AIBU to ask who can own a dog then ?

[Troublewaters2021]

I have been seeing a lot a lot of owners recently on social media as well as people looking at getting one.

The general stance is seems to be only is you are not out the house for long periods / as in work full time.
Have enough money to feed and loom after dog as well as pet insurance / vet fees.
Surely there is very few people who don’t have to work out of the home full time for 10 plus years who also have enough money for a dog ?.

My sister was turned down by one cat rescue group because she's in her sixties. They said there was a danger she could trip over the cat because of her age! She's one of the fittest people I know.

Loads of people don't work out of the house full time. People work from home, part time, SAHM, retired etc etc. And people who do work and have dogs tend to pay for dog walkers in the day.

I don't think it is fair to leave a dog alone for long periods of time and my experience of dog walkers has not been great. Some are brilliant but I am aware of several around here where the dogs spend hours in the van whilst the walkers drive around doing all the pick ups and drop offs. The dogs get very little walking time. I walk mine in the same place as these dog walkers - they sit in the van in bad weather and the dogs get about 10 minutes out.

My other concern with rescues is they give puppy farms an outlet for dumping either ill or ex breeding stock. So then your getting that poorly dog anyway and encouraging puppy farms. Yes it’s getting a lovely life now, but I’m not sure quite how it fits in to stopping bad puppy breeding practice

I wouldn’t have dogs if I was out of the house all day. What’s the point?

Also just because it’s a rescue does not mean it deserves a substandard life. Why should rescues be fine dumped alone all day but not bought dogs.

I spend a lot of time walking, grooming, training and playing with mine. They are very much part of the family and I try and include them as best we can. They aren’t pampered and are treated as dogs not children but I do make sure they have the best lives I can provide for them otherwise maybe I should have got a stuffed dog instead.

@EvilPea

My other concern with rescues is they give puppy farms an outlet for dumping either ill or ex breeding stock. So then your getting that poorly dog anyway and encouraging puppy farms. Yes it’s getting a lovely life now, but I’m not sure quite how it fits in to stopping bad puppy breeding practice

You think rescues encourage them to dump dogs rather than exist because they dump/kill dogs?

Really?...

Most people do have to work .However as a rule of thumb ,I think about 4 hours max on his /her own .Need wees as well ! Obv dog walkers are the way to go or an early morning walk .Vet bills are expensive and so is Insurance as well .

Plenty of dogs really don't care about spending chunks of time on their own. My sisters dog pouts when they have annual leave and goes upstairs away from them! If there's a dog flap that makes a difference. If it's a pair of dogs, that makes a difference. I've had a lot of dogs over the years and worked full time+, most are not destructive and those that are usually grow out of it. Loved dogs mostly have a charmed life in the uk and the only price they pay is laying around on warm beds with full tummies waiting for their people to come home. It's really not a big deal for most dogs. For some dogs it is a big deal, and for those individuals they needs a different non working owner. But most dogs, particularly adults are just fine with working owners.

My friend was turned down for a cat as a white one wasn't available and she is short sighted and may not see a cat of any other colour! I was turned down as the place where I lived was deemed as "full of bad people" and "not a nice enough area for the dog to live in"
Ended up rescuing a dog that someone threw out of a car window one stormy night outside the local park :( 14 very happy years with him :)

No idea what is up with all the rescue dogs hating! They simply want to ensure that the dog doesn't have additional stress added to it of trying to settle in a home and then for the person to say it's not working!

As for working ft it's about having a plan in place for the dog which is suitable for the breed. The number of people who wish to choose a dog based in what it looks like rather then it's needs then complain the dog ate the sofa...... Well you picked a collie who needs 10 miles plus a day exercise what did you expect?!

We work full time and have a rescue greyhound Cross she came from a breed specific charity who had fostered her first so knew her. We were prepared to wait for the right dog.
In normal times she is left for max 4 hours has a dog walker and then she sleeps.

Getting a dog also has to be right for the dog too!

My son really wanted a dog (had done for years)
He did his research on breeds over about 3 years and wanted a staff
he spotted one on Facebook (a rescue charity)
He rang up-yes the dog is still here-for £160,he’s yours
He travelled from York to Peterborough to pick him up-was asked almost no questions-just had the dog thrown at him
They didn’t even look at the pictures my son took to show them where the dog would be living
They came back on the train and went home-knowing nothing about each other

On paper he’s not suitable for a dog
He lives in a one bed flat with the world smallest shared garden
He works daft hours
He’s a 21 year old lad

In real life the dog goes everywhere with him-his boss is a real dog lover so they go to work together all the time
If he dog does need to be left longer than an hour then he gets his mates in to sit with him (not that the dog seems bothered-son put up doggy cctv and he just seems to lie on the sofa,attacking his privates ever few minutes)
There is a massive field about a minutes walk away
The dog has made him grow up and think of someone rather than himself

Honestly they make a great team together-it’s just on paper he’s not suitable
I’m shocked at the charity he got him from tho-no checks on him,nothing about the dog bar ‘he’s a staff-he was abused-that’ll be £160’
He hadn’t even been ‘done’ (my son had him sorted within weeks of getting him)
My son tried to ask questions and got ‘dunno’
Then they slammed the door in his face!

It’s sheer luck he got the dog he did (he’s such a lovely dog) but it could have been so different

I lived in several countries during my life, and honestly - only in the UK have I seen this strict requirement to book a doggy daycare every time you want to go out to a shop.

Everywhere else dogs seem to be toilet trained early in their life so they can wait for their morning / evening walks, and taught discipline around the house about chewing / wailing and so on. People keep dogs in tiny flats in massive flat blocks, are working full time and there seem to be less issues than here, where they often have free access to a garden.

We got a rescue dog a couple of years ago, my dh and I work full time and have two cats. The rescue wanted to know what plans we had in place regarding not leaving him for too long. They were really reasonable, I know that they have sometimes done fostering to adoption for people as well. They are careful with placements but not silly. I recently recommended them to a friend but they have no dogs at the moment as they have all either been placed or are waiting for homechecks to be done

It’s true though. If you can’t afford to look after your dog or to meet it’s needs then you shouldn’t have one.

I agree that rescues take it to the extreme but the dogs that they are rehoming often have been mistreated and have more complex needs than your average pampered pooch.

We both work full time but often one of us is home (shift work), on days we are both out we have a dog walker. She takes them off in her van for long walks on the moors or to the beach. The dog probably has more fun and exercise with her than he does with us.

If we go on holiday we use kennels or a dog/house sitter.

@Peacocking

Plenty of dogs really don't care about spending chunks of time on their own. My sisters dog pouts when they have annual leave and goes upstairs away from them! If there's a dog flap that makes a difference. If it's a pair of dogs, that makes a difference. I've had a lot of dogs over the years and worked full time+, most are not destructive and those that are usually grow out of it. Loved dogs mostly have a charmed life in the uk and the only price they pay is laying around on warm beds with full tummies waiting for their people to come home. It's really not a big deal for most dogs. For some dogs it is a big deal, and for those individuals they needs a different non working owner. But most dogs, particularly adults are just fine with working owners.

Except only about 20% of owners report that their dog is stressed or upset when left alone... and research on dogs shows more like 80% of dogs are stressed or upset by being left alone.

So it is a big deal for most dogs, it’s just that their owners don’t think it is.

Almost no-one can give a dog a perfect life - according to what the dog would want every minute of every day. It's not possible just as almost no people can have their perfect life. But most dogs can have a life that's warm, comfortable and loved with some time alone being the only penalty. Dogs like routine, and once they know their routine they're generally just fine with that. Working people shouldn't be made to feel shit for wanting a dog and earning a living. They should contemplate which particular dog with care, and then enjoy their lives together.

I think dogs get used to stuff. I know dogs who get a walk in the morning, dog walker or owner goes home at lunchtime and then walk in the evening. Non destructive, seem quite happy, dog cams show they sleep all the time and no complaints from neighbours about barking.

Ours has us both wfh all day - and if we aren't at home she goes to the in laws. Who walk her for miles. She walks for miles with us at the weekend. she's a poodley' cross breed and seems to have a fantastic life.

*You think rescues encourage them to dump dogs rather than exist because they dump/kill dogs?

Really?...*
I think it lets puppy farms off the hook with their “discards” whilst rescues and new owners are left picking up the cost and pieces of the poor animals left as consumable waste

“I think it lets puppy farms off the hook with their “discards” whilst rescues and new owners are left picking up the cost and pieces of the poor animals left as consumable waste”

It’s easier to just literally dump them, or kill them... and that’s what they do.

news.rspca.org.uk/2018/03/01/bad-stock-from-puppy-farm-dumped-six-months-after-dogs-abandoned-in-same-spot/

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-38026524

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-55425764

They don’t rethink their whole business because there’s no-one to pass dogs on to...

Though if you claim benefits you can get free treatment from the PDSA.

Only if you live in their catchment area. I don't.

@Clawdy

My sister was turned down by one cat rescue group because she's in her sixties. They said there was a danger she could trip over the cat because of her age! She's one of the fittest people I know.

That is just daft. I have a friend who tripped over his cat and he was in his 30s (cat sadly got crushed by him).

We got turned down for a rescue Greyhounds as tour fences are not 6 feet all around the house.

We both work from home and are here 99% of the time.
we have a large garden and plenty of local places to walk, as well as enough money to look after a dog.
We adopted a mongrel from a foreign charity.

My parents got rejected for a CAT because their garden walls weren't high enough. They live in the deep countryside - the last house on their lane. There is no through road past them, only 360 degrees of open farmland.

My cats are 13, and they easily leap our 6ft fences leading out into the suburbs anyway.

BTW my family had a rescue Greyhound before - in a house with zero fences. Albeit in a less "official" way.

[quote Toddlerteaplease]@Chicchicchicchiclana I can easily imagine that it could. My cats insurance will double next year and will cost around £250 a month!! [/quote]