Anonymous wrote:We have a 2-year old golden mix that we rescued when she was a puppy. I love, love, love her, but the extra work is no joke, and there are parts of the house that are slowly getting destroyed (the back door paint, her favorite window sill for gazing, etc). My kids, ages 9 and 12, do about zero dog care, so it's 70% on me and 30% on my husband because I mostly work from home, with some travel. We have a large fenced-in yard, but the dog also needs regular exercise and some serious fetch playing. I would probably do it again, but I'm done with cats. My 6-year old beloved kitty will be my last; of course, I'm expecting him to outlive the dog (!).

All rescue dogs are either Golden’s or corgis. Yeah.

We have a 2-year old golden mix that we rescued when she was a puppy. I love, love, love her, but the extra work is no joke, and there are parts of the house that are slowly getting destroyed (the back door paint, her favorite window sill for gazing, etc). My kids, ages 9 and 12, do about zero dog care, so it's 70% on me and 30% on my husband because I mostly work from home, with some travel. We have a large fenced-in yard, but the dog also needs regular exercise and some serious fetch playing. I would probably do it again, but I'm done with cats. My 6-year old beloved kitty will be my last; of course, I'm expecting him to outlive the dog (!).

Anonymous wrote:OP you get what you pay for in dogs. Adult dogs up for adoption usually have serious problems mental or physical. YOU will be taking care of the dog if like 99% of other moms. Get a small non shedding dog. Bichon is the lowest maintenance dog.

Not true at all. I have fostered several and adopted an adult dog, none have had any serious issues.... OP, with fostering you can first of all practice if having/caring for a dog is doable, and also, if you foster a dog you fall in love with you can adopt that one. That's what we did and he is the perfect dog - chill, low-medium energy, doesn't bark, doesn't destroy things, friendly with everyone.
All our fosters have been potty trained already and most knew basic commands too. Even if you don't foster, any legitimate rescue does a good job with matching the appropriate dog with family - their goal is for the dog not to be returned so they do due diligence to asses your lifestyle and the dog that would best fit that lifestyle.

Anonymous wrote:OP you get what you pay for in dogs. Adult dogs up for adoption usually have serious problems mental or physical. YOU will be taking care of the dog if like 99% of other moms. Get a small non shedding dog. Bichon is the lowest maintenance dog.

This is biased. Not all older dogs have problems. Friends of mine always adopt from a senior dog sanctuary and they have a 2yo now and the dogs have all been great.

Get a cat.

Anonymous wrote:OP you get what you pay for in dogs. Adult dogs up for adoption usually have serious problems mental or physical. YOU will be taking care of the dog if like 99% of other moms. Get a small non shedding dog. Bichon is the lowest maintenance dog.

This hasn't been true in our experience. We've rescued adult dogs and they have not had these issues.

Anonymous wrote:I'd get an older, more chill dog that is good with kids. Try fostering. You get to try a dog before you buy. An experienced foster coordinator will know what dogs to send you and which to not.

Word of advice, always give the flea preventative on day one when you get a new dog in the house. I have fostered with this group and had really nice dogs come through who have been good with my kids: https://worthydog.org/adopt/available-dogs/

We have done 16 fosters so far.

We got a great family dog through Worthy Dog. They were great!

Plenty of people work full time and have a dog. Definitely hire a dog walker for midday walks. I find it cruel to leave a dog alone for more than 5-6 hours on its own, but others will disagree with me. My dog LOVES her midday walker!

Go into it with your eyes open if you do decide to get a dog. It is so much fun but so much work.

Op here. Yes, we would be around in evenings and on weekends. And with three kids, the dog would be showered with love. I’m just debating the responsibility, since I agree it would largely fall on me, and that there’d be no turning back.

We have a bichon and he is great for this kind of set up in that he does not care a bit about taking a long walk and is happy with a quick walk around the block or a jaunt out into our (small) yard. They were bred to be house dogs and it shows. Agree not to get a puppy unless you can spend a ton of time at home early on. (They also can live a long time. Ours is 14 and still healthy and happy.)

OP you get what you pay for in dogs. Adult dogs up for adoption usually have serious problems mental or physical. YOU will be taking care of the dog if like 99% of other moms. Get a small non shedding dog. Bichon is the lowest maintenance dog.

No, we gt a golden when kids were about the same age as yours. They cared for all of 2,3 months and all fell on me. And we live in a suburb with lots of forest areas and long walks are a possibility. How are you going to talk the dog several times per day? You need a dog walker. You will be tired at night and trust me your kids will flake on walks within a month. I love my dog, but unless your kids are not typical DMV kids even nice ones, they will not help at all. And the mess? No matter how much you vaccum and clean his fur is everywhere.

I'd get an older, more chill dog that is good with kids. Try fostering. You get to try a dog before you buy. An experienced foster coordinator will know what dogs to send you and which to not.

Word of advice, always give the flea preventative on day one when you get a new dog in the house. I have fostered with this group and had really nice dogs come through who have been good with my kids: https://worthydog.org/adopt/available-dogs/

We have done 16 fosters so far.

Make sure your kids aren’t allergic, or you aren’t.

Not crazy if you’re home after work/school. Yes crazy if you have evening activities.

Hire a dog walker, get an adult dog (agree with 5+), and plan to spend significant time with it in the evenings to make up for the work day.