What are the biggest differences to family life after getting a dog?

[MindySimmons]

Thinking about getting a dog (most likely to rehome rather than a puppy) and would like to know from all you dog owners what changes does a dog bring to the general rhythm of family life? I want to go into this with my eyes open and want to ensure we are properly prepared and able to give the dog a home it deserves.

P.S. really like schnauzers and airedales so any more specific breed advice or alternatives very welcome!

The constant mess - dirt, dust, hair, slobber, smell, chewed everything, never leaving the house all day, walking every day regardless of how shit you feel or the weather.

dinsdale - where do you think they would go??

Well yes, when they are puppies. My garden is small and pup still wees and (sometimes) poos in it but obviously, I clear up the poo. She goes to the woods for a little run twice every day and usually poos there. I assumed all pup owners let their dogs poo and wee in the garden when they were training their dogs

oxocube - my dog is six and still does. Im fact, all the dog owners I know let their dogs do that.

Before we got our dog the foxes used to do it. Don't see the difference meself.

(Well, I do actually. My dog doesn't have worms or mange).

This is a brilliant thread because we're still in the planning stage for getting a puppy - possibly next year - and I've waited 47 yrs so far to have a dog I want to know as much as possible about real life with a puppy/ dog, so that I can be as prepared as possible.

Does anyone know of any books/ blogs etc that might give even more detail about day to day life with a puppy? That would help a lot, although I realise, that - just like having children - nothing can really prepare you for a puppy!!

I planned having children for 6 yrs before taking that leap - and choosing to do it alone - and ended up with premature and gorgeous twin sons, who didn't sleep through the night till age 5 and who I'm raising single-handedly from the start, with no help.

From what I hear about getting a puppy, it might be similar to mothering twins alone - but maybe harder too in some ways, as the dog never fully 'grows up' like my sons are doing?! ...very, very slowly though!!!

So can someone point me in the direction of blogs/ books about new puppy owners. We will be getting a golden retriever puppy, BTW.

I train my dogs to poo and wee only in my garden. My dogs, so the poo is my responsibility to clear up. I would prefer to pick it up and get rid of it at home than have to carry a full poo bag with me. If everyone did this Dinsdale there would be much cleaner streets and parks.

Trust me Solo I have two sets of twins and one boy in the middle of them and the dogs are way easier than the twins. It is a bit full on for the first year but if you give the puppy the time and training it gets much easier.

The dogs always do as I say and sleep when I tell them, they eat everything I give them without any complaints, I can wake them up in the morning and not get grunted at. I can tell them to go to bed and they do with their tails wagging. They enjoy a cheap day out in the woods, their favourite toy is a 1.99 squeaky tennis ball. They do not like designer collars or leads. They love my company and do not find me at all embarrasing even when I am singing!

If you have survived twins a puppy is a breeze

oxocube - my parents used to show and breed English Springer Spaniels and also had assorted sheepdogs, pointers, a labrador and a Wolf Hound.

My Dad is an international judge now but they dont breed or show so much.

Yes twins us a doddle do a puppy will be a piece of piss

I only wish db trained woofa to go one one part of the garden

he is a lively and loving mutt tho at times wish my work family hadn't got a dog as he does need more supervision and training then the 3 children I look after and def causes more poo then the 3 of them

i have 2 staffies, excellent pedigrees, and they really are family dogs excellent with children in my opinion. they are really people dogs though so need a lot of attention.

the biggest difference to family life is never having to slear up food from the floor, seriously not to be sniffed at! crumbs rarely linger which is a godsend with weaning babies

clear up!

My terrier always needs a lot of attention, Melondrama - but do they just want more if you give it? Is it better to be hard hearted and ignore them a lot of the time?

[Am I infantilizing my puppy???]

Tis true woofa makes a great Hoover tho doesn't like jelly

isaidheyhoney- hmm its half n half isn't it, a puppy is an infant and giving attention they crave makes them feel secure. i only really have experience of these 2 staffies but i can see they require someone at home all the time and need a lot of fussing.

however re: kids it's important dogs realise they're lower in the pecking order. don't allow them to jump on kids or take their food etc

Well - does depend what kind of dog you get. I notice Doodlez says "walks have to be fitted in come rain or shine and regardless of how busy your day is" - totally disagree. I live in the dog owning capital of the New Forest - reckon dog ownership in my neck of the woods must be coming up to 50% of all households (we are horsey / doggy people in these parts) and none of us walk our dogs every single day without fail, come what may.

Mine average 5 days out of 7 (and my friends are similar except for one friend with a labrador who has to walk daily otherwise her lab is climbing the walls)

Not many changes to our lives since dogs came along. Bit more of a cleaning burden due to dog hair, no difficulties going away since we have a trusted house-sitter, children love having dogs to cuddle and fuss...

Oh and I disagree that you can't leave them for more than 4 hours at a time. Obviously if you were doing this every single day then that would be grossly unfair, but if you need a day out as a family over the weekend and you'll be out from say 10-4, frankly that is no biggie, especially if you have two dogs as I do (they keep each other company)

People overstate the hassle of keeping dogs - they are so much easier than children (only smellier)

hmc, maybe you have a big enough garden for the dog to get some exercise without a walk? I am in the middle of a city with a tiny back garden, and if it gets to 10 or 11am and my terrier hasn't had a walk, he follows me round whining more and more loudly until I give in and take him to the park. But he normally only gets one walk a day (average 45 minutes to an hour) and after that I can leave him for six or seven hours with no problem.

The biggest downside of dog ownership is definitely the issue of what to do with them when you want to go away - friends with dogs can sometimes do swaps, but if most of your friends also have school age children, everyone is away at the same time. Oh, and the fur everywhere.

Biggest upside is how much the children love him, and the fact that they will happily go out for long walks at the weekend with the dog - there's no way they would do the same walks without whinging if we didn't have a dog.

Valid point - they do indeed have a large area to exercise in....however I was keen that Mindy wasn't unnecessarily put off. Whether they need walking every day does depend upon a number of variables such as breed, temperament, exercise area at home

I have 2 springers and 2 teenage boys.The dogs can be left for the day if needed. If they cant hold on they wee on the utility floor which is tiled. We use a retired family member to look after them when we go away as they hate kennels. One of them was a nervous wreck after using for a weekend.

The best bits are seeing how they have enriched the lives of my children. We started off with them not in the bedrooms but the boys smuggled them in. Now they have a dog on there beds everynight.
The practical issues are washing bedding more frequently and taking them to messy mutts for a clip and wash. Otherwise my eldest would wake up with a face like an ewok!
They are frequently asleep wrapped around each other both faces on the pillow duvet upto the collar.

Its worth it though. The kids are so bonded to them. If my eldest goes away for the night the dogs cant settle well!
They are always interacting with them- throwing balls in the house , making them bark....................

Minimu1 - I am in awe of you! - 2 sets of twins, a singleton AND dogs and I know you're an expert dog trainer, from what comes up on this section of Mumsnet - so you must be amazing!

You've made me feel less anxious about dog owning and I hope I can train our puppy as well as you've trained yours and get it to eat, sleep and poo on command! After 9 yrs, I'm still not feeling in full control of my twin sons!!

Anyone know of books about day to day life with a puppy or blogs on same subject BTW? I've now read loads of dog training books recommended on here but would like to read more about what day to day has in store with a puppy and dog in tow? EG,. what do you do if you or DCs are ill but dog needs a walk but you can't get out that day? Stuff like that.

Also, where's the best place to put dog crate? If we put it in the kitchen right near the back door/ back garden, it'd be easier to whick out the pup into the garden to toilet train - but would compromise our space in the kitchen. We;ve got an hallway/ annexe that would suit better (quieter, more space) but this isn't immediately near the back door/ garden. Does access to garden take absolute precedence for ease of those nighttime/ dawn toilet trips with pup??

Solo2 really I am a rubbish Mum and am only capable of training dogs not amazing at all.

Of course you can train your dogs- my eldest twins are 16 year old girls and I definately have never been and never will be in control of them! Middle boy is a dream, youngest twins are 10 and mad, happy and usually covered in mud certainly no control of them!

But the dogs they are just oooh soo much easier!

It is amazing how you manage eg what if dcs are ill - you may find you get another doggy friend who is more than happy to walk them, you could pay for a one off dog walker (who may also be able to board the dogs if you go away) Or some breeds could go one day without a walk if you can stimulate them and do some training with them in the garden.

I would start off with crate in the kitchen then move in to the hallway (another good reason for the crate is once they are used to it they will tend to settle in it wherever it is.

Right lunchtime over must get back to work!

Thanks everyone, sorry it's taken so long to reply - so far it sounds rather horrendous! HMC - thanks very much for trying to quell the nightmare! My main worry is losing the ability to go out for the day - of course this doesn't happen every day and predominantly I work from home, so most of the time it's not an issue. So are you all telling me I'd be better off with a cat?!

Mindy I think so long as you go into it prepared you should be fine, no need to get a horrible feline . I was expecting getting a puppy to be horrendous and really hard work and in fact it's been easier than I thought but I suspect the key thing is that if you are a real dog person and have a dog-shaped hole in your life then you won't mind all the hard work and disruption that goes along with it. Sadly there have been some threads recently where people are rehoming their dogs who were clearly utterly unprepared for the fact that a dog sheds hair and needs exercise and stimulation - pity they hadn't done the sort of thinking through in advance that you are.

We have a minature schnauzer who is 1. When he got past about 6 months old he got easier and easier. Now he is 1 he really is very very easy.

Fed 2x a day. Has a walk for about an hour, runs about the garden, mooches around the house. Plays with the boys, then sits on the settee on a special blanket and sleeps from about 7pm. We put him in the kitchen about 11 when we go to bed and don't hear a peep out of him until we get up in the morning.

However, puppies are VERY hard work. Ours chewed everything, bit/nipped everyone and needed constant attention for a good few months (he doesn't do this anymore). He never disturbed our sleep at night though and he was house trained by about 12 weeks.

On the plus sides, DSs both say they prefer him to each other , he has us walking more and he's just nice to have around. I have also left him longer than 4 hours on occasion (obv not every day!) and he has been fine.