What to think about BEFORE you get a dog...

[D0oinMeCleanin]

I think it might be time for another of these threads. For some reason summer is the time that most people consider getting a new dog, it is sadly also one of the busiest times for rescues. The sun is out, people want to go on holiday, go out for day trips, the kids are home more often, the last thing people want is the cost and time a dog consumes.

1. Can you commit to dog ownership for the next 10 - 15+ years?

-> Consider whether you are planning on starting or extending your family. Can you manage a dog plus very small children? Would you manage a dog while pregnant?

-> Are you hoping to switch jobs or progress in your career? How will that effect your ability to care for your dog properly?

-> What if you suddenly find yourself single/in a new relationship?

-> Are you renting a home or planning on moving within that time?

-> Think about everything and anything that might change in the next 10 - 15 years.

2. Have you researched your chosen breed properly?

-> How much exercise do they need? Include mental stimulation, especially for working breeds like Labs, Collies and Terriers. Do you have time for this? Everyday? Even when the kids are off school for the day?

-> Do they need grooming? Can you afford this? What if you lose your job? Would you be willing to learn how to groom them yourself?

-> Do they shed a lot? Would this bother you?

-> Are they a very active/energetic breed? Could you cope with that?

-> How big do they grow?

-> How long do they live?

-> Are they prone to any health or behavior issues?

3. Can you afford it?

-> Vaccinations
-> Insurance
-> Kenneling
-> Dog walkers
-> Food
-> Worming
-> Fleaing
-> Behavioral help and training classes
-> Accidental illness or injury - can you afford the excess on your insurance?
-> If you became unemployed how would you afford this? What would you/could cut back on?

4. Do you have time to walk and train with your dog daily? Even during school holidays? Or when it's raining? Will the kids come with during a hailstorm?

5. Could anyone in your family be allergic? Have they all spent time around dogs before? Including the breed you have decided on.

6. What if your dog develops any behavior problems? Would have time to dedicate to extra training? Money for trainers and behaviorists? Are you willing to iron out any kinks in behavior? Even resource guarding, snapping or growling?

7. If the dog becomes ill are you willing to pay for and use the time to access any extra support or treatment they might need? If the dog has bowel or bladder issues can you cope with that? What if it's ongoing? Can you really cope with a dog urinating in your house for the foreseeable future while a diagnosis is being made? Even if you become pregnant? Or your baby starts crawling? What if the dog develops an ongoing illness that needs constant medicating and managing? Do you have the time and money for this?

8. Mess. Dogs shed. All dogs do. Even non shedding breeds. Muddy paw prints on your freshly mopped floor? Holes dug all over your garden, actual twigs and pebble-y shit? Fox shit? Are you prepared for all of this to makes it's way into your family home at some point?

I'm sure there's more but the point is when you take on a dog you must be willing to commit fully to caring for and managing that dog for it's entire life, no matter what else is happening in your life (with a few exceptions, terminal illness, death of a spouse or child, homelessness etc these are the people rescues want to help, instead of people who just didn't give it enough thought)

You owe it to the dog to take into account all the what-ifs. Especially the common ones e.g. Oh but I have kids now, we're renting and can't find a new house that allows dogs, I want to go back to work and don't have time anymore, I didn't think he'd grow so big, he's old now and keeps pooing on the carpet. All excuses rescues hear regularly that make us want to sigh and roll our eyes and say "Really? And you didn't think to consider this before you bought the cute puppy dog out of the back of the free ads?"

Well said D0oin

I think I'll forward this to DH, who would love a dog now the kids are bigger.

I have never had a dog and don't know if we'd be brilliant or crap with one.

Can I add
All those well behaved dogs you meet that are seducing you into owning a dog are the product of hours and hours of training that continues through out the dog's life.
We were only discussing this today at work as through work a lot of people meet my dog and comment on his excellent behaviour to which I reply yes because I have done some form of training class for 1 hour a week nearly every week for 3 years and I reinforce this every single day.
As you can tell we have had one of those days at work - believe you me Mrs if I can teach your 9 month lab to sit you can have a perfect dog by actually attending training classes - oh no you're going to rehome instead.

Totally agree

I have 2 jacks and they are hard work at times but so worth it

I do not see how you could enjoy dog ownership with revolving huge chunks of your life around them. I we didn't involve him in our holidays and days outvthen he would be a hassle not a pleasure.

And walking, if you are the sort of person who will walk the kids to school providing the weather is good then I would suggest commiting to 12 months of no excuses walking. And this means come rain, ice, snow, a day out or illness. As that is what it will be like owning a dog. Every day, no excuses.

Yy to fox shit
I'm looking at you collie dog!

Can I add this to the list please:
do you think that dogs are dispensable ?

Because if your answer is any form of "yes" whatsoever, do not get a dog.

I don't think it's possible to plan for every eventuality. You never really know what's going to happen in life. You may find times hard, or money tight, there may be problems with relationships or family...so many things might happen.

But ultimately, you wouldn't get rid of your kids because things got hard, would you? So don't fu*ng get rid of your dog.
You make it work because that's what you take on - that's what you promise - when you take on a dog.

You're in it for life, both of you.

Also:
There has to be a certain amount of selflessness: I never used to walk for pleasure, and very rarely to get anywhere either.

However - because I have a dog who wants and needs to go out, and because she enjoys it, I enjoy it too. Very, very much.

If I didn't have her, I wouldn't go and wander round muddy fields every day for two hours.

Yes! Please read.

Good fences.
Tall fences.

Please do share how you get your dog out in a storm. Mine won't go out in even gentle drizzle.

Nor will two of mine Spero, but the terrier would walk for 20 hours a day, 365 days a year, come rain, hail or shine

HopeForTheBest - well said, I think a lot of people do think if it doesn't work out there is a get-out, but as you say, you never think that about your children so why about your dog. My pup is hard work but I cannot imagine a situation where I would get rid of him, it's completely unthinkable and just would NOT be an option, same as the DDs (more so, maybe!!). Makes me sad when people say they are going to rehome but it will break their hearts, well why would you do it then?!

My pup loves all weather, wish he didn't!

Ahh that might explain my thoughts...My name is fan and I am a terrier slave. Every day, all weathers!

A bigger problem for than the weather (I now have attire for all seasons) is having to try and get him out of his crazy scrapes. I mean, what dog in his right mind comes across a really deep, slimy pool right with a strong flowing drain and decides to hare down the really steep bank and leap in It happened so quick I didn't even have chance to forsee his plan. Luckily I was already holding my friends baby and she is as gung ho as the crazy dog so she shot down the bank sideways in flip flops and hauled him out before he vanished. I nearly had heart failure!

So yeah, add the fact that they will also do wild and unpredictable things in a heartbeat that age you 10 years.

I long for a dog that refuses to walk in the rain. Jas will walk in rain, hail, snow, blizzards, hurricanes....Actually, I'm glad. My mental health benefits hugely from having to leave the house every single day for an hour at a time.

As well as twigs, pebbly shit and pox poo, don't forget actual dog shit, still stuck to the dog. Or the diarrhoea explosion in the kitchen at 3am when the dog has a bug. Oh, and cute little puppies bite. Hard enough to break the skin. It hurts. A lot. They don't just grow out of it, ether. They need to be trained not to bite.

Also, don't underestimate the emotional toll on you. If the dog is ill, you'll worry. If it gets in to a fight, you'll be upset. The responsibility is huge and I think most owners underestimate it until the dog is there. That's when you have to grit your teeth and recommit, ime. You have to decide that rehoming is not an option and just get on with it.

Well said Dooin.

I wouldn't rehome my children if circumstances change, no different for BastardDog and ThickDog.

fan, terriers are a different kind of dog completely. Last summer we had puppy. Puppy was not an easy to begin with. I knew I wanted a quiet evening in with my friends one summer night. I knew I wanted puppy to be settled and well behaved for the night. Something he was not good at at that time, especially with new people in the house.

at 9am that morning we set off to walk 3 miles to the local beach, equipped with a cooler bag full of sarnies, drinks, dog treats, water bowl and water bottles. When we got to the beach we bought an ice-cream, gave the dogs a drink and had a wee rest. We then walked a further 2.5 miles over the beach and sand dunes to a different part of the beach, where the dogs went off lead. We got there at about 1pm, had a picnic, fed and watered the dogs, the kids swam in the sea with them, they chased each other around for hours. At 7pm, we met my dad there and went on his 90 minute, off lead walk with all of his dogs, plus ours. He gave us a lift home at 8:30pm.

By 9pm all dogs were asleep. My friends were here. We had wine. By 10pm, normal dog walking time, whippy and puppy went to their beds and refused to move. The terrier went to the front door wagging his tail expectantly. I ignored him, assuming he'd give up, considering the amount of excerise he'd had that day. By 10:15 pm I had 3 dogs leads and 2 collars on my lap. By 10:30pm he had resorted to giving my friends his balls and tug ropes. By 10:35pm he was getting desperate and was nudging our wine glasses out of our hands. By 11:30pm we had returned from our impromptu dog walk and he went to sleep

Remember that you have to pick up after the dog - some people find it hard, but it just has to be done :)

And that having a garden does not mean that you don't have to take the dog out for walks several times a day. A dog needs to go out for walks - it's like Facebook for dogs.

We went to Northumberland last week and the dog was out for at least 5 or 6 hours walking. We'd tie him up to eat his raw bones everynight and then bring him in the caravan. Without fail everynight the monkey then whined the second the door shut for another lap around the wood. The little swine always got his way too And then again at 11 pm! Good job we like it!

The other thing I would add - my Mum is a dog trainer. The number of people who come to her classes expecting her to train the dog from attending 1hr a week. She's not training the dogs - she's training the humans. She expects you to go home and do it again and again and again with your dog. With our pups we do a minimum of 1hr training a day with them until they're 12 months old. that is on top of walking and grooming. And that is just for a pet dog. Do kids go to school for just 1 hour a week and turn into exemplary people? I doubt it.

Mine is a Staffordshire bull terrier - If I try to take her out in the rain, she looks up at me with despairing slitty eyes and cringes, took her out to park tonight, she chased the ball twice then picked it up and went home.

So not all terriers are live wires.

But yes you it's think realistically about what you can offer a dog. My ex's mum had a collie !!! That only got a walk once a week, the rest of the time it tore around a tiny back garden. I think it went mad. I wish now I had done something about that, it was cruel.

My terrier loves wet weather ,he particularly loves. It when there are big muddy puddles to wallow in . I'm sure he is Patterdale x hippo !

I know the reasoning behind your op dooin (I've seen those threads too) but it's all well and good to say consider everything and anything but until you find yourself in that situation you might not realise how hard it will be.

I certainly didn't know seven years ago when I rescued a three year old dog from the pound I would have a child and years later for him to develop asthma that kept landing him in hospital. There's no allergies to dogs in my family, no asthma either (prob more to do with a dodgy pregnancy and ds prem tbh). My dog casts. A lot... and carries soo much dust. I have to say it was the one thing that got me ringing round the shelters that keep them to rehome that don't pts.

I couldn't do it in the end. Thankfully between moving somewhere with wooden floors and better management of asthma ds doesn't seem to get as many attacks. If it had of come to it though if it was between my child's health and my dog, even though I love muttly to bits and she was my first baby, she would have to go.

I do agree with your sentiment however. I know hand-on-heart I never thought things through as I was in a partnership for five years, lived in his house, no kids, plenty of time to walk a huge crossbreed with something huge black lab. Fast forward five years and I've been single and pregnant/with baby with another child and in a council flat in the past. Barring ds's health I look at have a dog like a marriage - for better or worse. Things can be hard looking after a dog with young kids and that but it will get easier.

Of course children being born with allergies is unexpected and cannot be accounted for. As you found out there are things that help reduce the suffering, but depending on the severity of the condition this might not work.

Rescues want to help people with this. No-one would judge someone for giving up a dog in those circumstances.

Spero, staffies aren't real terriers, they just pretend , real terriers (or the wired ones) are the ratting types, like JRTs, Fox Terriers or my little darling who is a mix of both of those and has the worst traits of each breed

My dog is so insulted she is snoring on the sofa. Her friend is a patterdale who seems to be permanently on springs, I couldn't cope with that.