Not really a pet person getting a dog ???

[inchoccyheaven]

Dsd14 gave my dw a 6 A4 page letter at the weekend begging for a puppy for Christmas. She has given a lot of thought to what that means and how she will do all the training and clearing up, walking etc etc. She included timetable of each day of when she is at school and weekends. To be fair it was a very persuasive letter and has left me torn.

She has always wanted a dog and was very upset when her older brother who lives with his dad just bought himself one.

I am not a dog person at all. I had cats before but when i went into rented before we bought our house now didn't get any more cats or pets. My SD does have a hamster and I like it but don't really have anything to do with it.

My Dw would be happy to get a dog but knows I'm not keen and if I say no then we won't get one. I don't want to be the one that has that final decision and even though I have concerns over how hard it will be to have a puppy and the cost and commitment I know that Dsd would love it so much and it would be a great companion for her.

So would I and my 2 ds ( one 16 the other at uni) get used to having a dog in our lives and not regret it ??

If we did get her a puppy we would wait until beginning of summer hols so she would be here all the time to train and settle it in.

Advice please :)

[BBCK]

Lots of negative responses here but I think you could meet her halfway. I would not get a puppy for all the reasons listed above but an older dog would be fine. Older dogs are often relaxed and just fit in with family life. As your SD gets older she is unlikely to want to come on holidays with you anyway so will be happy to stay home with the dog.

[anonymousbird]

From your last post OP - "or take it [out] with her if she did" - really??? Suspect not - if she's meeting other teenagers I suspect taking a dog will not be an option!

Please please stick to your guns on this one. It may cause some upset now, but nothing like the issues to come when she can't/won't look after it or leaves home.

[Snappymcsnappy]

annandale I was thinking in terms of it being temporary, given that the OP doesn’t really want one and is concerned about his daughter getting bored/not being able to cope..

You buy a puppy and it doesn’t work out you are in trouble given rescues are full.

But you puppy walk for an organisation, essentially borrow a pup, and it doesn’t work out you give it back for another walker.

The police and guide dogs don’t place puppies willy nilly!
You are home checked, interviewed, told what to expect, you have to attend training classes with them etc.

[Dogmum94]

I was the same as your DD as a child. All I ever wanted was a dog and I used to beg and beg and beg constantly for one. It was all I ever asked for at Christmas/birthdays etc and I always felt so hard done by that all my friends had dogs but my parents wouldn't let me have one due to them working and it not fitting their lifestyle.

However, now being an adult, myself and my DP got our first puppy around 8 months ago. While I was ecstatic and so excited that I finally had the dog I always wanted, it is HARD WORK. And now I am almost glad my parents said no until it was my own decision as there is no way I would have been responsible for a dog at that age without it being the responsibility of all of us, and my parents actually wanting one rather than just giving in for my sake. Even though I always promised to them that I would look after, I didn't REALLY know what that would truly involve, neither would anybody else until they actually own one.

There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made, we are in a similar working situation to you guys but pay for day care at somebodys house twice a week and a dog walker the other two days, we are then home the rest of the time. We can't just go out somewhere for the day if we feel like it, unless it is dog friendly. If we do go out we have to really keep an eye on the time to make sure he's not left at home too long, and this is even with a really well behaved dog where we have been really lucky and had no destructive behaviour (so far).

It's also expensive - insurance, food, regular flea/worming treatments & injections, grooming, daycare, dog walker, various leads/collars/harnesses of different sizes as he has grown, toys treats and puzzles (definitely needs brain occupying toys if it is going to be left alone). Also a few one off expenses like totally securing our garden, puppy training classes, and vet bills for neutering - which isn't covered by insurance and has to be paid out of your own pocket, and him getting something stuck up his nose which had to be surgically removed, costing our insurance excess and raising the monthly premium for the policy. Would you really want to commit to all that when it's a pet you didn't even really want in the first place?

Although I do love our puppy to bits and would now never change it for the world, I don't think realistically it would work having one person who initially didn't want a dog, especially as it would be for the child but the majority of the responsibility would probably fall on to the adults.

[Dontgiveamonkeys1350]

You also have to factor in training. U don’t just take it to training classes in the evening. I was training mine all day. Distraction training in the woods. At coffee shops. At home.

Also think about the real fact that you could have dog with issues. Mine did. He was nervous reactive and turned aggressive.
That’s not easy to cope with.

The whole thing about having a dog is hard. Trust me on this. It’s more work than U realise. He had a bad stomach and could only eat real food. So I spent so much time cooking chicken and meat and rice etc.

I would not be giving a dog to a 15 year old. What’s going to happen at exam time. Dogs don’t understand that u have to revise. They still need training and walking. You will do everything.

[inchoccyheaven]

Spoke to dw tonight and said I had been thinking of other alternatives to us getting a puppy like borrow a dog etc so she can walk them but not have the responsibility fulltime. Dw said she thinks sd wont want to if it's not her own and that sd probably knows the answer will be no anyway so not to worry about it.
So decision is made and if sd does want to get involved with dog organisations when shes 16 or we can find somewhere that will take her before that the we will support her in that venture.
Thank you for all your comments it really helped.