Right now your house probably feels like a collision of needs. A wobbling toddler who grabs everything, a puppy who nips and puddles, and you in the middle wondering if you've made a beautiful mistake. That knot in your stomach is normal. It doesn't mean you can't do this — it means you love both of them and you're taking the stakes seriously. Good. That instinct is your best tool.

Here's the truth that changes everything: the first two weeks aren't about training a perfect dog or teaching your child to be gentle overnight. They're about designing your environment so that safety is the default, not something you have to enforce every second. When the setup does the heavy lifting, you get to breathe.