To wonder how hard dog ownership is?

[superstarheartbreaker]

I love dogs but I don't know if I would be a good dog owner. Sticking points would be:
I work all day. Surely it's not fair to leave a dog at home?
I like going on holiday. Kennels are expensive.
Most shops don't allow dogs.
Vets are expensive.
Dog training seems tough.

Plus points are:
Having a dog encourages exercise/ walking.
Companionship for only child dd and myself.

I like spaniels and red setters but I know spaniels are very hectic.

Thanks, AnnaFiveTowns. I don't even really like dogs myself, but even I know that they aren't built for being cooped up in a house/flat, devoid of company all day. In fact, I don't really 'get' why people in cities have dogs at all - they're animals, ffs. They aren't supposed to be trotting around on pavements. I feel really sorry for them.

The only dogs I've known who are really suited to urban life and minimal interaction (ie owners working but still not full-time - that just doesn't square) are, as a pp said, retired greyhounds. Now, they are lovely animals. Gentle, biddable and not very hairy. Even as a non-dog person, I could go with that.

Although having said that, my neighbour down the street got a broken finger the other day when her newly-acquired (ie still being trained) retired greyhound got a scent of something and went lurching off while on the lead. And she has had greyhounds for decades so knows what she's doing, so they aren't always easy to manage.

YANBU. I could have written your post. I also have an only and have thought about a dog many many times. In fact I've thought about it more than I did before having ds!

What it really comes down to, to me, if you Really want one the things you listed and I've thought many times are not insurmountable at all. Whenever I keep questioning myself like this in my mind I'm really thinking No this is not what I want, and there is nothing wrong with that!

I think I'll adopt a doggie when ds goes to college, as my 'midlife crisis' doggie. It's a long way off so I have lots of time to think about it!

I think maybe if you work all day having a dog would be cruel.

for my part, we have always had 2 dogs, when 1 finally went to chase bunnies in the sky we got another pup. I work from home & we live in a big fenced property in the country. They get loads of activity in the winter as they are bird dogs. We don't holiday a lot as have discovered all local kennels to be rough. So usually try & get someone to live in if we go away. Currently we only have 1 dog & now OH is retiring he says he doesn't want another. This is someone who has had dogs prefers dogs to his children for 60 years ! So that gives an indication of how much it can cramp your style. My day evolves around who is going to be there fro the dog/s night & day !
Personally I would really love another & cannot see us living with no pup at all.
I don't think this is helping you ! I would say maybe you could do some w/e dog walking? possibly get an old dog that needs homing from the dogs home as it certainly breaks my heart the stories of old dogs that have noone when their old owners go into a retirement home. etc
But NOT if you live in a flat.

It's not cruel if you are prepared to have them walked in the middle of the day. When I worked full time, I walked mine before work (left them at 8.30am) then I had a dog walker collect them at 11am. She used to drop them at 3pm and she walked them twice in that time and I was home at 5.30/ 6pm. That's a lot - with hindsight, she could have collected them and taken for one walk, then dropped them back. I often used to take them out in the evening too. Since having children, I am at home, so do a lot of the walking myself. We often spend hours in the park, pottering around.

Anyway, there is always a way, but you must not leave your dog at home alone for hours while you are out. About 4hrs alone is the max.

red setters a complete loonies btw

Do not get a dog and definitely do not get a spaniel. I have a love/hate relationship with my cocker.

I have an only dc who loves animals. We rescued a cat two months ago and it was a really good decision. The cat is ds' best friend. They play together and sit together watching TV. The cat has made ds really happy. I wouldn't like to leave the cat alone all day but she is fine on the occasional days we have been out.

We has similar considerations to you but maybe not quite much ( one if us us home 3 days a week, do not live in a city). We are now looking at getting a couple of Maine coon cats instead as they also have some doggy traits (playful, loyal, trainable) but won't suffer too much left alone for 8 hours whilst working. Another friend has a regular arrangement with an elderly neighbour where they borrow her dog for the weekend - dog gets lots of walks and games with DC, elderly neighbour gets a rest. Works out nicely!

Spaniels and Setters absolutely no no. Anything that should be working rule it out.

Depends how committed you are - I too have a greyhound - I work (on maternity leave at mo) but the patterns me and OH work he's never left a full day IYSWIM.

He will sleep all day - sometimes I have to poke him to make sure he's alive. He likes short walks and is generally very good but cannot go off lead (lots can) and he can be strong if he sees a cat or something.

If you are prepared to get someone in at lunchtime then or go home yourself just so he gets half an hour a lot of greyhounds would be fine. They spend all day in kennels and learn to just sleep.

But you have to take them to vets, they cost a lot to feed, need to be kept warm and mine often gets me up at 3am deciding he wants a poo or something - you have to sigh and get up and take them - they like to be with people and ours will only sleep next to our bed at night.

For all the people clutching their pearls at a dog being left on it's own - how much interaction do you have with yours (or look at other people you know) I know plenty of people who work part time or don't work yet their dogs are shut in the kitchen most of the day, they don't get walked and/or they get shut in crates. I know someone whose labs virtually spend their whole lives in crates. Just because someone is at home doesn't mean they are getting the love and attention they need.

Greyhounds live in a concrete cell even in the holding kennels and will pretty much spend all day on their own so they would much rather spend all day on a sofa instead (also your soft furnishing become fair game so you can't be too precious - they are very un-hairy though) Contact your local RGT and have a chat - they are really the only recue that will consider workers.

Do think long and hard about the other aspects of owning a dog though.

Oh and our RGT will take them back if you go on holiday I think it's £6 a night so much cheaper than proper kennels and they know what they're doing.

Obviously I can't bear to do this so mine goes to a doggy minder where he is allowed to sleep upstairs and gets taken on day trips so I pay three times that (soft).

I'm with everyone else - the negatives outweigh the positives in your post. You say you like walking, but are you sure you want to go every single morning in the winter without fail? I'm just having a cup of tea before I venture out - it's dark, cold wet and very windy; I'm about to walk for an hour on the beach and will no doubt come home with two dogs who have rolled in every bit of fox shit they could find. Then it's hosing down etc. I'm on holiday for two weeks so going out this late is a lie-in, I usually go at 5am because of work. DH works from home so is there for them all day ( disabled, so can't share the walking ), but majority of the care falls to me and it will for you too. And you'll have to do all of it for at least 10 - 12 years, probably longer.
I'm getting the "Seriously, get off that thing and walk us!" looks, better go !

i'd say the key thing is that unless you have family and friends who will happily have your dog whilst you go on holiday OR you don't mind not going on holiday abroad or anywhere you can't take a dog DON'T do it. it is so tying.

in an ideal world dog ownership is quite the collective thing - i wish you lived near me (in fact do pm me your location) as we've reached a point where ds is home ed and i'm working freelance and suddenly we're free to spend more time overseas other than the fact of my dog. like you i am the lone parent of an only and a dog has made good company for my son and is a member of our small family - i just wish, in an ideal world, that we had another small family who shared the load.

so yeah - i kid ye not, if you fancy a dog share pm me

We have four Saint Bernards (yes we are a bit loony) and we LOVE our dogs very much. However, I do sometimes feel like I am always looking after them and won't leave them for longer than about 3 hours a day. They do hold us back doing certain things for sure, but they bring us an awful lot of joy. They are an easy breed in some ways (only need a walk for 1/2 a day) and then sleep the rest, but they cause a lot of mess (more than our 4 kids). I would never advise anyone who works full-time to have any kind of dog tbh, but particularly a Saint Bernard as mine would be distraught if they were left for that long. I imagine most breeds are the same, they want to be with their 'people' as much as possible. I say wait until you can be with a dog more before you buy one.

www.borrowmydoggy.com
www.cinnamon.org.uk

You forgot to mention fox poo and muddy bits to roll in.
And shedding.
And mess.

It's hard work, so if you think you're not ready, don't do it.

Rescue greyhounds or lurchers FTW. We work full time but spend an hour at home for lunch. Seriously lazy dog loves to lounge around all day asleep. Do I feel slightly guilty when I leave her? Yes, however there are more lurchers and greyhounds in rescues than people who want them and so many healthy young ones are pts. Every time I'm snuggled up with her and she's purring quietly I know she'd rather be here with us than dead.

Am I the only person with non lazy lurchers. My two are walked for an hour at 7am, 20-30 mins at lunch, an hour or so at 6pm and a quick out before bed. They could do more! They do sleep in between though. A happy dog is a tired dog!

I got home 30 mins ago from a dog walk which began at 7.30, in the dark; had it been freezing cold, blowing a hooly and sleeting I would still have gone, not because I wanted to in that weather, but because we have a working-line dog who MUST be taken out for an off-leash run.

I love our dogs, but they are serious commitment. I work from home and rarely leave mine alone for more than three or four hours; sometimes they are left for 8-10 hours but that is very rare (quite literally, a few times a year).

As other posters have said, you have to factor the cost of food, flea treatments, the vet, kennels... I would not be without dogs, but I know what a huge commitment they are. I think you are very wise to think this through carefully before taking the plunge.

We are thinking of getting a dog, but we both work shifts which makes it easier. We are waiting to see what my shift pattern is going to be and if there are too many days where we would both be at work all day it won't happen. If there is just the odd day then providing we can find someone to come in on those days we will get one. I don't see the point in having a dog if you are out all day - it's not fair on the dog.

Re taking dogs shopping, the last couple of times I've gone shopping in our local big shopping centre, I've noticed men with very big husky type dogs just standing around with them in the pedestrian high street. I thought that was odd to just stand around with them in the shopping centre, although maybe they are happier there than being left home alone.

Please bear in mind a cocker spaniel will have frequent grooming requirements. They'll need to go to the groomers every six to eight weeks at £30+ a time. If you were to get a short-coated breed such as a lurcher there would be no need, just the odd bath.

Check out the posts on "The Doghouse" - in particular the pregnant lurcher, her puppies are now ready for rehoming via Hounds First rescue.

You get out what you put in.

No, it isn't fair to leave a dog at home all day. Can you afford dog daycare of a walker to come in every day? If not, you shouldn't even be considering it.
What sort of holidays do you like? Our dog comes with us to France and Ireland, but you are looking at around £30 per night for kennels or home boarding (I'd personally never put my dog in kennels) unless you have a dog owning friend that you can do reciprocal holiday care with.
How much time do you spend in shops that this would be an issue? If your hobby is shopping, you are probably not a dog person...
Vets are expensive, but insurance helps spread the costs
Dog training can be hugely rewarding and fun. But it requires patience and consistency and determination. Going to a puppy class once a week for the first 6 weeks is not training. Standing in the park in all weathers for a couple of hours is. But if you genuinely like dogs, you'll probably genuinely love seeing the results of your training. If the idea of standing in a rain-soaked park fills you with dread, a working breed dog is not for you.

Yes dogs need exercise and walking, but they aren't a magic bullet if you are a very inactive person.

I've been dogwalking and pet caring for nearly 12 years now, and the happiest and best adjusted of our clients are the ones who didn't start needing us until they were adult. Usually the family had acquired the dog when one parent was still SAH, then when all the children started school the SAH parent would want to go back to work either full or part time.