How do you deal when you hate having a dog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mistake most people make is getting a puppy. All my dogs have been young, around 1-2yr old when we got them, and well trained. All 3 were amazing dogs.
I am a dog lover but have no idea how to house train a puppy.

Where do you find well trained dogs? The shelters around here have a choice between pitbulls and pitbulls. And the breed rescues don’t seem to get well trained dogs. Makes sense that people capable and invested enough to train their dogs well aren’t giving them away…. You’ve adopted three, what’s your secret?

I guess it depends on what you mean by “well trained” but its not hard to find a non-puppy/non-pitbull on craiglist or your local pets facebook group.

And yes to all the Pit-Mommies I do understand not all pitbulls are violent monsters but they are VERY STRONG, bred for fighting, and for some reason a super majority/the only breed in shelters. You should spend as much time advocating for responsible pet owner ship and spay/neuter as you spend shaming others for disliking a breed that is responsible for the vast majority of attacks against humans, and killing other innocent small beloved family pets.

[Anonymous]

I never liked owning a dog. Had one. She was a wonderful dog. But I'm happier now that she has passed. .will never own another dog.

[Anonymous]

OP I think it will get better. We got a dog Nov of 2022 and I really regretted that decision for a long time. But now at 1.5, the dog is my favorite member of the family. Yes she is hairy and sheds like crazy. My floors are always dirty, and I can't ever wear black again. But she is very calm now, basically naps throughout the day like a cat, great with the kids, alerts us to visitors, and all the bad habits she had as a puppy pretty much disappeared. Trust me, we spent no time training her but most issues disappeared by virtue of maturity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The mistake most people make is getting a puppy. All my dogs have been young, around 1-2yr old when we got them, and well trained. All 3 were amazing dogs.
I am a dog lover but have no idea how to house train a puppy.

I prefer adopting older dogs too but I think house training a puppy is really satisfying. I have trained many and it made potty training my kids a breeze too since its the same concept of calm redirections, being non chalant about accidents and praising goals. They learn quickly and permanently! It probably helps that I am always home so able to dedicate attention, praise and be consistent. They just live for that happy dance and praise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mistake most people make is getting a puppy. All my dogs have been young, around 1-2yr old when we got them, and well trained. All 3 were amazing dogs.
I am a dog lover but have no idea how to house train a puppy.

I prefer adopting older dogs too but I think house training a puppy is really satisfying. I have trained many and it made potty training my kids a breeze too since its the same concept of calm redirections, being non chalant about accidents and praising goals. They learn quickly and permanently! It probably helps that I am always home so able to dedicate attention, praise and be consistent. They just live for that happy dance and praise.

I think this too! Maybe because I have only had larger breed dogs and I hear the smaller ones are slower to learn, but I've house-trained all my dogs within 2-3 weeks with maybe...5 accidents? 10 max? Generally pee and nothing major. And I've done it in Manhattan high-rises too where you've got some time between taking puppy from the crate and getting outside to a potty-appropriate place. Maybe I'm just lucky? But consistency and praise has always made this stage a blip on the radar of dog ownership.

[Anonymous]

My daughter asked endlessly for a dog for over 2 years. Her friends were all getting dogs and she felt she was missing out.
After months of research, my wife and eventually gave in and found a puppy.
I've never had a dog. I've never wanted a dog, but I was doing this for my daughter.
The first few weeks were really difficult, I was solely looking after him. I felt like a prisoner.
Eventually he became a bit more self sufficient and was toilet trained.
But after 6 months, I absolutely HATE having the dog. I don't like the dog, I don't want him and he adds nothing to my life, just makes everything more difficult. Everything we do is now a challenge.
I want to give him up but not sure if the wife and kids want that.
It's not fair on the dog or me or for the family.
Getting a dog was one of the biggest mistakes/regrets I've ever made. And if I never seen the dog again, I think I'd be delighted.
Glad to see I'm not the only person dealing with this.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like most of you did not do your research on the type of breed or size dog that would best suit your family. I know people are anti-breeder here, but it makes a huge difference to do research on breeds and find a reputable breeder who observes the puppies and determines the best match for your household. Temperament is very real thing. It can differ greatly across breeds and even within a litter.

House training our puppy was a million times easier than potty training two boys, and we lived in a third floor condo at the time. Crate training was easy and so was training in general. Her activity level was a perfect fit for us. So many people get dogs without really looking into what they are getting. Then they are mad when the dog is barky or has too much energy or isn't good with people. What's the point of rescuing a dog if you end up just resenting them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like most of you did not do your research on the type of breed or size dog that would best suit your family. I know people are anti-breeder here, but it makes a huge difference to do research on breeds and find a reputable breeder who observes the puppies and determines the best match for your household. Temperament is very real thing. It can differ greatly across breeds and even within a litter.

House training our puppy was a million times easier than potty training two boys, and we lived in a third floor condo at the time. Crate training was easy and so was training in general. Her activity level was a perfect fit for us. So many people get dogs without really looking into what they are getting. Then they are mad when the dog is barky or has too much energy or isn't good with people. What's the point of rescuing a dog if you end up just resenting them?

Breed does not fix everything. Some people are just not dog owners. They might like dogs generally, but owning a dog is a big undertaking, it's very inconvenient if you do it correctly, and it lasts for a long time.

I think sometimes people just shouldn't have gotten a dog. I think a lot of people have an image of a family with a dog but I actually think the time when you have kids is the worst time to have one. The happiest dog owners I know are: single no kids, DINKS, or older and kids out of house. They get the most out of their relationship with the dog and have the most bandwidth (and money) to devote to making sure their dog is happy and cared for.

Some families do fine with dogs but I actually think most don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all suck. OP rehome your dog if you’re going to feel like this for the rest of its life.

+1

[Anonymous]

I grew up with dogs in the country and as a young adult on my own, I got 2 dogs that I absolutely adored. They were my babies until I had real kids and then they were still my furbabies. They saw me through marriage, divorce, another marriage and 2 kids. The last few years of their lives were really hard. They were very old but lingered for a long time and needed a lot of care. When they both passed 8 years ago I was really, really sad. I still think about them nearly every day, mainly because I have photos of them in my house.

I didn’t want any pets for 2 years and then when I was ready my kids begged for cats. At first I resisted, I had never had cats and I was a “dog” person, not a cat person. Well they wore me down and we ended up rescuing 4 cats (2 sibling pairs). Honestly, in a lot of ways they are a lot like dogs but so much easier and less work.

They are good companions but no where as needy. You don’t have to take them outside to potty or on walks. As long as you give them an appropriate outlet for their needs (scratching, climbing) they are well behaved. I have lightly trained mine (no one wakes me up for food or scratches furniture or destroys anything) and it works out really well. They are also very funny and goofy things and they are sweet and affectionate with the kids too.

So I still love dogs and maybe I will consider another one some day (though when I think about the amount of work, I definitely hesitate) but in the meantime (and maybe permanently) cats really make ideal almost dog-like pets.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely hate my dog right now too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mistake most people make is getting a puppy. All my dogs have been young, around 1-2yr old when we got them, and well trained. All 3 were amazing dogs.
I am a dog lover but have no idea how to house train a puppy.

Where do you find well trained dogs? The shelters around here have a choice between pitbulls and pitbulls. And the breed rescues don’t seem to get well trained dogs. Makes sense that people capable and invested enough to train their dogs well aren’t giving them away…. You’ve adopted three, what’s your secret?

I guess it depends on what you mean by “well trained” but its not hard to find a non-puppy/non-pitbull on craiglist or your local pets facebook group.

And yes to all the Pit-Mommies I do understand not all pitbulls are violent monsters but they are VERY STRONG, bred for fighting, and for some reason a super majority/the only breed in shelters. You should spend as much time advocating for responsible pet owner ship and spay/neuter as you spend shaming others for disliking a breed that is responsible for the vast majority of attacks against humans, and killing other innocent small beloved family pets.

First of all, I do advocate for spay and neutering. Second I have not shamed anyone and third the owners are to blame for 99.9 of the problems. Dogs who are raised well as loving members of the family do not attack.
And before you come at me you all are blaming 'pit bulls' when really there are five different breeds so it is an unfair comparison. Not to mention the mixes. Most people do not read dogs well and miss the signs.

Dogs then have to esculate to get you to listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter asked endlessly for a dog for over 2 years. Her friends were all getting dogs and she felt she was missing out.
After months of research, my wife and eventually gave in and found a puppy.
I've never had a dog. I've never wanted a dog, but I was doing this for my daughter.
The first few weeks were really difficult, I was solely looking after him. I felt like a prisoner.
Eventually he became a bit more self sufficient and was toilet trained.
But after 6 months, I absolutely HATE having the dog. I don't like the dog, I don't want him and he adds nothing to my life, just makes everything more difficult. Everything we do is now a challenge.
I want to give him up but not sure if the wife and kids want that.
It's not fair on the dog or me or for the family.
Getting a dog was one of the biggest mistakes/regrets I've ever made. And if I never seen the dog again, I think I'd be delighted.
Glad to see I'm not the only person dealing with this.

What kind of dog? What does he do that bothers you? Poor dog!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter asked endlessly for a dog for over 2 years. Her friends were all getting dogs and she felt she was missing out.
After months of research, my wife and eventually gave in and found a puppy.
I've never had a dog. I've never wanted a dog, but I was doing this for my daughter.
The first few weeks were really difficult, I was solely looking after him. I felt like a prisoner.
Eventually he became a bit more self sufficient and was toilet trained.
But after 6 months, I absolutely HATE having the dog. I don't like the dog, I don't want him and he adds nothing to my life, just makes everything more difficult. Everything we do is now a challenge.
I want to give him up but not sure if the wife and kids want that.
It's not fair on the dog or me or for the family.
Getting a dog was one of the biggest mistakes/regrets I've ever made. And if I never seen the dog again, I think I'd be delighted.
Glad to see I'm not the only person dealing with this.

What kind of dog? What does he do that bothers you? Poor dog!

Yes, this is really sad. What kind of dog is this? How old? I have two young kids but our dogs are the light of everyone's lives. I'm so happy to see my babies with their doggos.

What's the problem in real terms?