Why get a dog if you’re not going to treat them as part of the family.

[Rastyopolis]

I’ve seen several posts this weekend on dogs being given away or becoming a frustration - and wonder why people get them if they don’t/wont treat them as part of the family.

@Rastyopolis I work with dogs. I think people spend more time working out which phone to get than they do working out whether they should have a dog, and which variety would suit them if they could have a dog. Don't even get me started on them looking for a proper source, be it rescue or breeder.

90% of owners I deal with either should not have a dog at all, or shouldn't have the dog they do have.

Some owners realise their mistake, either with or without a significant event to help them decide, or they plod on regardless, sometimes putting the work in, but mostly not.

It's very sad.

Dogs are part of the family until they snap and growl at your crawling baby. Then they get rehomed.

Dogs aren’t “part of the family”, they’re pets.

I think lots of people underestimate the work involved. I don’t mean just taking it for walks. It’s not like having a cat for example.

For some people dogs aren't part of the family; they are their family. Not that that means they should ever be referred to as a fur baby.

People are naive as to how much work they are. You’ve only got to look through the posts on here to see people being told over and over again that a puppy isn’t right for them or a certain breed isn’t right for them but people are stupid and think they will be the one exception where it will all be fine, and then it’s not.

My kids joke well, maybe a bit that my dog gets more activities than they did. I view it in the same way. They had karate, football, music etc, she has her classes. She is family, although I know her lifespan will be a lot shorter. I plan on giving her the best time I can while I do. She is not a 'furbaby' but she is my best friend. They are bitter that she has a paddling pool though 😂😂 we didn't have any level area for one when they were little. They all adore her though.

I agree with you. My chihuahua boy is my baby and is treated like the kids (in terms of attention, obviously his needs are very different). They are family, they are pack animals that need that social interaction.

Because it’s too much for some people. I couldn’t cope with one because of work/ shifts/ family I already have/ a business I run etc. I know I couldn’t look after a dog properly but I love dogs. So I just borrow my sisters dog and walk her every now and again. That’s a good compromise but I don’t have responsibility for her.
I know it would be too much for me to have my own dog alongside my other commitments but maybe the people who are now trying to re home didn’t do their research and didn’t know they wouldn’t be able to cope. Or they overestimated how much they could cope with.

You can do all the research and get the perfect breed for your family, but you can never predict the dog's personality and what problems it might have.

I got a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he's the exact opposite to what I thought I was getting. He's extremely energetic, vocal, neurotic and crazy. I very nearly gave him away multiple times.

I absolutely hate it when people say this, mostly child free adults.
Dogs are not children it's not remotely alike.
Dogs are just pets, they were bred to do jobs not to be treated like humans.
They aren't babies..birthday parties, dressing them up ect.. makes my stomach turn.
No wonder theirs so many aggressive dogs around now.
We must be the only nation that compares dogs to children and it sounds so ridiculous.

I'm sure some people would give their kids back if it were an option. I'd say the majority of dog owners get a dog when they don't have an appropriate house or enough time to properly care for them

Dogs are pets not family.

Their souls spent some time with us and then move on.
I think people love the idea of having a loyal companion that loves them unconditionally... as often portrait in popular culture. The problem is, the difference between the fact of owning a dog and the fiction of how dog ownership should be are vastly different.

Arguing over whether dogs are pets or family is just semantics really - the dogs themselves don’t much care as long as they’re treated well and looked after properly.

I work with dogs and unfortunately see a lot of people swayed by a breeds appearance without really thinking about what owning that breed means in reality.

Quite simple in our house, dog rules and has done for nearly 7 years. It is our first dog, we love him way too much, but boy is he hard work. I must admit I thought our life would remain virtually the same as before we got him, but soon realised we wouldn’t go on holiday without him, felt guilty at leaving him home alone for short periods of time, miss him when we are out, but really pleased we waited until I retired to get him. I don’t judge people when they are finding having a dog hard especially when getting a pet was a family decision and the family as a whole don’t take care of pet responsibly. My adult DS2 was the one who kept on about getting a dog, yet turned out to be the one who did the least with him, yet adult DS1 is fantastic at caring for him, but he was the one who was very cautious at first.

People without experience of having dogs make a lot of assumptions about what the dog will bring to their lives and not necessarily how much work it will be.

I would rather dogs be rehomed somewhere suitable than kept and treated poorly or not trained and socialised properly.

I have become increasingly anti-dog as a former dog lover because of poorly trained, uncontrolled dogs in public spaces due to slack or ignorant owners. It’s not the dog’s fault.

I think it’s far better for an animal to be rehomed to a more suitable environment than it is for the owners to keep them even though they can’t provide them with what they need.

Yes, exactly. I know well-cared for, healthy, content working dogs who are definitely not ‘part of the family’. If dogs have the stimulation and exercise of work suited to their breed, other dogs around them, and good food, people (other than whoever they work with) are largely irrelevant.

I think it depends what you think 'part of the family' means - some people have quite a sentimental attitude to this and assume it means that a dog can be fully integrated with their young children, when in fact it would be much better for everyone to keep them mostly separate. If I hadn't already had a dog when my children were born, I'd probably wait till they were at least seven.

AcquadiP; I remember reading something years ago about a man who bought a 10 week old retriever puppy, and returned it because "it wasn't already trained for work". It's an animal, not a machine!

I think there are similarities in that you put time and effort into teaching your dog what is acceptable and how to behave as you do young children. For both, if you don't then there tends to be issues.

That isn't to say dogs and children are the same, or that you should treat dogs as children or dress them up etc. And of course children have more complexity and a wider range of emotions.

Because they are a dog.

What, all of them? Or just poor dog owners?

Because people get dogs (or any pet) and think it's like getting a cuddly toy

The irony is that most people who have dogs would actually be better off with a cuddly toy instead of a dog. The dogs would certainly be better off.

ETA - my perspective is skewed as I work with dogs, and get to see a lot of problems. 99% of which is owner related.