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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that having a dog is just a nuisance?

81 replies

ouchLegohurts · 07/10/2014 15:47

The kids wanted one, as did DH. Got a lovely Cavalier King Charles 6 months ago. He's well trained and very affectionate but I now find him the most annoying burdensome nuisance. Why would i want another dependent? He's lovely when he lies down at night on the sitting room floor but I could have bought a rug for that purpose.

OP posts:
DiaDuit · 07/10/2014 16:34

one has to be a 'doggy' sort to like accept them

Isnt that common sense though? You would want to be an arty type to take do an art degree. Same with having children, buying a motorbike, moving to a cabin in the woods. It stands to reason that you'd want to be that type of a person before making it a massive part of your life.

Hexu2 · 07/10/2014 16:39

I think I'd like dogs or dogs when I'm older but at the minute they'd be another job when my life is busy and time and energy less available.

I'm sure the DC would love one - but until they are less demanding themselves - then I can't see me loving having a dog - and I do like dogs.

sweetkitty · 07/10/2014 16:45

My dog is my 5th child, she can be nuisance like the other four but I adore her. The walking is a pleasure, the poos a minor irritation.

However, she is my dog, I chose her breed and I do mostly everything for her.

KoalaDownUnder · 07/10/2014 16:47

God, I hope YABU because I'm actively working on getting a puppy right now! Grin And I actually just bought my first home with a yard, specifically to put said puppy in.

I recently housesat for someone and fell madly, pathetically in love with his whippet. So, a whippy owner I shall be.

Poopooweewee · 07/10/2014 16:48

I would absolutely love love love a dog, but can't as I work full time. So obviously YABU !

cricketballs · 07/10/2014 16:53

they can be a nuisance especially when deciding that they really need to go out at 4am and won't leave you alone until you are awake but as others have said so can children, DP/DH etc. The love you receive though, the listening ear, the fun they give far out way the amount of socks ours gets through Grin

Gemzybelle · 07/10/2014 16:54

I adored my border collie until I got pregnant and I'm now finding her slightly irritating. Still love her and would never part with her but she seems more of a pain in the arse than she did before Grin

Makes me feel very guilty

kerstina · 07/10/2014 16:57

I agree dogs can be a nuisance Grin
My miniature schnauzer
barks when someone passes by or knocks the door and goes absolutely potty or when friends come round (don't have so many lately wonder why ?!)
runs off with my slippers,tissue anything she can gets hold off then chases round.
bites me (gently) if her walk is delayed for any reason.
barks all the way of a three hour train journey unless i have distraction treats on hand.
Eats cat poo or literally any old crap she finds on the floor. I miss seaside walks gazing out at the beauty of the sea now my eyes are peeled to the floor to see what is going in her mouth!
However in the year i lost my dad she has kept me going, getting out to walk her every morning has been a godsend. My DS is 11 and doesn't need me as much. I love little children and agree they are a lot like toddlers. We love her to bits and are thinking of getting another one just not a yappy one Smile

HappyAgainOneDay · 07/10/2014 16:58

I would prefer to gave a cat rather than a dog especially a jack russell. Dogs just lie there and I am prone to trip over things.......

I did stop the car on Sunday though to pat a lovely brown and white springer spaniel. I am friends with the owner but I stopped because of the dog.

IrianofWay · 07/10/2014 17:01

I think I would have felt the same when my kids were younger. We got ours when my youngest was 9. Now I can't help feeling that I'd rather have a houseful of dogs than go back to having small children

CarmineRose1978 · 07/10/2014 17:04

When I was an academic and worked from home a lot, I had a little doggy, and I loved him very much. Much against my will, I had to give him up when I needed to move to another part of the country to work full time in an office. He moved to live with my parents, who also had his two brothers, so he was happy enough - at first I really missed him, but after a while, I kind of appreciated not being tied down by a pet! I still missed him and loved seeing him whenever I went home, though.

I now have two cats with my DP (not a dog person, plus we both work full time and live in a rented house which allows cats but not dogs) and they're much less hassle. But even while I love them to bits, part of me misses having no pets at all. It's so much easier to keep the place clean and tidy!

I'm seven months pregnant with our first child, so I guess I'll soon learn what it really means to be tied down,

BertieBotts · 07/10/2014 17:10

I know exactly what you mean OP, I'm a cat person, adore cats, always stop to stroke one, have always loved them and feel like something is missing from the house when I don't have one, but we got a rescue kitten when DS was 3 months old and I just didn't bond with him the same at all - I became a lone parent when DS (and the cat because they were the same age!) were about a year old and it was so stressful with the baby and the cat and having to feed him, make sure he didn't scratch the furniture, work out when I needed to take him to the vets. He was a gorgeous cat but in the end it was just more work and then the neighbours had more time to spend with the cat than me so he started seeing that as his "home" and spraying all over my house, asking to go out at 4am because the neighbour finished his night shift at that time.

Had met DH by this point and he had an opportunity to work abroad so I asked the neighbours if they wanted to keep the cat and they said yes. Unfortunately he got hit by a car a few months before we left and by the time we (me and neighbours) had found him he had already died :( I was gutted and always felt bad for the poor cat.

I think I would get another pet but I would think a lot harder about it and we would have to be sure we had enough time. DH wants to get a dog though and I'm really not a dog person - all of those things KenDodd mentions would annoy me. Plus you have to pick up their poo. Whereas cats if you have the time and money to look after them (which I didn't which is why I found it so stressful) the most annoying thing they do is meow and scratch things and bring in dead mice. I don't mind that at all.

ElephantsNeverForgive · 07/10/2014 17:12

A dog seems to me like having a permanent toddler. Wanders about, getting underfoot, making a mess, needing attention, requiring trips to the park, babysitting and it's poo clearing up.

I'm not mad on toddlers! And since mine are 13&16 I have no intention of getting a dog.

kerstina · 07/10/2014 17:34

A lot being mentioned about picking up poo's. I admit I was least looking forward to this aspect myself but if you follow these tips it will be the least of your worries.
Small breed dog= small poo.
Feed balanced dry food = nice firm easy to pick up.
Pick up using an inside out plastic bag and dispose. Simple.

chrome100 · 07/10/2014 18:05

DP was desperate for a dog. I am not a fan. We looked after his mum's dog for a week whilst she was away and that was enough to put him off the entire idea - what a hassle! I was late for work every morning because the dog just wouldn't do what I wanted it to do, it pooed in the house, it barked at 6am, we couldn't be spontaneous, never again. I did like it in the evening when it was tired and snuggly but that didn't make up for the pain in the arse it was during the day.

toboldlygo · 07/10/2014 18:12

raltheraffe Neutering also increases the risk of some cancers and other conditions like cruciate ligament injury, it's not nearly as clear cut as you make out.

paulapantsdown · 07/10/2014 18:16

My kids were desperate for a dog and I was giving it some thought. Then our next door neighbours got a really nice pup. Now its older, the owners job hours changed and to save her being on her own, they pay my kids to walk her/hang out with her every day. They love the £, they get exercise, the dog is delighted and she is very sweet.

I have found though that the dog is still in my house 2 hours later and the kids have got bored and gone to do something else, leaving dog to follow me around/sit on me/get under my feet.

Its like I imagine grandchildren to be - I just bring her home when she gets on my wick! Its great!

TheStarsLookDown · 07/10/2014 18:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Babyroobs · 07/10/2014 18:27

Some days I feel my dog is a bloody nuisance, food is the main problem. Every time a packet is rustled or anyone has a snack she is there jumping up and begging as if she is never fed!. She follows me around a lot, sleeps a lot in the day but then becomes hyperactive in the evenings when we want to chill. She rolls in fox poo, duck poo etc on every walk given the chance.It's a pain to find someone to look after her if we want to go away, we cannot be spontaneous.Overall I do love her though and would miss her if she wasn't around.

Trollsworth · 07/10/2014 18:31

Hey are no more of a nuisance than a child, and at least as rewarding because they don't complain

Trollsworth · 07/10/2014 18:35

You can just do this

To think that having a dog is just a nuisance?
Annarose2014 · 07/10/2014 18:37

But they do complain! God forbid if my dog doesn't get breakfast on time - he'll bark and bark and bark and bark! So then you have to poise on top of tne stairs like a silent ninja waiting for him to draw breath so you're not rewarding the barking by responding to it.

And no matter how much you love dogs or how much you research the breed, dogs are individuals and you will get disconcerting suprises. Nobody told me my dog would demand two bloody walks a day rather than one! But thats what we've had to do.....for years and years and years, just to keep that energy burnt off. I'm knackered! Grin

raltheraffe · 07/10/2014 18:40

awww trollsworth what a cute little dog!

Annarose2014 · 07/10/2014 18:42

Our dog needs to be walked so much that the other night I had a dream that I was in labour and my DH said "OK we can go to the hospital - I just have to walk the dog first"

....And he did!!!

DizzyKipper · 07/10/2014 18:57

I've found owning a dog a lot more frustrating since having children too. Ditto the cat. It's not that I don't love them, it's just sometimes the day has been frustrating/god awful enough without them adding in complications. For instance, decapitated and sliced open bird body left right in front of fridge today when I get home and already have shopping, toddler, and baby to deal with. Or dog going skitz because he realises we're about to go out and going out is the most exciting thing ever, so now I have to contain the dog to ensure he doesn't stampede over the toddler. I figure it's just part of life becoming harder and a bit more stressful when you've young kids to look after and I'll go back to full appreciation of them when past the really young stage.