Good and Bad of owning a dog

[Boardwalk Jedi]

The bad...dog hair, extra mouth to feed, occasional destruction in the early years

The good...they are awesome, they watch the house when you aren't home, and most important...people like me will take the time to associate with you if you are a dog person. Non-dog people are not worthy of my time.

 

[mrudman]

OP here...

First of all, I'm sorry for taking so long to get back on here...

But THANK YOU all so much for all your replies!!

TONS of excellent information on here, and things for me to think about before I make my final decision.

I apologize but I just don't have the time to go through every post and comment on it, but I do know there were a few concerns that came up in quite a few of your posts...

Many of you had concerns over whether I was on board with having a dog, and my answer to that is YES, I am.... I understand I'll definitely be taking care of this dog as well, and am looking forward to doing so.

Also, it will definitely be an indoor dog.. will be a member of our family. There's no way I could get a dog and have it live outside. The only reason I mentioned my yard and making a 'run' is that it would definitely have a way to get lots of exercise.

Another concern was that in 2 years, my daughter would be going off to college.... she actually has always planned on staying home and going to a local college, so she'll still be around a lot of the time at least for the next 6 years. At that time, I think her and I are going to have to fight over who gets to keep this dog, lol!

I know this is a huge, life-changing decision, and that's why I've been holding back for quite a few years now... I'm recently divorced, and I just feel that maybe now's the time to give my daughter her dream of getting a dog.

Thank you all again for such awesome information and opinions, and am so glad to see so much puppy/dog love here!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think it's great that you want to get a dog for all of you, and I'm excited for you!

Just to clarify, I never thought you'd be keeping the dog outside all the time!

What I was trying to say was that I don't think that the run in the back yard by itself will be sufficient exercise for a young, working type dog (if that's what you get), who will still get bored out there if alone (and take to barking, digging, fence running, etc., all things that are a "job" he can do if you don't give him a better one!).

Dogs like this do best with hard daily exercise with a purpose - running, playing, exploring, swimming, etc.

Dogs who work and play hard, SLEEP hard when they get home, and therefore stay out of trouble.

Dogs who haven't had an opportunity to let out that energy that gets pent up (which is instinctive and they don't know what else to do with) find other ways, and their ways aren't generally going to be acceptable to you - chewing sofas, shoes, toilet paper (inside); and the ones I mentioned above outside, etc.

People say well put them in a crate and they won't cause problems. That's all fine and good, but it still means you have a dog who NEEDS to release energy somehow! The thing is, if you want a balanced dog, you really have to help him channel that energy the way YOU want it. So somewhere in the day, every day, the young, working-type dog needs/does BEST with hard exercise.

More: http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/your-dog-why-exercise-is-important

https://www.chewy.com/petcentral/health-pet-fitness-8-reasons-your-dog-needs-exercise/

Explore dog parks around you. It's nice when they can play with other dogs off-leash.

Dogs also love walks in the woods and on beaches, at parks, on city streets, etc.

The run is fine for pottying and staying out for short periods. Just make sure the dog does not have a choker-type collar on when he goes on it as he could inadvertently strangle himself. Just use a regular properly-fit collar.

 

[Wendy31]

OP here...

First of all, I'm sorry for taking so long to get back on here...

But THANK YOU all so much for all your replies!!

TONS of excellent information on here, and things for me to think about before I make my final decision.

I apologize but I just don't have the time to go through every post and comment on it, but I do know there were a few concerns that came up in quite a few of your posts...

Many of you had concerns over whether I was on board with having a dog, and my answer to that is YES, I am.... I understand I'll definitely be taking care of this dog as well, and am looking forward to doing so.

Also, it will definitely be an indoor dog.. will be a member of our family. There's no way I could get a dog and have it live outside. The only reason I mentioned my yard and making a 'run' is that it would definitely have a way to get lots of exercise.

Another concern was that in 2 years, my daughter would be going off to college.... she actually has always planned on staying home and going to a local college, so she'll still be around a lot of the time at least for the next 6 years. At that time, I think her and I are going to have to fight over who gets to keep this dog, lol!

I know this is a huge, life-changing decision, and that's why I've been holding back for quite a few years now... I'm recently divorced, and I just feel that maybe now's the time to give my daughter her dream of getting a dog.

Thank you all again for such awesome information and opinions, and am so glad to see so much puppy/dog love here!

I don't know whether or not you saw my post, but I hope you get a chance to look at the Keeshond... again, a Keeshond is a cousin to & very similar to the Samoyed, but less stubborn & less active. They are great for first-time dog owners & make wonderful pets!!!

 

[Poohlove]

I love my dog, we adopted her 11 years ago from the shelter she was around 4 when we got her. She is awesome and I wouldn't give her back for anything. She brings such joy and not matter what she is always happy to see us. She is not needy, loves her people and at this stage in her life is just as content cuddling up as she is playing and is only able to take short walks before she is too tired to go further.

From time to time she goes through spells, usually around the time that we are thinking about getting her a friend, where she pees on the floor. She will literally come back into the house and just pee right on the floor. The dog hair is just too much sometimes, it is everywhere all the time. Every few months she will pee on her bed which blows my mind, I didnt think that dogs peed where they slept but she does. Lastly, is the never ending piles of doggy diamonds in the yard.

 

[cleverclovers]

So, younger daughter (turning 16 yrs old in a couple weeks) has been asking for a dog for forever. I've always told her No, but I'm now starting to cave a little, lol. He/she would be a combo birthday/Christmas gift for her.

I grew up with a dog and always enjoyed them, but they were very laid-back and lazy! My first dog was a a litttle mutt (looked like Benji) that was semi-old by the time I was born, and then when I was about 10 yrs old, we got a bassett hound that just laid around everywhere. So, in other words, I never had to really take care of a young, energetic dog.

My daughter has been researching majorly for a while now, and has asked for a Samoyed. It looks like this breed is friendly and won't have to worry about its temperament. I know this is a very active breed which is fine by me... we're a fairly active family (it's just me and my 18yo and 16yo daughters).

Here's some pros I've come up with off the top of my head:

1)We have a big yard and would plan on putting some sort of overhead run for him/her to get hooked up to.
2)Our neighbors are pet-friendly too, so they wouldn't mind if it barked occasionally.
3)We have lots of bike/hike trails and parks in our area to take it out to, and my daughter is looking forward to doing that.
4)Don't have to bathe them very often (although if we do, that's not a problem, we have an unfinished basement with an old shower down there for winter, or an outdoor spigot for summer)

And some cons:

1)We'd have to get him/her as a young puppy so that I could make sure it would adapt to our cat and bunny, and hopefully that would work.
2)They shed a lot, but have read that it's usually just at season changes.. but not really looking forward to a ton of hair all over the place, lol.
3)Heard they can attach to just one person.. not sure if this is true or not, but hoping he/she would attach to all of us.
4)They're expensive.. the cheapest I have found within driving distance to us is $950. Then all the vet bills, food, toys, etc.
5)Like to chew stuff or dig holes if bored? I'd have to make sure I'd get plenty of chew toys I guess.

And just a couple questions:

How long does it take to potty train? How often do you need to take them out usually?
I've never had to potty train a dog and am lost on this.
What is crate training and what does that entail?


Please give me any other thoughts about getting one.. other pros and cons?

Thanks!
Michelle

PLEASE adopt a dog from your local dog pound or shelter. They usually have fewer health problems than pure breeds and will love you just as much.

 

[Anastasi]

PLEASE adopt a dog from your local dog pound or shelter. They usually have fewer health problems than pure breeds and will love you just as much.

There are a lot of great reasons to adopt from a shelter but this one is a flat out lie.

A purebred dog from a good breeder who has done all the medical testing for issues inherent to their breed is far less likely to have health problems than a poorly bred dog from bred for profit litters such as the designer mixed breeds and puppy mill impulse buys that are the mainstays of shelter dogs.

You can find some great dogs at a shelter, but never, ever go in thinking you are going to get a healthier dog. In fact, you should probably budget additional vet bills. If you don't need it, that would be the best outcome. But if you do need extra vet funds then at least you have it budgeted.

 

[Anastasi]

I think it's great that you want to get a dog for all of you, and I'm excited for you!

Just to clarify, I never thought you'd be keeping the dog outside all the time!

What I was trying to say was that I don't think that the run in the back yard by itself will be sufficient exercise for a young, working type dog (if that's what you get), who will still get bored out there if alone (and take to barking, digging, fence running, etc., all things that are a "job" he can do if you don't give him a better one!).

Dogs like this do best with hard daily exercise with a purpose - running, playing, exploring, swimming, etc.

Dogs who work and play hard, SLEEP hard when they get home, and therefore stay out of trouble.

Dogs who haven't had an opportunity to let out that energy that gets pent up (which is instinctive and they don't know what else to do with) find other ways, and their ways aren't generally going to be acceptable to you - chewing sofas, shoes, toilet paper (inside); and the ones I mentioned above outside, etc.

People say well put them in a crate and they won't cause problems. That's all fine and good, but it still means you have a dog who NEEDS to release energy somehow! The thing is, if you want a balanced dog, you really have to help him channel that energy the way YOU want it. So somewhere in the day, every day, the young, working-type dog needs/does BEST with hard exercise.

More: http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/your-dog-why-exercise-is-important

https://www.chewy.com/petcentral/health-pet-fitness-8-reasons-your-dog-needs-exercise/

Explore dog parks around you. It's nice when they can play with other dogs off-leash.

Dogs also love walks in the woods and on beaches, at parks, on city streets, etc.

The run is fine for pottying and staying out for short periods. Just make sure the dog does not have a choker-type collar on when he goes on it as he could inadvertently strangle himself. Just use a regular properly-fit collar.

I agree with everything you have said except that I would never recommend bringing a puppy to a dog park. One bad encounter with a dominant dog could scar the puppy for life and could set it up for dog aggression of fear of other dogs.

 

[Deb & Bill]

My 13 yr old Sheltie mix has congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart. She's on meds that run me about $150 a month, more than my own heart meds. One of her meds is Lasix that causes her to drink a lot of water and go to the bathroom a lot. So she needs to go outside every night around 3AM and then again around 6 or 7AM. She's my baby and I'll take care of her. But I never had a dog before that had health needs like hers. I can't go to the bathroom without her following me and lying at my feet. She is my shadow. It's a sheltie trait.

If your daughter is 16 and will be heading off to school in a few years, is she taking the dog with her (not in a dorm, maybe not in an apartment) and will she give the dog all the attention it needs if it is away from the rest of the family. If the dog stays with you, are you willing to be the caregiver for the dog, especially if it has medical needs?

All of our dogs have been rescues. And all have been wonderful. Three of the four have loved our cats. One did not and had to be separated from the cats at all times.

 

[mrudman]

I don't know whether or not you saw my post, but I hope you get a chance to look at the Keeshond... again, a Keeshond is a cousin to & very similar to the Samoyed, but less stubborn & less active. They are great for first-time dog owners & make wonderful pets!!!

I’ll look into those, thanks,

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree with everything you have said except that I would never recommend bringing a puppy to a dog park. One bad encounter with a dominant dog could scar the puppy for life and could set it up for dog aggression of fear of other dogs.

I was going to mention that going to the dog park should wait until a pup is older, but I figured my post was getting long enough and I was trying to make very general points! My thought was we can advise further when she actually gets the dog! But you are right! There are issues of immunity, too.

 

[jrmasm]

There are a lot of great reasons to adopt from a shelter but this one is a flat out lie.

A purebred dog from a good breeder who has done all the medical testing for issues inherent to their breed is far less likely to have health problems than a poorly bred dog from bred for profit litters such as the designer mixed breeds and puppy mill impulse buys that are the mainstays of shelter dogs.

You can find some great dogs at a shelter, but never, ever go in thinking you are going to get a healthier dog. In fact, you should probably budget additional vet bills. If you don't need it, that would be the best outcome. But if you do need extra vet funds then at least you have it budgeted.

Most people don’t buy well bred dogs.

 

[jrmasm]

I think it's great that you want to get a dog for all of you, and I'm excited for you!

Just to clarify, I never thought you'd be keeping the dog outside all the time!

What I was trying to say was that I don't think that the run in the back yard by itself will be sufficient exercise for a young, working type dog (if that's what you get), who will still get bored out there if alone (and take to barking, digging, fence running, etc., all things that are a "job" he can do if you don't give him a better one!).

Dogs like this do best with hard daily exercise with a purpose - running, playing, exploring, swimming, etc.

Dogs who work and play hard, SLEEP hard when they get home, and therefore stay out of trouble.

Dogs who haven't had an opportunity to let out that energy that gets pent up (which is instinctive and they don't know what else to do with) find other ways, and their ways aren't generally going to be acceptable to you - chewing sofas, shoes, toilet paper (inside); and the ones I mentioned above outside, etc.

People say well put them in a crate and they won't cause problems. That's all fine and good, but it still means you have a dog who NEEDS to release energy somehow! The thing is, if you want a balanced dog, you really have to help him channel that energy the way YOU want it. So somewhere in the day, every day, the young, working-type dog needs/does BEST with hard exercise.

More: http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/your-dog-why-exercise-is-important

https://www.chewy.com/petcentral/health-pet-fitness-8-reasons-your-dog-needs-exercise/

Explore dog parks around you. It's nice when they can play with other dogs off-leash.

Dogs also love walks in the woods and on beaches, at parks, on city streets, etc.

The run is fine for pottying and staying out for short periods. Just make sure the dog does not have a choker-type collar on when he goes on it as he could inadvertently strangle himself. Just use a regular properly-fit collar.

And daycare. Sounds ridiculous but doggie daycare is the best thing ever!!!