We have 2 kids in early elementary and I agreed to get a dog because DH really wanted a dog and so did the kids. I agreed, but I thought it was a terrible idea. I was right.

The dog is lovely. She’s well behaved, she is gentle and tolerant with the kids, she’s sweet. But man oh man, it is so much work, and honestly, it’s not rewarding to me at all. I WFH and she spends most of the day curled up at my feet. I know a lot of people would love that. I don’t. I love it when she goes to doggy daycare and I don’t have to think about her for 8 hours. I don’t want to pet her, or play with her. I don’t think it’s sweet when she puts her head in my lap and looks at be lovingly. She is just one more thing to take care of.

I do it all of course. I pet her, I walk her, I take her to play with other dogs, I play with her, I make sure she has the toys and treats she likes best. Everyone said she would grow on me. In 2 years, she hasn’t, and I don’t expect it to change. I would happily rehome her. But the kids adore her, she is ours and I’m stuck with her. Hopefully only for 8-10 more years.

I would strongly echo the idea of practicing by dog-sitting for a week or two. I am the terrible person who rehomed a dog after a few months as it was just too much for our family and we were all miserable. I grew up with dogs and have worked in hands-on care-taking stuff with people for my whole career, so I thought i knew what I was getting into. The kids lost interest fast, and I resented how much less time I had with the kids now that I was constantly caring for the dog. We all missed our freedom to go out when we wanted or stay in when we wanted. I also learned that having an animal in the house is not for everyone. I was bothered by the smells and constantly cleaning as our dog had a parasitic infection that really grossed me out. I had no trouble when the kids were babies and all of the work of that, and everyone told me that all those skills would be transferable onto a dog. It wasn't for me. We took the time to find a great new home for the dog, have stayed in touch with the new family, and were so relieved to move on.

Lots of extra work for you (especially if yiu get a puppy). My kids adore our dog but they cannot really take care of it properly

Anonymous wrote:It’s a pain in the butt. I wouldn’t do it.

It will wake you up early on weekends. Say goodbye to sleeping in.

It will cost you a fortune to board it when you travel.

It will eat the food on your counters and rub all over your sofa

It will eat weird things outside and then throw up on your rug

It will leave its fur all over your house, even in rooms it’s not allowed in. After you vacuum, it will look clean for half a day. Its dander will make your home feel dusty.

It will make noises that will drive you crazy- slurping sounds from cleaning and licking himself, abruptly shaking its head, etc

The vet bills will be astronomical even if you have insurance, which is also expensive

You may get a dog that has behaviors that frustrate you- incessant barking, escaping, destructive chewing, anxiety and whining. Luckily mine is sweet and lazy, but even so it’s a lot.

LOL I love my dogs but all of this is true except 1) with 3 kids, who is used to sleeping in anyway? You go from early riser young kids to teens who need to drive to the middle of no where for an 8 am start of a sports tournament, 2) I trained my dogs not to eat off counters and 3) I chose no shedding dogs (but the grooming costs are crazy).

But yes to everything else! Know what you are getting into. Dog vomit is a thing.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing worse than rich white folks living in a cushy suburb and sending their kids to private school who then decide that the next accessory they need is a designer dog. Can y’all please just do ONE thing for the benefit of greater humanity?

Dogs make for better humans. Dogs teach kids compassion, love, loyalty and care taking.

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and one more thing, OP. If you decide to get a designer dog / puppy instead of a nice rescue, I hope it destroys your house.

OP, I’d go designer if I were you. Knowing exactly what breed you are getting and ensuring that it has been born into a loving, stable home with human handling from day one is a real benefit when you are bringing a dog into a home with many children. Not all rescues are able to handle a transition into a rowdy, kid filled home. In addition, doodles are non shedding which is a huge plus! I say this as someone who has had multiple rescues and several doodles. With kids, breeder all the way IMO.

Anonymous wrote:Assume that YOU will be the one caring for the dog, making sure its fed, walked, trained, not left alone for more than a few hours. It is a commitment. I highly recommend dog sitting and you will be able to get a good idea of the responsibility You are taking on.

I am the pp, I forgot to add I love my dog to pieces, but I understood he would be my responsibility

Assume that YOU will be the one caring for the dog, making sure its fed, walked, trained, not left alone for more than a few hours. It is a commitment. I highly recommend dog sitting and you will be able to get a good idea of the responsibility You are taking on.

Anonymous wrote:I’d never live in a household without a dog. We have two actually, and also have three kids. It is an expense, it is work - veterinary care, feeding, walking, brushing, playing. You have to decide if that’s worth it for you.

In the case of full time workers, I’d also add in the expense of doggy daycare or mid day dog walkers.

+1

I would get 2 dogs for company when you are gone.

Make sure to research the breed before you get one and make sure it fits into your lifestyle.

Dogs are a lot of work, but bring so much joy and love.

Only get one if you truly want one.

Nothing worse than rich white folks living in a cushy suburb and sending their kids to private school who then decide that the next accessory they need is a designer dog. Can y’all please just do ONE thing for the benefit of greater humanity?

its annoying and awesome at the same time.

Anonymous wrote:Also keep in mind that you make a lifetime commitment to that dog no matter what its issues are. All dogs will have some type of behavior issue or quirks. Some more manageable than others. Our last dog was a love bug with the family but very large and aggressive towards others. We literally could not have people over our house for many, many years.

This is our dog! In his senior years he is more mellow, but we could only have playdates (he loved little girls) and rarely hosted adults after a few incidents that made it clear that our dog had really good but inconvenient judgement about people’s character.

You should also ask friends for vet recommendations and call the practices to see if they’re taking new pets. Figure out the closest emergency vet, too. If it’s very far away I guarantee you’ll need it all the time.

+1 to the poster who said you have to restrict or carefully plan daytime outings. For example, we live somewhere with extensive bridge construction that is causing traffic chaos, so we have to rethink every outing to make sure it’s not longer that 4-5 hours away. With traffic it means that even a 2-hour swim practice/pool hangout has to be planned. Some dogs can be home longer but that’s not super fair to them.

Travel is tricky if your dog can’t handle a boarding place (mine was a stray so if he went to one he would think we’d sent him back to a shelter) or is fussy about who he likes to be around. We book our dogsitter before we plan trips and even cancelled a trip abroad once because our former dogsitter had a health problem.

We have the BEST dog. He's half German shepherd, half golden retriever and we rescued him when he was 9 months old so still puppy-is but was fully potty trained. We immediately started 12 weeks of obedience glass and he LOVED it (German shepherds love learning). I grew up with a Saint Bernard for 14 years and he was also a wonderful family dog.

Oh, and one more thing, OP. If you decide to get a designer dog / puppy instead of a nice rescue, I hope it destroys your house.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the reasons above are why we got cats instead. They don’t need walks, you don’t have to potty train them, they are not needy, technology has made it so you can get self cleaning litter boxes, and you can leave them for a few days by themselves, or longer if you can find someone to check on them once a day. Ours don’t meow or make noise and they cuddle and play with our kids. They do sometimes scratch the furniture (even with scratch pads) but we don’t care about that. Ultimately, to be a pet owner, you have to understand it’s an undertaking and there will be sacrifices to your home, and potentially your sleep, and more. I think dogs are more work than cats (depending on the personality of the pet). I love dogs but I understood I wouldn’t be the best dog owner considering we have busy lives and kids and cats made more sense for us. For some of us, the downsides of a pet are totally worth it, but you have to know if it is worth it to you.

God no. Cats are so gross and smelly and zero fun to be around. We hate them. We allow tenants to have dogs but not cats.