To ask if you regret getting a dog?

[Saladmakesmesad]

The plan has always been to get a dog when the kids weren't little anymore, and they're not little anymore. I grew up with dogs and know all the usual things people say (adopt don't shop, dogs are for life, don't get one during coronavirus, research the breed, all dogs are different, get insurance, don't leave it home alone for ages etc). I'm not trying to be dismissive I'm saying I've researched it a lot and am absolutely not rushing into anything at all. I want a dog very, very much and have done for years, but that doesn't mean I don't realise what a big undertaking it is.

But... when I talk to dog owners, they seem to be quite negative. Several told me recently that if they could go back, they wouldn't get their dog, as much as they love them. Another said once her dog dies, she won't be replacing her. Another said her dog recently died and life is much easier now, as sad as she is.

So, overall and even acknowledging that you love them, do you regret getting a dog? If so, why?

YABU: I do NOT regret getting my dog.
YANBU: I DO regret getting my dog.

DH had 2 dogs when we met. Married 40 years and have had dogs all our married life.

We did have a gap of just over a year without a dog because we were both so upset at the death of one of the dogs. We had him from a puppy whereas the others had all been rescues and his death seemed to hit us harder.

We just missed having a dog so much though and our house just didn't feel right so we got another.

We have 2 now. One we got as a puppy and he was house trained in 3 days. Completely house trained, no accidents whatsoever. He never chewed anything.

The other we rescued when he was 7 months. He had been badly ill treated and never socialised at all. He was kept locked in a shed and only given food and water twice a week.

We have had him 6 years and he has, honestly, been a nightmare. He has chewed so many things. He is scared of everything because of not being socialised. So on walks he barks at people, cats, cars, motorbikes, push bikes, other dogs. He is not keen on many people and will bark at most especially if they are wearing a hat or high vis jacket.

I still would not be without him though.

They are a fairly large breed but they don't moult. Also they don't smell. They definitely don't as my MIL would definitely have said. She used to say our house smelt of cat when we had a cat and in fact has commented that our dogs don't smell.

They are a tie. We never leave them for more than 4 hours so have to arrange for someone to come and be with them or else they go to a friend. They also go there when we go on holiday.

They bring us much happiness and laughter and love and I know when they are no longer around (hopefully not for many years) we will get another

I don't regret getting my pure breed dog as I could shape and mould his behaviour from puppyhood

I do regret getting my Romanian rescue dog because some of her behaviours are untrainable (period of living as a street dog)

Yes I do. I love him so much and he's getting old now so I get very upset at the thought of not having him anymore, but I'm the only one that does anything for him, I am the only one that worries about walking him. If I'm ill (which right now being pregnant and feeling like utter shit, I definitely am) no one thinks to walk him.
Going on holiday is a problem because I won't put him into kennels, I just couldn't do it to him. I would never give him up, but I really doubt I will ever get another dog.

He great got him last month. I do agree they a big commitment. I only gave in as she good age for a pet 14. He lifts our moods too.

Thanks for the posters that clarified for me. I am wheelchair user so many outdoor activities that I would enjoy are not an option for us. Obviously we can go out walks but they have to be flat. We do enjoy NT properties. Most weekends before lockdown we would go out for the day and I would say over 70% of the time to place unsuitable for dogs. It’s a shame as I grew up with a dog but I wouldn’t want to change our lifestyle, or have a dog that was left alone for a day.

Gosh no. I regretted only having one so we have two.
They make us all go out together and make the family complete. Never met an owner who regretted their dogs.

NT properties often have a 'dogs in grounds only' restriction, so you can go for a day out but if you want to view the stately home or similar, you have to take it in turns - so if there is only one adult, or you need to do things as a couple due to disability, it will mean you can only enjoy the grounds if your dog is with you.
English Heritage seem to have more sites that are completely dog friendly, because they have more outdoor ruin type places - you are generally OK with those unless there are protected plants in the grounds.

I cant find the post now where someone asked what breed of dog we have as I said how easy they are to look after. Unfortunately I cant tell you as he is a mongrel with many many bits of who knows what, he is a Romanian rescue so could have been a nightmare but instead is the most laid back dog you have ever known but that's just luck not judgement.

No regrets. I'm a cat person and DH worked on me for years to get a dog. We rescued one and he's my baby. I love him to bits and wouldn't be without him. He's my favourite in the whole world. Of course it's responsibility and a restriction on your freedom to go out, go on holiday etc, but it's so worth it. As many posters said, it's the same with children (although the dog will love you unconditionally and will always cheer you up on a bad day, unlike kids that can be extremely annoying at times).

Never ever have I regretted getting my dog.
(I have dogs most of my life, but my current dog is the first dog I've had sole responsibility for).

Not for a single second.

PurplePansy has summed it up. My rescue boy and I adore each other. He is hard work at times but totally worth it. And cuddling into me on the sofa right now

Our dog’s completely saved our sanity for the last few weeks. We lost our Scottie in June last year and the house was empty without him. We lasted until September before our delightful Jack Russell came to live with us. The happiness she gives us is immeasurable.

Mine is a rescue, hates other dogs, territorial so we don't have many visitors, terrified of strangers, hates the car and gets very stressed and anxious in busy places. We are 3 behaviourists in and have done so much work with her but the damage was done before we had her sadly. It's a very restrictive life, we can't walk anywhere on just pavements or narrow paths, has to be big open spaces, and can only take her in the pub if there are no other dogs there! She can only be left 2 hours max before she gets distressed, can't go to daycare, and we have no family close by to mind her. We luckily have found a lovely dogminder without dogs of their own but it took a while; for the first year one of us was with her 24/7. No more foreign holidays, late boozy nights out or trips to busy parks or beaches!

BUT I don't regret getting her for one minute; life would be much easier, sure, but she gives so much love, is such a funny little character and has improved my mental health no end. I have no DCs and she has filled the hole in my heart that I didn't even know was there. I genuinely feel really grateful that we were able to give her a good home, I think her issues would have put so many people off keeping her. She's my life and I will be beyond devastated when she's no longer with us.

I think you always have to be prepared that perhaps your dog won't be the happy confident friendly dog you wanted, and willing to make sacrifices to keep a dog that maybe makes life a bit difficult. Too many people get one then dump it when it doesn't work out how they expected for whatever reason.

No regrets at all. Our lovely dog has never been hard work and we’ve had him since he was a puppy. He was house trained in days, and aside from a couple of chewing issues as a pup (e.g., he managed to thoroughly destroy a cardigan that was hanging tantalisingly on the back of a chair) he has not engaged in any mischief. He is a delight in every way.

We usually travel overseas every year. We are fortunate to have a brilliant dog-sitter who adores our dog. But in some ways I am rather glad we couldn’t go abroad this year. When he was younger, our dog adapted very easily to our absence. He was happy to stay with the sitter, though delighted when we returned. More recently, as an older dog it has become emotionally more difficult for him to be separated from us. He is so attached to us, as we are to him.

I hope he will be around for a few more years, though he is reaching the upper end of life expectancy for his breeds (he is a cross breed, a mutt like me ). He has been such an amazing creature, the most loving and loyal companion anyone could ask for. I can’t imagine life without a dog, but maybe it’s just hard to imagine life without this particular dog.

I adore my dog. We got him when we couldn't conceive so have a super strong bond.

His puppy hood was ridiculously hard though. We had dogs before but always rescues so they came to us after the bitey hyperactive bit. I wasn't prepared for a puppy despite all my reading and researching and thinking I was an experienced dog owner.

I cried on and off for the first few months we had him as he was none stop. He bit through and ruined so many clothes, bit our skin nipping at our legs, constantly stole things etc.

However, he did beginner and advanced puppy school, we read the books, we tried to do everything right by him (adhered to the 5 minutes per month of age walking rule, researched the best quality foods, never gave him human food, crate trained him, put in boundaries).

He's now a really good boy, never begs for food, sits, stays, recalls, sleeps all night in his crate and is very well socialized with other dogs and he goes everywhere with us.

We own a transporter campervan so he camps with us, walks miles and I trust him and love him because he's well trained. As I do though we weathered the storm and put the hours in to get here.

House training was easy though, we just took him out side every 30 minutes and crated him when we were not within him and within 2-3 weeks he had cracked it.

I hate seeing people with dogs they can't control and don't know how to handle so only do it if you have time to learn and do it properly.

They need to be walked regularly, not left to get overweight, not fed sodding ice cream and should be trained in a happy positive way not by screaming at them.

We had a dog when I was growing up. I loved her, but I've never had any desire to have a dog as an adult. My DDs (11 and 8) have asked whether we can have a puppy, especially when we had a holiday with my DSis and BIL and their family, as they have a lovely Labrador Retriever puppy (young dog now).

I know that dogs would be too much work for me and too much of a tie. The idea of having to take a dog for a walk on a rainy day or a very cold day is enough to remind me that a dog isn't for me.

My DH is allergic, so I have an easy get-out when my DDs ask, and I'm also a massive cat person anyway, I have 3 right now, which my DDs love too.

I think it's a similar question to whether you want DC. It's a big commitment and if you decide to go for it, you need to be committed. For me, I did want my DDs (adopted), but I didn't want a dog.

My parents love their dog to pieces, but I know they won't ever get another one once he passes on.

They miss being able to just up and go away for the weekend without thinking about who will look after him, he's had loads of medical problems that needed a 10 day stay in a veterinary hospital that their insurance didn't fully cover so they have spent thousands on him. He has to take tablets and has dietary requirements which are also expensive to cater for.

We all (my parents, me and my siblings who have all left home) love the dog to pieces and can't imagine life without him, but they have said they would never get another. Not sure if that's the same as regretting getting him!

Never regret it! And he doesn’t even like me that much (He’s decided my husband is the one for him, despite me being the main carer). But I’ve always had dogs and cats, so I suppose life without one would be strange for me.

Can you train a puppy / dog to go to the toilet in the same part of the garden?

Yes - you can train a dog to do almost anything within reason as long as you are prepared to put the time and work in. Some dogs learn more quickly than others.

Do you take turns in clearing up afterwards as I guess no one in the family wants to do that job?!

It's not a job you look forward to, but when you have a dog you get used to picking up poos. The thing with poos in the garden is to keep on top of clearing them up, then it takes seconds to pick up the latest one (unless your dog has diarrhoea and it has to be scraped up ). I didn't have the same level of revulsion to my own dogs poos as to a strange dog's poo. So, yes, take it in turns or whatever works for you.

I love my dog to bits, but would I get another one if she died or if I could go back in time would I get one? No.

I don't think saying you might not get another dog is the same as regretting having one at all. It probably means the owners are in a different place than few years ago and possibly not ready for another long-term commitment. That is totally fine.

It all depends on the circumstances, the age, fitness and stage of life of the owners, financial position (especially if the current dog has been poorly and the costs involved have been significant), whether the owners are thinking about moving abroad, travelling a lot, downsizing, whether they're really busy in their careers and working very long hours etc. People make different decisions in their lives and it's important to be wise in your choices. Having a new pet when you're not in a position to look after it long-term is not a good decision.

Some people may not want to commit to 10-15-20 years of raising and looking after another dog. I personally know we'll have dogs for as long as we can look after them as they're fabulous and worth all the sacrifices. We might take few months break in between, but I doubt it would be longer than that. Our house wouldn't be a home without the dog.

Absolutely NO regrets! Our two bring us so much happiness and joy and are so loving and cuddly. They are also very funny

I love my house and didn't want dog hair everywhere so we got two cavapoochons, they don't shed and don't smell, at all. You wouldn't know we have dogs until you see them (and their toys of course!).

They don't tie us down as we include them in everything and when that's not possible, we have people queuing to dog sit. We are driving down to France with them in September and when we go somewhere we have to fly, again, we have lots of people who will come and stay with them. I will never kennel them, they are part of our family.

Having dogs is an utterly joyful experience and a privilege

@FiveShelties I have two 👍🏻 Best dogs in the world obviously 😂

To OP

It is mainly about being ready to get a dog- up for the hard work you need to put in ( especially puppy at the beginning) and the lifelong commitment.Maybe the negative side also comes from dog owners who take on dogs because their original owners got their dog without thinking it through- eg for Xmas and now bloody lockdown puppies being passed to rescue places because stupid owners suddenly realised they didn’t have time for it.

You sound like a great potential owner just because you are asking all the right questions and thinking it through.
I never used to get her up about much but when it come to feckless dog owners I do!! 😂

One thing about having a dog though is that you suddenly join this big club where everyone understands how much your dog means to you!