Has anyone ever regretted getting a dog?

[jt2345]

Just that really!
I'm thinking about getting a puppy and have been thinking for a while.

I have grown up with family dogs and know how much of a responsibility they are.

Just wondering 😀

X

I had the puppy blues, thinking what have I done! Had a few dogs as well but forgot that puppies are hard work, but she’s the missing link in our family, wouldn’t be without her.

Our puppy is now 9 months old and I’m really regretting him at the moment. He’s just such hard work. I’m hoping we’ll get through his adolescent stage and all the hardships will be worthwhile.

I think having grown up with dogs doesn't prepare you at all for owning one, especially a puppy.

If you want to prepare yourself, start a random timer for 15-30 minutes through the day, and when it goes off run at full speed to the back door and then spend 10 minutes saying 'do your business' while standing in the middle of the grass. At night, set it for 3 hours, and similarly bolt downstairs.
Every single time you leave the house, think about where the puppy would be
If you have small children, everytime you go to the loo/kitchen/upstairs think about where the puppy would be segregated to.
Make sure absolutely nothing is on the floor, or reachable by a small puppy anywhere downstairs. Include all cable, shoes, toys, socks in this. Throw any left there in the bin.
Randomly make puddles on the floor to step in and clean up
Go for a walk twice a day no matter what
Think about 6 month, a year, 5 years, 10 years time. Will you still be happy to be restricted to dog friendly holidays or having to book (and pay for) kennels. To not have an impromptu non dog friendly day out?

I do. I love her dearly but if I could do it again I wouldn't get a puppy at the stage of life I did again. Shes 4 and we have a 2 year old dd. It's a lot of hard work, long walks, I dont leave them together unattended so even if I need to nip for a quick wee I split them up, it's hard to go out for the day if we are going somewhere not dog friendly because I cant leave her in for too long.
I love her and give her plenty of attention it's just constant. I dont think I would get another dog until my children were adults and I was retired.

I think the fact the rescues are FULL (in normal times) and are going to be behind rammed in a few months tells you that plenty of people regret it

Re read CMOTS post...

It is a HUGE commitment 24/7/365/15 relentless. Rewarding, but relentless.

We have a 3 year old rescue that has been with us for about 18 months. We love him to pieces and wouldn't ever return him but he is extremely reactive to both to strange people and dogs, and so far our attempts training has yielded little improvement. He's great with us in the house, but we can't take him anywhere due to his reactivity. We had imagined long family walks and pub lunches with him, playing ball in the park and chatting with other dog walkers whilst the dogs had a sniff. The reality is very different. We do very limited walks, and spend those on high alert for other people and dogs so we can either ninja out of the way from them to avoid him going nuts, or, if they are far enough away that he isn't over threshold, shovelling treats into him! Instead, we have to provide stimulation in other ways at home (thankfully we have a big garden!). Don't get me wrong, we love him dearly, warts and all and would never give him up, but our reality is nothing like we imagined, and that's something to consider. X

I forgot a few things as well:
Get someone to come in at intervals and shake mud/hair over the floor and sofa. Repeat through the day, with spreading up the walls
Rub some poo into your favourite rug
Get woken up at 30 minute intervals through the night, and then sleep on the floor downstairs
Clean poo/vomit up at night
Take your phone/ favourite shoe/ Fitbit and leave it in the garden slightly chewed
On the most inconvenient day possible, go and hang round the vets and post £50 notes through their letterbox
Yell like a fishwife in your local woods
Make all your coats smell of dog treats

I love my dogs, I really do. But I see so many puppies come into rescue (where they wee on my floor and I sleep on the floor to get them to sleep) because people 'can't cope with the mess' 'realise their lifestyle isn't compatible' 'don't have time' 'it growled at the kids' 'it chewed the car interior when left alone' or 'it wouldn't sleep'

Yes, I do. I had also grown up with dogs and got our puppy a year before ttc. We had to rehome him in the end which was heartbreaking. He has a better life now, mind you, living on a farm in the countryside.

If you have young kids it is SO much harder.

We all absolutely adore our dog, but she does always hold us back from doing what we want when we want, even going into town to do some shopping involves careful planning so as she's not on her own for more than a few hours. She is such a lovely dog, but once she is gone I won't be getting another as they are such a big Commitment for so many years.

I regret getting ours, the rest of the family do not. 8 years now. 8 years of having to think of the dog every time we all want to go out as a family. Booking kennels for every short weekend away.

Having to find someone to watch him if we want to go to the shopping mall, have a meal and go to see a film - it kills all spontaneity stone dead.

My girls who wanted him so desperately are now off to uni. The dog pines for them. DH takes him for walks in the morning on my work days - I do the rest, I take him out for a trot round the block every evening. e.v.e.r.y evening. Rain, shine, howling wind.

He is lovely, he curls up beside me lovingly and is a joy to be around. But as we get older, we have health problems, it is hard - and such a bind

Yes. We don't regret our first but massively regret our second. You can do all the research in the world about the breed you want, but then they not live up to the specification. Our first dog did exactly what the books said. Got another (same breed) and he's absolutely mental. He barks constantly, wants to fight other dogs, he cries for almost an hour at bedtime.

And both of them are so tying. Our holiday plans now revolve around the dogs, which is great when it's a uk holiday as I plan everything to ensure they can come and enjoy the time too. But going abroad is now out of the question as no family members will take them (which is totally understandable) and we know the youngest wouldn't cope in kennels.

So yes, I do regret them. But then again the joy they bring is also amazing. And we wouldn't be without them...even if the youngest thinks he's ten tonne and wants to rip out the neighbours jugular

I got a spaniel pup when I was 7 weeks pregnant with my first kid. We agreed to get him before I found out in was pregnant so just took the leap. He was SO ... MUCH .... WORK. He stole everything, chewed everything, swallowed everything (DH had to rush him to the vets when I was 38 weeks pregnant as he swallowed a sock rather than giving it back to us), pooped and peed everywhere for months (despite us doing everything to train him) which was a nightmare when I had morning sickness. He needed to be walked twice a day, which DH did. He also was a nightmare on the lead, and still is. I cant walk him. He knocked me over when I was 8 months pregnant. I just remember crying on the floor because I didnt know how I would cope with him and a baby. We had my parents on standby to permenantly take him.

By the time the baby arrived he was 9 months. He still stole everything (nappies, muslins, bottle tops, wipes, tv remotes, baby toys, blankets). But, despite all of that, he calmed down by a year. We kept him mentally stimulated and walked him a lot, we accepted we have to pay for kennels now, we cant leave him for long, we plan our days out to include him, and he is part of our family. He is a commitment, the same as a kid. I donr regret him one bit now. He is amazing, beyond belief, with our daughter. He teaches her son much about being kind. He is so loving. Our hard work paid off, but my god, I would have 10 kids before a pup again.

Yes. I would never ever have another dog.

I have grown up with family dogs and know how much of a responsibility they are.

I thought that too. I was wrong.

I'm not dumping him at a rescue though. I made a commitment. I do love him but I have not enjoyed being a dog owner.

I do not regret getting the dog but I will not be getting another. I certainly will not believe any promises of family members on the looking after. Mine is a rescue and this may sound odd but I wanted an older dog so I knew I would only be committing to a few years and not 10 plus.

Nope. He’s 4 years old now and from day 1 (8 weeks), he’s been as great a blessing as you can imagine. One of the family.

Yes. He's been a very difficult dog. He's old now and I would never buy another

I regret getting our dog. I love him & the kids adore him, but he is an extra hassle in our life that I didn’t really FULLY realise would be the case. Want to go to the beach? Someone has to walk him before we can go, so that we can leave him behind - then we have to be sure to get back in time because we can’t leave him too long. Want to meet w friend for coffee after the school run? Can’t stay too long as I haven’t walked the dog yet. Etc etc. And the hair!

I regret it. And I am the biggest dog lover there is. My dog wants for nothing. He makes me laugh everyday and it is obvious he adores me and I adore him.

But nothing prepares you for the constant 24hr responsibility of dog ownership. Perhaps it will be different if you have a partner to share chores with.

Every single decision has to revolve around the dog.
Cold and wet outside? Off you go for your walk
Tired and late home from work, haven't has dinner yet? Off you go.
Feeling ill? Tough.
Hot weather? Up you get at 6am when it’s cool enough.

Fancy a day at the beach? Trip to the zoo? Going to visit a relative?
Family holiday? Add £200 for kennelling fees.

Colleagues invite you to pub after work? Uh uh, who’s sorting the dog?

Relaxing evening? Nope, dogs bored and wants to play.

Clean house? Ahahahaha what’s that?

Can’t leave food out. Children’s toys. Shoes etc

Everything I own is covered in dog fur.
No amount of hoovering will help the carpet.

It’s hard.
And yet when he curls up in my lap or does something goofy, I couldn’t be without him.
I love him and will be inconsolable when he goes. But I won’t get another one anytime soon.

Agree with Loch it is the day to day stuff. After school concert, have you walked the dog, weekend away, day trip somewhere? Puppy training classes, vet visits etc.

I am not a dog owner but my friend is a guide dog puppy trainer, so she literally hits the reset button every 12-18 months from an 8 week puppy to a 14 month old dog, and then get the next one. Plus she boards. But she has her parents round the corner should she need anyone, obviously they have to be approved people by the guide dog association.

As much as I love my friend, the constant what about the dog does drive me mad.

Yep all the damn time, still got another one after the last one died at 11... such a tie, a commitment, nags all the time, makes my house dirty, barks a lot, costs a fortune, smells, wants walking even when boiling hot, raining, blizzard, windy, dark and sleeps on my bed ( see dirty and smelly again). DH said he'd take him work tomorrow and I said oh no I'd miss him It's a bit like kids really, bloody nightmare and I'd actually say my dog is well trained apart from the barking, but he isn't a house destroyer like some. Well he might of dug a hole in a couple of the sofa cushions when a a parcel come when we are out.

I've seen a lot of friends get dogs and then rehome them. Honestly you have to be committed. Think dark winter mornings in the rain and dark winter evenings in more rain. Think constantly thinking how long you've been out so the dog isn't left too long. And those people who say they will look after it for you, they only usually do it once.

every single day for the first year..
he was an absolute terror, it is SO lucky he looked amazingly like a teddy because it's the only thing that saved him.
i love him to bits but he is is on my mind 24 hrs a day -if I'm out I need to get back for him, if hes loud I'm trying to quiet him down, if hes quiet it means something terrible is happening..

I have a rescue who I got at 9 months. He did need toilet training but he could hold his bladder overnight and he wasn't in that annoying puppy stage. My kids were also 10 and 12 at the time.

I'm also a SAHM so I've not needed to worry about leaving him for work. However he does have a dog walker and he hates kennels so stays with a dog boarder which is expensive. As soon as we book a holiday, I arrange his boarding to make sure he's ok.
I'm very lucky as he's a very bright, happy dog despite his poor start.

It's like having a toddler who never grows up and it is a huge commitment but I wouldn't be without him.

Yes. I feel awful but I totally regret getting my puppy. We did a lot of research and were prepared for hard work but nothing... nothing prepared me for how hard it would be. He is 2 now and still hasn’t calmed down one bit. Eats everything chews everything jumps up wrecks everything. The kids love him but honestly I feel nothing for him whatsoever. My heart sinks every day. I was about to re-home him before lockdown. I want him to have a better life but don’t have the energy to deal with it. Every day I regret my decision. I thought he would bring us a focus, and be living and loyal and we would walk him as a family and he would feel like part of the family. He is just destructive, needy and messy and I honestly can’t cope. That’s quite bleak and am sure generally puppies are quite lovely. It probably says more about where I am at... but am glad of the question as it’s a chance to say it out loud.

No I have two gorgeous Staffies and am desperate for another one! Hubby thinks two is enough but I don't agree. I have enough love for a Staffie Puppy in my home lol