Should we get a dog?

[stumblymonkey]

DP and I both love dogs and were brought up around dogs but are in a disagreement about whether now is the right time to get a dog so we are looking for opinions...

I'm going to try to keep to facts as much as possible so as not to introduce any bias!

• We earn quite a lot more than average salaries
• We would like to save more though, to do this I need to cut back spending on random gadgets and clothes, etc
• We live in a big house
• The house is rented, we would be going against the terms of the tenancy
• The property is inspected for about ten minutes every six months with a month's forward notice, one of us believes there is no harm in removing the dogs things for that Inspection as long as we keep the home to a good standard that's all that really matters
• At the moment I work from home one or two days a week and DP has a job as a PT which means he can be relatively flexible with hours so someone would be home all or part of most days
• The person who wants the dog says any days that we aren't home enough we would pay for dog walking and company or dog crèche
• We have no children but are planning to start TTC towards the end of next year
• We have four cats, two older cats and two four month old kittens
• The kittens would likely take to a dog as they are young enough to just accept it
• The two older cats will probably hate the dog at least to begin with

One of us thinks this is the perfect time to get a dog as the younger cats will integrate with it well while they're young and would desperately like a dog and would like it to be settled before we have children.

One of us thinks now is not a good time to have a dog as the two older cats are only just acclimatising to the kittens and thinks we should wait until we have older children (so maybe ten years down the line.

Thoughts? Opinions? WWYD?

I did ask the letting agents previously to ask the landlord about getting a dog. They never came back with an answer so have just chased them as a last ditch attempt.

It may not need to be that long! Save up for your deposit, ttc - when you've got your own home and know how your family is going, then reassess.

Oh, x-post - nothing ventured, nothing gained, no harm in asking. If the landlord refuses because of the damage a pup might do (apart from the toilet training, they do chew!) then you could maybe see if they'd consider a rescue dog - ironically there are of course perfectly nice dogs needing homes because of no-dog rentals.

Ask yourself the question, if your landlord found out about the dog and insisted you get rid or leave what would you do?

Why do you want a dog? I have two, I love them, they are part of my family, if I'm honest, I don't know why I got them :)

You won't be able to hide the fact you have a lab in your house I can assure you!

We don't rent but if we did we couldn't hide the dogs. Landlord would wonder why we have chewed the door frames

Thanks all....letting agent has written to landlord again for a response re: dog.

When we were younger and dogless (both had long commutes) we walked an elderly neighbours dog, maybe you could do something of that nature to help tide you over.

I may be in the minority but I didn't stop getting dogs (or anything else for that matter) because of TTC on the basis that it could take years! We already had one dog and got the second a year before our son came along.
So on that basis if you aren't even trying for a year then are pregnant for 9 months the dog will be nearly 2? More than enough time to get basic training in place.

It was hard work but DH pulled his weight and we manage fine. I was still walking both for an hour the day I went into labour though!

The tenancy thing would be difficult unless your landlord agrees. I can tell who's house has a dog a mile off. Our garden is ruined which makes it really obvious and the hair gets everywhere. Plus ours chewed, scratched doors etc!

I'm not trying to sway your decision OP, but, here are mine!

Personally I think

1. Buy a house

2. children

3. dog

Blackbird

I do think waiting for a dog until I have children could be silly.....it could take years, I could be infertile, seems odd to put life on hold in the hope of getting pregnant.

Instinctive first response based on your op is: no, not now in that house in that set-up. But sometimes I am too sensible.

Getting a dog pre-dc is not always great, but presumably depends on the dog, breed, your jobs, life circs, etc etc etc. I will add, though, that my main memories of dc1's first year are made up mainly of sleepless night time wanderings between baby and stroppy dog suffering attention deficit, constantly trying and probably failing to stay on top of dog hair in baby's clothes/food/toys, and countless long dog walks in the fields with baby in sling to appease the dog's baby envy! Hmm, don't think I have ever got over that year...thirteen years on! Dog did end up loving ds1 and they were big buddies once dog got used to the changes, but it was not easy at all and I would not ever do that again. Even now, with 3 dc beyond toddlerhood, I would not add a dog to the equation because, quite simply, life gets busier and busier after the baby years 😄

We had our first dog before ttc - I think we were deluded emboldened by being able to manage a pup into thinking we could manage a baby.it worked out fine for us - DH gave the dog even more attention and walks esp at first, made sure he wasn't jealous etc.