To not understand the appeal of dogs as pets?

[Gardentiger]

I just don't get it and would love to understand! As much as I like certain dogs I meet and think they are cute, the list of downsides is massive

• they smell and make your house and car and clothes smell bad

-they can't be left alone for a length of a working day -behavioural problems and agression -if you get a barky one it can ruin your relationship with neighbours -the amount of time you have to spend training them -some seem to need constant supervision -chewing things and generally wrecking the housr -having to pick up warm freshly baked turds

I walked a friend of mines dog the other day and it was awful! He pulled on the lead the entire way, and kept trying to pee on people's doorsteps / flowerpots.

So what is the appeal!? I say this as an animal lover who has had pet rabbits, cats and hamsters in the past.

You will never understand the appeal until you have your own.
The positives are that he make me laugh every day. Sometimes just by sleeping in a cute position.
He looks at me as if I am the most amazing thing he has ever seen.
Watching him doing the zoomies around a flooded field and having such a blast.
Leisurely walks (lead training is so so important).
Cuddling up to me on the sofa in the evening. Having him curled up in the crook of my legs.

they smell and make your house and car and clothes smell bad - yes but regular cleaning and air fresheners can mask most of it
they can't be left alone for a length of a working day - mine can, he sleeps all day and occasionally has a dog walker on long days.
behavioural problems and aggression - not all of them
if you get a barky one it can ruin your relationship with neighbours - again, not all dogs bark and it can be trained out. Despite being part shepherd, Archer rarely barks.
the amount of time you have to spend training them - it is a lot of effort to start with, but once you’ve put the work in, it makes the rest of the time so much easier. I have done any ‘training’ with Archer for about 5 years (accept for agility classes).
some seem to need constant supervision chewing things and generally wrecking the house again, not all. Archer has never destroyed anything in the house except for a few toys. All down to training, exercise and stimulation
having to pick up warm freshly baked turds - that one I will give you, but you just get use to it.

"gently wuffle as he sleeps"
A tear came into my eye when you said this...it's soo true

Do you have children? All of what you say can be applied to children. Some people don't want children, some people do. Everyone is different, nobody cares about your reasons.

Dogs are like men.

Plenty of dogs are great company, house-trained, affectionate, great with kids, energetic workers and hardly smell at all.

Just don't get one of those yapping untrained spoiled son-of-a_bitch shits who messes up the house, hurts you and the children and runs up huge bills he'll never pay.

All of the negatives pale into comparison when you feel the loyalty and love that you get from a dog.

Mine (and my cats) have been an absolute GODSEND for my mental health issues. I find them extremely therapeutic. Even my dad, who is emphatically not a dog person, has said how much happier and stable I am now I have a dog in my life.

Yes, he's a commitment. Yes, he's a lot of work. Yes, sometimes I don't want to walk him and yes, I have to plan my life around him but you know what? It's a million percent worth it.

YANBU, they stink, are expensive, noisy and you have to pick their shit up.

But say on MN you don't love dogs and the dog loons, who's defend their right to take Fido everywhere, even where people would be triggered by allergies, and the dog loons set the firing squad on you.

Also on MN everyone's dog is lovely, behaves all the time and never EVER so much as looks at humans or other dogs. Which confuses me seeing as every other dog I see in the park seems to want to clatter my kids over (I swear DS has some sort of dog radar as they always run up to him and get in his face) and bothers us all as some fuckwit owner shouts from 100m away "it's ok, he's friendly".

In future I'm going to tell them to get on MN as it's the magical solution for having a perfect dog

I guess we all project our own feelings onto others' situations and wonder why! I can see the appeal of a dog, the unconditional love without judgement but know that it wouldn't work for me right now because I do lots of things that dog ownership would hinder. I do wonder though, why we as humans, so often look for that unconditional love in another species - that we don't get that from our own species says a lot for humans really!

@BarkingUpTheWrongRoseBush

i feel similarly about children...

The clearly a parenting site is the place for you 🤣

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

We all like and love different things and the fact that you don't understand that makes your world much smaller and sadder.

I am in no way saying people shouldn't live dogs, just try g to understand why.

And my my world is neither sad nor small thanks

Lol at a smaller and sadder world because someone doesn't get their enjoyment from a slathering shedding shitting animal

Generally humans have a biological urge to have children. We’re designed that way to keep our species alive! I don’t think the same could be said of having a dog.

I really don’t get why the two are continuously compared on dog threads.

I do wonder though, why we as humans, so often look for that unconditional love in another species - that we don't get that from our own species says a lot for humans really!

Some of us do! I know it's popular these days to hate people but I love people. I love my family, children, friends and colleagues and I rarely dislike a person.

I find people who love sentient obedient beings who don't answer back and do as they're told more than their fellow humans to be people who probably aren't fit to be in the company of humans if that's how they expect the power balance to be in their relationships

I don't understand the appeal of cats as pets. 😾

Just depends on the dog. Mine is no problem at all but some dogs scare me. I totally understand why some people don't like them.

If you don't get it, you just don't get it.

I don't get people liking rabbits, for example.

Like you say the amount of training a dog needs is a downside. For me it's something I enjoy. I purposely own working dogs, because training is something I enjoy.

That's not a downside.

Non of my dogs have ever chewed or destroyed any of my homes. Ever needed constant supervision passed puppy age. And as for picking poo up, I would rather be picking up after my own pets, than getting a cat and letting other people deal with it.

Not being able to leave them for 8-10 hours a day, isn't a downside to me either.

If you don't like pets that are a fairly big responsibility, they aren't for you and that's OK. But you are unlikely to just 'get it'. It doesn't feel like a huge responsibility to me.

My mum has horses, never my thing I don't get her love for them, but she does. Just one of those things

FWIW, I'd say 99% of dog owners are loving and sensible people who can prioritise relationships and accept that their dogs aren't on the same scale as humans.

The other 1% are vocal and terrifying.

I don’t know why the OP has got so many snarky responses- this is an internet discussion forum, and she’s asking for other peoples input in good faith.

I’m not sure I understand the appeal either- there’s times DH casually muse about getting a dog. To be honest I’ve read enough nightmare-inducing threads over on the Doghouse of what can happen with a dog that’s been poorly bred or socialised and the impact that can have on family life, and ultimately I’m not willing to take the risk.

I agree. I love dogs but they’re just too smelly and needy for me to want one in the house.
I had dogs as a child and I have family with lovely dogs but, even just the having to wash your hands every time you touch them would be such a pain in the arse never mind the worry about them being left for too long/ walking in the rain etc.
Cats every day for me.

@BarkingUpTheWrongRoseBush

i feel similarly about children...

That was my first though too LOL.

@JustCallMeBubblesDahling

Generally humans have a biological urge to have children. We’re designed that way to keep our species alive! I don’t think the same could be said of having a dog.

I really don’t get why the two are continuously compared on dog threads.

Not everyone has a biological urge to have kids. Many animals die after reproducing once. There’s no inherent need to keep the human race going - in fact the planet would be better off without us!

Dogs and children are comparable in as much as they both have the potential to smell, wreck your house, shit where they’re not meant to and curtail your freedom. Dogs, however, can be left for a few hours at a time, are generally predictable and reliable if well trained, don’t answer back, and thrive on pleasing their owner. If things really don’t work out, you can rehome them. You can’t do that with kids!

I never liked dogs until I met DH.

After 10 years of training me to like them we got a puppy.

And honest to God. I love him so so so much. I fell in love with him quicker then I did the DCs!

Thoses things you listed are obviously negatives. But they out weigh the love and friendship you gain from a dog. They are so loyal and so loving. Train them well as pups and the dog will be an absolute delight.

Just the furriest love and companionship ever.

Woof woof!

@JustCallMeBubblesDahling

Generally humans have a biological urge to have children. We’re designed that way to keep our species alive! I don’t think the same could be said of having a dog.

I really don’t get why the two are continuously compared on dog threads.

Perhaps you have to be a sad old biddy of a certain age with an empty nest like me to understand why children and dogs are compared.

Oh and always worrying about not leaving kids unsupervised with the dog, it’s just too much hassle.

I can understand why people have them but can't understand why people apply human emotions to them.

They don't love unconditionally- they are nice to the person/people who keep them safe and fed.

Mumsnet is a bit of an echo chamber about dogs - they are all lovely and never bark or are unruly. And the owners are always so nice and polite. Meanwhile in the real world..:

@AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken

I agree. I love dogs but they’re just too smelly and needy for me to want one in the house. I had dogs as a child and I have family with lovely dogs but, even just the having to wash your hands every time you touch them would be such a pain in the arse never mind the worry about them being left for too long/ walking in the rain etc. Cats every day for me.

Are you supposed to wash your hands after touching the dog??!! I would just have to live in the bath then as he's attached to me most of the day