Do any of you regret getting your puppy/dog and why?

[Duckegg271]

We’re trying to decide if dog life’s for us. I’m finding that everyone in real life says how wonderful having a dog is. I’d like to hear the reality though or is it like having kids-bloody hard work, exhausting at times but you’d never be without them?

Like a child and very restrictive. But I love him!

Can you volunteer to look after a friends dog while their away ? At least 2 weeks , to give you a realistic idea ?

We had a dog for 10 years and he had to put be put down, we then said after that that we would never get another dog as the responsibility was a lot etc. But two years went on and we just couldnt live without a doggo! So we ended up giving in and getting one again. If we didnt get a dog in the first place though, i dont think we would have felt this need to get another one and we wouldnt have had this added responsibility again. You get so many wonderful benefits from having a dog, but if youre not prepared to walk it regularly and keep it company often, then dont bother as it isnt fair on the dog. Be prepared also that the 'fun' side to walking the dog fades VERY quickly and it becomes a chore. Once you start slacking on the walking its easy to fall into never doing it, and youre poor dog then suffers. Remember also that you will need dog sitters when you go away on holiday, which can be more costs if you havent got family willing. You have to vaccum more, pick up poos, walk him, constant barking at the doorrrrr, and then all the other quirks and cheekiness your doggos personality will bring!!
My dog is a member of my family, we are not complete without him, and i view looking after him as normal now. He looks after us and brings so much fun and joy to the family, hes there when you cry and when youre angry, he truly is our little best friend. Youll have to weight up the pros and cons. Looking after someone elses dog for a few weeks will not show you truly what it means to have a dog.

Every puppy I've ever had I've regretted getting. Puppies are hard work for the first 6 months or so.

Once they get past that they are so rewarding.

We have had dogs for the last 20 years and wouldn't have been without any of them

It can be very restrictive. My friends often have full days out with the kids to places like zoos or theme parks that we can't join in with as it wouldn't be fair on the dog to be left alone all day. I guess I just need to find a decent dog walker!

We gave having dog a lot of thought and decided to borrow DSD dog for a week to see how we got on, well we lasted three days, the commitment and not being able to just do things on a whim was not for us.

@Duckegg271 if you look in the 'doghouse' topic under 'pets' there is quite a long thread with a similar title (about a week ago). I was surprised at the number of posters who said that although they really love their dog, if they could turn back the clock they wouldn't have had him/her.

From my own POV I can't imagine life without him BUT I don't think we gave enough thought as to what would happen when DS was working full-time or went to uni. DS was 15 at the time of us having ddog and our plans were based very much around shared care but with DS doing the majority. DS was true to his word the first two years taking him out before school / college and in his lesson breaks but things are very different now he is working and sees his gf most evenings.

I think everyone regrets getting a puppy at some point in dog ownership. I certainly did with MustardDog! I used to spend hours wondering what on earth I had done and researching rehoming

But it does pass. You have to make sure you have a good grasp of training your dog to be a nice one. Get in touch with accredited behaviourists before you get a pup.

Go out for the amount of walks that the adult dog you want needs. Every day, in all weathers, whatever you have planned. It sort of eases you into when you bring pup home.

Find a good dog-sitter/walker now so you have someone to call on if you need to go out for the day. It makes it less restrictive,

I dont regret my dog but I do regret getting a boy over a bitch.He marks in the house ar 3 yrs old,ive never had a problem with females ever.

Great thread OP, we're in the same position as you. It's such a big decision so I want to consider the negatives as much as the positives. I regularly dog sit a friend's dog which is great but a few days/weeks here and there is very different to 10+ years! So much to think about.

I really regretted getting a puppy... we were inexperienced dog owners and it was a nightmare.
Now he’s a big, chilled, lovely affectionate dope, and I am glad I have him.

However, I don’t work so have plenty time to walk him and keep him stimulated. We have grown up DC to look after him when needed, and have a big, enclosed garden. All of which help.

We have two dogs, absolutely love them to bits.
Think of one as having a child that never grows up, a dog will always need you to feed and care for it, provide its company and exercise. Depending on the breed, you could be doing all of the above for the next 15 years.
One of ours is eleven and going blind, he needs our help more than ever, he needs to be on his lead in the garden and gets upset more easily. He now needs more reassuring, to make him feel safe.

Would you use a kennelling service for holidays? I’m currently struggling as I’d like to spend Christmas with my aging parents before they get too old, but I’m not sure anyone will be able to look after him. Can’t take him for logistical reasons.

Its very restrictive. Even if you take them out for the day somewhere nice for a lively walk, where do you eat? Unless you can have them with you, theyd have to be left in the car. Or plan a packed lunch. And its that kind of shizz, 24/7. Unless you want to be a shitty dog owner oc

But, if ya really love doggos, thats not too bad a fate! I look forward to a life one day where i can focus more on my dog. At the moment due to life circs it feels a real detracting stretch to fulfil their needs 5am winter walks before work, so fun! , but one day it'll be just me and them and with any luck i'll work from home.

Had our first dog 4 years ago as a puppy it was all the puppy stuff which we totally expected and took afew months of time to train for everything else but the chewing on things he's never stopped he's a Dalmatian and is now 4 and can't ever be left alone or he will chew something belonging to us or the home decor no matter how many toys he has or how much walking or attention he gets, vet keeps recommending things to no avail, his energy level really dosent weather at bedtime he is put In a room with his bed and toys which I wish we didn't have too and in the day I have to make sure someone is with him at all times this falls a lot on my mother when I have errands to run etc and will be out longer than half hour we off away in October and as usual my mother will come stay at ours to mind him and our cat and won't be able to leave him without putting him in the garden or his bedroom so she will be really restricted on what she can do that week.
We all love him dearly and would never be without him but sometimes we regret having him when you have left him to use the toilet and he's had a naw on a cuboard door but we will just keep working on it and hopfully one day we will be able to pee without worrying about our home being destroyed 😁

I never regreted my first. I gave up everything for that little dog - I stayed in an abusive relationship for him, as couldn't move out to somewhere that allowed dogs and wasn't prepared to give him up. Didn't holiday for 20 years because of him - he was severely anxious about being left with anyone not me, and no one in those days did "dog sitting" etc. He passed away, I had kids. Yearned for a dog again. Rescue people had this one dog - said he was great with other dogs, could be left for a few hours, etc. Turns out he was nothing like they said - would shit everywhere. Couldn't be left. Violent on the lead, petrifying my children and on more than one occasion sending them flying as he tried to get to other dogs. Dog walkers wouldn't take him. Trainers and vet-referred behaviourist said I could of course work on his issues, but kids couldn't be there as they were too young (rescue knew about my situation re young kids, no dh around 70% of the time etc). We severely regretted having the poor thing, and we just weren't the right family or owners who could help him. I did something I swore I would never do, and gave him back. I told the charity woman everything the behavorist had told me, that he needed a non-young child family, had to have one on one training etc. I don;t regret giving him back - he was going back into foster, no kennels, and he will eventually go to someone who is a better match for him.

My dog does enrich my life but I do regret having him now we have DS. Shoot me down but it has made these early weeks much harder and I struggle with the dirt in the house which will only get worse as DS gets more mobile. He's generally well trained but I find his quirks more irritating. That said walking him is one of the best parts of the day. I won't get another for a while once he's gone but I think if we did we would get an older rescue so it's a five or six year commitment rather than a fifteen year commitment.

I regretted it - because it turned out I am allergic to dogs!!!! ~ I had no idea before living with one for the first time. Fortunately the "fun" of having a puppy had worn off the children before the puppy had to be rehomed.

I love my dog, I waited years to get him, our set up is perfect, it’s a breed I know well and he’s now 3 and very little trouble and a real part of the family
If I could rewind would I have him? No
The first year/18 months was very very hard and even now it really restricts us. Before we can do anything or go anywhere I have to think about him first. My dc are getting more independent but I’m still tied to the dog. I have to clean a lot more and my house would be nicer if we didn’t have a dog. We would have more space without him. I could get a different car if I didn’t need a large one to fit him in - to be honest I’m putting off getting a new car because it will just be hairy and smell of dog. I’m Freelance so I have to take the cost of daycare off my earnings straight away. He costs a lot, especially if we go on holiday and he needs home boarding.
I feel guilty writing all that and I would probably never say it to anyone but it’s true. I love him loads and I enjoy our walks, I’m much fitter I’m sure than before we got him but no, I wouldn’t do it again

I think everyone regrets getting a puppy at some point in dog ownership.

Ha! Yes!

We’ve just hit 6 months and she’s a complete nightmare at the moment - loose lead walking and recall has completely gone to pot, she’s raiding bins, biting and generally being a bit of a handful

She’s our second puppy and I know it’s normal and will pass but right now - OH MY GOD!

Our first puppy was the same between 6 and 9 months but he ended up being the most amazing family dog and I never regretted him for a minute

Yes totally agree that dog walking is a pain sometimes in awful weather, or when you are ill, or frantically busy with a major family event, but I disagree that the fun side of it wears off quickly. Our walks have got much much more enjoyable with our adoptees, because they became better behaved with training and a regular routine over time. (It was very stressful walking them originally as they pulled, barked at other dogs, barked at bicycles and had no road sense at all.) Now they can be let off the lead in safe places and their recall is really good. I think it's safe to say (generally speaking) that the better trained a dog is, the more fun you can have together. And don't underestimate the health benefits (for you!) of regular walks. After two years of dog ownership my dh's blood pressure had come down so much that he was able to come off statins!

The main bind with having dogs is freedom to travel. It is really difficult finding a good dog-sitter and once you have found a good one, they are not always available when you need them most, especially at popular holiday times, so you end up having to book trips ages in advance and then their other clients have the same idea , and so it goes on... .

Sorry, posted too soon.

We lost our first dog last year. Said we’d never have another dog. Lasted 6 months. Practically, life is much easier without one, but we all missed life with our 4 legged family member.

I’m going so sound like a dick but the day we picked her up, our house felt like home again - even if she did managed to knock the pint of water on my bedside drawers over on me in the middle of the night

I did in my late teens-early twenties, moved out of home into first flat and immediately got a dog. The regret was solely because I didn't predict how much time I wanted to spend out and travelling without a dog. I missed a lot of adventures with my mates because of it but then I got pregnant and I was incredibly grateful for him when I was stuck in with a baby and no mates!

Sorry forgot to write main point of post which was to urge everyone to think of getting a rescue rather than a puppy. I know that the criteria are ridiculously strict but do persist if you can. One of our dogs was given up because of a new baby and the other because of a difficult divorce. The first had been abused and the second had been over-pampered and carried about in a bag the whole time. So both took a bit of work. But both of them were perfectly toilet trained from the off and we have never had any issues in that department, which made things relatively easy!

Regret rescuing mine frequently but not that seriously. He's cost us so much in vets bills since we've had him, and he's not straight forward. However, he's also the most placid and loyal dog I've ever had. I've not had great experiences with having dogs (or pets really, as like with my plants, I have the death touch) but he's still here. He sets off my anxiety less than he helps with it, which is a win. It's just when he starts overgrooming from stress when I've been away or have left him with my mum all day if I'm busy, the licking noise sets off my misophonia and I have to be in a separate room to try control the nervous sweats and weird need to drive my knuckles into my ears.

I knew it would be hard and that it wasn't the most ideal thing to do but I did my research for a year before finding him at a local rescue. And I can't say I wouldn't do it again, despite wishing my partner and I had our bed back and that we could stay out longer than three hours at a pop.

He's part of the family.