Have you ever regretted getting your dog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regret getting my dog, even though he's a sweetheart and I loved him to death. I got him when I had a kid in elementary school. He fit into our life perfectly. We went hiking together on the weekends, he came to soccer practice and he and I did laps around the field while the kids practiced. He motivated us to keep going to the playground a little longer. When my kid started middle school, it made coming home to an empty house a little easier, which was really nice.

Now, I have a high schooler, and it's totally different. Every day making sure the dog is cared for is a pain. The kid simply isn't home enough to do it. So, I'm left to rush home to the suburbs between work and going to watch their game. If my kids are out for late night play practice, I can't run errands or go to happy hour with my colleagues or stay late to finish things, because of the dog. There's a constant negotiation about who is going to mess up their schedule when.

The dog is 8. In a few years the kid will be gone, and I"ll have 100% care for him. I have huge regrets.

Wow, this makes me so sad for your dog. To go from being included in trips to the park and running laps at soccer practice to being a burden that brings no joy must be really sad...

My own teens (HS and MS) love our dogs and help out with them all the time. They are very much a part of our family and, yes, I still like to walk them.

How nice for you. Now stop trying to guilt-trip PP. She's allowed to have a life that doesn't revolve around her dog. Her kid is not helpful with the dog anymore and she feel burdened by it. I would in her shoes, too.

You lack empathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth did so many of you get dogs? Did you know beforehand that they're not just a cute accessory?

I really don't understand how people just jump into getting a dog without knowing and accepting what it entails.

. Hi- I'm the poster with the highly stressed dog with diarrhea. This is my third dog , so I have experience. I love her and spend approx 5000 a year on vet bills and boarding, so please don't think I'm a novice. No one can predict what a dog will mature into.

Metronidazole helps my dog who gets stress diarrhea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make it easier on yourself by getting an older dog. They are usually trained, loving, in dire need of rescue, easier on the household furniture, calmer and sleep through the night. Anything older than 1.5 should work.

That really depends. We've always adopted somewhat older dogs (1.5-2.5 years) and quite frankly there was probably a reason each of them had been given up. One dog who must have been hungry for a long time ruined quite a bit of furniture chewing on things. Lots of anxiety. Lots of barking. Lots of foraging for food outside the food bowl. Loved them all, but they've been hard. I write this because I think people should have open eyes when they adopt a dog so that they're prepared. Hate the thought of dogs being returned to the shelter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is making me so sad. I've never regretted having my dog for a second.

Sure, having him requires planning our schedules a little differently - and no one likes being woken up at 3 in the morning when the dog isn't feeling well and needs to go out.

But our dog, who we adopted when he was about 2, brings so much joy, and fun, and love, and goofiness to our lives. I love our lives with him.

You don't have to feel too sad! I'm a PP who said, if I was speaking truthfully, that I've regretted my dog and my husband moreso. But he is spoiled and gets so much love & attention. It's just that I've regretted it from time to time.....I'd love to sleep in! I'd love to take off for the whole day w/ my family and not worry about getting back in time to feed him! i'd love clean floors! should we not have gotten him? we probably shouldn't have. but we did, and I'm open to all the love he brings to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regret getting my dog, even though he's a sweetheart and I loved him to death. I got him when I had a kid in elementary school. He fit into our life perfectly. We went hiking together on the weekends, he came to soccer practice and he and I did laps around the field while the kids practiced. He motivated us to keep going to the playground a little longer. When my kid started middle school, it made coming home to an empty house a little easier, which was really nice.

Now, I have a high schooler, and it's totally different. Every day making sure the dog is cared for is a pain. The kid simply isn't home enough to do it. So, I'm left to rush home to the suburbs between work and going to watch their game. If my kids are out for late night play practice, I can't run errands or go to happy hour with my colleagues or stay late to finish things, because of the dog. There's a constant negotiation about who is going to mess up their schedule when.

The dog is 8. In a few years the kid will be gone, and I"ll have 100% care for him. I have huge regrets.

Wow, this makes me so sad for your dog. To go from being included in trips to the park and running laps at soccer practice to being a burden that brings no joy must be really sad...

My own teens (HS and MS) love our dogs and help out with them all the time. They are very much a part of our family and, yes, I still like to walk them.

How nice for you. Now stop trying to guilt-trip PP. She's allowed to have a life that doesn't revolve around her dog. Her kid is not helpful with the dog anymore and she feel burdened by it. I would in her shoes, too.

You lack empathy.

I'm the top PP. I never said that my kid doesn't help with the dog. My son walks him every morning, and every evening. The dog sleeps in his bed. But the reality is that when you have a kid who plays HS sports, or is involved in HS theater (or any number of other activities, but those are the 2 my kid does), they are gone from the home longer than the hours a dog should really be alone. Should I insist he goes back to playing at the playground after school rather than running with the track team, just because it works for the dog? Should I tell him not to go off to college, because of the dog?

Your youngest is many years younger than my kid. Come back when you have a 17 year old, and tell me if they're home from school at 3 every day to walk the dog.

[Anonymous]

We have a poodle who developed a medical condition that requires an expensive shot every month. He has addison's disease, which is apprently common among poodles and he gets some kind of steriod shot every month because his adrenal gland doesn't work. It's over 150 dollars a month and giving him away, putting him down etc wasn't an option so now we have this ongoing expense that we never anticipated. I regret not doing better research. When our friend expires, we will not be getting a new friend. too expensive especially once we retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I regret mine constantly. They are loving, easy to care for, and sweet animals.

It's the expense that is killing me. I have two dogs and my average annual expense is $2500 per dog. That goes up dramatically if I go on a longer vacation. Putting the dogs in a boarding facility that I like is about $40 per dog per night. It often ends up being cheaper to fly my parents to town (from Canada) to care for the pets rather than board them.

I was divorced about 4 years ago, before that I had plenty of money to pay for all the expenses. I love my dogs and they bring me a ton of joy, but I won't get more dogs when these ones die of old age.

same

we have 2 dogs we got when we had children. I love them but they are a lot of work and I just don't have the time. The kids are gone, we are separated, the dogs just make a mess of of the house, our backyard is a lot of mud, especially this morning. I never have enought time from work, barely getting by without getting fired. and expense is also like $1500 per dog for just checkups, heartworms, flea and tick medicines.

if you both work don't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never regretted it for a second.

The "giving the dog away" people piss me off to no end. What did you think you were getting? But, hey, don't worry, someone else will handle your obligation.

+1000. Like in Lilo & Stich: "Family is forever." You don't "get rid of" your annoying kids, don't give up on your furry family member. You are his whole world.

Animals aren't family. Animals are pets. You certainly get rid of animals if they adversely impact the lives of human beings, who are much more important.

+1 Dogs are not more important than the humans who take care of them. And dogs and kids are NOT the same. People who say that are nuts.

[Anonymous]

We love our dog. She's our third since we were married. All have required a commitment on our part, but we knew that going in. For that reason, we got a "mid-sized" dog, which works for us in terms of the size of our yard and how much exercise the dog needs. Training a dog requires time and consistency, but is actually pretty fun and rewarding. When we travel, we've found a great boarding option for our dog, but we also have a couple of back-ups which we're comfortable with in terms of her care and safety. Boarding is expensive, as are vet bills, but having a dog is something we have chosen to spend our money on.

Our kids are now in high school and college; all 3 play sports, but they still help out with the dog. She's a shedder and they all learned very early on to brush her and to run the vacuum cleaner. The latter is a good skill to send your kids off to college with. One thing that definitely makes having a dog easier is that I work at home, so the dog isn't left alone every day all day. On days when I'm out of the house seeing clients all day, I take her to doggy day care or find a neighborhood middle schooler to walk her and play with her after school.

None of this is a burden -- in fact, it's pretty easy to do. In return, our dog has given us years of love and happy memories. When she goes to dog heaven, you bet we'll get another dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regret getting my dog, even though he's a sweetheart and I loved him to death. I got him when I had a kid in elementary school. He fit into our life perfectly. We went hiking together on the weekends, he came to soccer practice and he and I did laps around the field while the kids practiced. He motivated us to keep going to the playground a little longer. When my kid started middle school, it made coming home to an empty house a little easier, which was really nice.

Now, I have a high schooler, and it's totally different. Every day making sure the dog is cared for is a pain. The kid simply isn't home enough to do it. So, I'm left to rush home to the suburbs between work and going to watch their game. If my kids are out for late night play practice, I can't run errands or go to happy hour with my colleagues or stay late to finish things, because of the dog. There's a constant negotiation about who is going to mess up their schedule when.

The dog is 8. In a few years the kid will be gone, and I"ll have 100% care for him. I have huge regrets.

Wow, this makes me so sad for your dog. To go from being included in trips to the park and running laps at soccer practice to being a burden that brings no joy must be really sad...

My own teens (HS and MS) love our dogs and help out with them all the time. They are very much a part of our family and, yes, I still like to walk them.

How nice for you. Now stop trying to guilt-trip PP. She's allowed to have a life that doesn't revolve around her dog. Her kid is not helpful with the dog anymore and she feel burdened by it. I would in her shoes, too.

You lack empathy.

I'm the top PP. I never said that my kid doesn't help with the dog. My son walks him every morning, and every evening. The dog sleeps in his bed. But the reality is that when you have a kid who plays HS sports, or is involved in HS theater (or any number of other activities, but those are the 2 my kid does), they are gone from the home longer than the hours a dog should really be alone. Should I insist he goes back to playing at the playground after school rather than running with the track team, just because it works for the dog? Should I tell him not to go off to college, because of the dog?

Your youngest is many years younger than my kid. Come back when you have a 17 year old, and tell me if they're home from school at 3 every day to walk the dog.

I've got a 16 year old and an almost 14 year old. They have both been involved in a variety of activities and I do "get" that our schedules change as they get older. If your kiddo is taking the dog for a couple of walks every day then your dog is getting attention. It wasn't clear from your first post that that was the case. I'm sure that you would agree that it would be very sad for a dog to go from getting lots of attention to no attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is making me so sad. I've never regretted having my dog for a second.

Sure, having him requires planning our schedules a little differently - and no one likes being woken up at 3 in the morning when the dog isn't feeling well and needs to go out.

But our dog, who we adopted when he was about 2, brings so much joy, and fun, and love, and goofiness to our lives. I love our lives with him.

You don't have to feel too sad! I'm a PP who said, if I was speaking truthfully, that I've regretted my dog and my husband moreso. But he is spoiled and gets so much love & attention. It's just that I've regretted it from time to time.....I'd love to sleep in! I'd love to take off for the whole day w/ my family and not worry about getting back in time to feed him! i'd love clean floors! should we not have gotten him? we probably shouldn't have. but we did, and I'm open to all the love he brings to us.

+1. I'm the PP that talked about regretting our second dog and he has a really great life! We don't take our frustration out on him or let it change how we treat him but if we had it to do over again, we would not have adopted him.

It's funny, on the parenting forum, you can pretty regularly see people stating that no, if they had it to do over again, they wouldn't have children or married their spouse, and other posters understand. However, you state you regret getting a pet and people get upset. Sometimes you make decisions you can't unmake that don't end up working out as well as you'd hoped, it doesn't make you a bad person. How you react when the choice doesn't turn out the way you thought is what matters. No one on this thread has stated "Oh yea, I hated our dog so I brought it to the pound." It's just some people being honest that yes, they regret the choice to get a dog but they're making it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth did so many of you get dogs? Did you know beforehand that they're not just a cute accessory?

I really don't understand how people just jump into getting a dog without knowing and accepting what it entails.

. Hi- I'm the poster with the highly stressed dog with diarrhea. This is my third dog , so I have experience. I love her and spend approx 5000 a year on vet bills and boarding, so please don't think I'm a novice. No one can predict what a dog will mature into.

Metronidazole helps my dog who gets stress diarrhea.

That's nice- consider yourself lucky. My sister has a dog with diarrhea. They tried every drug imaginable and nothing worked. She always complained about how much he was ruining her life but she felt too guilty to get rid of him. When he finally died, it was such a relief for the whole family. It's a horrible situation to be in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is making me so sad. I've never regretted having my dog for a second.

Sure, having him requires planning our schedules a little differently - and no one likes being woken up at 3 in the morning when the dog isn't feeling well and needs to go out.

But our dog, who we adopted when he was about 2, brings so much joy, and fun, and love, and goofiness to our lives. I love our lives with him.

You don't have to feel too sad! I'm a PP who said, if I was speaking truthfully, that I've regretted my dog and my husband moreso. But he is spoiled and gets so much love & attention. It's just that I've regretted it from time to time.....I'd love to sleep in! I'd love to take off for the whole day w/ my family and not worry about getting back in time to feed him! i'd love clean floors! should we not have gotten him? we probably shouldn't have. but we did, and I'm open to all the love he brings to us.

+1. I'm the PP that talked about regretting our second dog and he has a really great life! We don't take our frustration out on him or let it change how we treat him but if we had it to do over again, we would not have adopted him.

It's funny, on the parenting forum, you can pretty regularly see people stating that no, if they had it to do over again, they wouldn't have children or married their spouse, and other posters understand. However, you state you regret getting a pet and people get upset. Sometimes you make decisions you can't unmake that don't end up working out as well as you'd hoped, it doesn't make you a bad person. How you react when the choice doesn't turn out the way you thought is what matters. No one on this thread has stated "Oh yea, I hated our dog so I brought it to the pound." It's just some people being honest that yes, they regret the choice to get a dog but they're making it work.

I think even those of us who do not regret our dogs have moments when it would be nice to sleep in or do an overnight in the city w/o having to find a dog sitter. I get it, I really do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regret getting my dog, even though he's a sweetheart and I loved him to death. I got him when I had a kid in elementary school. He fit into our life perfectly. We went hiking together on the weekends, he came to soccer practice and he and I did laps around the field while the kids practiced. He motivated us to keep going to the playground a little longer. When my kid started middle school, it made coming home to an empty house a little easier, which was really nice.

Now, I have a high schooler, and it's totally different. Every day making sure the dog is cared for is a pain. The kid simply isn't home enough to do it. So, I'm left to rush home to the suburbs between work and going to watch their game. If my kids are out for late night play practice, I can't run errands or go to happy hour with my colleagues or stay late to finish things, because of the dog. There's a constant negotiation about who is going to mess up their schedule when.

The dog is 8. In a few years the kid will be gone, and I"ll have 100% care for him. I have huge regrets.

Wow, this makes me so sad for your dog. To go from being included in trips to the park and running laps at soccer practice to being a burden that brings no joy must be really sad...

My own teens (HS and MS) love our dogs and help out with them all the time. They are very much a part of our family and, yes, I still like to walk them.

How nice for you. Now stop trying to guilt-trip PP. She's allowed to have a life that doesn't revolve around her dog. Her kid is not helpful with the dog anymore and she feel burdened by it. I would in her shoes, too.

You lack empathy.

I'm the top PP. I never said that my kid doesn't help with the dog. My son walks him every morning, and every evening. The dog sleeps in his bed. But the reality is that when you have a kid who plays HS sports, or is involved in HS theater (or any number of other activities, but those are the 2 my kid does), they are gone from the home longer than the hours a dog should really be alone. Should I insist he goes back to playing at the playground after school rather than running with the track team, just because it works for the dog? Should I tell him not to go off to college, because of the dog?

Your youngest is many years younger than my kid. Come back when you have a 17 year old, and tell me if they're home from school at 3 every day to walk the dog.

Yeah but your kid will still be devastated when said dog passes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regret getting my dog, even though he's a sweetheart and I loved him to death. I got him when I had a kid in elementary school. He fit into our life perfectly. We went hiking together on the weekends, he came to soccer practice and he and I did laps around the field while the kids practiced. He motivated us to keep going to the playground a little longer. When my kid started middle school, it made coming home to an empty house a little easier, which was really nice.

Now, I have a high schooler, and it's totally different. Every day making sure the dog is cared for is a pain. The kid simply isn't home enough to do it. So, I'm left to rush home to the suburbs between work and going to watch their game. If my kids are out for late night play practice, I can't run errands or go to happy hour with my colleagues or stay late to finish things, because of the dog. There's a constant negotiation about who is going to mess up their schedule when.

The dog is 8. In a few years the kid will be gone, and I"ll have 100% care for him. I have huge regrets.

Wow, this makes me so sad for your dog. To go from being included in trips to the park and running laps at soccer practice to being a burden that brings no joy must be really sad...

My own teens (HS and MS) love our dogs and help out with them all the time. They are very much a part of our family and, yes, I still like to walk them.

How nice for you. Now stop trying to guilt-trip PP. She's allowed to have a life that doesn't revolve around her dog. Her kid is not helpful with the dog anymore and she feel burdened by it. I would in her shoes, too.

You lack empathy.

I'm the top PP. I never said that my kid doesn't help with the dog. My son walks him every morning, and every evening. The dog sleeps in his bed. But the reality is that when you have a kid who plays HS sports, or is involved in HS theater (or any number of other activities, but those are the 2 my kid does), they are gone from the home longer than the hours a dog should really be alone. Should I insist he goes back to playing at the playground after school rather than running with the track team, just because it works for the dog? Should I tell him not to go off to college, because of the dog?

Your youngest is many years younger than my kid. Come back when you have a 17 year old, and tell me if they're home from school at 3 every day to walk the dog.

I've got a 16 year old and an almost 14 year old. They have both been involved in a variety of activities and I do "get" that our schedules change as they get older. If your kiddo is taking the dog for a couple of walks every day then your dog is getting attention. It wasn't clear from your first post that that was the case. I'm sure that you would agree that it would be very sad for a dog to go from getting lots of attention to no attention.

I left for college and only saw my childhood dog every few weeks when I came home to visit. Each time I was met with great enthusiasm. Dogs wait for you. She was home with my mother but she was waiting for me to come home all the time - they wait for their favorite people. Endlessly.
When I got married we moved the dog in with us and we were both so devastated when she passed on.