What has changed since you got a dog?

[PollyRoulson]

I was talking to a new puppy owner today and said that she needs to be prepared for how her dog will change her life. She smiled at me in a "bless her " kind of way but I waiting to see

Another member of the group said that they would not have believed me but since getting dogs they have

changed their car
changed the flooring in their house
consider the dog first when booking holidays
changed the garden landscape to be more dog friendly , removed dangerous plants etc
Have a major interest in the best wellies available
Can discuss for hours the benefit of licky mats and the best door mat for wet dogs feet.

On another post on here I have recommended that the owner changers her garden gate

We had to heighten our garden fence as the dog leapt over into next doors garden and stole our neighbours' sandwich off the kitchen counter

I own a lot of waterproof clothing now 😂 we haven’t changed much about the house as it was pretty dog friendly to start with, as was the garden. Our day does mainly revolve around walks as ours needs an awful lot!

We all eat lunch and dinner at the kitchen table now instead of on trays on laps watching tv - we learnt that lesson fast!

My son now puts his expensive trainers away properly instead of leaving them laying about - he learnt that lesson fast too!

Not much really : we are a horse owning family so I’ve always had an interest in boots / wet weather gear , I don’t work so no daytime organising and I holiday with my adult daughter so my husband is at home with the dog .The only thing we did was fence off our patio area so that the dog can’t get on the grass unless he’s invited .

We had a foster pup that was a jumper and my lovely DH spent a whole weekend making higher fences in a paddock. The dog watched him and stayed with him all weekend. When he was putting his tools away having finished the fence the dog just politely jumped over the newly heighten fence .

The job was continued the next weekend.

@NoLongerATeacher

We all eat lunch and dinner at the kitchen table now instead of on trays on laps watching tv - we learnt that lesson fast!

My son now puts his expensive trainers away properly instead of leaving them laying about - he learnt that lesson fast too!

Our garden was too small so we moved house. There were other reasons, but that was a big factor.

@alloverthecarpetagain

Our garden was too small so we moved house. There were other reasons, but that was a big factor.

Love this I did the same and changed career.

I now have dog-walking shoes, dog-walking jackets, a dog wardrobe for all his stuff… all travel plans revolve around him too. All worth it

I've taken a career break to spend time at home with my dog until the end of the summer probably the rest of the year! 😆

I waited a long time to get a dog and once he arrived (in February) I quickly decided that I liked being with him much more than going to work. It's like a puppy maternity leave - is there a catchy name for that?

Anyway I'm not surprised that having a dog has changed my life but I think that DH (who said he didn't want a dog) has been surprised by how much he has been happy to change in order to ensure that the new love of his life (the dog) is happy. He even bought overpriced dog ice cream yesterday ☺️

your lovely DH.

Pawternity was offered by some firms - should be made law

Well he was a factor in my career change

He dictates where we live - renting with a dog means there are few options. I live with damp that the landlord hasn't bothered to fix purely because finding a new property would be too much of a faff. When I eventually buy he'll have to be taken into consideration - wouldn't be desperate for a garden otherwise.

He is a very welcome "idiot filter" in the dating world - I'm not going to date someone who doesn't love dogs.

Once I accept that my career, house and relationship are all affected by ddog, everything else is minor!

Nothing really, but it is a bit like having a small child.

And yes, dogs will escape (we have 6ft hedges) if they want to leap, they will!

Floors, cars, furniture, clothes etc...no different.

We only go on holiday for a week because we can't bare to be away from him for any longer.

We pick restaurants carefully to minimise time left and if it looks like we might be more than a couple of hours he has a dog sitter.

And the worst thing is lack of sleep. He sleeps on the bed and likes to get up and collapse lie on me. But I secretly like the cuddles and sniffs I get so I don't mind.

Oh I wouldn't go on holiday!

I originally chose a small, lapdog type of breed specifically because I didn't want to be tied down with long, time consuming walks. Me now - loves a good walk and it's the highlight of my day .

The original idea was that the dog has a half an hour walk per day and rest of the exercise in the garden (we have a large, woodland kind of garden). He still gets his garden time but I absolutely love our 1 hour morning walk and another shorter one after the dinner. The old me would have never wanted to walk in the evenings! Luckily our boy, despite it's poor breed reputation, absolutely loves his walks too.

No more lie ins or duvet days.

DP has massively cut back on pub time. He hates being away from the dog and doesn't want to miss taking him out the next day because of a hangover.

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

No more lie ins or duvet days.

Our beagle loves a lie-in!

Carpet replaced 🙈
Throws on all sofas
Stair gates
The best greeting every morning though, he is so excited to see us

Lie ins are out.
I hide so much stuff to stop them chewing it.
I cannot imagine going on holiday without them - next holiday will be in uk with them.
The garden doesn’t look as nice.
I don’t watch anything on TV, IPad without pausing it 3 million times.

But, I wouldn’t be without them. They bring me lots of joy.

Dog’s needs before booking holidays - absolutely. I’m personally fitter, and calmer. She’s been hugely beneficial. I love her so much. But yes, they change lives in a way cats never did and are a lot of work. We are moving and the secure fence was a pro! I wouldn’t have thought too much about enclosed yards before. It feels like having another family member to consider rather than a pet. I call her my half child. Half as much work and worry as a real child!

We spent £15k adding a second reception room to our house so that our teen kids can use the living room when their noisy mates come over and we have somewhere comfortable to sit with our nervous/reactive dog! To be fair it's a very useful space even without the dog to consider but it was definitely done with him in mind!

Then of course it's all the usual stuff-daily walks, cutting trips out short, working our shifts around his needs.

The other big one is holiday accommodation. Finding a cottage in a quiet location, with beaches and woodland walks, a secure garden, quiet area etc. We don't really consider what we want to do anymore! We'll worth it though.

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

No more lie ins or duvet days.

Before I got a dog, I rarely slept in, so figured it wasn't a big deal. Now I can't sleep in, I miss the option. However have discovered the beauty of an afternoon nap on the sofa with the dog. So all is well ...