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Tell me what you hate about having a dog

210 replies

Worriedagainmum · 07/01/2023 16:21

As I really want to get one for emotional support, but I know it’s such a big decision

OP posts:
longtompot · 07/01/2023 17:18

I love my dog. I don't like 2am wake up vomiting noises, barking at people who walk/drive/are invisible as they go past, the very rare upset stomach, shedding hair everywhere, barking at people when we try to go to the pub or out for a meal, and the very occasional roll in something dead.

Mojoj · 07/01/2023 17:20

Getting him looked after when I'm on a holiday that's not dog friendly. But that's all 'cos I love, love, love everything else about my wee furry bestie.

Babyroobs · 07/01/2023 17:22

longtompot · 07/01/2023 17:18

I love my dog. I don't like 2am wake up vomiting noises, barking at people who walk/drive/are invisible as they go past, the very rare upset stomach, shedding hair everywhere, barking at people when we try to go to the pub or out for a meal, and the very occasional roll in something dead.

My lovely boy went through a phase of swallowing whole socks then regurgitating them whole 3 days later so you would climb out of bed and tread on a slimey regurgitated sock first thing in the morning ! fortunately he seems to have grown out of this phase now. We literally had to try to gather up every discarded sock before he got them.

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MaggieMagpie357 · 07/01/2023 17:22

We wanted a support dog for DD16 who has ASD, ADHD and poor mental health. We ended up on a certain well known TV programme because we felt that they could match us with a dog that would best suit our (very specific!) needs.

Yes the dog is a tie, definitely no more spontaneous days out or trips away etc, she is also elderly, has IBS and anxiety!!!

BUT the bond she has with DD is so beautiful, the excitement when she comes home from school is just joyous to watch. Any worries from the day are forgotten and they snuggle on the sofa together - it's a beautiful thing. She's brought so much joy and love to our family and I can't imagine life without her now.

Frequency · 07/01/2023 17:22

Other people's dogs.

Mine are walked mostly on lead because I cannot trust the Beagle 100% to not approach other dogs and I don't want him harrassing other walkers without checking first that they are happy for the dogs to play.

The amount of offlead dogs who are allowed to approach mine. It irritates the life out of me. It's not as bad with my current dogs but when I was training and fostering dogs who were reactive on lead it made my life hell.

Elsanore · 07/01/2023 17:23

Nothing. She's brought us joy every single day for 6 and a half years. Best decision ever, maybe after deciding to have dc!

My tips for dog joyousness:

Small/ medium rather than tiny or big.
Cross breed/ mongrel
Be strict and train properly when young
Butter up friends, family and neighbours as dog sitters
Stick at 1 dog
Remember it's a dog not a human and don't get over the top about it.

AuxArmesCitoyens · 07/01/2023 17:25

They are terrible for the environment, they have a huge carbon footprint.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 07/01/2023 17:26

I spend thousands a year on vet bills & pet siting.

JoonT · 07/01/2023 17:30

Not being to go anywhere! I have a craving to go to The National Gallery. I haven't been since before Covid. Doggies are not welcome, however. It's so hard to go to art exhibitions. That's my one complaint.

SillyLittleBiscuit · 07/01/2023 17:31

They can be a huge tie - holidays, eating out, visiting friends and family.
Training can be a massive ballache if you have a rescue or a puppy.
Other people and their “friendly” off lead dogs.
Expensive

KatharinaRosalie · 07/01/2023 17:33

Hair and mud and dog smell.
May destroy things.
Garden will need to be checked for poop every time you go on the grass.
Finding dogsitters - ours couldn't handle kennels so we always had to find someone to stay at ours. Once one cancelled literally last minute when we were going on holiday and DH actually had to stay behind.
Expensive! Food, grooming and of course vet bills.
The work you need to put into them to have a decent well behaving dog.
Walks, whether you want it or not.

They die and it will break your heart. We lost one of ours in December and it was just horrible.

But as we just got a new puppy, I guess it must be worth it.

Now, do you also want to hear about the joys of having a puppy? She woke me up at 2AM last night as she wanted to play and has had a ton of accidents plus keeps stealing all the shoes..

ouch44 · 07/01/2023 17:34

My teen DD persuaded us we needed another dog for emotional support for her- she was suffering bad anxiety. We had had one until they were small kids.

Well, you can guess how that's gone! She does love a cuddle with her when Ddog is sleeping on the sofa. However, DDog is a major pain in the arse a lot of the time. Attention barking, stealing things and running off so you have to chase her. Has anxiety so can only go on a couple of known routes. Can't go on those long family walks in the country we were planning.

mintbiscuit · 07/01/2023 17:38

Lack of spontaneity and overseas hols

Nothing else phases me.

Sososadallthetime · 07/01/2023 17:38

I don't like anything tbh. He eats everything, chews our possessions, eats poo, can't go anywhere, tied to the house fornthe next 10+ years and my house is dirty all the time and stinks. Dog is actually a lovely dog but hate having one and regret it very much.

toastfiend · 07/01/2023 17:41

The hair everywhere, all the time. I hoover every other day, I wipe all the skirting boards every few days, I clean the walls when I notice marks - there's still fucking hair and dust everywhere from them. I mopped the floors today and they immediately came in and did a wet paw tap dance all over them, so that was a waste of effort.

Dog smell - we wash our dogs semi-regularly, they're not allowed on the furniture, I keep the house pretty clean - I can still smell them.

They follow you constantly, are always underfoot, have no regard for your needs or desire for space, and you have to walk then every day, regardless of weather, tiredness, being busy etc.

The commitment - can't go anywhere for too long or do anything spontaneous. Going away, even for a day, entails additional expense for a dog walker. Going away on a holiday means hoping you have nice friends who will have them (and your dogs are civilised enough that they won't be too much of an imposition), or paying a boarding kennels a massive amount of money.

Picking up dog poo, your garden basically becoming a glorified dog toilet unless you're willing to get out there on a turd hunt in the pissing rain every day.

My dog can open doors, so constant scratches and paw marks on doors and walls when she's decided she'd like to be somewhere different/join me when I'm trying to have a solo wee.

Their constant propensity for eating new and disgusting things, followed by yakking them up or shitting them out at high velocity all over everything that is dear to you.

Puppies are small, cute wankers whose entire purpose in life is to see if they can break you. My dogs now are lovely, well-trained, pleasant household members, but one of them genuinely almost tipped me over the edge as a puppy.

Insurance becomes massive if they live a normal lifespan and get old. Vet bills are astonishingly high. If they get ill it will always be when you need an out of hours vet and the consultation fee alone is over £300. The insurance payout limit is crazily low if you have a pet with any kind of complicated or chronic health condition.

Despite all of this, I love mine huge amounts, but this leads to its own problems - I will be heartbroken when they die.

Shampern · 07/01/2023 17:42

I hate that they don't live long enough and thatvyou have to say goodbye.

VeryQuaintIrene · 07/01/2023 17:42

So histrionic and needy. We don't own a dog but we look after our friend's dog (to my increasing annoyance) and she is such a pain compared with our sweet, self-contained, sweet-smelling cats...

RunningFromInsanity · 07/01/2023 17:43

Expensive
time consuming
hair
mud
having to walk when ill, tired, busy, freezing cold, raining
can’t be spontaneous
no privacy in home
added cost to every holiday
Any medical/behavioural issues they might have

courgettigreensadwater · 07/01/2023 17:44

annonymousse · 07/01/2023 16:22

You can't stay away overnight spontaneously. That's the only thing for me.

Yep. Arranging care if you like travelling too. I could never put her in kennels so it's always finding someone to house and dog sit or a family member she can stay with. Then you feel indebted much as I used to for childcare favours 🤦🏻‍♀️ 😆 that's it though really.

Andywarholswig · 07/01/2023 17:44

Mud - only the mud. Wig pup is a doodle and like a sponge for muddy water and loves to dig - apart from that he is my favourite thing - I am laughing at the op above - small cute wankers is exactly what puppies are!

MissTakenForAnother · 07/01/2023 17:45

He wakes us up early to go out.

He loses a lot of hair.

The fact that we have to find someone to look after him if we want to go out for the day and can't take him with us.

Swimswam · 07/01/2023 17:48

It’s basically like having a toddler - but forever. A hairy toddler. Think about all the aspects of toddlers and that’s basically is.

longtompot · 07/01/2023 17:48

Babyroobs · 07/01/2023 17:22

My lovely boy went through a phase of swallowing whole socks then regurgitating them whole 3 days later so you would climb out of bed and tread on a slimey regurgitated sock first thing in the morning ! fortunately he seems to have grown out of this phase now. We literally had to try to gather up every discarded sock before he got them.

shudders

Thankfully she isn't a sock eater but once she ate the silicone brush of my pastry brush. It fell off when I was trying to clean it and I swear it didn't even hit the floor when she's snaffled it up! I checked her poo (visually) for several days and though she'd digested it.
About 3 months later, came down one morning (this is when she used to sleep downstairs) there was a small pile of vomit with a whole, if slightly faded silicone pastry brush head in it!! Where she kept it all that time I have no idea. Glad she was ok though.

Tinysoxxx · 07/01/2023 17:48

My dog had a huge worm sticking out of his backside on a walk the other day. He was scooting and it wasn’t shifting so I had to pull. Turns out it was a tampon string. So that was something I didn’t know I would ever have to experience but very much an experience I hated. To make matters worse, I had run out of poo bags and got left the semi green translucent bags and was obviously miles away from the nearest bin so I was paranoid people could see the very white tampon as well as poo in the bag.

YourWinter · 07/01/2023 17:50

Nothing. The dog I have now is fabulous.

Actually, I hate knowing that either I will have the agony of her dying, or having her put down one day, or worrying that I will die first and she won’t know why I’ve left her.

“Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear”

Rudyard Kipling

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