Been thinking about getting a dog. I love dogs! I just don’t want the little guy/girl to be left alone all day while I am at work. I would also probably get 2 dogs instead of one so they can keep each other company and play. Also more dogs = more fun. I would take them to the beach, take them to the gym, the park and maybe even see if I can get them into my work on weekends.
I would have to put some kind of protective lining on the interior of my car so they don’t wreck it though. For food I would probably not feed them that dog food crap, but instead eggs and chicken (when I was a kid my dad would feed our black lab eggs and he had a beautiful coat) since you an get a whole chicken for like $5, vs $40 for food they wont even like/eat.
I’ll being by saying I have 2 dogs myself. My wife and I love them as if they were our own human children. I will say this: do not get dogs because you love them and you think they’ll add happiness to your life. They will, but that shouldn’t be the reason you get them. They’re sympathetic highly intelligent and sensitive animals. Get one because you want to give it (them) a great life. You have to know and understand that you will have to do a lot for that animal (feed it, walk it, exercise with it, make sure it’s healthy and free of diseases, etc). You will be ulitmately responsible for it’s well being and happiness. They require a lot of patience and understanding - they understand a lot but not immediately. Do not get one (or more) because you think it’ll be a jolly ole time - It doesn’t work that way. You have to be consistent with training and you will have to make sacrifices for this animal that can NEVER DO ANYTHING FOR YOU EXCEPT RELY ON YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
That being said, I wouldn’t trade my dogs in for anything in the world.
Yeah, I know people who just lock them inside all day and treat them like stuffed animals. Pisses me off. That wasn’t my intention. Ive had dogs my whole life.
I had to get rid of my dog when I was promoted at work. Just couldn’t give her the time she deserved.
It was the right thing to do, but was still probably one of the saddest things I’ve ever done.
My advice is to be VERY sure that not only can you dedicate the time necessary, but that you will be able to for years to come. The mistake I made was not anticipating my situation would change.
Everyone else is on the right track here. Also it could just be my 2 dogs but don’t count on them being much help to each other when your gone. It might help a little but for the most part they don’t play or anything unless another human is there too.
[quote]Aero51 wrote:
since you an get a whole chicken for like $5, vs $40 for food they wont even like/eat. [/quote]
I’m not sure that’s an accurate comparison, lol.
Go get a dog, man. I don’t see why you wouldn’t. Especially if you plan on adopting, there are a lot of great dogs out there that needs homes. I wish I would have adopted when I got my dog.
[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Yeah, I know people who just lock them inside all day and treat them like stuffed animals. Pisses me off. That wasn’t my intention. Ive had dogs my whole life. [/quote]
To be clear, I’m not saying you would be a terrible owner, nor that you don’t know what it’s like to own a dog or dogs. However, I think you’re rather young if I remember correctly … early 20s?
You had dogs your whole life, but did YOU do everything for that (those) dog(s)? Did you wake up early to let them out because they needed to? Did you feed them every day as needed? Did you foot the bill when one got injured or sick or just had a routine visit to the vet? Did you take them for walks? Did you clean up after them when they had an accident? Did you keep your patience when training them?
I had a girlfriend in when I was younger (I was 25 she was 20) who wanted to get a dog. We lived in off campus housing (she lived in the apt above mine). I told her it was a lot of work to raise a puppy and that our life style would prevent us from giving it the amount of attention that it deserved and needed to be a healthy dog. She didn’t listen to me and bought a puppy. Two weeks later I had to help her find someone to give it away to because she didn’t have the patience, understanding, or time to train it properly and give it the attention it needed. My only concern (with ANYONE who wants to get a dog) is that you’ve thought it through and are willing to commit the time needed to raising the pup for the next 10+ years (god willing).
Some breeds actually enjoy crate time for their mental health. Our sheltie is crated from 8-3 everyday and it is part of his routine. He gets walks before and after it - short morning one and long evening one. He will actually go in there by himself on Saturdays to rest. They find their crate comforting.
The only thing I’ll add to the discussion is to make sure you get a breed that fit’s your temperament and oh my God…make sure it’s well trained.
My girlfriend and I have a Boxer, and it’s a great dog and I love her to death, but she has A LOT of energy and the breed needs CONSTANT attention. This okay for awhile, but my girlfriend and I are introverts so sometimes, we just want to chill. There are several times where I just want to be close to my girlfriend and we’ll start to snuggle in the bed, on the couch, etc. and the dog will whimper and whine until we pay attention to it. Or we’ll hug for a bit in the kitchen, and the dog will whimper and whine. Or we’ll let her get in bed, and instead of just chilling at the foot of it or on the sides where there’s plenty of space, she’ll try to get in between me and my girlfriend.
Most of the times we just laugh it off, but there’s a few times where I have to restrain myself from picking her up and tossing her across the room.
The dog is already 3 years old, and we’ve broken a few bad habits (we’ve gotten her to sleep on her bed when I’m there), but she’s still got quite a few left and I doubt we’ll be able to change them so we just have to put up with it.
So make sure you get a dog that fits your lifestyle, i.e. don’t get a high-energy, high-maintenance dog if you just want to chill all the time, and PLEASE get them trained EARLY.
I’ll add one more suggestion: Try and adopt from a shelter or SPCA-type foundation. I adopted a corgi-x and it has been the best friend I always wanted.
Love him so much I will become a foster for my local SPCA once I move out of my apartment next spring.
Please make sure you have the financial resources to pay for good medical care for your future pups. Hopefully nothing bad will ever happen and they’ll die in their sleep in a couple decades, but good vet care can be very expensive.
Just one of many anecdotes, my sister’s Labrador suffered from severe hip displaysia and needed a $5,000 surgery to fix it. They just couldn’t afford that and the dog lived in pain the rest of her life. You don’t want to be in that position.
