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Original poster

Dog owners: Do you enjoy your dog or is it just hard work?

51 replies

fairypower · 26/10/2006 11:14

I would dearly love to get a dog. It would really have to be a puppy as I have children and would want to be certain of it's history.

Everyone I have mentioned it to thinks I am mad.

I like the idea of taking it for walks, grooming it and going to training class. The things that people seem to look at as hard work are the reasons I want one.

Surely it can't be all bad or there wouldn't be so many dog owners out there.

I admit that I am busy with the kids, housework etc. Would a dog just add to the workload or do you find they enrich your life?

I guess what I am asking is "Is it worth the hard work to have a dog?"

OP posts:

throckenholt · 26/10/2006 11:17

ours is not hard work (generally).

Pre kids - going for walks etc was fun. Now it is sometimes a chore - but on balance it is still fun - and the kids are now old enough to have fun with her as well.

I think, on balance as a family we benefit from having a dog (although I think the dog suffered from neglect a bit when the kids were tiny).

expatinscotland · 26/10/2006 11:18

Dogs are a nuisance, IMO.

Mellowma · 26/10/2006 11:20

Message withdrawn

geekgrrl · 26/10/2006 11:31

well, we've just had to rehome our 7 month old puppy because he had a possession aggression problem with the younger children (despite having met the dog's parents etc.) .
I was really sad about it for a couple of days but to be perfectly honest it's such a relief now to not have a dog anymore. I feel that I have got so much on as it is with the children & house & work, that it really was mad of us to bring another factor into this that would require so much work.
I also really enjoyed the walks, puppy classes and grooming - what I found difficult was keeping him & the children apart, house training took forever (finally cracked it at 5.5 months) and also not being able to leave him for more than 4 hours, and he had this excitement urination thing going on - whenever anything remotely exciting happened he'd spray urine all over the place - this happened at least 8x a day and I can tell you, it does get you down rather quickly.
One problem with the walks (and everything else dog-related really) is that of course it ended up being me who does it all, and walks did end up becoming yet another chore I needed to get done.

Of course lots of people really enjoy their dogs, and I like to think that if we'd been a bit more sensible about our timing and had gone for an even easier breed (ours was a golden retriever), things would have worked out.

throckenholt · 26/10/2006 11:33

I think you also need to be aware that it probably takes a good couple of years for a puppy to become a calm and reliable family member (kids do take a bit longer IME ).

So it may be tough and not very rewarding for much of the first year or two. Make sure you have the time to spend on it.

lucy5 · 26/10/2006 11:36

I loved my dog pre pregnancy but to be honest anm now finding her a pain in the arse. She is a rescue dog and very needy. She pulls so I can't walk her, so I pay a teenager to do it, which sort of defeats the object. Dh and dd take her for long walks at the weekend, which I used to love doing but I just can't physically do at the moment. I feel sorry for her as I use dto give her alot of time but she just irratates me at the moment with her constant need for attention. If your kids are older and your not preggers I'd say you will probably love having a dog, but be prepared they need alot of attention.

MrsOhHu · 26/10/2006 11:44

We have 2 rescue dogs and a 2 year old and a baby. The dogs are suffering at the moment and so am I. I don't like the dogs at all. They bark and I can't do the things I need to do to keep everyone happy. My poor dogs! They are being very good about it though, when they are not under my feet and making me cry and shout. It is a downward spiral. When we have time for the dogs, it is brilliant and everyone enjoys life much more. It is a lot of time and effort though. Don't get a dog unless you are going to do the work. It really isn't fair.

golds · 26/10/2006 11:50

We have a lovely dog, we have had her for a year now, as a puppy from a private home. She took a matter of a couple of weeks to train, she is perfect.

Before getting her, we attempted to get a dog from a rescue centre - big mistake, this seemingly calm dog turned on my dd and we had to take it back. Disheartened with it all, I said I never wanted another. Dh took control and said he wanted one, its just a case of getting it right. Sally was from a private home, so from the moment she was born she was introduced to paper training, we just continued with her.

She is the most gentle dog I have ever seen, she adores the children (7&9), she obedient, never takes anything thats not hers, I would not be without her.

This morning its blowing a gale outside and raining, but the 3 of us got the wellies out and went on a 2 mile walk, the kids dress her up and groom her.

The only down side is that if when I finish work I want to pop and do some shopping, I have to make sure Ive taken her out in between. She does restrict my occasionally when I want to spend a day out, but thats not often.

I suspect the people giving you the advice that your mad, have never owned a dog, go with what you want to do, only people who have owned a dog can give you advice on their experiences.

throckenholt · 26/10/2006 11:52

lucy5 - get a halti collar - it goes over the nose (but like a bridle on a horse) and really stops them pulling (without hurting them at all).

2labs · 26/10/2006 12:27

I enjoy mine with a 12 week old baby - but as I've said on another thread I had them a while before having ds so had plenty of time to train them and they are adult dogs, past all the adorable but hard-work silliness of puppies. All the same I can't say I enjoy hoovering every day , but that's a price I'm willing to pay, along with walks in sleet and snow, expense, vet trips at inconvenient moments, finding dogsitters when we can't take them with us etc... Depends just how much you want a dog.

IME getting a puppy is no more predictable than getting a rescue older dog whose history is known - yes a lot of how they turn out is down to you, but it's also genetic, and getting a puppy from just anyone is a lottery. For example, 45,000 labradors were born last year and it doesn't take a genius to work out that most of those were not bred by people who had rigorously health and temperament tested their dogs and are trying to improve the breed and weed out aggressive tendencies etc. Also not hard to see that there are not 45,000 homes for labradors each year, so you can guess what happens to a lot of them. The point of which is... you can do a lot to improve your chances of having a nice dog (which is less hard work) if you take care where it comes from, though ultimately there are no guarantees.

Iklboo · 26/10/2006 12:35

I looooooove my dog! She's 11 now, but I've had her since she was 12 weeks old. The training bit was a bit of the pain, but SO worth it. She's a whippet/greyhound cross so no grooming - and they don't like long walks cos they're really very lazy & prefer to sleep in front of the fire or on a comfy chair or couch. Dh tales her out every night for a short walk and we take her to the park every weekend for a run.

lucy5 · 26/10/2006 12:37

Thanks throckenbolt, someting has to be done. I was even thinking of calling that woman from it's me or the dog but I didn't think she would come to Spain!

Any tips on year round malting?

Iklboo · 26/10/2006 12:39

Lucy - get some Immac

caffeinequeencanpoacheggs · 26/10/2006 12:43

Hello
There was a v similar thread that I was looking at yesterday too that may be helpful here it is
HTH

lucy5 · 26/10/2006 13:04

Hehehhee

throckenholt · 26/10/2006 13:23

here is the halti

Sorry - no idea about grooming - I have a collie who hates being combed - gets very knotted and then has to have the knots cut out (which she hates as well). Bribery is my approach

FioFio · 26/10/2006 13:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

fairyjay · 26/10/2006 13:29

We had two puppies for over a year, but despite all of the 'we'll look after them' promises, it was down to me to either do, or sort out who would be around to walk and feed them.

I have to say that although I feel very guilty for having them re-homed, our lives are busy enough without the added responsibility of dogs.

The one thing I really missed when we had them was that we could no longer spontaneously stay out for supper, or go away overnight.

I grew up with a dog though, as did dh, and we both have very fond memories of them. But I suppose at that time, it wasn't me picking up the poo!

Mellowma · 26/10/2006 14:26

Message withdrawn

MacdogOnElmStreet · 26/10/2006 14:46

On a day like this(howling wind and lashing rain) i could have seen the dog far enough!!
But we've been for our walk, so dd has had her quota of fresh air and a good laugh at her dog!!
I was worried about having a dog indoors with dd, especially as he is 'second-hand'. Our solution was to kennel him outside during day(starting when i was still working). During heatwave we kenneled him at night too, and now he's an outdoor dog.
It is very rewarding to have a dog, good for health reasons too.It would be very easy for me to get lazy and think, "i'm not going out in that!", but the dog needs his walk!!
Dogs are a huge commitment, and expensive to 'maintain', but ultimately i wouldn't be without one!

12yeargap · 26/10/2006 15:00

We wouldn't be without ours for the world, the children/stepchildren adore him, he really brings us together as a family, and gives us some fantastic days out - a dog makes walks so much more interesting.

Were having a rather unexpected baby next year, but I'm confident that the dog won't cause any real problems though of course I'll be on the alert.

hotandbothered · 26/10/2006 22:10

Our dog is part of the family. Our dd LOVES him and its been really good for her to learn how to care for him. She is a very kind, gentle little girl and I'm sure that's down to having a dog. he is also very good with her and put up with being climbed on etc when she was crawling. We'll never have a clean house tho' - he loves muddy puddles, rolling in leaves etc... I'd say think about it carefully, a dog is a huge commitment, but can offer so much

7up · 26/10/2006 22:11

hard work

sliverx2 · 26/10/2006 23:37

80% hard work, no 90% i have a 10 month old gloden Lab def hard work!

trinity2 · 26/10/2006 23:50

I had to give mine to my mum to look after, he needed sooo many walks and use to just follow me around if I didn't take him out, drove me potty, 100% hard work, bless him

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