To think dogs are unhygienic

Please post it, I love seeing pictures of pets and children enjoying each other's company.

They’re absolutely unhygienic. They are also the meaning of life.

Not RTFT but yes, dogs are fairly filthy. But they are also glorious, the absolute love and joy that they give certainly makes the grubby bits worth it, and then some.

You know there's no 'h' in poo, right?

I mean look above, dogs eat shit. It is soooooooooo

soooooo

gross

Well you should’ve picked it up and then it wouldn’t have happened. Presumably you have poo bags with you for the dog?
There was a post on mumsnet recently and parents were horrified about coming across dog shit in the woods- I think human excrement is a whole new level of foul to be honest.

Well I don’t agree with some of your points but I don’t think you should get a dog given you don’t like them much. Plus you missed off much worse stuff than listed, fox poo and rolling in dead rats is far worse than a bare bum showing!! That’s not even the worse of it either

I might add that a young relative of dh, who is a doctor, and is married to another doctor, has 4 young children and has always had a dog or two since the first was a new baby. And one or other dog has often been cuddled up to a baby. I would post one such truly lovely pic here, only I wouldn’t want any of the more extreme MN brigade dying of shock.

I think quote sums it up ‘looks around in despair at all the muddy pawprints all over the kitchen floor, and considers how many throws I've washed this weekend>. Yep they can be a bit grim, but they give so much more, such a joy and noone is ever as pleased to see me, ever!’

if you are lacking love in your life or need someone to love you or want and uncomplicated love then get a dog and put up with the disgusting habits they have.

love versus poop as far as I can see

If you don’t like dogs you shouldn’t get one, all people in the house need to be on board. For me it is a pretty fundamental part of my life and I would never be in a relationship with someone who didn’t want dogs around. If your DP has previously said that he wants dogs and you’ve just put it off hoping it won’t happen then you are a bit of an arsehole for stringing him along- if he’s never really mentioned it or you’ve always said you don’t like them then I think you are in the clear.

TBH I often find the over-obsession with hygiene by some MNers to be positively unhealthy.

We had dogs for years when dds were at home, and nobody was ever made remotely ill by anything emanating from them.

Same way babies are gross. If you love something,poo and wee is more tolerable. My dog is groomed once a month and doesn't shed so doesn't smell and she adds so much joy and perspective to my life. You don't sound ready for it though.

My dog rolled in animal poo today, ate horse poo and jumped in a muddy bog.I had to bath her in my bath as the portable shower wasn't powerful enough so I've now had to clean the bathroom and all her dog towels.The bathroom still smells of wet dog.Shes now lying on me smelling sweet having a cuddle and i adore her ....but YANBU -she is gross and my car boot is a mess!

Dirty beasts they are. I have 4 tis minging

You are not wrong, OP. People will argue blind against your points. But there is always a gross dog smell in houses of people who own dogs. They will swear blind that their house doesn’t not smell, but it’s because they do not notice it. Even their clothes smell.

Your dog takes a shit and pees spraying itself with its own urine, then you have it climb all over your furniture and even your bed. That’s beyond gross. Argue against it all you like, it’s disgusting.

I have zero animals and love having zero animals.

We’ve had pets in the past, but having no pets is easier, cleaner, nicer smelling and less stressful.

Not everyone should have pets.

They do stink. I can count on one hand the number of houses I've been in where they have a dog and the house doesn't smell. I think there are a few breeds that don't so if I got a dog I'd have to choose one of those.

I partly agree OP, in that I don't like dogs that are allowed on chairs, sofas or in beds. They can also be smelly but owners get nose blind and will deny it. Don't get a dog OP.

I think you need to clean them, and their environment quite thoroughly. And it depends on the size, breed and behaviour of the dog (and crucially owner) how messy/ smelly/ hair shedding they may be.
I personally would not do it. Cats are self cleansing, (unless sick/ old), but they do also shed hair.
Some dogs drool a lot which i think is foul. I also hate if they beg for food off people's table/ plates. And who wants to walk around for an hour with a bag of shite in your hand/bag?
They are (often) cute though. : )
My family have small dogs and they don't smell but I'm pretty sure they could and would at some point if I lived with them.

You sound in a similar position to me. Other than I also had dogs growing up.

My DH was desperate for a dog. I had no capacity. We discussed (argued) for quite a while as it turned out he thought I’d just ‘do what I normally do’ and take responsibility for everything. When he realised I wasn’t going to do that he put quite a lot of research in, waited about 6 months and we’ve had our dog for years now. I love her and I do help with clearing the garden, the odd walk etc, but she’s definitely DH’s dog. He does the insurance, vet visits, kennel stays etc.

She is a lot of work but our DC love her, so do I. I wouldn’t take on the extra work myself at the stage of life but I’m very happy to have her round. Will not deny that the house is less clean though!

There’s absolutely no obligation to have a dog.

Husband can go volunteer at the reject/abandoned dogs home to assuage his dog need.

I agree about the extra work that a dog would involve and is mainly the reason we don't have one (nor any pet currently, despite the fact that the children would love one!)

But I have to agree with a PP that kids are way more germy.

What is a very clean person in your opinion?
I hope you are showering daily and wearing fresh clothes, bedding done weekly, hoovering done daily, loos cleaned daily etc as a minimum before you start spouting tripe like this!

This. Please don’t get a dog unless you desperately want one