Don’t get a dog

We have a puppy and I shouldn’t admit - he’s a doddle. It might be luck but when I hear people say puppies are hard work, I can’t relate.

I’ll also admit I don’t get why people let their dogs sleep on their beds, or even upstairs. Why start this? I sometimes look after my sister’s dog, he is used to sleeping on her bed and will scream the house down unless we do the same. I find it does not allow for a peaceful night! He’s always shifting and scratching and licking something. I can’t stand it.

First 18 months of owning our dog I felt like I had post puppy depression, bit like PND! Honestly I was climbing the walls. Thankfully it did get easier.

I remember crying from exhaustion when we first got our puppy - so much hard work, then we added a rescue - the house training was a nightmare. So much damage to furniture etc but honest truth... i'll suck it up and never be without a dog, its a small price for the joy they have brought to the house

Definitely don't get a dog if you ever want freedom, money, space in the bed, lie-ins on weekends....

However here is (one of) my best mates in the entire world so clearly I don't follow my own advice!

Very belated and controversial opinions here

1. Cats are way easier than dogs to look after ( even the Bengals and such that you walk on a lead - there's one on our street that's walked every day and he is lovely - and even the ones that have litter trays because they live indoors) Cats living indoors is very common in most of the world. THey do scratch up the furniture though ( particularly new lounges).
2. I have 2 cats - one uses a litter tray , one goes out the cat flap in the laundry and uses the garden.
3. I have 3 dogs and there is no wee or poop in my house ( there was when we had puppies {there were 9 of them so I think I deserve some leeway} in the house). That lasts less than 3-4 months.
4. Puppies chew but dependent on breed that should stop around 1 year
5. We have 3 large dogs and walk them about once a week - we live on a (very) small acreage so that makes a difference, but when I lived on a suburban block ( idk about 800sqm) I walked our dog maybe four times a week.
6. Even with 3 dogs I have never had pet insurance, Every person I know that has it spends more than they get in return.
7. Fleas need to be treated when/if they get them. Otherwise ignore
8. Ticks where I live can be fatal so should be preventatively treated for; or the dog checked daily.
9. Fecking cat cost me $2000 by almost dying from a paralysis tick. Twice. Still alive.
10. Holidays - we rarely go on them, but if we do we get someone to stay at our place. But I grew up not having the regular holiday every year ( may be a British thing) so makes no difference to me.
11. Dogs are the best and I have just been watching that Paul O'Grady dog show on repeat and I tear up everytime.

Dog shit smells like shit. Dogs do not smell like shit. They smell of dog.
Dog smell does not smell like shit.
That would be like me saying that babies smell of shitty nappy. Sometimes, they do. But only when they have shat... just like dogs... except dogs are not wearing nappies and stuck in their own shit.

The worst smell for me is a hugely neglected person. Smelt them in hospital. Is BO, piss, shit and general body smell all at once. Can fill a corridor for hours after.

The word 'smell' is just looking the more weird the more I type it now 😂

My house doesn’t have faeces and urine everywhere, nor is it a pigsty and I have 3 dogs! 🤬

@JiraffDeSaki your cockerpoo sounds very much like my neighbours' cockerpoo. My Miniature poodle was nothing like that, he was an absolute sweetheart. The cocker spaniels that I inherited were pretty feral though, very barky and food obsessed.

@Devilshands SOME dogs don't. Some do and it's everywhere, not even contained to one box.

Why do dog owners always shout and use the strong hate word? Not the dogs I have issues with, it's their owners, next you're telling me you don't trust the non doggy people.

Going into a house with indoor cats is worse IMO. Stinks of cat piss. Cat owners can claim all they like that the litter trays help hide the smell. It doesn’t.

Dogs don’t shit and piss inside the house. House cats do. That is infinitely worse and far more unhygienic.

I've stopped going to restaurants now in Cornwall, the smell of dogs especially when wet, barking, slobbing and farting, Streets and buildings covered in dog waste, A boards dripping in dog urine and beaches have become a barking dog toilet. Constantly moving out of the way and tripping over dog leads somehow dog owners think they right of passage because we love them as dog owners,

This comment will not be popular, apologies if tmi but . . .

to smell of dog = to smell of dog shit

there r no worse smells, not even the Metro smells like this

Yeah, dog smell is a thing, but it is not offensive unless you specifically don't like it. I mean, some people like the smell of cigarette smoke.
And there are some perfumes I can't stand. To each their own.

Not where I live!

There are FAR more people stinking of dogs than of BO and cigarette smoke IMO

I encounter loads of people who smell… BO, cigarette smoke, unwashed clothes etc. Dog smell is far less offensive to me than those things.

@SabreIsMyFave
Oh my goodness Sabre, your post is unflinchingly accurate about the house of someone who keeps multiple dogs. Faeces and urine everywhere and the house is a pigsty, not to mention the expense, why do people do it?
I once worked with someone who was allergic to dogs, she mentioned she could smell dogs on other people's clothing, yet dog owners seem unaware of this, or it doesn't bother them. I'd be mortified if people avoided me due to my clothes smelling of dog.

"As long as you can handle the occasional death stare" YES! It's a thing then, Phew! My best friend suddenly becomes a predator and I shudder.

I think the message in the OP is aimed at those who want a dog but haven’t thought through the work involved, not those who don’t have any desire for one.

Dh last night said he wants to get a dog when he retires. I do love dogs but don't really want one.

I'm not gettiing one. I'd hate to have to leave everywhere early to check if they are ok.
Plus im massively lazy.