I am soooo sick of it and it's completely putting me off having kids!
We got the dog as a small puppy, not by choice, but because some friends had rescued her and didn't know what else to do with her....so we took her in 'temporarily' (although DH was immediately smitten) and now she's almost a year old and definitely part of the family!
I've always found it hard, it was just after moving to a new country when we got her, and I've put so much time into her training and now my whole life revolves around her. Walking her is very difficult where we live (Muslim country) so most days I have to take her to the beach, which is a 3 hour round trip (including 60-90 minutes of dog walking) plus washing the car and dog down in the dark when I get back (which is the bit I hate the most).
Thing is, OH was brought up without any pets or having much sense of responsibility instilled in him. He thinks of the dog's needs only as an afterthought really, so his day revolves around what he thinks he needs to get done, and I ALWAYS have to bring up the subject of dog walking at the weekends and then he gets stroppy and we have a fight.
I just want, for once, my husband to say 'I'll be taking the dog to the beach at 3pm. You stay at home and have some time to yourself' and then I can relax knowing that the dog WILL be getting walked later and I don't have to think about it.
But instead it's me saying 'Who is going to walk the dog today? Because if she is going to the beach, we need to go now' and then there's a battle of wills and he refuses to go on his own, but he will come with me if I am going. Or he will take her round the block (in a huff) and it's not worth the battle.
She can cope with just a walk around the block, but after a couple of days the pressure builds up and she starts getting naughty and having zoomies around the house all the time. I know you can supposedly tire dogs out through training and mental work, but she does need a good 90 minute physical workout at least every other day on top of this.
It's like having a special needs child - I love her but she drains the life out of me and I would really love to have a day off not having to even think about her. Is that really selfish? Do any other dog owners think like that or am I just a total cow? I don't have a job, so it's not like I have much else to do I guess :(