I've never been a dog person but have suddenly started wanting a dog?

[Hullabalooo]

Hello

So just that really. I come from a non dog family and have never particularly liked dogs but something has hugely shifted recently and I've started to want to get a dog almost in the same broody way that I wanted my DC.

I have no idea if this is a passing feeling or not but it's a first as have literally never felt like this before.

How hard is it to be a loving and responsible dog owner? Is it expensive? How much does it add to your life? And is it more or less helpful to have with DC?

Apologies if this is all beginner stuff. I've been somewhat taken aback by this huge shift in my character and am just working it all out.

Not sure anyone can really answer that for you.

We spend a fortune on our dog but that's because we can as we have no DC. There are threads on here which you could search for that list things to cost out in getting a dog. Insurance, vets etc will vary depending on breed and location and how much training, toys and price of food will depend very much on you.

It adds buckets to my life and I can't imagine life without him but it was bloody hard at first raising a puppy and I wouldn't like to do the puppy and teenage phase again. For others it might be a breeze but equally lots of dogs are put into rescue at the difficult age so clearly for some it was too much.

Maybe try to spend some time around friends with dogs or volunteer at a shelter? Just to make sure you're not idealising if you haven't had much experience with them, you could get to know what's involved day to day, before committing

I'd get yourself on Borrow My Doggy. It's a great way to test out dog ownership in a no commitment way.

In answer to your questions
How hard is it to be a loving and responsible dog owner?
Loving is very easy because I absolutely adore my dog. Responsible is time consuming, sometimes inconvenient and a constant learning curve. You don't get a day off when you have a dog - walkies, feeding, training (and reinforcement thereof), play and so on all have to be done on Christmas day, when you're ill, when the PIL are visiting etc etc. It's relentless - a bit like having children really. And bear in mind that you can't leave the dog alone for excessive periods of time - 4 hours is the ballpark quoted by many, but a puppy can't be left at all, some adult dogs can't manage 4 hours and others can manage much more.

Is it expensive?
Yes. For me, insurance alone is £48/month (young mutt in London, no preexisting conditions, good quality insurance). Training was £10/week. Food is about £20/month (I don't really keep track, but he is a small breed so doesn't eat much). Dog boarding when I have to work away is £30/night; if I used a dog walker it would be £12 for an hour. Toys are a constant expense - £4 for a ball, £20 for a puzzle toy, £1 for a soft toy... And they all need replacing regularly as the dog either destroys them or gets bored. My dog has more toys than many children; I have spent hundreds. They're not cheap to keep!

How much does it add to your life?
Everything. I absolutely adore him, and he has massively enriched my life - but three previous owners were unable to cope with him, so these things can vary!

And is it more or less helpful to have with DC?
Can't really answer this one as I don't have kids, but I'm not sure how I would manage kids and this dog at the same time - he's not an easy dog and requires at least 2 hours a day of walkies, which is a major time sink (reduce it for a day and I will regret it the next day!). That said I grew up with dogs and wouldn't change that experience for the world.

Why not try a bit of volunteer work with a local rescue, that would allow you to learn a bit more about the pros and cons of having a dog in your life without committing to a dog permanently?

I was never a dog person and dp went on and on until we finally got one. I love him to bits but they are so much hard work and expensive.

Getting one from a puppy is like diving straight into the toddler years but more difficult in some ways as you cant take dogs everywhere like you can kids so everything has to be planned around how long you can leave the dog for and some dogs just dont like being left.

You will probably get lots of people saying they will help. They might not so you cant bank on that.

Depending how attached you get to the dog and what kind you get you might not feel comfortable kenneling them. Ours is a true lap dog and the longest we have had away from him is 3 days as a one off and that will never happen again as no1 will look after him for us. Although we are trying to find a dog sitter we trust so we dont have to rely on family.

It’s a bit like having another child tbh...

I mean it’s not quite obviously, but, with a new dog/puppy it takes all your available time, there’s a lot of trying to teach them acceptable behaviour, poo to clean up...

They do take up quite a big chunk of your free time and you need to take them into account if you’re going out for the day or on holiday.

They also make more housework.

The only real upside is getting to spend your time with a dog, which is great if you like them.

I’d suggest volunteering for a dog charity, you can start by doing things like walking them and then if you’re still considering it, they’re always crying out for foster carers - it’d Give you a better idea of what’s involved.

Off the top of my head, ongoing dog costs are...

• Insurance £30pm, will go up as he ages
• Food £80pm, but that's a raw complete food and they are more expensive than kibble
• Treats, toys etc £20-£40pm, but he is spoilt
• Vet checkups, flea, worm, vaccines probably average out at £10-£20pm
• Groomer £40 every other month but her is a breed that needs it
• One weekly walk with a walker, £50pm
• One day a week at daycare, £50pm

All added up that's around £250-300pm but I think I spend quite a bit more than some people as I earn ok and don't have children etc.

One-off costs when he was young (the cost of the dog, beds, brushes, leads, collars etc) plus puppy training probably came to somewhere around £2000.

In terms of time spent per day...

• Normally 2 hours walking, broken into two or three smaller walks
• I suspect around another hour or so dedicated time: training, brushing, playing. As a young puppy, though, that was many, many more hours: almost the entire day was puppy-related in one way or another
• Add another half an hour for feeding, toileting

I am lucky in that I wfh 2-3 days a week and there is always someone else home for company for the dog. Otherwise, my day care costs would be quite a bit higher.

It also changes what you can do and where you can go. Holidays, days out, evenings out, family visits etc are all affected by where the dog is welcome. Worth considering.

What does be bring to my life? Quite simply, everything. He is a constant source of joy and laughter and fun. He is my stress-relief and the reason I get up and walk every morning. He is the being I miss most when I am away from home (sorry to the other 4 humans and animals in the house!). He makes everything we do together that much more enjoyable because he is there. When I moved to this village I didn't know anyone and because of him, I know several people to talk to and a few well enough to call friends. I would not be without him for all the money in the world and am grateful every day for his being here. Loving him is the easiest thing in the world.

They also make more housework.

This is also worth repeating. And repeating.

Add an extra 30-45mins a day housework because the floor is muddy, messy, hairy. The skirting boards are muddy, the doors need washing, the walls need wiping. There are bits of toy lying around.

Truly, you cannot be house proud if you have a dog. Dogs shed, have accidents, shred toys, leave toys lying around on the floor, and at some point or other they'll chew and destroy something that belongs to you (my dog chewed the crotch out of his last owner's best suit, for instance). For a puppy, increase this tenfold. Training will only reduce the accidents to a very minimal level, and most dogs can be trained not to chew things that don't belong to them. The rest is lifelong.

It also helps if you have a strong stomach for gross. Not only the daily poo (my dog averages 4-5 per day) and occasional vomit / accidents. It's also things like discovering that your dog ate some grass but didn't fully digest it, is going for a poo but can't work out why that strand of grass won't come out, and you have to pull it out for him. Also, rolling in fox poo, which is notoriously smelly and hard to get rid of. Or when your dog picks up something nasty from the pavement (fried chicken bones, entire jalapeños being classic examples here) and you have to pull it out of your dog's jaws, with your fingers being collateral damage. I've also discovered my dog eating everything from congealed vomit to horse poo (I didn't pull those out of his mouth, I pick my battles). The fact that your dog will consider the clean water in his bowl to be a liquid of last resort, and swamp water to be akin to champagne. Dogs have some inherently vile habits that they simply cannot be trained out of!

... Not that I'm trying to put you off or anything

We have just got our first dog and I absolutely love her, she has improved my life enormously. Here are the pitfalls of dog ownership as I see it for those who are first time owners.

Don’t have any expectations that the dog will be loving an affectionate. If you are looking for a dog that cuddles up, research breeds..
Lots of dogs actually don’t like being stroked or fussed.

Yes they can cost a lot of money. There is the initial outlay, of equipment and toys. Then the regular expenses add up rapidly. Worm and flea treatment have to be done quarterly and the annual injections. Insurance, although optional is advisable and of course food. Our dog needed some medicines for diarrhoea and calming. Kennelling fees for holidays, dog walkers or day care if you are working.

Some dogs will need training, either at a class or with a behaviourist if you find difficulty training them. Not all dogs adapt to training. Ours did respond really well but the cost of a one to one trainer to come to our home was £30 an hour.

Don’t have a dog if you are houseproud. They make a massive amount of work. Ours is a wire-haired terrier so does not moult as much as some. Even so one of our biggest expenses has been a new vacuum. Our dog is walked 2 or 3times a day. In the winter her paws and muddy belly create continuous mess. We have no carpets downstairs, I cannot imagine having her and carpet.

You have to be prepared to walk the dog appropriate to its size and age. This means every day, regardless of weather and other commitments. Depending on the dog, it is difficult to be spontaneous. Her needs have to be taken into account .

Puppies are very hard word. From what I have seen, much harder than children. Teaching them to control wee and poo is not failsafe and they can have accident in the most inconvenient places. Rescues dogs have to be researched carefully. Don’t think the rescue will come to you and be grateful. It most likely will be stressed and can take months, even a year to be really settled. Don’t have a dog if the thought of picking up poo bothers you.

Your own children and children visiting may not like the dog. Whether they do or not, you have to be constantly vigilant when the dog is with children.

If none of that puts you off, go ahead. I waited 70 years before I could have a dog of my own. She is an 8 year old Rescue, and I cannot ever imagine being without her. She loves to to play with us and the grandchildren, loves walks, only wants affection and fussing on her own terms and is the best thing that has happened to me, since having children. All the rules about no sofas or beds have gone out of the window. As soon as we are out of our armchair she gets off the sofa and into our chair. She sleeps on my bed and wakes me up with a lick when she wants to get up.

Sorry for the essay.

Wow all of this is an eye opener and really helpful to know.. thank you all for this sage advice!

I forgot to add about costs. Ours monthly are roughly:

£13 insurance
£60 dog walkers
£20 food
£30 treats, poo bags etc
£14 flea and worm (not every month)

On top of that he has his vaccine and check up annually then any new equipment he needs and if we go away and he comes which he always does there is usually a dog charge.

Holds head in shame

missbattenburg adds 30-45 mins housework a day

realises some days I don't even do 30-45mins of housework a day let alone an extra 30-45 mins

Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten

Ha! Would it make you feel better to know I did ZERO housework before so I am still just on half an hour or so, a day? It used to be that I lived alone and the house remained clean and tidy for weeks on end because I was never here to mess it up. Now, with 3 adults and 3 dogs living here the place is a pig-sty all the bloody time!!! I swear I could clean for two hours every day and it would look lime a tip again 30mins after I finished (I love it, though)

I just avoid looking at my kitchen floor. Then the muddy paw prints and bits of grass don't bother me

OP you really do need to cost it out yourself based on the things people have mentioned because whilst some will have lower costs others will be high. For example, I pay just under £40 a month for insurance and £16 per month for vets plan (flea/worm/vaccinations etc). A lot of that depends on breed and size of dog.
Embarrassingly I also worked out I pay £70 a month for dog food and £40 for training.

Do you work? I pay around £250+ a month for daycare (approx 3 days) and it's £25 per night boarding when we go away.

missbattenburg that makes me feel a little less slovenly - but that is another pro for getting a dog you are out with them more so don't see the dog hair and mud marks at home ---a dubious link but I am going with it

I was also not a dog person, we were cat people, but my DD met her now husband and he had a dog, she got a dog of her own and it sort of went from there.

My dog, who is my first dog, is a small breed. I've had her from a puppy. She was very easy to house train, in fact she was easy to train generally really, except for a nightmare period when she was an adolescent - yes, around 8 months, some a little later depending on breed, dogs become stroppy teenagers.

Importantly, you need to do your research around breeds. Some breeds can be a bit trickier than others and you'd be better to get a breed that you're going to be able to manage rather than something inappropriate for your family situation, or over large that is going to prove too much for you.

I agree perhaps volunteering for dog walking might give you an idea what it's like to to be around dogs.

They are expensive, but if you can afford it well worth it.

Mud as pps have said, even with my small dog, is a constant issue in winter - my dog comes in from the garden, shakes her long fur and mud flies everywhere; if you have cream carpets forget it.

The trouble with housework is that you do it all, and then three months later you have to start again from scratch

The mud made my life a constant slog of bathing the dog after every walk in the park this winter - plain water only so it didn't upset his skin. Thank goodness I have a short haired dog or I would have gone mad and shaved the dog I thought I'd get a few months of respite over the summer, but then he discovered swimming and there's no way he's coming into my bed after a dip in that pond without a bath first!

He's worth it, but it isn't half hard work sometimes!

HaHa AvocadosBeforeMortgage 3 months that's my kind of regime.

Although an added cost we had was adding a hot and cold tap outside so I can spray the dogs down after muddy walks - then there was the dog extension so that the dogs can have their own chill out drying relaxing room.

Oh the new car because I accidentally got 5 dogs and they would not fit into the old one - I had it crated out (the crates are my pride and joy!)

Other than that my dogs have cost us nothing much

Ah, this is one of the advantages of having a small dog during a particularly muddy winter.

When we get back home I rush inside leaving her in the garden, fill one of those oblong buckets with warm water and dip her in it. Clean her paws, swish the water around her tummy and you have a (relatively) clean dog.

How's the idea of getting a dog looking so far OP?

I think we have sold it to her and she is off at a rescue centre as we speak

Yep, think you're right.

Actually OP. All joking apart having a dog in your life is great.

All these things are part of the fun of having a dog. They bring a lot of fun to life.

I’m a lifelong cat person. Then we got a dog. Oh goodness, the difference! I still think we were mad and simultaneously think if I’d known what it was like we’d have got one years ago.

I love my dog, but... The weather being nice I have just washed all the sofa loose covers (and anti dog multiple throws that cover them). There are already muddy footprints on the throws as she has been playing with the sprinkler and then came in and jumped everywhere. Then she was sick on a jute rug and I remembered that she had been eating rabbit poo, so I have got a green stain which I am now working on to remove. If you have a dog you just have to shrug these things off.
She also pinched my socks when I was getting dressed this morning. I still haven't found them.
Never a dull moment with a dog!

The other things my dog has cost (or caused) me include

• a career change caused
• having a choice of rental properties (FML)
• being able to live in a city centre (hard to get gardens there)
• never being able to get the landlord around to do repairs in case he discovers the dog
• a beloved pair of walking boots that fell apart under the strain
• being able to reliably wear the same pair of jeans for more than a day (if he doesn't get me muddy, someone else's dog will)
• spontaneous trips away / nights out
• lie ins
• a very steep learning curve re dog training and behaviour

It's a good job I love the furry little monster!