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Original poster

Everyone wants to get a dog! Help with pros and cons please

36 replies

SecondhandRose · 22/01/2005 09:43

I can't stand the thought of picking up poop in the garden or anywhere else or the kids walking in it.

I worry about going on holiday and being out all day.

I wouldn't mind so much if it was a little dog as he'd need less exercise, take upless room and perhaps he could have a dog flap.

What about when they go for walks and get all wet and muddy, what do you do with them then when it's time to come in the house!

I am not completely barmy honest! Doggy advice needed please.

OP posts:
Titania · 22/01/2005 09:49

we have just got a puppy 5 weeks ago. She barked and howled through the night til 3 nights ago. She pooed and weed everywhere all the time. (still does but not as bad) When we take her out we have to put towels down on the kitchen floor for when we get back. She barks whenever we leave her. She chews and eats everything whether it's actually edible or not. I mop the kitchen floor at least 4 times a day. We leave the back door open for her to go out for a wee so I am freezing this morning.

But for some reason, I put up with it and we all love her to bits.

magnolia1 · 22/01/2005 10:04

We have a 14 week old puppy ans we had wee and poo everywhere for a while but it is now maybe once a day! She is a pain coming back to us when out in the garden!! Awful at 6am when its feezing and she decides she wants to inspect every inch of grass
She bites everything and everyone but that's getting better. She takes Katies toys and hides them!!
If that doesn't put you off then you are ready for a dog

Mechelle xx

fostermum · 22/01/2005 10:34

your questions imply that you dont really want one to me as poop,mud,fleas,long walks in the rain,worming, vets bills, chewed everything are part of haveing a dog of any size,

misdee · 22/01/2005 10:52

i think u arent ready for a dog either.

i have a border collie pup, she takea a,lot of time and energy. she also pees herself whenever anyone comes into the house in excitment. which is very annoying. i am now on my 2nd mop head since getting her, as i am mopping the floors several timnes a day amd the last one fell apart. She is good at being left alone.

really i think i got her at the wrong time. dh went into hospital a few days after getting her and ifeel she has been neglected in attention as i was at the hospital an awful lot.

but she is a lovely dog.

tallulah · 22/01/2005 11:07

My DH was desperate for a dog. Talked about nothing else for months. (He has had many dogs over the years, so knew what it was all about). Got the dog. STILL thinks he can sit quietly & eat his breakfast while the dog is waiting to go out. Decides we are going out for the day/away for the weekend & forgets to factor in the dog (luckily DS1 rarely wants to come with us & makes an excellent dog-sitter.... how long until he moves out & then we're stuck). Moans when "asked" to go & remove the growing pile of sh! from the garden, because he "only cleared it yesterday". Doesn't want to get up early so he can take the dog out before dashing off to work.......

Don't get a dog unless you are happy to do all this. It will get left to you, and you will resent it. Our dog is lovely but when I've got stuff I want to do & he's gone off & left her with me I get really fed up. She's his dog when it suits him.

tallulah · 22/01/2005 11:13

Forgot to add.. Ours was really clean when she came to us but needed to go out for toileting twice a night for several weeks. It was just like having a new baby while still having to go to work!! DH was quite content for me to suffer this disturbance (he works nights), but when told it was his turn to get up to her 3 times on Xmas Eve he was not a happy bunny!!!

(My youngest is 13 so I'd forgotten how awful it is to be woken over & over, every night, & how zombiefied you end up.)

Be prepared

Titania · 22/01/2005 11:18

My puppy Molly is much harder work than the kids. I have worked with animals all my life and still its draining. She needs more attention than a baby. At least babies sleep so you can catch up on rest in day after being up all night with them!!! Lots of poo and wee and mess is invloved with all dogs of any age or breed I;m afraid. DH works long hours so ultimately its up to me to look after molly. I have to take her everywhere with 3 kids and a pushchair. Then theres the training as well. That takes up so much time. If you have kids you need to be able to control the dog, especially if like me you have gone for a big breed. Good luck with you decision. Think long and hard! Going to go and bath my puppy now.....she decided to dig up my honeysuckle this morning so it covered in all sorts!!! x x

happymerryberries · 22/01/2005 11:22

If you don't want to do all the stuff that goes with a dog, don't get one. The kids will swear that they will do all the stuff and they will for a few weeks, and then they will stop, and you will end up having to do it all.

noddyholder · 22/01/2005 11:24

I have always wnated a dog but dp not keen.I have agreed to mind a puppy once a week for a friend to see how I go!She works and needs the help and we get to try it out The dog's owner says it is hard work just like a child so we'll see!

fostermum · 22/01/2005 17:41

i would be happy if my collie pup would just poo while i take it for an hour long walk twice a day instead of walking with his legs crossed to crap the moment he gets to the garden

misdee · 22/01/2005 17:42

fostermum, mine has never been to the loo anywhere than the garden. really really annoying!

fostermum · 22/01/2005 17:44

my older dog wont go in the garden at all but doobie wont go while in the fields.pritty fond of kitchen floor too!

misdee · 22/01/2005 17:45

star is as well. tho she has been clean and dry the last 2 mornings (it is like potty training a child!!!)

fostermum · 22/01/2005 17:48

mine is great while im with him but if i go upstairs even to put washing away he poops,been ok last week though just a puddle,now trying to stop him leaping up at things he can jump vertically upwards from a stand still,like a kangaroo,bless him

redsky · 22/01/2005 18:02

I think you are right to be cautious about this. I eventually gave in to pressure when youngest was 10 and old enough to help with everything incl cleaning up yukky messes, regular walking, grooming, popping him in the bath tub after a muddy walk etc etc. Did LOADS of research into suitable breeds,visited dog shows etc to talk to owners of diff breeds. We've now had our Tibetan Terrier for nearly 2 years and not regretted one single minute! This is not a 'popular' breed - but is perfect for our circumstances.

Newbarnsleygirl · 22/01/2005 18:03

DON'T DO IT
Your family will thank you in the long run!
We bought a dog 4 years ago. He has cost us thoushands of pounds worth of damage.
This is what he has damaged;
3 carpets, 2 of dh's suits, 3 pairs of my shoes, god knows how many of his own blankets, chewed the wire on our new dyson hoover, ate batteries which then cost us in vets bills, chewed through a bottle of bleach and the list goes on.
Eventually we bought a cage for him which he went in when we went out however in august last year we moved and decided to leave him the run of the house as he had grown up a bit and thought there would be no problems. He was great until one day last month we had gone to work and when we had come home he had chewed and ripped our NEW leather sofa, scratched at the wall, it's that bad he's scratched right down to the steel support and he's scratched the black seal on the upvc door!
Thats not including the amount of c*#p and pee that he has done in the house and how much he has cost us in vets bills.
But we love him.

Original poster
SecondhandRose · 22/01/2005 20:30

Well, I think that's my mind made up then!! Think I'll just offer to dog sit other people's when they go away. Both neighbours have dogs so they might be glad of it.

I'm going to print this off and get them all to read it!

OP posts:
Newbarnsleygirl · 22/01/2005 20:40

This is for the benefit of your children.
I never had a dog when I was a child because my mum would never let me have one but if I'd have known then how much looking after a dog needs I would never have asked!!!
Picking up dog poo is not pleasant especially when they've eaten something that hasn't agreed with them!!!!!

northstar · 22/01/2005 20:48

I sat down today to tell ds 2.8 that we were going to have a new baby in the house soon, and his just looked at me like i was mad and said "no mummy, we get a puppy". He says he'll help me with a puppy but not with a new baby, and i was getting to the stage of maybe thinking about getting both - but now, thanx to this thread im NOT.
I think if we do decide on a dog when children are older i will go to the rescue home and interview all prospective candidates thoroughly

CelluliteQueen · 22/01/2005 20:57

SCR, if you are out all day then I don't think it's fair to have a dog.

I had my dog 18m before DS was born and yes, she was bloody hard work when she was a pup but it has paid off now. She is so affectionate and so wonderful with DS and I can't imagine being dogless.

But I do have a great suggestion: I also do voluntary work for The Cinnamon Trust "the national charity for the pets and the elderly". They are such a wonderful organisation and help elderly, disabled and terminally ill people to keep their pets by arranging day to day dog walking, short-term fostering of pets whose owners go into hospital and re-homing pets whose owners have died. I have my hands full with 18m DS, my own dog and 3 cats but it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to know that my help allows a person to keep their best friend. (I walk a dog for an isolated housebound lady who has nothing in her life but her dog).

For many people, this is an ideal way to be involved with a dog but without all the commitment involved.

By the way, their website is Here

CelluliteQueen · 22/01/2005 20:59

By the way, my dog won't do a number two in the garden. She gets walked twice a day and she waits til then so no problems with DS in the garden.

lucy5 · 22/01/2005 21:13

The other thing to take into account is the emotional element. We got a pup who we all loved including dd then aged 3. The dog managed to escape one morning unbeknown to us and followed me down to the bus stop. Unfortunately he was some way behind me and I only saw him from the other side of the dual carriageway where he was mown down before my eyes. It has been six months now and I still grieve for him everyday. My daughter still asks for him, only the other day she asked if the faries from heaven could bring him down just for a little while. I grew up with dogs and i never thought I could become so attached so quickly and I still feel incredibly guilty.

Branster · 22/01/2005 21:49

if you think of all the practical and negative aspects of having a dog, you'll never get one.
maybe you'll just fall in love with a dog or puppy one day by chance and then you'll have one, otherwise if you plan it on terms of inconvenience, pluses don't outnumber the negatives.
as it happens, small dogs don't necessarly need less exercise. on the contrary, very large breeds are not bothered about exercise. but still, you'd need to walk the dog whatever breed you choose, unless your garden is the size of a park.

do you actually want a dog yourself or is someone (i.e. the kids) pestering you to get one?

oh lucy5, this is such a sad story...

Newbarnsleygirl · 22/01/2005 22:02

Lucy5 you have just made me cry that is soooo awful

As much as our dog has been an absolute s*#t he has an amazing temprement and is wonderful with dd. He doesn't have a vicious bone in him. Just a destructive one!

CQ, how have you trained your dog not to mess in the garden or have you always walked him to do his business?

lucy5 · 22/01/2005 22:10

Sorry, I made you cry NBG. I dont usually talk about it. Some people don't understand how you can grieve for an animal.

It wasnt meant to put anyone off. The positives far outweigh the negatives. You put in alot but you get so much back.