Why do people who live in small apartments, work and travel a lot, get dogs?

[Anonymous]

DH and I fit the demographic you are describing, but do not have a dog. I think we are the only unit on our floor without a dog. We ultimately aren’t getting a dog (one person in biglaw, no private outdoor space, lots of travel and time spent working elsewhere), but have a lot of thoughts on this pattern of behavior.

The dog is essentially a full-in for a human child and attention-getting accessory. The yuppie way of having a dog is essentially intensive dog parenting and expensive.

[Anonymous]

When I lived in the city, my dog had it made. I lived in an apartment so we HAD to go to the park 3x per day. She had a blast with all the other dogs and I loved chatting with the dog owners. It's better than people who just let their dogs out in the backyard to poop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other people can afford dog walkers, sitters and boarding and you can’t, OP.

OP here. I can afford it, but it seems like a lot of money to spend in order to NOT spend time with your dog. It's different to me than people who have kids and then put them in daycare and send them to school -- most people do not have kids "for companionship". They do it because they want to raise kids, and part of that is getting them good care and an education.

But the main reason people get pets is for companionship. It seems odd to me to get a very high maintenance pet when you are going to be away from them for long periods of time often. I'm sure the dogs to fine with the dog walkers and sitters (and may even enjoy them), but it seems like an odd choice from the perspective of the human.

It seems like all the burden of having a pet with more minimal enjoyment because you are working/out/traveling so much. The main reason I don't have a dog is that I would not want to ever have to choose between my dog and going out to dinner or taking a last minute weekend trip, but I know people with dogs often have to do this because they will say to me "oh I'd love to do that but I have to worry about the dog."

Same reason people have kids with two FT working parents. Why do that to yourself and to your children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other people can afford dog walkers, sitters and boarding and you can’t, OP.

OP here. I can afford it, but it seems like a lot of money to spend in order to NOT spend time with your dog. It's different to me than people who have kids and then put them in daycare and send them to school -- most people do not have kids "for companionship". They do it because they want to raise kids, and part of that is getting them good care and an education.

But the main reason people get pets is for companionship. It seems odd to me to get a very high maintenance pet when you are going to be away from them for long periods of time often. I'm sure the dogs to fine with the dog walkers and sitters (and may even enjoy them), but it seems like an odd choice from the perspective of the human.

It seems like all the burden of having a pet with more minimal enjoyment because you are working/out/traveling so much. The main reason I don't have a dog is that I would not want to ever have to choose between my dog and going out to dinner or taking a last minute weekend trip, but I know people with dogs often have to do this because they will say to me "oh I'd love to do that but I have to worry about the dog."

Be honest. You don't REALLY want a dog. People who desire children or desire pets will get them no matter what the sacrifices. The hours of companionship are worth it to them. Don't forget the nights - they count.
You seem like a very self-centered individual who has no particular motivation to place other living beings' interests above your own. And that's FINE. Just own your personality and don't ever get a pet or kids with that mindset!

[Anonymous]

I live in a single family house in the suburbs and have a daily dog walker and board our dog when we travel. We have a big fenced yard but he doesn’t like to hang out back there by himself. What you’ve described isn’t that different from the life my suburban dog lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in a single family house in the suburbs and have a daily dog walker and board our dog when we travel. We have a big fenced yard but he doesn’t like to hang out back there by himself. What you’ve described isn’t that different from the life my suburban dog lives.

OP doesn't know anything about pets, clearly. Which isn't important at all, since they're not the pet-owning kind of person and should never have them. Or kids

[Anonymous]

They are lonely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what is also impractical? Children. Yet they're still popular.

It probably wasn't practical for my parents to have kids as they were poor. But I'm glad they did because I'm here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in the city, my dog had it made. I lived in an apartment so we HAD to go to the park 3x per day. She had a blast with all the other dogs and I loved chatting with the dog owners. It's better than people who just let their dogs out in the backyard to poop.

I had a coworker who claimed that he never took his dog out for a walk. The dog just got let out to poop in the yard. From what I saw, the dog seemed happy enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear you OP. I live in a condo and most of my neighbors have dogs, and not just dogs, but big dogs! Labs, labradoodles, sheepdogs (or maybe sheepadoodles?), golden retrievers, and at least one pitbull. I don't know why they get such big dogs in small condos, especially the owners who travel a lot for work.

The big, energetic dogs in small apartment thing seems cruel to me. Some dogs are low energy and don't need a lot of space and make good apartment dogs. But yes, I see people with labs and retriever's in apartments all the time. And they are young dogs. It's just not a good fit.

I used to think that, but I have a young Golden in a 1200 sq ft apartment in the city and now I think "space" is basically a cop out for lazy owners who think a backyard and big house is a substitute for walks and vigorous exercise. My dog goes out for about 3 hours of exercise a day, including walks and dog park. He's in amazing shape and spends most of his time at home sleeping and resting. Very well behaved and he is a very spoiled dog. Is it a huge time commitment? Yes! Does it suck going out in the rain/snow/heat/whatever because you have to and you'd rather stay inside? Of course. Do you have to plan around travel and make finding a sitter a priority? Yes, but he is happy to go to his sitter friend's house too. These are all things you have to do for your dog when you make the commitment to get one, but we do them because it is worth it for us. I assure you, if you care for your dogs needs like this it is far from a "cruel" existence they're not in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love dogs, this is not an anti-dog post.

I live in DC in a condo with a small balcony. I'm in the H Street Corridor, which is pretty dense. There are parks, including some designated dog parks, but the nearest one is about 5 blocks away. So owning a dog in my building means taking your dog on walks 2-3x a day, often to places that are 30 minute round trip (or hiring someone to do so).

Most of the people in my building are professionals in their 20s and 30s and, like me, work 50+ hour weeks and travel fairly often (both for work and pleasure).

About half of the people in the building have dogs.

How? Why? It seems like the most impractical thing. Having to structure your day around walking your dog, even with WFH, just seems incredibly burdensome -- my job is demanding and all I can imagine is my dog needing to pee while I'm on a conference call that is running long. Plus paying for dog walkers and sitters every time I'm in the office or traveling. Having to structure evening plans around walking my dog. And never being able to just open the door and let him into the yard -- always having to leash him and walk him a half mile just to let him run around.

It's baffling to me. Like I said, I love dogs and would love to get one, but my life just seems not at all conducive to it. A cat seems feasible, though I understand many people don't like cats. But still, if you want companionship in an apartment and you work/travel a lot, a cat seems like an obvious choice. And yet I only know one cat owner in my building and like 30 dog owners.

Why is this so popular?

Because other people are not you? Imagine that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other people can afford dog walkers, sitters and boarding and you can’t, OP.

OP here. I can afford it, but it seems like a lot of money to spend in order to NOT spend time with your dog. It's different to me than people who have kids and then put them in daycare and send them to school -- most people do not have kids "for companionship". They do it because they want to raise kids, and part of that is getting them good care and an education.

But the main reason people get pets is for companionship. It seems odd to me to get a very high maintenance pet when you are going to be away from them for long periods of time often. I'm sure the dogs to fine with the dog walkers and sitters (and may even enjoy them), but it seems like an odd choice from the perspective of the human.

It seems like all the burden of having a pet with more minimal enjoyment because you are working/out/traveling so much. The main reason I don't have a dog is that I would not want to ever have to choose between my dog and going out to dinner or taking a last minute weekend trip, but I know people with dogs often have to do this because they will say to me "oh I'd love to do that but I have to worry about the dog."

Other people think differently from you. Such a novel concept, I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what is also impractical? Children. Yet they're still popular.

Yep this. At least you can leave a dog at home alone. Young children need a sitter/caregiver every second you need to be away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in the city, my dog had it made. I lived in an apartment so we HAD to go to the park 3x per day. She had a blast with all the other dogs and I loved chatting with the dog owners. It's better than people who just let their dogs out in the backyard to poop.

I had a coworker who claimed that he never took his dog out for a walk. The dog just got let out to poop in the yard. From what I saw, the dog seemed happy enough.

Did it weigh like 6 lbs? That's really not the way to treat a dog, physically but also mentally.

[Anonymous]

DH and DD begged for years to get a dog. I had zero desire to get one until we had a decent fenced-in yard. No way was I walking a dog first thing in the morning or late at night, or in the extreme humidity, or in the snow. Sounds miserable to me, but if it works for people, good for them.

We finally moved, got a big yard, and a big dog. He’s supposed to be a high energy mix who needs a ton of exercise. Turns out he’s lazy as hell and hates the humidity as much as I do! He goes to pee and comes right back in, at least in the summer. In the winter, he’ll go out to lay in the snow. Dogs have their own personalities and breeding can only predict so much.