Don’t get a dog

If you take time to understand how to house train and train your puppy the mess should be minimal. Too many people jump into pet ownership without knowing what is expected of them. Get the basics right and having a pet is incredibly rewarding. You have to have common sense and capacity to love and care for something other than yourself first and foremost.

People often get these lovely large working breeds without realising they aren't going to fit their lifestyles and homes. As well as that, pedigrees often come with health issues, and then, whilst adoption is great for the dogs who need homes, there's more and more overseas adoptions coming into new homes with health problems and behavioural issues which are going to cause new owners a whole host of stress and financial strife.

You need to think carefully about the size of the dog you can manage, how much enrichment and exercise you can realistically offer him/her on the regular, dog size will dictate the amount of food it will eat and the cost of food and the cost of the vet bills too. So the smaller the breed the lower the cost. Mixed breeds/crosses that are smaller breeds tend to have much longer life spans and are cheaper over all too.

As an example, I have a 4 year old mixed breed female. She's a wee white curly haired poodle/maltese/westie mix, I paid £400 to have her spayed via Laprascopic surgery, with pre op bloodwork. I pay £30 a month to the local vet for a pet plan, and that covers her monthly flea/worming, unlimited consultations, nail trims, yearly vaccinations. I pay £15 pet insurance. She's in good health, she goes with a dog walker/trainer once a week so she's well behaved around other dogs, not cause I need a dog walker for any other reason. She's a total lap dog and velcro dog, she's daft, never chews anything she shouldn't in the house, avoids walking through puddles, loves people and can walk for miles but equally happy to have a lazy day trotting about in the garden and sunning her belly. And I save a fortune on grooming as learned how to do it myself. Would hate to have been put off of owning a dog by a post like this. You just need to make sure you choose the right dog breed for you and your family.

I have had 5 dogs through my life all needed different amounts of time to train but they all give unconditional love like nothing you will experience with humans. I can not imagine life without a dog but they are expensive so don’t get one if you can’t afford it, they deserve the best you can give. My dog at the moment loves nothing better than climbing on you and kissing you till you end up laughing and then curling up with me.🥰

We have a 4 month old puppy. We’ve had him since he was 9 weeks.

He has brought us nothing but unbridled joy, and filled the massive hole left by our beloved old dog who died last year.

Yes, we had 2 weeks of some overnight accidents, but he has been completely house-trained since then. He sleeps alone downstairs (there was no question he’d do this as I don’t want him upstairs), he gets up when we do be that 7am or considerably later.

This is our 3rd dog since 1997. Each one has been a joy from day one.

I would never say ‘don’t get a dog’. If you love dogs, you’re responsible, can afford it (ours was just shy of £2k) and you are at home most of the time - it’s the best thing you could do.

Dave looks lovely xxx

My scruffy little diva, bloody hard work - and I suspect Dh loves her more than he loves me!

Completely agree - it’s the second biggest commitment you’ll make in life only to having a baby, and I say that because at least you can leave a dog alone in the house for a couple of hours!

We lost our beautiful girl last month after 10 years and she’s left a space in my heart I’ll never fill.. we said we wouldn’t get another until we’re much older (husband says he’s not sure if ever) due to the emotional strain, vets bills (we spent thousands in the last year, and had pretty decent insurance!) and responsibility, but already I see why many people have a new dog less than a year later. They bring all of the love and joy to your home ❤️

One dog per household, an owner's passport. £3000 pound bonds to cover the dog welfare during its life, the bond staying with the dog to cover rehoming vets etc
IF ONLY
Unfortunately they are all so in love with their creatures that they dont give a damn about the problems caused by them.

They are absolutely worth every penny

It’s all true. We have 3, two adult Toy Poodles (no trouble really) and an 11-month-old Weimaraner. She is gorgeous, but so heavy and strong, with no concept of personal space, or her own strength. I have many bruises! My lovely lawn is completely trashed to the point that there is no point in addressing the damage until she no longer feels the need to run full pelt everywhere. The mud over the past 5-months and ongoing is driving me to distraction. She is the best family/house guard as she misses not a single sound and barks like a bugger at anything near the house 🙄 She is now clearly approaching her first season and is feeling very hormonal. She is manic for part of the day and crashed out exhausted for the other part! She brought in a freshly killed (still warm rat from the garden today (feeling very uncomfortable about how many others might be out there 😳) and when she drinks, her jowels hold onto part of the water, then she comes to me dribbling and drooling. Despite all of this, I love her so much. Here she is enjoying a walk 😫😩 And another one of her all clean and beautiful a few months ago.

UK Dog fouling is one the council's biggest problems now.

With 12 million plus dogs in the UK, nobody here took into consideration the devastating effect and upset to wildlife and farm animals. Fatal dog attacks have surged to a record high in the last two years, dog attacks up by 66%. Ludicrous that anybody can own a pet with no understanding of their upkeep, their well being or the costs involved. Set the criteria to a much higher standard to own a dog, dogs must be leashed and trained. One dog per household, an owner's passport. £3000 pound bonds to cover the dog welfare during its life, the bond staying with the dog to cover rehoming vets etc

I have a dog and kids and would actually recommend not having kids. Our pooch has been a dream since the off. Not a spot of bother and trained properly from the off. Kids still in training 🤣 On a serious note, too many careless people wanting dogs and not able to put in the time or have the money to back it up. It is a huge undertaking and not to be taken lightly.

Have some mogs instead. Loads need rescuing and normally are very low maintenance

I agree with OP. And there are plenty of organisations such as Barking Mad who need people to look after dogs in their (the hosts’) home while their owners are away. I would advise to do that first. A bit like grandchildren - love them and hand them back.

As a dog owner, I love that you know yourself and you know what you want. The world would be a better place if people had this much clarity and didn't get dogs that didn't fit into their lives.

Hear, hear!

I wouldn’t have one if you paid me. Cold, rainy, windy early morning walkies? I’ll stay in my warm bed, thanks. 😂

Not RTFT but we have a 4 month old cavapoo puppy. We had no idea what to expect except that it would be really hard work but so far she is no work at all. She’s toilet trained, she sleeps in her crate from the time we go to bed at 10 ish until I wake her at 7 ish, she will happily sit on my nap and snooze all day. She gets a walk on the school run so probably an hour a day total. An occasional wander up to the park so she gets used to being off lead and can get to know other dogs. I can leave her for around 3 hours in a pen and she’s absolutely fine, just snoozes. She is utterly loveable and is adored by us all and all our friends and anyone we meet in the park stops her for a run. We genuinely are slightly concerned that we are doing something wrong because it just seems a lot easier than I expected. Maybe the teenage years will be harder? 🤷‍♀️
I’m not actually smug though, the newborn (baby) stage for me was an absolute nightmare.

Many rescue dogs come house trained, so it’s not always the case that they will poo and wee all over the house, and having a family home is better for them than being in a shelter.

I could not live without my dogs. Have 2 German Shepherd’s and an Akita and they have helped my mental health like no doctor ever has. I’m 60 so I’m not one of the ‘new depressed!’
There is no price on the love you get from them and though they can be expensive they are cheaper than psychiatrists!

We have a lovely rescue dog but he is very big and both he and we are getting older. Initially, my husband said that when the LRD goes, he wouldn't want another as he couldn't imagine another dog as lovely as this one. However, recently, he's started saying that he would think of another one.

Fine, I said, but I think we should get a smaller dog. We can barely lift this one into the car as it is and we're not getting any younger.

However, he's of the opinion that a dog is not a dog unless it's a 'proper big one' - not ferocious but Retriever/German shepherd size.

I'm just hoping he sees sense!

All very true but the love and enjoyment you get is immeasurable.We have had 4 over forty years the last one taken too young and it did break our hearts and the main reason we haven't got another .The worst part about having a dog is saying goodbye.

Absolutely!! I do have a dog and we gave it years of thought and then only got her when we were ready as a family to dedicate and commit our time to her. Unless you have people to help they restrict everything you do, including days out that aren't dog friendly.
Having said all this, ours fits in our lives perfectly as we spend most of our free time, walking and going to beaches and I work from home so she rarely spends much time alone.
There are so many dogs that are given up because people don't realise just how difficult it is. Definitely needs a lot of thought before getting a dog and finding the right breed to suit.

I’ve got a chocolate Labrador- all I can say is mud, water, stealing t towels, sitting on me (all 34kg), constantly starving hungry, dribbling and moulting. But, complete and utter devotion, brilliant fun, she makes me laugh every day and I wouldn’t swap her for the world!

I couldn’t give a fuck about anyone else
I see you strongly conform to the dog owner archetype!

A very beautiful nutcase, though. 🥰