Have you ever regretted getting your dog?

[Anonymous]

well, sometimes when you have to clean up poop or vomit or deal with a vet bill, you wonder why on earth you ever signed up for this. But that moment passes.

If your financial situation changes, then yes it's a problem.

[Anonymous]

yes. and I am an animal lover. we adopted a rescue mutt (part terrier, part schnauzer) five years ago.

the dog. DOES. NOT. STOP. BARKING. we have tried everything under the sun -- and recently resorted to an electric shock collar which my husband resisted for the first 4.5 years because he thought it was cruel. Dog barked right through it and paid no attention to shocks.

It is a very high strung animal and has really, truly made our home life much more stressful. Imagine having a barking and/or whining dog as the backdrop to almost everything you do all day long.

Dog has been wonderful with our two small boys who aren't super easy on him, but it makes it difficult to host dinner parties, playdates, leave the house with all humans for an event or even hug each other (dog barks at that too for some reason). We do not have thousands of dollars to spend on a fancy trainer -- did classes ourselves but literally nothing has worked.

[Anonymous]

What about the idea of a chip activated doggie door so the dog can go in the backyard when he pleases? Does that cut down on the walking?

[Anonymous]

I had to put my dog down today. He had cancer earlier in the year and we paid out the nose for the surgery. The vet was confident she got it all and seemed to be recovering nicely, but on Saturday we knew something was wrong and that we were losing him soon.

I really hurt and because of this pain I'm feeling I regret ever getting the goober.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to put my dog down today. He had cancer earlier in the year and we paid out the nose for the surgery. The vet was confident she got it all and seemed to be recovering nicely, but on Saturday we knew something was wrong and that we were losing him soon.

I really hurt and because of this pain I'm feeling I regret ever getting the goober.

I am so sorry. I hope you find some peace, and are able to look back fondly on your time with him.

[Anonymous]

My boss probably doesn't, but she gets to leave all day and I'm the nanny who has to train an annoying peeing barking chewing shedding puppy while caring for the kids. Plus I have to take it to the vet, dog parks, play groups, training etc. So yes, I really regret my boss getting a puppy and dumping it on me, but I'm sure she thinks the dog is great for the hour she plays with it a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the idea of a chip activated doggie door so the dog can go in the backyard when he pleases? Does that cut down on the walking?

If you're asking me, the PP with the teenager who resents coming home after work, I think that might work if we lived in a house with a backyard. It happens that we don't.

[Anonymous]

I regretted getting my dog for the first 6 months...and now I can't imagine life without her. If I had to do it over, I would not get a puppy but now that we are out of that phase she is a joy and it's nice to come home every day to someone that is thrilled to see me. Yes, it means I have to come straight home from work, we can't leave the house for the whole day on the weekend unless we do daycare (which we do), there is a lot of fur, slobber, and dog park dust to clean up, and as a giant breed, food and vet bills are expensive. All of the inconveniences are totally worth it because she has turned out to be an amazing family member. We put in a ton of work with training (because who wants an unruly 140-pound beast?) and we looked at her as our "practice child" to get us ready for waking up early, sharing responsibility, etc. I know a dog is not as much work as a kid, but after growing up with dogs, I'd forgotten how much work they can be. Again, totally worth it and I can't believe I ever regretted getting her as much as I did.

[Anonymous]

We got our dog as a puppy. I don't ever regret her. We picked the cutest puppy and she has grown into the cutest dog. She has always been a great dog too, never ruined anything as a puppy. Yeah, she's expensive and can be a lot of work at times, but she also makes all of us very happy. She's 5 years old now. I would get another one just like her if anything ever happened to her.

[Anonymous]

I loved our dog. She passed away a few months ago. I miss her completely, but at the moment, I do not miss having a dog. I mean, I miss the good parts, but I do not miss all the responsibility. Given all of the care she needed at the end and the constant poop clean up inside), I admit, part of me was relieved when it was over.

I think most people do not regret it, if they go into it with a full understanding of the trade offs. Dogs are awesome, but they also are a lot if responsibility. So just make sure you understand that it means walks every day. You have to get the dog out, several times a day, in all weather. You can no longer plan last minute vacations unless you have a very flexible dog sitter. And you never know when you will find vomit or poop on the floor when they are sick.

You also will have a friendly face full of love, every time ypu come home, even if you only left 5 minutes ago. And I never felt unsafe in my house when my dog was there.

[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'm the pp who got sad - and I don't mean to police what people are saying. I think it's good to be honest, and that life is complicated, so you're going to have complicated feelings.

I'm just sad that people feel this way. I guess, knock wood, we've just been really lucky with our pets, that they've fit in with our lives so well, and so we've been spared that feeling.

We have been long term fostering a dog - going on 5 or 6 months now - for someone whose husband was in the hospital, and then died, and who is now dealing with some other stuff. This dog doesn't fit in with our lives quite as easily - it feels different having this dog in the house. It's harder, for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had to put my dog down today. He had cancer earlier in the year and we paid out the nose for the surgery. The vet was confident she got it all and seemed to be recovering nicely, but on Saturday we knew something was wrong and that we were losing him soon.

I really hurt and because of this pain I'm feeling I regret ever getting the goober.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

There are definitely moments when I feel a twinge of regret regarding the dog, including when he chases my son and bites his ankles, when I look at all of the furniture that he's destroyed, and when he wakes us up early every morning. However, it's also been a great experiencing having him. DS is an only child, and he and the dog have a ridiculously close relationship. (that is sometimes love-hate!) The dog has cost us an arm and a leg and takes up a lot of time, but I'm hoping he'll mellow as he gets older. Love that silly dog, despite what a nightmare he can be!

[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.

Seriously, are you expressing sanctimony because posters are *feeling* regret about their dog? They are not saying the dog is not abused, or loved.

One of the basic lessons in parenting classes is that you can't control your feelings but you can control your behavior. PPs here are doing exactly that. Don't make them feel bad for expressing their feelings about a dog in an anonymous forum.

Hey - I didn't mean to be sanctimonious. I was just expressing my own feelings about having a dog, which is that no, I don't feel regret - and I am surprised and sad to find that other people do feel it so much. I feel sad that people have that feeling- like I would feel sad to find out that someone got married and didn't like their spouse. Not that I can't empathize, but that I am sorry that both parties to the situation are experiencing something less than optimal.

I'm sure the pets are still very well cared for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boss [kids] probably doesn't, but she gets to leave all day and I'm the nanny who has to train an annoying peeing barking chewing shedding puppy while caring for the kids. Plus I have to take it to the vet, dog parks, play groups, training etc. So yes, I really regret my boss getting a puppy and dumping it on me, but I'm sure she thinks the dog is great for the hour she plays with it a day.

+1 My kids which is why I will NEVER get another puppy.