Things to consider when considering a dog?
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Anonymous
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I love our dog. She is a wonderful family companion. She will be our only dog. I'd suggest that you think carefully about what hole you are trying to fill - are you anticipating your kid being less around, so you want a companion? Do you want the regular exercise that comes with walking a dog? Is it something else? I echo the folks who say that you will all be happier with a structured, regular routine.
Other dog characteristics/things to think about - my family super lucky on all of these, but it's definitely a crapshoot. *Energy level *Size (correlates with amount of food, ease of walking, and longevity) *Barking *Interest/ability to stay away from human food *Cleverness/level of mental stimulation needed to keep happy *Getting a puppy vs older dog |
Anonymous
| I don't have kids and my two dogs are my life. I love them dearly, and my DH loves them dearly. I tell people "don't get a dog" because most people who have dogs don't take care of them adequately -- the big thing being that the dog doesn't get enough walks/exercise/mental stimulation/training. That is what happens because dogs are a lot of work, and people underestimate it. And when life gets busy and something's gotta give, it isn't work and it isn't the kids -- so the pets needs go unaddressed (often permanently). Our schedule revolves around the last time our dogs were able to go out to potty. I get home, I let them out. My DH gets home from work, he takes them on their walk. They wake me up at 6, I take them out and feed them. At 7am I walk them. Mid afternoon, we walk them, or, if we are both at work, the dog walker comes. Speaking of the dog walker, having a dog costs a small fortune. |
Anonymous
That's a low estimate. |
Anonymous
| My dog is very low maintenance. Non shedder, not destructive, content to nap by me. Very well house trained and sleeps in. On a day to day basis he is my adorable buddy. The things that are a pain are finding dog sitters when we travel (he’d freak out in a kennel) and he’s decided his 17 lb fluffy self is a guard dog if I have workers come (plumbers, etc.) so I leash him while he has his spazz. Agree with others that it’s hard to be spontaneous. I used to be able to pop up to NYC for the weekend and now something like that is tricky. He’s technically small enough that he could fly or take the train but his temperament is totally unsuitable to calmly be in a travel carrier. |
Anonymous
| Is it likely your kid will be involved in competitive/travel sports or hobby? If so, that sucks up much of the weekend and you have to arrange dog walking/care while you are gone. Or you and your spouse alternate going to sports/staying home with the dog. |
Anonymous
| The monthly expenses add up quickly. Before the first of the month is done, we’ve paid for the vet’s monthly plan, the heartworm/tick preventatives, and pet insurance. Then there is food, treats, grooming (depending on breed it can be necessary and pricy). And that is after the first year expenses. |
Anonymous
| Temperament, temperament, temperament. Once you've made the decision, getting a dog with a temperament that suits your families needs and wishes is the most important thing. You can train a LOT of things but you can't train the baseline temperament. |
Anonymous
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I love having a dog, but like you, I went without when my kids were small. The return the dog-having was great, so much so that when our family's first dog died, I lasted a month before I started looking again.
The two dogs I've gotten for the resumption of dog ownership have both been adults. Even with older kids, I don't have time for puppy training. A lot of people here are wildly anti- rescue, but it's worked out great for us. Get a dog! They're the best. |
Anonymous
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I personally disagree with the advice to get two dogs. We did that pre-kids and I would never do it again.
We didn't have a dog for most of the time that our kids were small and got one when they were around your kid's age. I underestimated how much fun it would be to see the kids' relationship with the dog. For our dog, the sun rises and sets on our kids, they are all the loves of her life ... and it is so sweet to see. It's been very bonding for us. And 13 is old enough to be a real help with walking and dog care. One of the best things is having a relationship with neighbors who will take your dog for short times or be willing to some take care of the dog while you're away. It's mutually beneficial and very much appreciated on our sides. |
Anonymous
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We have 3 young kids and have always had a dog. Older dog when kids were infants/young and now a puppy. Kids are 4, 7 and 9 and cannot help much since we adopted a dog that ended up being much larger than we expected.
It’s A LOT of work. I walk our dog around 3-4 miles a day. Plus she goes to doggy daycare and training 1-2 times a week (so $$). But we love having a dog and know that the initial hard period will give us a loving companion as our dog gets older. |
Anonymous
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My dog just died. Here are all the things that I didn't realize we dealt with while he was alive, but are very much not part of our life now:
-planning day trips or extended outings around his need to be fed/let out, especially when he was very young and very old. We often took two cars places as he got older because if a tournament or party went long or traffic looked bad, someone would need to race home to help him after 4ish hours. -the space his stuff took up. He had beds in most rooms, a big crate, stacks of towels for rainy days, muddy paws, etc. We stored it all in one closet in case we get another dog and it took up the *entire* closet. -hosting visitors and guests. Plenty of my children's friends are afraid of dogs, and the dog didn't like some of our adult friends. We don't have a garage or basement so we had to think carefully when hosting to make sure we had a plan for leashing him or corralling him depending on the guest list. -cooking. Cooking without a dog is really strange when you're used to having one. Ours wasn't a counter cruiser and didn't steal food and it was still a lot. Having an animal at your elbow the entire time is really different than being able to leave the trash open for 2 seconds, leave a dirty cutting board at the edge of the counter, pull out a roasted chicken from a low oven, etc. -laundry. I probably did 2-3 loads of dog laundry per week in our small washing machine in the winter. It's a lot less laundry now. -driving. Our dog took a ton of space in the car, and we had to pack carefully on road trips. It's weird to be able to use "his" space in the car now. -dogsitting and scheduling everything around it. We told our dog sitter we were getting married before we told friends and family. |
Anonymous
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a large dog with a high prey drive might pull someone over
an anxious / timid puppy may grow into an aggressive adult dog, regardless of training / encouragement and socialisation so get a medium sized dog who is friendly with everyone, from the start. |
Anonymous
| The biggest aspect of dog ownership for us wasn't the money spent on vet bills or food or dog beds, the fact that our kids never helped even though they promised...all that was expected. What I could not have imagined is our dog's mental damage before coming to us as an older puppy, and nothing we did changed that. Behaviorist, medication, You Tube videos, it was all just a waste of time and drained us to our core. They were never able to be a family dog, just something we took care of day in and day out, and grew to resent. It was an awful mistake that unless you have lived with a dog like this, you can never understand. |
Anonymous
I agree. I have two dogs, and wouldn't have it any other way, but it is an insane amount of work. People say if you have two dogs, it is just as easy as having one -- and that is not true at all. |
Anonymous
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Temperament- lazy or active ?
less shedding? go for doodle but then requires grooming Research pet insurance - worth it, all our pets required pricey med procedures it helped immensely we have nice large fenced-in yard and our dog was lazy, so walking wasn't big chore. We currently have cats - so much easier esp when we travel just for the weekend. |