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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think owning a dog is not as hard work as everyone makes out?

139 replies

FidoAndHisBone · 08/05/2012 21:28

I had a dog until I was about 25 and I found it pretty straightforward. I lived abroad and often where I lived people don't keep their dogs indoors but mine was.

I suppose the hardest part was not being able to leave him alone, I didn't ever leave him alone for more than about 3 hours but to be honest that was the only difficult part, apart from when he had to be put down, that was devastating.

I am now married with 3 DC and we are planning to get another dog but every single person I've mentioned it to (funnily enough none of them dog owners) has told me what incredibly hard work it is... I am a SAHM so will spend most of my time with him and I love long walks. Obviously I am more than happy to put the time in to train him too!

OP posts:

topknob · 09/05/2012 09:58

My dog is great..she is chilled when she is meant to be and super guard dog when she is meant to be :o The worse part is imo cleaning up poo out of the garden but it is part of owning a dog.

OrmIrian · 09/05/2012 10:01

IMO (so far) I agree with OP. But then again we probably aren't doing it right

HecateTrivia · 09/05/2012 10:15

I think YABU. Dogs are hard work and restrict your life. I don't think anyone can say that it requires no effort and no compromise and no restriction in order to have a dog - if that's the case, then you're neglecting the poor bugger!

However, if you WANT one, you don't care it's worth it. It's worth having to plan everything around the dog - how long can it be left, where can you go on holiday, get out of the house several times a day in all weathers, the expense...

If you want a dog, then you don't care about that. You don't see it as hard work or restricting, you see it as having a dog. iyswim. And you love it. And fair enough.

Now I, otoh, don't have a dog. And the reasons are those I have mentioned above What a dog owner sees as no big deal - I see as hard work and restricting! I don't want a dog because I don't want to have to plan my life round it, make sure I don't leave the house for more than a couple of hours, plan my holidays round the dog, take it for a walk in the pouring rain or 6 inches of snow. That's just not something that sounds fun to me

So it's really not a question of is it hard work, because it plainly is more difficult than not owning a dog it is a question of is it worth it. I think no, so I don't have one, you think yes so you do.

Lac365 · 09/05/2012 10:30

I went through a really bad patch a few years ago. Things were really tough and I was very sad.
Dog saved my life, kept me sane and really helped me out of my funk.

Takver · 09/05/2012 10:38

Dogs are not that much hard work.

Puppies on the other hand . . . .

Takver · 09/05/2012 10:41

Really, the point about it being like children is spot on IMO. Patently, it is more work to have children than not, but that doesn't stop most people.

And obviously (? well, to me at least) babies are an awful lot more hard work than older children - once they get past the baby stage it isn't really work, just someone else's needs to take account of in your family.

ragged · 09/05/2012 11:23

Fido-Bone I presume you don't mean that you had a dog that only lived indoors, right?
If you lived somewhere that most dogs only live outdoors, does that mean that the weather was mostly mild & dry?
Because walkies in Britain means lots of wind + wet, even when you might be feeling extremely rough yourself.

Original poster

FidoAndHisBone · 09/05/2012 11:31

Can I just ask when you bag up your dog's poo, do you then put the (sealed) bag back in your pocket??? I saw someone doing this yesterday....

OP posts:

HecateTrivia · 09/05/2012 11:59

But it's got to be worth it to you. It may be worth it to you to have children, but not to have a dog. Even though both are hard work.

My sister's got a dog, I love him to bits, but I wouldn't have one, because it's not worth it to me. I have children because, although they are hard work it's worth it. again, to me.

So I think it's less about something being hard work and more about something being worth the work to someone. And everyone feels differently about what is and is not worth it.

HeartsJandJ · 09/05/2012 12:01

Blee, that is foulness extreme.

wordfactory · 09/05/2012 12:02

For anyone saying dogs are not hard work, let me just tell you one of ours has in the last hour snuck upstairs and...

eaten a tube of toothpaste, a pot of lip balm and a packet of face wipes (whipped from DD's wash bag which was still on her bedroom floor), unravelled a toilet roll and done a nice poo on my bedroom floor.

No dogs are easy I tell ya.

SarahStratton · 09/05/2012 12:06

LittleDog is easy. He's our family baby, comes with us pretty much everywhere, is well behaved and very easy to care for.

He also doesn't smell, shed, chew or bark.

He's a good baby boy, is LittleDog.

Pandemoniaa · 09/05/2012 12:06

All dogs are, indeed, different. But it depends on what you describe as work. I know that when I got my current dog at 8 weeks old, I put a lot of very enjoyable work into training him. Since he's a terrier, I use the word training lightly, mind. However, in order for him to grow into the easy-going 7 year old he is now, it was vital to make sure he was house-trained, trained to walk properly on a lead, prevented from chasing runners, cyclists and barking at anyone who had the sheer bloody cheek to share the same air.

If I'd have very small dcs, all of this would have been harder and I might well have chosen a rather more laid back breed simply because I cannot imagine the chaos that a small excited puppy bitey terrier and small excited bitey children would have caused.

Most of the "work" that comes from having a dog is often the consequences of a lack of the early training. That and the choice of breed. There are a regrettable number of people who choose a dog in the same way they'd choose a handbag or other accessory.

mangomadness · 09/05/2012 12:46

I don't think that having dogs is a bind. We love hiking, and without the dogs it doesn't feel right. They don't rule our lives, they compliment our lives. Dog ownership is what you make of it.
For instance, somebody I know got a pup about 6 months ago. When she got him home she slept in a sleeping bag, on the floor, next to him for the first month. I'd never do that!
It's all about your perspective and approach. If you're a mountain or a molehill type of person.

gafhyb · 09/05/2012 15:48

Dooin

Thanks for that. I have always had a soft spot for Greyhounds. It's jus the size that would worry me.

MothershipG · 09/05/2012 15:51

Can I just ask when you bag up your dog's poo, do you then put the (sealed) bag back in your pocket??? I saw someone doing this yesterday....

A handy all natural hand warmer on a cold day!

As an urban dog owner I'm usually walking mine in parks with plenty of bins but I have a special bag for dog walking with a special compartment - the only problem is remembering it's in there when I pass a bin....

batsintheroof · 09/05/2012 17:37

My (quite big) greyhound is easy to look after. FACT. She is perfect in every way and I didn't even 'train' her. She even came toilet + lead trained :)

Unless you think that feedling, providing water, paying for someone to let dog in garden at lunchtime (I work full-time), picking up poo, cuddling, walk for 40 mins every day, worming, flea treatment etc etc is 'hard work'. I mean, if you think that's too much you get a fluffy dog toy for company, right?

gafhyb · 09/05/2012 18:02

bats

Nah, I can do all that. Was your a rescue?

Can't get a dog ATM due to elderly cat (who we love), but maybe in the future ...

MissBetsyTrotwood · 09/05/2012 18:13

Same as bats - our rescue grey is a super, and big, dog. As MIL (who has been a border collie owner in the past) says, I don't know I'm born with him. He arrived house and lead trained too and is the most gentle, affectionate pet you could imagine.

I think dog owners who make a point of saying what hard work it is to those considering a dog are assuming the person they're talking to doesn't know much about dogs. I found that once I had DCs, I was in a 'caring' frame of mind all the time anyway so one more dependent to think about didn't really make a lot of difference. He's also the best behaved and least complicated one by far too.

gafhyb · 09/05/2012 18:16

Miss Betsy - I think that's the frame of mind I'd approach it with - that in a way you are in for as much responsibility as having another child (albeit one which remains trained). My problem is that I've not heretofore been a dog person (DH is) so the plusses aren't quite so obvious to me

batsintheroof · 09/05/2012 18:21

Yes gafhyb a retired racer - cat friendly who ignored our cats indoors from the start (although I did train her outside to make sure she definitely wouldn't chase the cats in the garden). She came straight from rescue kennels and had never even set foot in a house before. It took a little while for her to get used to the TV and walking on laminate flooring. Some greys can't tolerate small dogs (but rescue will have an idea which these will be) so I took her to a couple of socialisation classes to see how she was before I walked her without her box muzzle.

You can't let ex-racers off-lead though ever unless it's a fully secure field. I think this is a deal breaker with a lot of people.

I think you can always get a dog from rescue that will suit your lifestyle. Rescues are pretty good at matching people to dogs. It amazes me how many people say they're getting a puppy because rescue dogs are an 'unkown quantity'. Bizarre really. Dogs have such different stress thresholds and personalities. You have no idea what a puppy is going to grow up to be like. It was only the other day I met someone on a walk with a child that had special needs. She'd managed to get a young dog from rescue that had been assessed as 'exceptional' and suitable as a therapy dog. Getting the right dog for you is not a matter of luck imo.

MissBetsyTrotwood · 09/05/2012 18:23

I hadn't had dogs before but wanted the walks. I thoroughly recommend greyhounds for first timers - I know you didn't ask but I never turn down an opportunity to get on my soapbox about them as ours has brought so, so much to us and there are so many in need.

Our chap's tall and long, but he's not a big personality iykwim. He is very placid and biddable. We live in a very tall narrow house and if he's in the way we just give him a little nudge and he moves - my 3yo has mastered this art fast! He doesn't jump up. The only issue we've had with his height is his amazing ability to reach tasty titbits on the kitchen table and worktops!

Frontpaw · 09/05/2012 18:26

It depends on where you live (small flat with no garden vs house with land) and what type of dog (big working dogs need lots of exercise). And the farting!

Spuddybean · 09/05/2012 18:29

I disagree hecate depends on your dog and facilities but they do not need lots of planning and have been no restriction. If you have a big enough garden you do not need to go out several times a day - Depending on the dog and it's age, a walk every other day is fine (and if it's raining our refuse to go out full stop!). Also we have a local kennel which pick them up, so if you want to go away for a night they collect them and drop them back.

Yes the cost is quite high for kennels and vets. But they've never been a restriction in any other way (apart from puppies - they do require more work!).

gafhyb · 09/05/2012 18:37

Thanks for the info bats and Betsy

Greyhounds are sounding better and better. We too live in a tall narrow house

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