Have you ever regretted getting your dog?

[Anonymous]

We are adopting our first puppy soon. Someone the other day told me how she feels guilty a lot and that it's a huge pain. I do work, but will get a dog walker etc and I can be home every day by 4. Starting to get nervous, but I still think it will be good for the family. Pls share your experiences . Thx

[Anonymous]

Regret? No. But it has made things more difficult. Particuarly travel. And you have to be home on a regular basis to feed and walk them.

[Anonymous]

Adopted a dog ten years ago. Then had three kids. Yes, it'd be easier if we didn't have her, but she's a loving animal and helps with home security. I think dogs are definitely worth the work. Clearly many others agree!

[Anonymous]

Don't get a dog if you don't have the time/money to train them.

[Anonymous]

No, I have never regretted getting my dog. I had to wait until I was in my 40s, so I had really thought about it! When I am sick, or the weather is crummy, I might not totally enjoy taking him for a walk. That's about it, though. He forces all of us to spend more time outside and to pay attention to the present. He makes every get-together with others more fun, because he is so enthusiastic. He and I have a million private jokes. Like when I can't see him in the yard I whistle the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and he comes running super fast like its his theme song. He's awesome!

Lot of work as a puppy, though. He's middle-aged now, and I can see he's slowing down. Hopefully he'll live a long life.

[Anonymous]

Yes I did. Lovely dog, but that dog lifestyle wasn't for me. I gave him to my mom and grandma.

[Anonymous]

Not for one second. And if I could have her back, I would (RIP).

As a PP said, an animal forces you to live in the moment. To not be wrapped up in what could be, what could have been or how things "ought" to be. Things just are.

They get to know you and are incredibly sensitive.

They are awesome!

[Anonymous]

Right now, yes, but mostly it's the triple-whammy of him being a puppy still, and me being very pregnant with our third and having some complications that have really limited my mobility. I'm sure I won't always feel this way. But, yeah, he's a real pain in the butt right now.

[Anonymous]

I have had in the moment thoughts of how much easier life would be without her. But regrets? No.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. She is such a cool girl and an important part of our family. That said, however, she is very well behaved. I would go nuts with a poorly trained dog.

[Anonymous]

No I don't regret my dog. But we adopted a 9 month old pup 5 years before we had kids. We skipped the hard puppy months and had plenty of years to get her trained and have her be a little older before we had kids.

One of my friends got a dog when she was pregnant - it went up for adoption soon after the baby came. Another friend is pregnant now and having a very difficult time with her puppy. She won't give the dog away, but does regret the timing. Another friend has older kids and got a puppy and seems a bit overwhelmed since her kids have lots of activities, but she is making it work.

[Anonymous]

No regrets. We have 3 dogs and the only thing that I regret right now is not being able to take them places when we travel. The expense of boarding or getting them a sitter is prohibitive.

Luckily, we're home bodies anyway so we don't travel that much to begin with. The dogs fit right into that lifestyle. Nothing better than a loyal dog.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I regret getting our younger dog (we have two). He has separation anxiety, hates everyone that isn't my husband or me, resource guards, doesn't like other dogs besides our older dog, and has been a huge source of stress in our lives. We got him from a shelter and he was so shut down and freaked out at the shelter, we had no indication of what his personality was really like.

With a lot of training and medication, he's gotten somewhat better, but if I had it to do over again, I'd stick to just the one dog. Our older dog can be a bit of a nut sometimes and has some health issues but he is so much easier than the younger one.

TL : DR - Some dogs are easy breezy and some dogs are just a ton of work. It all depends on what kind of dog you get.