our venue doesn't allow pets and he would have nowhere to go after the actual ceremony. I hope you can work it out! He would be such a cute ring bearer!

I like the idea of having puppy walk down the aisle with the ring bearer and maybe have someone take him and hold onto him during the ceremony. Is there somewhere you will be able to keep him the rest of the day? If he isn't the most well behaved you may just want to do some wedding photos with him instead of having him potentially interrupt your ceremony as well. He is sure handsome and would look very dapper in a bow tie.

One of my close friends LOVES my dog and has even puppy sat for us once, despite her DH's allergies. She isn't in the wedding, but offered to be the honorary puppy wrangler. She's going to pick her up in the morning, play with her a bunch so she's not crazy energetic and dragging my flower girl down the aisle, then she's taking her back to my FIL's house after the ceremony.

I was the MOH/Dog Handler at a wedding. It was super cute BUT there was a lot of hassle involved. For example, you have to bring a kennel after the ceremony....and then will he bark/whine the entire time? Who takes him home? etc..

I had a bride who had her boxer as her ring bearer- someone took him out for a potty break and then brought him back in. He got so excited to see his mom (the bride) that he jumped up on her... leaving dirty paw prints on her dress.

Just be careful!

I wanted to have both my dogs in some of our wedding pictures but I can't make myself assign someone to drive them to and from Downtown Nashville to our place. It's not really far but I just don't think the dogs will behave and it can be a mess so we just took engagement pictures with them and we'll have some printed at the wedding. I might change my mind but for now I can't handle that stress that day.

I am a huge dog lover but there was no way I'd have my 3 dogs in my wedding (even if it weren't in a church). For one, it can be incredibly stressful on the dog. You say he's calm, but has he been in a situation with a lot of people? You also need to designate someone to watch him, take him home after, calm him if he's stressed. I don't think that's fair to ask anyone to do. And what if any of your guests have allergies or a fear of dogs? What if your dog goes to the bathroom, jumps up on you, sees a squirrel he wants to chase? Whines because he wants to be up at the altar next to you instead of being held by someone?

In the end, I just don't think it's fair to your guests or your dog. But that's just my opinion.

I personally would be a little concerned that it would be too stressful for the dog myself.

We have lots of couples who include their dogs, but they almost always have a handler.

Our pup walked with a groomsmen. lol He was stoked about it. I gave her a Benadryl to calm her nerves before the ceremony. She walked up with the groomsmen then a guest grabbed Lola so she wouldnt be standing up there for the entire ceremony. Luckily there was a pet hotel 2 min from the venue so my BMs husband took her back to the pet hotel for us.

I have to say I giggled at the 'he's really smart and calm' part. He's obviously pretty young right now and your wedding is a year away - you have zero clue right now what his behavior will be like come the wedding.

Sorry, that sounds harsh, but you have to think of the dog in these situations rather than what would be cute. Not all dogs do well in crowds - in fact most don't. And a 1 year old, definitely not. 1 year olds are excitable and energetic. You would have to work really hard between now and then socialising him, and training him to make sure that he can sit calm and quiet during the ceremony.

All in all though, I don't think it's fair. The only time I can imagine having a dog in a wedding being OK is if it's an older dog who's well passed the excitable puppy stage, and will happily just lie quiet and be totally unfazed by noise and people and excitement.

And this is coming from a girl who is utterly mad about her dogs - and plans changing careers soon to be able to work with them. But I don't think most of them have a place at a wedding.

Is your ceremony outside? Not many indoor places will allow dogs. And yes, you will need a designated puppy handler to make it go smoothly. But it also will be very overwhelming for the pup. Lots of people, lots of new things, etc. So we just included him in our engagement pictures, we brewed wine for the reception and he is on the Merlot, and we may incorporate him in other ways.

Thanks everyone! Maybe I'll just have him in engagement pictures

I hate to say it, but I agree with Nicola. A one year old dog is not always the best dog to be in a wedding. I remember you getting him recently and they say typically it takes a month before your dog actually acts like themselves after getting adopted so though he may be calm now, you don't know what is going to happen. That being said, I am typically pro dogs in weddings. My dogs were both in my wedding, one was 2.5 and the other was almost 5. I have worked really hard with socialization. We go to parks, events, the beach, the mall, you name it, I've taken them. They're used to being around 100 people at a time. The night before the wedding they stayed with me and my cousin(Bridesmaid) at our hotel. The next morning they got ready with me and were in the pictures. About an hour before the wedding one of my friends came and got my dogs. She walked them the mile to the venue to make sure they had gone to the bathroom and were tired so they weren't going to be crazy. Before the ceremony one of Dh friends (who stayed wih him the night before and wasn't in the wedding) came early and held the dogs outside. One bridesmaid walked my younger dog down the aisle and another friend (who's job was literally dog escort on my programs) walked my older dog. The younger dog stood with us at the aisle but I was afraid of my older dog getting anxious standing there with no one petting him so he sat next to the chair of said friend and my mil/FIL. After the ceremony they were in a few pictures and then an extended family friend came (80 miles) and brought my dogs all the way back to our house. For me, it worked out perfectly. I can't imagine it any other way and I wasn't willing to pick a venue that wouldn't allow my dogs in the wedding. However, I knew my dogs personalities and how they would react. They both did perfect other than the younger one crying like twice because his brother was too far away. The bridesmaid dropped his leash and he went to sit near the chairs too and the rest of the ceremony was perfect.