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The doghouse

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I hate having a dog

86 replies

Littlesadstate90 · 14/05/2024 17:44

Name change for this one…..

I live our dog, but I hate having a dog.
we have a 1 year old Labrador. First months were tough but we spent a lot of time and money on training. And I still do the training I’ve learnt with her most days.

she’s a dream indoors, amazing with the kids.
not very good on the lead when out on a walk but we’ve been been working hard on that and have made good progress.

the reasons I hate having a dog are the mess all the time from toys, blankets, beds she eats. The hair everywhere all the time, I have to hoover every single day. The smell, I don’t actually notice her smell until I walk into the house from being out and just smells like dog!
getting in from a day at work and needing to walk her when I’m shattered, I always do of course as I know it’s a necessity and she needs it but sometimes it feels like a chore! Husband doesn’t walk her often as he is out the house for work more hours than me and I work from home some days so it naturally falls on me.

i love having gatherings at our house and socialising, especially in the summer . But with the dog it creates some anxiety in me when we have people over. She’s still so young, very playful and can jump up when excited. She can knock small children over……. she can reach the table tops and takes food off of near the edge.
For these reasons I’ve really cut down on having people over. Which makes me sad.

i know these reasons may sound really silly to most dog owners but im just being honest about how I feel so don’t shoot me down.

my husband and kids love her so much and so do I! But I wouldn’t miss her if she was gone which sounds terrible I know 😔 makes me feel awful.

OP posts:
Mumscanbeweird · 12/02/2026 08:10

I get it OP, having had dogs all my life I ended up without them for the first time recently and its a complete revelation! I didn't realise how MUCH extra work I was giving myself - up by 7am every single day to let them out, without fail. Hours picking up poops, hoovering, washing and wiping....and still the doggy smell. Unexpected vets fees landing, never being able to go out or on holiday without getting back for the dogs or planning whats going to happen with them. One small, clean dog is fairly easy but big gundogs are another matter.

dollyblue01 · 12/02/2026 08:35

What did you think was gonna happen when you got a dog ? Baffles me that people want a dog , not knowing what they bring and the commitments then moan , you don’t deserve a dog , poor dog, either find him a new good home or give your head a shake and get on with it, seeing a pet and walking it as a chore is not a good thing.

PinkJelly10 · 19/02/2026 08:58

dollyblue01 · 12/02/2026 08:35

What did you think was gonna happen when you got a dog ? Baffles me that people want a dog , not knowing what they bring and the commitments then moan , you don’t deserve a dog , poor dog, either find him a new good home or give your head a shake and get on with it, seeing a pet and walking it as a chore is not a good thing.

No need to be a d*ck. It is tough, no amount of research and understanding the commitment can actually prepare you for having a dog, and you won't know how you feel until it happens. Get off you high horse and give your head a wobble.

Mischance · 19/02/2026 09:02

Littlesadstate90 · 14/05/2024 17:44

Name change for this one…..

I live our dog, but I hate having a dog.
we have a 1 year old Labrador. First months were tough but we spent a lot of time and money on training. And I still do the training I’ve learnt with her most days.

she’s a dream indoors, amazing with the kids.
not very good on the lead when out on a walk but we’ve been been working hard on that and have made good progress.

the reasons I hate having a dog are the mess all the time from toys, blankets, beds she eats. The hair everywhere all the time, I have to hoover every single day. The smell, I don’t actually notice her smell until I walk into the house from being out and just smells like dog!
getting in from a day at work and needing to walk her when I’m shattered, I always do of course as I know it’s a necessity and she needs it but sometimes it feels like a chore! Husband doesn’t walk her often as he is out the house for work more hours than me and I work from home some days so it naturally falls on me.

i love having gatherings at our house and socialising, especially in the summer . But with the dog it creates some anxiety in me when we have people over. She’s still so young, very playful and can jump up when excited. She can knock small children over……. she can reach the table tops and takes food off of near the edge.
For these reasons I’ve really cut down on having people over. Which makes me sad.

i know these reasons may sound really silly to most dog owners but im just being honest about how I feel so don’t shoot me down.

my husband and kids love her so much and so do I! But I wouldn’t miss her if she was gone which sounds terrible I know 😔 makes me feel awful.

Dogs are not designed to live in human habitats so they will be a bloody nuisance however loveable. I feel very sorry for you ... you are lumbered with this for years now.

redboxer321 · 19/02/2026 09:48

I hate having a dog at the moment. Although it's actually not raining today so I'll only have to cope with the mud and not rain pissing down on us and the clear up afterwards. Forecast tells me the rain returns tomorrow but I may not hate having a dog today. Fecking weather!

GuppytheCat · 19/02/2026 19:35

Mischance · 19/02/2026 09:02

Dogs are not designed to live in human habitats so they will be a bloody nuisance however loveable. I feel very sorry for you ... you are lumbered with this for years now.

Not quite so many years by now though, as this was a 2024 post.

FordExplorer · 19/02/2026 19:52

Poor dog. If you really did love her then you absolutely would miss her if she was gone. I hate being away from my dog. I mean thankfully he doesn’t moult/shed or smell at all (hypoallergenic breed) but even if he did, I wouldn’t care because I love him to bits. Never regretted getting him for a single second. I’d die for him, genuinely.

Please find this poor little soul a genuinely loving home where everyone in the house loves her.

blubberball · 20/02/2026 14:28

I think that I would love having dogs, if I was part of a team that cared for the dogs. People on the team knew what they were doing and trained the dogs well. We lived at a set up specifically catered to looking after dogs. But for me, just on my own, looking after a dog in my house, it wouldn't be for me. I like to dog sit other people's dogs occasionally

Silverbirchleaf · 21/02/2026 18:47

People say ‘get a lab, good family dogs’ butvtgeyvfon’t tell you how hard they are. Labs are big dogs and take longer to mature. I always felt that I liked our dogs, but didn’t love him.

Doing dog agility helped me hugely because it made me have fun with the dog, improve his recall, and boosted my confidence with him.

Also, it does get easier as they get older, but the first year of a lab’s life is hard work.

Lougle · 21/02/2026 20:04

Silverbirchleaf · 21/02/2026 18:47

People say ‘get a lab, good family dogs’ butvtgeyvfon’t tell you how hard they are. Labs are big dogs and take longer to mature. I always felt that I liked our dogs, but didn’t love him.

Doing dog agility helped me hugely because it made me have fun with the dog, improve his recall, and boosted my confidence with him.

Also, it does get easier as they get older, but the first year of a lab’s life is hard work.

They're not all big. Mine are both 19kg.

ACynicalDad · 21/02/2026 22:21

Still a baby, it will get better, I was told by 2, now he's nearly 3 they say by 4, but definitely getting easier all the time.

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