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.

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.

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.

Yes, totally regret our dog. I'm still seriously considering giving him away for all the reasons others with regret have expressed in this thread.

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.

.

I'm 20:28. This isn't our first or even our second dog, but we've been dog-free for a few years and it's also been a long time since we had a puppy (nearly 20 years), so it is an adjustment. Imagine if you had teens and all of a sudden a newborn again. You've forgotten a lot of the craziness and sleeplessness and stress of that little creature.

my dog is a lot of work because he spent the first two years of his life basically tied up outside. so he has a lot of anxiety. that said, i don't ever regret him for a second. he's such a love, adores us, and even when he wakes me up at 7am on a weekend i think he's cute. that said, we do spend quite a bit of money on him. he's a big dog and his anxiety gives him some health issues so he's expensive. and we like to travel a lot. we have met someone who stays in our home with him when we go away, but that's more $$. luckily, we have the means.

so definitely no regrets, but understanding the financial commitment is important, particularly if you rescue - you just never know what you're going to get.

I regret my dogs on a daily basis. I'm kind to them but if they both dropped dead I wouldn't be sad.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

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

Great answer. We have a 6mo old lab. So much work and there are moments when I think to myself that this was a crazy idea and life was so much easier a few months ago. And then I see him playing with my 5yr old DS and remember that this is beautiful.

The first 6 months are the hardest! After that it slowly starts getting easier until you get to the point where they aren't waking you up before dawn every morning and you realize that you can be gone from the house for a good part of the day without having to rush home. Hang in there.

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.

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

Great answer. We have a 6mo old lab. So much work and there are moments when I think to myself that this was a crazy idea and life was so much easier a few months ago. And then I see him playing with my 5yr old DS and remember that this is beautiful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regret our dog who is highly anxious and high energy. It loves all dogs and people, but needs to run for hours everyday. We have walkers but it's never enough . I should have chosen a laid back dog. She has diarrhea due to stress often.

Dog park time may help - free running

c. We do Saturday and Sunday for two hous each day

I have never regretted having a dog for one second. Sure, she is expensive and I have had to adjust my lifestyle to accommodate her needs. I don't travel as much, for sure.

But my daily life is so much richer because she is here. She throws me a spontaneous dance party of joy every night when I get home.

I'm pretty sure no human will every love me as much.

Anonymous wrote: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.

I got a 5 month old dog when I was pregnant with my first and she was the highlight of our lives for 17 years.
She played with my kids and was 100% loving to them from birth on.
Maybe you just have to pick the right dog. She had energy for walks and outside playtime but in the house she was very calm. She did chew some inappropriate things in her first two years, but never the kids so it was good.

Yes I regretted getting a dog

We now have a cat and I don't regret having her at all (she's a lot cleaner, quieter and lower maintenance, and less aggressive than the dog we had briefly...).

But sometimes she just annoys me, maybe one day per week. When she is looning around knocking things over and running in front of my legs when I'm trying to walk without falling down the stairs.