Don’t get a dog

[Manyandyoucanwalkover]

Dogs are really hard work. They don’t come house trained, so expect to have wee and poo all over your floors. They will eat stuff they shouldn’t and then they vomit. They can be very noisy, they bark and they whine. Some keep you awake half the night. The vet’s bills are horrendous. £75 for a consultation, then medication on top of that. They need regular medication for worms, ticks and fleas. Many dogs need trips to the dog groomer, factor in about £50 every six weeks. This is for 10 years or more. Then they break your heart. 🐾💔

Please don’t get a dog, unless you have thought about all the above.

Each to their own, and I know that dogs can be so adorable and great companions.

HOWEVER, leaving aside the costs involved the one thing that stops me from having one is being tied down and not being able to be spontaneous about going anywhere.

My sister in law (well her family) have two, and she is unable to do anything on the spur of the moment. She would love to, as she is recently retired and is very adventurous, but every time I propose something, it's "but the dogs" over and over. Her husband is 20 years older and is not in great health so isn't in a position to do much in the dog department. I think that is very sad, and a waste of precious time.

I've said it to her and she agrees, but the dogs were sourced by - you guessed it, the husband. She did say that once this pair have gone to doggy heaven, there will be no more. They are loved and very well cared for BTW.

Given some of the posts on other threads recently this warning needs to be repeated every week. Avoid unhappy dogs, angry owners, bemused children.
Too many unsuitables: houses, short of time, children, money.

Husband grew up with dogs. When we met he had a dog and I had 2 children.We got a puppy. The children are grown now and have dogs of their own. Our last dog died 7 years ago. They were lovely, lovely dogs but I would never, ever have another one and we don't allow dogs in the house. I love that when it's raining I can light the fire and stay in the warm. No need to walk any dogs and no stench of wet dog all through the house.

Love my doggy but yes I did not realise what a cocker was, instead stupidly mixing the breed up with dogs I admit now can’t have been cockers. (Go read up on cockers.) Huge garden two walks a day, playing and training every day and yet he can still run about like a lunatic and try to figure out an escape method. No recall. None, and he’s an idiot with roads, he’d be dead in a secon😭

He is such a legend in that he’s never not happy, doesn’t bark much and ignores that the neighbours’ dogs and our cat seem to hate him😅 he was bitey and crazy but now he’s easier

Our biggest issues are kids coming over for playdates- he gets way too excited and the fact that he just wants to be with you all the time. Oh and the escape artist thing- our dog could get a job testing what ‘dog proof’ really is🙈

Ps much as I adore him we’re not the dog people we thought we were and will never get one again. And I’d like to go I’ve people who say to get a dog ‘for the kids’ a good talking to- kids want to play with a dog for a while, and that’s it.

Also if you’re not totally sure, it’s a no!!!

If you want the perfect 'pet' get a feral/rural cat, seriously they require little to no maintenance (live outdoor, hunt their own food etc...) as they are basically wild animals you just adopted and if the like you they 'might' let you pet them.

Any other pet is going to be surprisingly hard work to look after to a decent standard. Like people totally underestimate how hard say a 'goldfish' is and then just wack it in a bowl to suffer and die when really they require a pond or massive aquarium with large filter and the nightmare of nitrate and PH balanced water etc... and they have 30 year life spans and grow to a foot long when you don't just kill them off.

Hamsters another misconstrued 'easy' pet for kids but they require constant cleaning out and little kids just wont do that.

Taking on a pet is a lot like having a child that will never grow past the toddler stage and always need care.

Not to mention you should never buy litter siblings...

Taking on a pet is a lot like having a child that will never grow past the toddler stage and always need care.
Not cats. You get a kitten and you have a toddler. A few weeks later you have a wilful child. A few months and you have a stroppy teenager that never becomes an adult.

I have a friend who is a Foster parent for guide dogs. She has a guide dog that passed the training but couldn't cope with the actual job so they were allowed to adopt her. She's a golden retriever. We had retrievers for years. She is fantastically well trained and a joy to be around. I go and see my friend and have some retriever time now and again. Its lovely but doesn't make me want to get one again

Agree and can i add the worry that comes with having one? I'm currently sitting worrying that our 14 year old girl has slept all day so far and isn't interested in going for a walk. I know she's conscious and able to move as she wakes periodically, stretches, does a few circles and makes herself comfy before going back to sleep but is she just tired after a busy day yesterday or is something wrong? So difficult to tell with dogs.

People go mad and tell you to get a rescue.

Rescue animals are horribly hard work. They don't tell you how difficult they are!

Also don't get an animal in place of a baby.

Animals are not fur babies!

Hugely regret getting a rescue cat when we were going through infertility. He is nothing but trouble, stinks, makes mess everywhere and his constant whiny meows make me feel muderous.

I was a cat lover before getting this cat!

I see quite a few people walking what looks to be imported stray dogs around here.
I can't for the life of me imagine why someone would spend money importing a street dog from another country, as if we don't have enough of the flipping things here.
I suppose they think they're doing something heroic like saving anendangered species🙄
Christ on a bike when we ever get rid of all these fu(king dogs everywhere🤬

both are now finding the constant vigilance and walking and managing (she has bitten several people/ other dogs) too much
@pearpporridge this is awful, the creature has attacked people, why has it not been euthanized?😡

Could also apply to children!

This. There is so much hysteria around fleas and ticks and worms but if you monitor and manage them, you really don't need to use veterinary products as a matter of routine. As with any medication they come with side effects so should be avoided if possible.
I give my dog natural products and she does just fine. I have a tick remover but haven't used it since we left Scotland.

As for neutering, it should be done on a case by case basis. For most family pets it does make sense to neuter but shouldn't be done without thought. Nor too young. It would not be a decision I would find easy to make but that's one of the benefits of rehoming rather than going to a breeder - they are either already done or come with a contract to get done.

My dog had fleas a couple of years ago, it was horrific! Also we visit Scotland often, where the ticks leap on her with gay abandon. So she has a Nexgard tablet every three months for all the nasties. I’d rather go without pet insurance than Nexgard. And I love watching the little beasties falling off her and dying!

That's what you get for going to a backyard breeder/puppy farm.
No decent breeder (not sure there is such a thing) would allow you to take two litter maters, never mind talk you into it.

@redboxer321 @pavedwithgoodintentions Kennel Club breeder, recommended, and registered.
Nowhere did I say the breeder persuaded me - not sure where you decided that.

And yes, I use to bang that drum about litter mates 😂

Agree op. They cost a fortune, necessitate endless cleaning, completely remove the ability to have a spontaneous night away and occasionally chew things that they shouldn’t. When it’s pissing it down or snowing and blowing a gale I can still be found trudging round the fields, because…dogs.
I worry about them constantly, particularly as they get older. I am literally a servant who pays for the privilege of serving their every need and providing them with world class medical care and they will, on occasion, shout at me loudly if I’m not fast enough in my serving duties.

However, entirely irrationally, they are also the greatest joy in my life, I love every single minute with the furry little feckers (and, clutch your pearls, they are all rescue and some of them are even….foreign 😱😱😱) They are of course all spayed/neutered at the appropriate time to prevent any unwanted litters and because pyometra is no laughing matter. Dog ownership is a privilege, not a right and I’m incredibly fortunate to have had every single one of my dogs. They are however undoubtedly an enormous commitment and if you can’t or won’t make that commitment? Don’t get one.

I think go in with your eyes open. I have a rescue because an older dog suited my lifestyle better. It's hard to undo bad habits, but it also gives you a lot of joy knowing they're able to do normal dog things, like run, that they've never been able to. There are some fab rescue dogs out there but there's also some extremely challenging ones. I think reputable charities are good at making sure your experience matches the dogs needs, less reputable ones less so. But I agree that you should think hard before getting a rescue and what you can and can't cope with - it's certainly not as simple as 'get a rescue' and I don't think its for everyone.

Agree OP. I regret getting ours massively

Mine died last year. I miss him and would dearly love another, but I can appreciate the freedom I now have. Also my circumstances aren't quite right for another. I'm thinking that I might foster rather than have my own dog when the time is right. In the meantime, I can start saving!

Agree OP. We have had two and our last girl had to be pts five years ago. Much as we love dogs we are not sure we want another one. They are too much of a tie (we love travelling) and life is just simpler when you don’t have one. We have a dogful life as it is, what with my DB’s Labrador who stays with us often,and our neighbour’s two dogs who spend a fair bit of time with us.

We had 10 years of secondary infertility.

We got a cat because DS was really struggling with being a 'lonely only' child (no cousins or other children in the family or anything and I couldn't be his play mate constantly, he has autism so struggles with imagination and create lone play).

Our cat was perfect for him, literally has the patients of a saint and never complained to anything DS did to him, the two are thick as thieves.

Me on the other hand the damn cat screams at constantly, for the mildest issues like he can see one tiny spot of bowl through his biscuits... and he pukes so many hairballs CONSTANTLY. Non of the anti fur ball meds work and we can't shave him because he twists constantly when even slightly chilly (you wouldn't think he a bloody snowy mountain cat). His shouts are so loud like he has a bloody megaphone, how can a noise that big come out of something so small?

Um... "By the time it was ready to collect I somehow managed to be pursuaded into buying an unsold sibling"
Perhaps I'm reading it wrong?

You might want to read the rest of your post too where you describe your dogs as noisy, messy, a pack and not able to walk sensibly on their leads.

As for KC registered - doesn't mean a lot I'm afraid and actions speak louder than words.