...to think that NOBODY should get a dog EVER without my express permission?

[BroccoliSpears]

You could apply to me in writing and I'd assess you and my decision would be final.

People who wouldn't get dogs include

• People who work and plan to leave the dog shut in.
• People who don't really like dogs but think it would be nice for the kids.
• People who have never had a dog before (unless they're prepared to undertake a dog course).

Okay, perhaps I'm being a teensy weensy bit unreasonable, but I find it so depressing how casually people get dogs and then get rid of them.

In the last week I've been told two very similar stories from unrelated people about how they got a dog but it was "a disaster" because he just chewed things and weed in the house and wrecked the carpet and wouldn't do as he's told and in they end they had to give him to the rescue centre because he was no good. There is no taboo about cheerfully chucking a dog on the scrap if you don't want it.

I utterly utterly adore my dog and wouldn't be without her, but when people I know (even friends) get That Look in their eye as they see dog and DD playing together, and wonder if they should get a dog I want to scream "NOOOOO". I want to rant that yes, my dog is well behaved and doesn't chew stuff and walks nicely next to the pushchair and adores DD and is a joyous addition to out family, but how do you think she got like that???? It wasn't a fluke. I thought very carefully about what breed, what age and what sex dog would suit our family. I worked really hard with her to ensure that she was well behaved and well socialised with other dogs and people. Plus, I love dogs. To me it will never really be a chore to pick up poo in the garden or take her to the park in the rain, any more than it's a chore to feed and bath DD at the end of a long tireing day.

But if I said all that I'd be patronising and ranting and would eventually lose all my friends and have to become a crazy cat lady or something.

I just wish that people had a more realistic idea of what having a dog was like before they went tripping off to get one. They can be wonderful, wonderful pets if you know what you're letting yourself in for.

And I wish that getting a dog was understood as a commitment to that animals's wellfair for the rest of its life, however inconvenient that may be to you.

HellHath, maybe a special dispensation in your case

I see that someone has already mentioned the hideous business of picking up your dog's poo and then leaving it in a bag by the path.

How can people be so mindlessly, idiotically pea-brainedly wicked as to do that???

It is disgusting to see these bags of poo, preverved for all eternity in the hedgerow.

I see that the Forestry Commission's official advice in wilder areas with no poo bins is to 'take a stick and flick', shuttling the poo into the undergrowth where it can mingle harmlessly with badger and fox poo. The reason they have had to issue this advice is the growing phenomenon of bagged and abandoned poo.

Or when poo bags (full) get flung into a tree. WHY.... WHY?????

YANBU

I always feel furious and sad when I hear of yet another dog being rehomed because it is too much like hard work.

Someone I know rehomed one because they had to come home after work and feed/let it out before going out

As you can imagine I gave them short shrift

Hellhath....you are an exception. But remember there are loads of people out there that also work full-time whose dogs are on their own all day, every day, and whose owners don't fork out £200/month to ensure their dog gets a long walk at midday etc etc.

Why is it that I can walk past our local 'dog poo bin' which is situated at the bottom of my road ... then after a few minutes walk both my dogs decide to empty their bowels? That then means I have to carry two bags of dog poo round with me on our walk, trying to enjoy the lovely fresh air and open countryside, with two increasingly smelly warm bags of poo in one hand....to try and find another bin which is normally the one I passed initially or I continue on home and put them in my bin.

It is not nice carrying smelly warm bags of poo which I think is why some stupid selfish individuals either don't bother picking it up or pick it up (so not to be seen walking away from it and being frowned upon) and then lob it into someone's hedge, over a wall (normally mine) or by the side of the road.

Ofcourse not all staffs or rockweillers are violent. However there have been tragic cases when staffs have killed children. It is being stupid to deny that those deaths near took place. There have also been cases when mongerals have killed people.

Saying that all staffs are dangerous is a ricideous as saying that all muslim fundermentalists are murderous terrorists.

However its the enviromnent that makes a dog dangerous. Large dogs suffer particularly badly from bad care. Large dogs like staffs are capable of being more dangerous than a small dog like a yorkshire terrier.

Have a look at this link if you think don't think that staffs can be potentially dangerous.

www.ukandspain.com/dangerous-dogs/

whispy that is the explanation,how disgusting.I keep having to clear dog muck away from the front of my house.Most of the neighbours dont,I dont understand why not,Well probably because its not their dog but still a bit selfish imo .Stays there for ages -yuk

time4me - I don't know if that is the reason why people log their bags of dog poo over fences, over walls, in the hedges, in the trees - only those that are guilty know why they do it! I was just guessing!!

whispy i think you have hit the head on the nail.You are right.I would love a dog but i only have to think of the doo and it puts me off.Not enough return I think.

The best friends of Dh and myself are wanting a dog. Not a big dog fan myself but I have been quite forward in saying I don't think it's a good idea, because they both work full time. I personally thinkmit is very unfair to keep a dog alone all day in a house. Most dogs are very social animals and thrive on company.

Let's put it this way....if my dogs were left on their own, all day whilst I was at work I would come home to puddles, chewed furniture, howling etc etc and two completely bored but extremely energetic dogs....

When I adopted my first dog (she is now 12yrs old) I worked full time but I was allowed to take her to work with me and she sat under my desk in her bed.

When I adopted my second dog (she is only 9mths old but a rescue dog) I worked very flexi hours/SAHM.

I would never have taken on either dog if I were in a situation whereby they would be at home all day on their own.

My dogs get 2-3 walks per day - they are left at home for no more than 2-3hrs per day (whilst I work) - imo that is plenty long enough to be left at home and with the long walks they get they are more than happy to be left to go to sleep and enjoy a few hours peace!

We have a Dieferdog,(already named when we saved him from some liverpoolians, hense D..for..dog. said with accent). If it wasn't for him and his daily walks, twice/three times a day, i'm sure with the dark evenings and British weather, our children would sit in and watch tv, like most of the ones we see when people can't be arsed, to get off their arses to draw their curtains. So Broccoli.. I think Mners should write to you. By the way, the crappy family that owned Diefer before us, have given the poor mutt a problem. Anyone that comes to the door or in the house he barks like mad at them. I know (after 9 years he will NOT attack). However until visitors are seated and don't move, he stops. If they move, he's off again. We have tried and are still using water in a squrty bottle. Months later, i can safely say.. It don't work. Any other ideas appreciateed.

Liverpudlians... sorry

I live in an end of terrace house - we are in a block of four houses. In this block of four houses live a total of 5 dogs.

My two - lab and a JRT, a Golden Retriever, a Springer Spaniel and a Westie.

Out of the five dogs only my dogs see the light of day - they are out with dh at 6am every day when he goes out for his run before work, get walked to school by me at 8am, get walked to playgroup by me at midday and get walked back up to the school again at 3pm. They then end their day with another quick walk around the block by dh late at night.

The golden retriever spends all day, every day, on the sofa whilst its owners are at work. He is overweight and arthritic and only 6yrs old. He has fatty lumps and has difficulty walking up the garden path.

The Spaniel is extremely overweight - fit to burst - he never goes out other than to do his business and is owned by an elderly and very nice sweet chap who is unfortunately senile. The Spaniel is a lovely friendly dog but is no longer able to cock his leg so wees whilst he's stood up and he don't smell too nice either!

The Westie is owned by a lady who simply refuses to take her dog out because it yaps at other dogs (?) so it spends its days in the garden yapping at anything that moves instead.

Good eh?!

Oh and by the way...the walks to school and back that I do are 3 miles round trip...that's a total of 6 miles of school walking per day.

That's good - dogs need lots of exercise, my dad and sm have a springer spanial, they have a huge yard that she has run of, but my sm normally takes her out at least once a day for a long walk, usualy 3-4 km!

Re Dieferdog, I always thought that 'D for Kate' would be a better name for a dog(defecate)