Is getting a dog worth it?

[Anonymous]

Sweetie, if you have a baby, you can give up on pristine anyway. Trust me.

But for the dog's sake, don't get one. They require a lot maore than you want to give, and aren't just an ornamental item. Besides, they will freak out your cats. And they eat cat poop, no matter what you do, and then come give you kisses.

[Anonymous]

I think dogs are dirtier than kids. Kids don't shed.

Dogs get sick, have accidents. My brother's dog chewed up a new rug and had to have major surgery because he'd swallowed some cord from the rug that got stuck in his intestines. $6,000 or so.

Dogs need to board when you both travel. Call around and check out the cost.

[Anonymous]

I wanted a dog for years before I finally got one. And, yes, he is a big pain in the a$$ but he is the greatest!! Everyone should have a dog if they can.

[Anonymous]

OP, I get what you're saying about not wanting your kids/cats to ingest the chemical flea deterrant, but seriously? When you apply frontline, there is really no way a kid or cat or furniture will come into contact with it. If you have young kids, they won't be able to reach it, and if you have older kids, you just tell them that they can't pet the dog in that area until the next day. My kids are 4 and 6, and we've never had an issue with them touching our dog after he's had his frontline application. And he doesn't get on the furniture so there's no issue there with it rubbing off on the furniture. I'm not anti-chemical so I'm coming from a very different place, obviously, but to me it's like vaccines. The alternative to not vaccinating is wayyyy worse than the vaccine itself.

Also, just in general, there are tons of great reasons to get a dog, but if you're going to be fretting about fleas, hair, mess, loss of spontaneity, then all of those positives will be hugely outweighed by negatives. Don't do it!!! I have to admit, I love, love, love my dog, but when he leaves us (and I'm the one who adopted a 5 year old lab who is now 12) we are not going to get another one for a very long time. At least not until my kids are teenagers. I'm worn out by the amount of work it is to keep him happy and healthy.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have not read all the replies, but you reminded me of myself! We are cat people, always have been--now we have 9 cats (I think). But once we finally bought our "cat farm" a couple years ago, on some land, we decided it was time for a dog. And not just any dog--a Shiloh Shepherd, 150 pounds of fluffy DOG.

The results? We are definitely still cat people. Puppyhood was sheer torment--never again!! He still doesn't come when we call him. He thinks the basement is an A-OK place to have accidents, and when a huge dog has accidents, they are, well, huge. Disgusting. Accidents. He spends a lot of time in the pasture, which is an acre and has a shelter, so he doesn't suffer. None of us like being licked...well, except for the baby, who licks him back.

But you know, I love that big dumb doofus. Never thought I would, but when my little guys climb all over him, when delivery men jump a foot when they see him by my side, when he chews on one of our cats, when we take him out in public and he draws a crowd of adoring fans, when he flops down in front of the fireplace and smiles at us...he belongs with us.

But we live a messy, chaotic life and rarely travel, and I have lots of built-in dog walkers, and I don't do vet care beyond the basics. So I bet most dog people would say I don't deserve him.

He looks happy to me!

[Anonymous]

I would never not have dogs (we have two and seem to often have a third in the house either foster or dog sitting) but I have a different attitude. Pristine and completely organic have never been used to describe my home, I believe dog hair adds fiber to my children's diet and some germs improve their immune system. You don't really seem to have this attitude and so I think a dog will drive you crazy. Maybe you could volunteer at an animal shelter or with a rescue group to get your "fix" without owning one.
For me, the big downside to dog ownership is traveling. It adds a lot of expense and preparation to travel.

[Anonymous]

You have too many worries at this time for a dog. I will say though, I use to be a cat person until I "found" my first dog 10 years ago, and found out you form a different relationship with a dog than you do with a cat.

Our newly adopted rescued dog, a teenager, can be very very bad. He's chewed on my coveted couches, table legs, new stair carpet, toys, legos, stuffed animals, outside mats, inside mats, diapers (clean and used ; he also drinks from the toilet, and buries his bones. He's dug out of our yard several times, once getting stuck, and has ran into our neighbor's houses, uninvited. He sheds, gets stinky (I keep lots of doggy spray around the house) and throws up A LOT because of a sensitive stomach. His poops are big and stinky, so I make my husband be the picker upper. I can't tell you how many times one of us have stepped in his crap in the backyard! He sometimes will pee on our mini dog, by accident though, because he lifts his leg every few feet on his walks and she gets underneath him. He's finally bone tired after getting a 3 mile walk OR playing at the dog park for a couple hours, but after the dog park, he needs a bath, more work. He goes to doggy daycare when we are out of town, of course it's cageless boarding and comes with a hefty bill. Having said that, he's absolutely darling and a keeper. He does let us wipe his feet when he comes in from the outside - we also have a no shoes policy in our house. Still want that dog???

Dogs are a lot of work, similar to a child, and require training and time. If you could see my 4 yr. old with his dog, you'd understand why we've overlooked his destructiveness.

[Anonymous]

I'm one of the PPs with two dogs. Hearing that you are planning to TTC I definitely recommend that you not get a dog now. We had our dogs for years before we had our baby. We adore the dogs but they drove us NUTS when DD was an infant. The dogs got all nutty with a baby in the house, we were afraid one of them might hurt her, the barking during naptime waking the baby who already didn't nap well - there were so many times that I fantasized about getting rid of the dogs, or thought I might have to for the safety of the baby. We did manage to keep them, but it was a ton of work. I would never recommend that anyone who is planning to have a baby in the near future get a dog. Wait until your kid(s) are older. By then your kids will have broken down your need for a pristine house and you will have the time and energy that a dog requires.

[Anonymous]

I vote no dog. I'm not a cat-lover and for some reason thought this meant I was a dog-lover.....................it didn't.

My dog wasn't particularly dirty, but I HATED walking him..especially in cold weather. And I don't really like that a dog wants *you* for interaction; much too needy and dependent. He was also super neurotic and jittery. I couldn't handle it!

I suffered for about 5 years, but now the dog's in a better place and we're both better off.

[Anonymous]

Oh my gosh the pp reminded me of something. When our now 5 year old DD was a baby, our dog constantly got into the diaper dekor (or whatever) and ate all of the dirty diapers. We'd come home to 10 diapers strewn around with holes where the poop had been. That was fun to clean up.
Oh, and I loved it how when the kids were crawling their little sticky fingers would attract the dog fur and of course, they'd put the fingers in their mouth. I guess that's how the dog fur got into their poop.
Wow, good times. Now I'm going to go downstairs and reprimand the dog for getting into the trash.
Have fun, OP! Your home will not longer be pristine. That is for sure.

[Anonymous]

OP, You might be a little too OCD for a dog. It gets messy and they leave stains. You will need to devote a lot of time to training or pay for a class $$$$$.

Don't forget about the giardia blowouts too...

[Anonymous]

OP ditto the PPs who say now is probably not the right time for you and DH to get a dog.

Dogs are like kids, they cost a lot, are high maintenance and make a mess. We get dogs for the love.

http://m.npr.org/story/140598522?url=/2011/09/20/140598522/hounded-by-grief-over-a-canine-companion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of the PPs with two dogs. Hearing that you are planning to TTC I definitely recommend that you not get a dog now. We had our dogs for years before we had our baby. We adore the dogs but they drove us NUTS when DD was an infant. The dogs got all nutty with a baby in the house, we were afraid one of them might hurt her, the barking during naptime waking the baby who already didn't nap well - there were so many times that I fantasized about getting rid of the dogs, or thought I might have to for the safety of the baby. We did manage to keep them, but it was a ton of work. I would never recommend that anyone who is planning to have a baby in the near future get a dog. Wait until your kid(s) are older. By then your kids will have broken down your need for a pristine house and you will have the time and energy that a dog requires.

Agree 100%! We have 2 dogs and 2 cats. We love them dearly, and they are family to us. Luckily, our pets were older/adjusted to each other when we had our son, but it was still a big pain to have them around while adjusting to life with an infant.

My memory: being exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed and THEN realizing the litter box needed to be cleaned, the dogs needed to be walked, and they had found ways to act out since they were feeling neglected (rightfully so). NOT FUN.

My strong recommendation would be to have the baby first, and then see if you are still game to add a dog to the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, You might be a little too OCD for a dog. It gets messy and they leave stains.

So you just have stained furniture and mud/debris on the floors? I guess the only person I know who has a dog has such an immaculate house....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Don't forget about the giardia blowouts too...

OMG!!! This had me ROFLMAO. We have two dogs and we've had several giardia blowouts this year already. No fun! And don't forget, if they have giardia, you have to disinfect the entire house because YOU can catch it, too.