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.

Sorry crosspost. Sending all my good wishes to your family.

Vet was incorrect. Our previous dog was 11 when we got him and Petplan insured him for £35 per month.

Current dog was 8(ish) when we got her and with Direct Line she's £60 per month. Petplan told us to feck off for this one as the previous 2 - both insured with them- had cost them a fortune (they paid out £8k in one year for one and for very expensive IVDD surgery and aftercare costing many thousands for the other!)

Research the breed first !!!
l have a Beagle ,l love her to bits but boy are they hard work. A lot of families with young DCs get them because they are cute and very friendly natured. I was mine's fourth owner at ten months old. Brought back because knocking toddlers over, too bouncy etc etc. She is bombproof with toileting, never made a mess ever, no hint of aggression ,we can take a marrow bone out her mouth (if necessary obv. we dont do it to torment her) without even a grumble. Problem is their energy levels ,they are bred aa a working scent hound and sooo excitable , if they dont burn off that energy they just wont settle down and will constantly pace and charge around and pester you. We are both semi retired now with no young DC at home for her to knock over so she suits us. So many people choose the wrong breed for their home, garden, lifestyle, physical ability etc etc.and the dog ends up being returned.

Beagles are also notorious escapers. You are so right though. SOme breeds just aren't right for some situations.

We’re on our second beagle (and have a young family) and bar the food obsession being sometimes difficult to manage they've been absolute dreams!

Someone said upthread that dogs don’t need to be spayed or neutered and don’t need regular treatment for worms, tick and fleas. I beg to differ.

I'll preface this by saying I'll never own a dog, and this is one of the reasons.

But I know (rich) old school friends who travel All.The.Time for weeks at a time, in fact they're away now and have been for weeks, (skiing, seeing a uni child, seeing a uni child compete in a sport, visiting friends, visiting family, seeing the country, seeing a uni child again, etc), and then make a HUGE (social media) deal of getting their dog back when they go home.

And then rinse and repeat. Regularly.

The dog spends more time with other people than them.

And yet they claim they love the dog. The dog who doesn't travel with them ever and yet they travel most of the time.

Seems to be a 'thing' amongst a certain class.

God some people are thinking even with all the information available about dogs. that's just basic care what you described

Oh Martha, what a beautiful girl. I know we have the same decision to make soon with our (nearly 16 Yr old) girl. Sending you strength and love 💐

I'm so sorry. Your poor mum and poor you

This is exactly why I can't face getting another pet. They break your heart. My heart has been broken enough.

They remind me of toddlers that never grow up!

They do become lovely about 4yrs until they become elderly which is where the proper companion years are.

I totally agree with you, OP. My old rescue dog died at the age of 16 last month and I doubt we'll have another. We got really lucky with him. He was a steady, low-key dog who loved a cuddle and a play but didn't demand it. He was a quietly happy, waggy, friendly dog that even people who didn't like dogs warmed to. We won't get so lucky again and we don't want to risk ruining our lives with one of the barky, nervous, demanding, chronically ill, reactive, fixated dogs all our friends seem to have. I used to happily offer to have dogs stay for a week or two while friends and family went away, but having spent a fortnight with a totally unsocialised cockerpoo, I've knocked that on the head. I can't understand how some people can live with dogs that are never properly walked and have never been socialised or trained, but they do.

@pearpporridge Totally agree. Our rescue sounds much like yours and is 9 . We can’t believe how lucky we got and neither can anyone who hears she was a Romanian stray. But we can’t be that lucky again plus it will be nice to be more spontaneous about trips away .

DS would love a dog, but it is just not appropriate for us to get one. We live in a flat, I work full time, and I do not want the extra expense.

My mum has a dog luckily that he can spend time with.

Not RTFT. If your DC/DH want a puppy it will be you doing the training, walking, feeding and clearing up.
Even if you have minimal vets fees just dog food is expensive.

I'm a cat person really and I've always had cats because I've always worked full time but I really would like a dog.
I've decided to wait until I retire - I have a good pension and I'll get an adult dog from a shelter. I can't be doing with training a puppy. I'll have lots of time to give a dog, I live in the country, I go for big walks whenever I can and I really want a dog companion to go out with to the woods and the beach.
My DS and DiL are big animal lovers, live nearby and he will have my animals when I die or become unwell, we've already discussed this.

Totally and utterly agree.

I adore dogs and have had dogs all my life but they are such hard work and do indeed break your heart.

Our last dog was my best friend, he got cancer (3 times), the vet bills set us back £7k and then we had to make the painful decision to have him pts (I will never forget his eyes boring into mine as the needle went in). Losing him destroyed me and I still cry for him 2 years on.

I felt that I couldn’t live without a dog so got a rescue, love him to bits but he is such, such hard work, he drains the life out of me.

I have loved all of my dogs with my whole heart but I will never, ever have another………Ever!

My dog is 17 and pay about £90 per month JUST in insurance. I had two dogs - one died last year at 16.5. So - some do live quite long.

I actually recall dogs living in sheds or kennels or just wandering about the area. Its crazy now the cost and care they need.

Here is mine, it’s been 14 years of very expensive dog food, hours of training, inconvenience, worry, halitosis (her, not me), poo picking, hoovering hair, occasional terrifying vets bills, curtailed days out, walking in all weathers and these days cleaning up trails of urine.

On the other hand she has given 14 years of purest joy; she’s been my bereavement counsellor, the only being who could manage my DS’s temper tantrums when he was small, she greets me every morning cheerfully, she is gentle and loyal and endlessly entertaining. She still chooses what she will obey and these days I only ask one thing of her; that she lives forever, because I really don’t know what I’ll do without her.

They’ve always needed that cost and care, they just didn’t get it. We know better now.

I'm so sorry to hear about your darling girl. It's bloody awful pain. Sending hugs xx

regular worming yes - flea and tick treatment, not necessarily. Bitches should be neutered, it depends entirely on the dog whether they need to be.

I don’t routinely flea my dog, flea treatment causes an enormous amount of ecological damage and he’s never once had fleas in 3 years. I’ve never even seen a tick! He’s not neutered either.

We've got one easy dog, but she's a bit of a unicorn. She was rehomed from a breeder who...wasn't quite at the level of puppy farm, but definitely a business venture. The dogs were walked, fed, and saw a vet as needed, but they were there to make money. She's just cheerful, relaxed, laid-back, nothing bothers her, totally patient with rescue boy, happy with a short walk or a long one (but other dog needs much more). She had a cancer scare a while ago (benign!) and the vet didn't even have to sedate her to shave her belly and ultrasound her, more than once. Even the vet was commenting on what a fantastic little dog she is. However, its pure luck she came this way. We didn't make her like this, though I venture to say we give her a great home. And of course, she isn't cheap to keep by any means!

The RSPCA and many other animal organisations strongly recommend tick treatment.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/general/ticks#:~:text=Ticks%20will%20bite%20and%20feed,although%20it's%20uncommon%20in%20cats.