To think I owe my dog so much

[Fernandfarrow]

It's sunny and I've had a glass of wine, which may play some role (I'll leave it to others to decide how big or little...) in why I'm posting about my dog on Mumsnet on a Friday afternoon.

But seriously, I love my dog.

I owe him so much. We're childless and I spend a lot of time on my own as DH commutes to London for work and gets back very late (not an issue or a bone of contention, feel very fortunate that he works so hard in a job he enjoys) but I have a very flexible job where I can regularly work from home, so were it not for our dog I would be alone for most of the day.

Our dog is the best thing (other than marry) than we've done.

I love his innocent, non-judgmental little face, his gentle nature, how the tiniest event (breakfast, dinner, new ball, a butterfly, particularly interesting smell in the garden, a familiar doggy friend met on a walk) can inspire so much joy in him.

He's my reason to get up in the morning and my constant companion. I don't know what I'd do without him. Having him dependant on me to love him, walk him and look after him gives another dimension of purpose to my day.

Is anyone else grateful to have their dog/cat as their little buddy, whatever the circumstances might be?

What a lovely post @fernandfarrow, yes my dog is wonderful, she is so innocent, loving and faithful - she has the kindest heart (although she does bark and howl a lot).

She was a pain in the arse when we first got her (at 18 months), but she was confused and so eager to please, (she just didn't know what would please us). I love her with all my heart.

We have 2 cats as well, and they are just as lovely, but one of the cats hates the dog, the other will curl up with her. They have all learned to live together though. All of them bring joy to us, in their own unique way.

I think having a connection and empathy with animals says a lot about a person. And as other posters have said, even at your lowest ebb, you have to get up, walk them, play with them etc., and the love they give when they look up at you on a walk as if to say 'am I doing ok mum'?

I am also a little embarrassed to say that I tuck my doggie in on a night whispering sweet nothings and giving her instructions as to what to do if she gets scared in the night (she sleeps downstairs though, so I think I get normal points for that). I also sing 'good morning, good moRNIng' to her when I get up to walk her. She seems to like that, as I get a big stretchy, yawned cuddle from her (normal points now removed)!

Dogs are the absolute best. My old dog had to be pts 2 years ago and he was nearly 17, I had him when I had no one and in the darkest times of my life he was there for me. I miss him so very much. Treasure your dog op!

I am also a little embarrassed to say that I tuck my doggie in on a night whispering sweet nothings

YOU ARE NOT ALONE 😂🙈💖

My dog has favourite subjects which she likes me to talk about. The beach is her favourite, she comes over to sit next to me when i talk about the sea and the beach, it's like she understands every word, just sits there staring into my eyes, willing me to tell her more.

Our rescue boy has been with us 3 years now. He is the best thing that has ever happened to us. He just wants to be with us. He loudly announces the arrival of the ice-cream van, and the lady always gives him his very own 50p cone free of charge

What a lovely thread! My dog is the love of my life, he’s amazing.

About 10 years ago I’d split from my ex, we had been together 12 years - my entire adult life - and were a week away from getting married and he’d been cheating. It nearly broke me. I’d had to move back in with my mum, to be honest I was scared of what I might do if I’d stayed living alone. One day my mum and sister met me at work with a little ginger fur ball, I said whose dog is that and they said yours. He literally lept into my arms and that was that, true love. He helped me so much in that dark time, kept me going and was the first thing that made me smile in a long time. He’d needed a new home - in fact we were already his 3rd home and he was only 1. Not for any fault of his, he really is a very good, easy to care for dog, just people whose circumstances changed and decided they could no longer look after him.

5 years later my mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I moved back in with her again to care for her. He was comfort and support for the whole family, and someone to cuddle in the middle of the night when I was wide awake and terrified. He provided lots of love and laughter for mum even when she was in pain. After mum died he basically kept me going and, like others said, gave me a reason to keep going. Now he’s still my link with her - she brought him into my life and he’s a constant reminder of what a wonderful and wise mum I had. The day she died it was Christmas and it was just me, mum and my dog cuddled up together on the sofa.

I went on to meet DP who was resolutely ‘not a dog person’ but my boy has utterly won him over and they’re now devoted to each other. We are having problems conceiving and as much as I struggle with that, having our dog makes us feel like a family all the same. My partner’s parents have fallen in love with him too, FIL walks him every day I’m in work and as a result his health has improved massively. It also helps them with the stress of caring for DP’s 92 year old gran, and brings a smile and a laugh to the grans face every time she sees him.

He’s just a little ball of love and brings happiness everywhere he goes. So many people adore him, he really is special. But he loves me the best in the world and that does make me happy!

I think that's wonderful AliasGrape, what a great boy you have there, and for him to love you the most....how lovely.

This is why I plan to get a dog when my childeren all grow up and leave home

My two have kept me going through some bad times, mental health problems and now again a tough time feeling unwanted by people. There's always someone happy to see me, they look at me with such innocence and just want my presence, they're the ones who don't shun me when it feels like the rest of the world does. Without those two and an old horse I look after I wouldn't be here now I don't think, because when life is cruel, they provide something to hold on to.

YADNBU, dogs are just the best. We have two and I can't believe how much I love them, my heart aches when I think about the day they'll no longer be here. I really think they make a family, they make us laugh every single day without fail and if I'm having a down day with DD they bring me right back up again with their adorable little faces. To have the love of a dog is one of the most special things in the world ❤️

(This is the gushiest post I've ever written, funny it's about the dog and not my DH or DD 😬).

Mine is a big softie, constantly under my feet but when she does a happy little skip & bounce on the patio for joy she brightens the worst of moods. And she gets me out every day & interacting with people which I wouldn't otherwise do. Love her to bits (and my cats)

To have the love of a dog is one of the most special things in the world ❤️

This. Why wouldn't anyone not want to share their lives with an animal who greets every morning like it is the most exciting thing ever?

Yep totally.

My MH has been far from good the last few years, life has thrown us a lot of rubbish. We got our pup last summer and I've never felt better, she's got the sweetest nature and never fails to make me smile. If it wasn't for her I don't know what state id be in now

Aw Alias, and everyone else whose doggen (plural of dogger-dog-doggy-face!) have seen them through tough times.

Loved dogs since before I can remember but DM was not a pet person.
Got my first when I was a grown up. DS1 was 4, DH had fully qualified and said he’d like another DC.

I agreed on the condition he replaced my salary so I could wfh and we got a dog.

Her name was Ava and she was a retired greyhound.
We lost her at 16, just before Xmas 2016. All my children learned to walk next to her and read to her. She did the rounds of every bed and cot at nighttime but always came back to sleep at our feet.
We have/have had 4 other lovely dogs since then but she will always have a special corner of our hearts.

My tiny sprocker girl is the light of my life. There is nothing so blissful as snuggling up with her in bed cuddled into my tummy while I cuddle into my partner. She likes to sandwich herself between us every morning for double cuddles. I couldn't be without her and have moved house and job to accommodate her. I love her to bits and she loves me so unbearably much, seeing her beside herself with joy when I get home is the best feeling in the world and she has pulled me through hard times, forcing me to get out of bed and greet the day every morning. Trudging through wind, rain and snow is never a chore because watching her play in the fields is worth the wading through mud and getting soaked. She is an accident prone spaniel and thus I am single handedly paying for my vets retirement it seems, but she is worth every penny. My partners previous dog died very young after a horrible illness so initially he was hesitant about her but she's won him over and our little family is complete. I worry that she will feel left out if we had kids, I guess we will just have to get a bigger bed! But for now shes our baby and I wouldn't have it any other way. Love this thread, nice to hear from other dog mums!

I've got a cocker spaniel (working type). He's adorable.... wags his tail from first light to bedtime, is so happy and excited and never has a bad mood. He's also very prone to rolling in fox poo and jumping into stagnant ponds so needs constant bathing but I forgive him all of that when he waits at the door for everyone to come home at night and is so happy to see everyone. He's amazing with my grandchildren, and even comes to work with me. I luffs him. He's my shadow and my best friend.

We looked for years for the right breeder before we got the first one. He is my proper fur baby, he knows he's human really. He loves me and the whole family to the moon at back. He comforts anyone down and above all he pleased with any attention. He follows me around. Endlessly. He sleeps with us, unless one of the children is ill and then he will automatically go and sleep with them. My worry was that we would be broken without him. He's a working dog and has a temperament which is kind, quiet and loving. He is used as a therapy dog with children in hospitals, those with behavioural conditions and those that are dog phobic. At the back of my mind was that worry that we have him but we met another therapy dog and got to be friends with her owner. The dogs had a beautiful litter together. We kept a puppies out of the litter and another litter. So we have a house full of dogs. Each is handsome and has his/her own character, no dog is a clone of him, but you can see the temperament has been passed on and the instinct. The top dog, lies flat when he sees other dogs, children etc and it automatically submissive (never taught this) all of the puppies have done this regardless of if they have lived with Dad or Mum. My doggies are my family. Eventually we will breed some of his litter, but no dog will ever be the same as him. Hopefully he has many, many more years left. He fell in lucky here -no dog could be loved as much.

I have a dog that is so vicious at the vets, that they have a warning that he is ‘totally unhandable’

Oops posted too soon

I wouldn’t be without the wee sod, because I know he adores me and my adult kids and it’s the first home he has felt safe in. He was previously starved, beaten with a brush and smacked on the head, not walked or shown kindness. He was the only small dog in a house with lots of huge dogs that attacked him on occasion (I honestly don’t know how he survived) and was terrified of his food bowl as he associated it with being attacked.

I’m a dog sitter, have over a hundred dogs on my books and he is the WORST dog I’ve ever had through the door, but we adore the bones of him and with all of his faults, he has actually improved massively since coming to us. He will always be our complete lunatic baby.

Meet our killer Frank.

Dear little Frank! I'm so gad he came to you in the end.

Our dogs love for us all is indescribably different to any other. She just adores us beyond measure. I can put the bins out and she'll sit by the front door, waiting for me to return. Walking her daily and teaching her to run with me has had such a huge effect on my MH and she's just wonderful.

She's also a complete shit and lets herself down by rolling in fox and sheep shit, eats the odd cat shit when she can find some and totally ignores me when I shout "Bad Dog, get out of that bloody window".

More families should know and love a dog.

Spontaneousgiventime- love your name and your post

I'd post a pic of my gentle, stubborn greyhound but I've never managed to snap her without her tongue lolling out!

greyhounds make great pets

What a lovely thread. I get to see the bond between dogs and their owners every day at work and it often moves me to tears. We've always had Spaniels in our family and I got my own as soon as I'd graduated, gone travelling and bought a house. I have working Cockers and through all the ups and downs of life they are my constant and they have been and are everything to me. They are pure love and joy and happiness and I adore them beyond measure.

Every dog deserves to be loved as much as the dogs on this thread.