Good and Bad of owning a dog

[bethy]

All of the above info on dogs is great.

For Samoyeds specifically here is what I've seen from my best friend who has had a Sammie for 7 years:

She sheds A TON. A TON. On the high end of the shedding spectrum.

She has a strong prey instinct and chases and hunts squirrels and bunnies all the time.

She needs to live indoors with her family (but I am biased in that I believe most/all dogs do .. . )

She is sweet and loving and fun but not ADORING of her family. I have spaniels who worship the ground we walk on and watch our every move. This Samoyed is not like that.

She is lively and needs a ton of regular exercise.


IME, if you want the benefits of getting a purebred dog from a great breeder you are going to pay $2000+ for that privilege. "Purebred" means different things to different people. ahem.

If we hadn't gone that route then I'd get a adult rescue that had been fostered and evaluated so I'd know what I'm getting.

I'm glad you are doing your research ahead of time.

 

[kimblebee]

I had a whole thing typed out but deleted it because everyone knows I’m not a pet person, I don’t need to reinforce it LOL

All I will say is that your kids think it will be great fun to have a dog and will love taking it for walks and feeding it? The fun will wear off and you’ll be stuck doing 99% of the care.

 

[Anastasi]

All of the above info on dogs is great.

For Samoyeds specifically here is what I've seen from my best friend who has had a Sammie for 7 years:

She sheds A TON. A TON. On the high end of the shedding spectrum.

She has a strong prey instinct and chases and hunts squirrels and bunnies all the time.

She needs to live indoors with her family (but I am biased in that I believe most/all dogs do .. . )

She is sweet and loving and fun but not ADORING of her family. I have spaniels who worship the ground we walk on and watch our every move. This Samoyed is not like that.

She is lively and needs a ton of regular exercise.


IME, if you want the benefits of getting a purebred dog from a great breeder you are going to pay $2000+ for that privilege. "Purebred" means different things to different people. ahem.

If we hadn't gone that route then I'd get a adult rescue that had been fostered and evaluated so I'd know what I'm getting.

I'm glad you are doing your research ahead of time.

I agree with everything you say except the price. If you are being price gouged like that, then it is not a good breeder. That is more indicative of a back yard breeder or designer dog breeder that is in it for the money. We show our dogs so are around a lot of good breeders. A quality breeder is more into getting a good home for their pet puppies than raking in the dough. i have the litter mate to the #1 dog in the nation, Grand Champion, multiple BIS, won the breed specialty 3 years in a row and he cost me $675 because I wanted a pet and not another show dog. And this dog's bite was off, so off to be neutered and placed in a forever pet home.

 

[brockash]

Who will take care of the dog when you want to go on vacation? Will someone be there to take care of the dog if you end up away from home for an extended day? Are you someone who likes to frequently or regularly vacation and/or spontaneously be away from home for an extended amount of hours on any given day?

This and the shedding are my biggest issues with having dogs. Don't get me wrong, we still have one and I love her to death, but vacationing or just trying to go out for a weekend here or there is really difficult and can be pretty expensive. I also really miss being able to wear whatever I want whenever I want. Getting dressed is basically the last thing I do before I leave for work and then I have to change as soon as I get home otherwise the hair is just horrible. Ours is part lab, so heavier shedders in general, but everyone I know with a dog has shedding issues.

I will say I had terrors of accidents/chewing/destroying things when we first got our dog, but besides the shedding, she's pretty perfect. She was house-trained quickly, never really chewed on things, crate trained easily and while we never put her in her crate anymore (we did anytime we left for the first 6 months or so) she will still go lay in her crate sometimes - it's her home and she feels comfortable. She's also always been great around our kids of all ages and never runs away...if the doors open she won't go out without telling her too and we've left the fence open a cpl times, but she just came right back to the door and if we're outside without a leash she isn't going to leave us (I have so many memories of our childhood dogs darting out the door and it being a half hr ordeal to get/catch/find them, so glad not an issue with her).. we got her from a shelter though, so we just got lucky.

 

[cinnaminny]

I wouldn't get a dog unless you want one, for all the reasons that other people have already posted. I have a little Boston Terrier that I got for our family, but I called it my dog. Mostly because I knew I would be the one training it, walking it, and taking care of it until she is an old lady. Most kids are just not dependable enough to do it. Mine were not. Maybe your daughter is? But what do you do when she is in school? Or when she goes away to school? Is she going to want the dog back after she is done with college?

 

[Skywalker]

If your daughter has always wanted a dog, I would most definitely get a dog. At 16, the time is fast diminishing to give her the experience of a family dog, if she goes to college or gets apartments it could be a long time before she could get a dog again. And that is of course assuming that you do want a dog as well and will sign on to take care of it. (But for me as a dog person, that's a no-brainer.)

I don't know if I would suggest a puppy, as others have mentioned puppies are a lot of work, destructive and generally high maintenance. Going through it right now lol. But our other dog, we got her from a shelter when she was one year old, so, still young but already house trained and was super chill with cats, rabbits, whatever. Not sure if she lived with them in the past or just has zero prey drive but she's fine. So it's just a matter of find the right dog with the right temperament. I have found dogs are very much individuals with their own personality and quirks, even two purebreds sometimes (we had two pure bred Springer Spaniels, brother and sister, and were different as night and day. One was definitely the assertive ALPHA dog and the other was, well, a pushover and a low energy "old man's dog" as my husband says, from the time he was a puppy.) Individual personality is everything.

If you find the right dog, it's magical as far as I'm concerned. (And I've had some doozies, but wouldn't trade a one of them lol).

 

[tvguy]

My DD (who is 27) grew up with cats, a hamster, and fish. He brother and his wife got a dog, and she has dog sat for them. I think she described dogs as pets pretty well: "They're so needy". They demand your attention, they need to be let out (our family strongly believes cats and dogs should be indoor pets), and you can't just go away for the weekend and leave them.
Our last cat was pretty affectionate. If DD was around, she was in the recliner with her. But she was happy sleeping in her cat climber, could be left for the weekend with plenty of water, food, and an extra litter box set out. You could go away for the night and not worry.

 

[tzolkin]

I’m really questioning the outdoor run and why that’s first on the list. It makes me wonder if you are prepared and willing to take care of the dog’s exercise needs. (I’m not trying to be snarky. You did mention that you only have experience with older/lazy dogs.)

An outdoor tie-out is not helpful for house training and it’s not a good source of exercise, so I’m not sure what you plan to use it for. Aside from that, many cities have anti-tethering laws that make it illegal.

Any new dog, especially a puppy, will need to be brought out on a leash numerous times throughout the day (and night) while learning house training. You will have to go out there with them whether it’s raining or snowing.

If you’re looking for a way to exercise the dog outdoors and don’t have a fenced yard, you can use a long leash (30+ feet) and a harness for more freedom while playing games like fetch, frisbee, and teaching recall.

 

[ReneeA]

We just adopted a puppy from the Humane Society this past spring. She was our first dog in 15 years and I forgot how much work they really are. Don't get me wrong - I love her to pieces, but having a dog again changed our lifestyle.

We have 2 kids in high school sports and activities, so many nights we aren't home and I feel bad if she's alone too much, so I work from home more often than I did.

We vacation a few times of year and now have to worry about what to do with Abby. BIL has a young lab and has offered to watch her the last time we went away, but if he's not available, she'll have to be boarded.

She chews socks. Her nickname is Sockhound because I don't even know where she finds them, but without fail, goes tearing through the house with a sock flying behind her.

She bought herself a handy bark collar this weekend to relieve the neighbor's suffering. Two beeps, a vibration, then a zap. It took 2 zaps, now no more barking.

Oh my gosh, is she fun! She LOVES her family. She is a very vocal hound and "talks" constantly. For instance, we were having a lively discussion at dinner tonight and everyone was laughing and being silly, and the dog was just as vocal as we were. Moaning, groaning, doing these goofy growls and low howls to compete.

We were told she was a lab mix at the Humane Society, but she looks, acts and sounds just like 100% Redbone Coonhound. She's beautiful and smart and was extremely easy to housebreak and train. Personally, I would never, ever buy a dog when there are so many at shelters, but that's just my opinion.

 

[dotfurio]

We adopted our dog when she was about 4 months. She was pretty much house trained except the occasional scared or excited piddle. The one exception is if we allow her access down the hallway when we aren't back there she'll pee in the kids bathroom, even if she's been out recently.

My biggest cons:
pet hair (I think our next dog will be one that sheds less or not at all)
boarding when we're out of town
unexpected medical expenses
cleaning up poop in the yard

 

[ettinkerbell]

Honestly, a puppy is a BIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG commitment, especially for a child that may be leaving to go to college in a couple of years.

Unless you are ok with the idea of owning a dog yourself and doing all the work caring for it, I wouldn't do it.

Also, there is no guarantee that a puppy will work well with cats and bunnies, and no guarantee that the puppy will match all the desirable characteristics of its breed once it grows up.

if you want a certain temperament in a dog, go to the shelter and get an adult dog that has been temperament tested as good with cats and matches the personality you want in a dog. Most likely an adult dog will already be house-broken and crate trained so you can save yourself this step.

I agree.

 

[Colleen27]

My major hesitation with a dog for a kid that age is that the child will be moving out soon, leaving me with the dog.

We vetoed our older daughter's desire to breed her show bunny a couple years ago for the same reason - I didn't want a female and/or whatever offspring as my responsibility after she leaves for school. The three rabbits she already has are enough. If you get a puppy for a 16yo, she has a puppy for two years... and you have it for 15+. Since we like to travel, that's something that I really had to think long and hard about.

That said, we just got a border collie puppy for my younger daughter (10), and I've found training her to be a lot easier than I'd anticipated. She pretty much crate trained herself. She's so high-energy that she has a hard time settling down at night when she's alone on the main floor of our house, and she seems to like having the crate as a sort of "off switch". Once the girls go upstairs, she goes to her crate. I don't close the door until hours later when I go up, but DD going upstairs seems to signal bedtime to her and she goes to lie down too. But I didn't have to worry about potty training. Our pup came from a family that underestimated how high energy her breed is, and she was already potty trained when we adopted her at 7 months.

 

[monica9]

Good
They are so loving and loyal
Kids have a blast with them and learn responsibility
Cute, Funny, a lot of laughs

Bad
Constant shedding
Make the house dirty
Need to find help when you go away or if you go on long day trips
expensive

 

[WDWBarb]

I am a dog person, so I'll just get that out of the way.

The good? Love, happiness and joy. That about covers it.

The bad? Accidents in the house. Complicates vacations quite a bit. Getting up early or in the middle of the night for potty time. Expense. I don't want to this about how much I spent on my dog's cancer treatments.

The worst? They die. And they leave a huge, gaping hole in your heart and in your home.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Dogs are not good gifts. They are cute and fluffy and give that movie moment, but they are not good gifts. Google "Why dogs are not good gifts"

I love my dogs, but they are a lot of work. Puppies and elderly dogs will pee on everything, they shed, they bark, they steal your cookies. They want to be walked when you really don't want to go out in the snow. They can be frustrating and annoying at times. It is not all wagging tails and wet nose kisses.

 

[sjberg79]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dogs! I can't imagine life without them! They are like furry children, they live for you. They greet you when you come home, they are always happy to see you, they know when you are sad. By far the worst con to dogs is that their lives are brief compared to ours. But I'm going to tell you the truth about puppies because I am in puppy hell right now.

I'm currently on my 4th puppy, he's 13 weeks old and we've had him 6 weeks. He's a cocker spaniel and he sheds insanely, my other cockers haven't ever shed this badly. He has had explosive diarrhea ALL 6 WEEKS. 6 LONG WEEKS of constant vet visits, tests, changes in food, prescriptions. We've had him tested for parasites multiple times (all negative) but was treated multiple times anyhow just to be safe. The vet says, "sometimes, some puppies are just like this. But don't worry. They usually grow out of it eventually". He has no reason to constantly have diarrhea, he just does. According to my FitBit, I've been getting an average of 4-5 hours of broken sleep at night since Sept 30th, the night we got him. I have to sleep on the couch most nights so I'm close to his crate in the kitchen so when he starts pounding to let me know the diarrhea is about to explode, I can run to get him out in time. He just started a new run of antibiotics so fingers crossed this one does something! But this is something that can happen when you get a puppy... sometimes you get one and it's normal and it just makes the occasional puddle on the floor. And sometimes G-d hears your prayers for "just one normal, healthy male dog. Please! The last 2 you gave us cost us a lot in vet bills, I'd really like the next one to be healthy" and instead he laughs and laughs and says, "but you are so good at taking care of sick dogs! They need you!". When you get a puppy, you have to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst because it's a lifelong commitment.

Puppies will chew a lot of stuff. We puppy-proofed our house but even with our best efforts the aforementioned puppy has already chewed up my husband's good leather shoes (it was my husband's fault, he left them out), he chewed up the bin I kept all the dog toys in and I had to replace it with a metal one, and currently he keeps trying to chew up all the wood trim in the kitchen. Our last puppy did that too, he ate the door frame, a cupboard door, some drywall.... and he was just a 20 lb cockapoo. Never underestimate a bored, unattended puppy. If you can't watch them, crate train them.

Even with the hard parts, dogs are the best. You'll never regret getting one. I mean... when it's 4am and you are washing diarrhea out of a dog crate there might be twinges of regret but they don't last long. 99% of the time it's all love.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Geez, I don't even know where to start on this thread. There is so much to owning a dog, if you do it right.

I think a pp hit the nail on the head when they said a dog is a living being, not really a gift. The dog's needs have to be taken into consideration as well as the people bringing the dog into their lives. (Some people may disagree with that, but probably not most responsible owners today.)

The biggest thing that needs to be recognized, besides the fact that YOU will very likely be taking on ALL of the responsibility for this dog as time goes on, is that you HAVE to understand what a given purebred dog (or mixed breed with some known heritage) was bred to do because instinct is strong and you can't make it go away if and when related behaviors get tiresome or annoying.

A Samoyed is a WORKING DOG!! It is not the type of dog that is going to be content lying around or tied out on a run in the backyard.

A description:

"The Samoyed is a substantial but graceful dog standing anywhere from 19 to a bit over 23 inches at the shoulder. Powerful, tireless, with a thick all-white coat impervious to cold—Sammies are perfectly beautiful but highly functional. Even their most delightful feature, a perpetual smile, has a practical function: The upturned corners of the mouth keep Sammies from drooling, preventing icicles from forming on the face. A Sammy sentenced to solitary confinement in the yard is a miserable—and destructive—creature. These are smart, social, mischievous dogs who demand love and attention. Sammies need a very firm but loving hand in training. As pack animals, they must learn early who the alpha dog is—and the alpha dog must be you."

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/samoyed/

Another, view Temperament: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoyed_dog

In other words, in order to have a sound dog you are going to have to commit to a lot of exercise of body and mind. Otherwise, you will have problems. If you don't give a dog like this a job, they will make their own job. That translates into digging, barking, sometimes biting, whatever it has to do to get rid of the excess energy they instinctually feel. Especially when young. (I experienced this myself with German Shepherds most of my life, and had to learn to channel that working energy in order to have a well-behaved house pet as opposed to a working herding dog.)

With that in mind, in this situation I doubt this is the right type of dog for your family, or for your daughter RIGHT NOW. Some day she can get one when she has time to perhaps run or hike with it regularly, or do agility or frisbee, etc. I think, as some other have pointed out, that you'll be happiest with the type of dog you're familiar with, i.e. a laid back, older dog who is not going to make you tear your hair out. God knows there are plenty of them around who need homes (and many here have given multiple great suggestions of where to find them).

I like to tell this story which I think illustrates the point that it's important to have the right type of dog in order to have harmony in the relationship. In our training group, every week this elderly lady would pull up with a young BORDER COLLIE jumping all over the inside of the car, including ON HER, while she was driving. The trainer would shake his head and say, "That's not the right dog for her". I mean, I seriously worried this lady was going to have an accident! And she could not control the dog's exuberance out of the car, either. Again, a working dog with high energy who needed an outlet to let that energy out.

Picking the RIGHT DOG is the most important thing that you do at the outset. And putting a lot of time and thought into what you're getting into, as you are doing.

I would also suggest getting a copy of a book called, Good Owners, Great Dogs. It's my favorite book on dogs, and it will help you understand how to have a great dog. Do yourself a favor and read it before you commit to anything.

I understand how hard it must be for your daughter to want a dog. I have a good friend who tells me that every time I see her about her son (college age) who also desperately wants a dog, but she won't get one because she sees the writing on the wall, and knows it's not what SHE wants. She feels bad about it, but she's being realistic. She works full time and takes care of an elderly parent, etc. She'd also have to put up fencing, etc.

I actually wonder if your daughter(s) is trying to make it easier for you and perhaps take some of the burden off of them if they know you'll have something to love when they leave. Just a thought. And I actually think it might not be a bad idea - IF you have the right dog.

 

[Wendy31]

OP -

Maybe consider a Keeshond. The Keeshond is a cousin to the Samoyed, but smaller & less stubborn & requires a lot less exercise & doesn't need a regular, daily "job".

A Keeshond is medium-size & has a very easy-going, even tender, personality. They are often used as therapy dogs, & one was used to visit the rescue workers at ground zero after 9/11.

I don't have a lot of experience, but I think the Keeshond has a personality very similar to a golden retriever - but is out of the puppy stage sooner than a goldie.

When we got ours, we were dog novices, & I'm sure we did some things wrong. However, Maks (our Keeshond) was very quickly house-trained & crate-trained, & he made it through the night w/o having to go outside pretty quickly as well.

Keeshonden were originally bred to be companion dogs on Dutch barges, so they don't have any kind of prey or herding instincts. They are truly happy just being w/ their people. Additionally, they are excellent w/ kids.

They were bred to be watch dogs, but not guard dogs, & there is a difference. Maks loves to "watch" our house & has a wonderful, loud, "bigger dog" kinda bark, but that's seriously as far as it goes w/ him.

Also, they don't require frequent bathing; in fact, frequent bathing will damage their coat. Their coat is kept natural, so, beyond regular brushing, they don't need any specialized grooming. And, when you see a Keeshond, it's really rather surprising how little "upkeep" their coat needs. They don't get that "doggy" smell either - this was VERY important to me when considering what kind of dog we wanted.

They shed - but not like golden retrievers or German shepherds. Their hair falls out in clumps, & they "blow out" their coat twice a year. Some consider Keeshonden to be more of a hypoallergenic dog (although I'm not sure there really is such a thing) because their hair is different than other dogs - their undercoat is more sheep-like.

Keeshonden are relatively healthy dogs as well. Maks will be 8 next April, & he's been super-healthy. There is, if I remember correctly, a knee or hip problem in some lines, so you want to be sure your breeder has screened for those issues.

When we got ours, we had a full grown, elderly cat who completely ignored Maks. Maks, even as puppy, was completely fine w/ our cat. (Our breeder raises Keeshonden w/ her cats.) When our senior cat passed away, we pretty quickly got 2 kittens because we didn't want Maks to get used to a house w/o a cat. From the beginning, Maks was fine w/ the kittens, but the kittens (now cats), on the other hand, are complete brats to him. Some days, I *WISH* he'd retaliate just to put them in their place.

Maks is also an excellent traveler, & he goes w/ us on all our trips. He adapts very well to new surroundings (like a hotel room or condo), & we always bring his crate w/ us.

He's very much a family dog & just wants to be w/ us. As long as he's w/ us, he's happy & content.

EDITED TO ADD - Oh, & I wanted a lazy, great family companion dog, & that's exactly what we got. But, first, we had to get through the puppy & "teenage" stage.

During the puppy stage, he loved to chew throw rugs & toys & books. He has never chewed any shoes, but, he still likes to snatch paper towels & napkins. Our younger DS was 2 & 3 during Maks' puppy stage, & he liked to chew & gnaw on things as well. During that time, I'm not sure there was anything in our house that didn't have either puppy teeth or toddler teeth marks.

During his teenage stage, he tried to usurp his authority & dominance over our older DS, & DS really had to learn to how to exert his authority.

But, all that said, I'm still glad we got him when he was a puppy.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You'll get a ton of feedback here, no doubt. Here's my $.02. What kind of dog do you want? Big? Small? Do you care if it's a pure bred or a "mutt"? Personally, I could never own a tiny lap dog, just not my thing at all. Any dog in my house has to be at least 40-50lbs. It's just what we wanted. I was never fond of the idea of owning a dog. I love them, but would prefer to pet someone else's dog and send it on it's way. Well, that's not how DW and the kids felt, so we now own 3 dogs. One is about 7-8 years old which we've had for 6 years and the other two are 4 month old puppies that we've had for about two months. So we've got our hands full right now.

You absolutely do NOT need to spend $950 on a dog. Google the local county animal rescue/shelter and you'll find plenty of choices. Most places are $50-$200, including spay/neuter, shots, a bag of food and a friendly thank you. Sometimes they'll even hold special events where the adoption fee is completely waived or knocked down to $10. You'll find all kinds of dogs there...big, small, young, old.

I'll focus my comment on puppies mostly, as older adult dogs aren't quite as much work. Puppies are a lot of work. Our two puppies are in the process of potty training now. They're doing pretty good. Accidents are fairly rare...except for our female puppy and "happy peeing". Many female puppies will pee when they get really excited or scared and she is a pro at this. I go to just pet her and she pees...with tail wagging...sigh. We take them out every 90 minutes or so, but if they're just laying around sleeping we'll let them go 2-3 hours. We do crate train them...they're in the crates all night long and all day while we're at work/school and they don't have any accidents. They can go 8-9 hours in the crate without an accident. The girl puppy actually likes her crate and will go running full speed to get in when she knows it's time. The boy doesn't hate it, but isn't as excited about it as she is. Google crate training and you'll find lots of info about it. One important thing is to never, ever use the crate as punishment. It's supposed to be a safe and happy place for them. Also, the crate should only be big enough for them to lay down and turn around in...no bigger. Seems cruel, but it's not. Lucky for us, they aren't into chewing furniture or shoes, but puppies love to chew. We have rawhides and toys everywhere for them, so that they don't attack our stuff. So far, so good. Our laminate hardwood floors are taking an absolute beating, but we expected that. They love our older dog and want to play with him. He is very indifferent to them and would prefer they leave him alone. He tolerates them, but isn't in love with them. As much as the peeing and pooping thing can drive me nuts sometimes, I have to say I'm really glad we got them. Our kids are head over heels in love with them (and of course still love our older dog as much as ever) and they're a lot of fun. But they do require a lot of attention. We have to know where they are at all times, so that they don't get themselves into something they shouldn't.

Food costs aren't that bad. Places like Chewy.com have good deals. Plus, we're not into buying super expensive pet food. Purina or whatever works just fine for us. Toys aren't horribly expensive either. Our puppies love to play with dog toys we bought at Wal-Mart that ranged from the $.99 bin to maybe $12. Rawhides are a bit expensive, about $1/each when you buy the bigger bags...but they love them and it keeps them from chewing the furniture. When they go on sale, we buy in large quantities...after Xmas is a great time to go to PetSmart and snap up the Christmas ones (the dogs don't know the difference between a wreath shaped rawhide and a regular one). Vet bills will depend on you. We honestly don't take the dogs to the vet unless there's a specific need, like they're obviously ill or something like that. So those costs aren't bad.

All in all, dogs are fun. They're a lot of work, especially when they're puppies. I'm still of the mindset that I'd rather not own a dog, but I know my family is really happy...and yes, I enjoy the love all 3 of our dogs give us.

Just to add to the bolded for the OP in case she doesn't know, the reason the crate shouldn't be too big is because you want to capitalize on the fact that the pup will try not to soil his sleep place if he can help it, that's what canines do naturally in the wild. Of course, you have to understand that a puppy's bladder is the size of either a small grape or a walnut, depending on the breed, and some of the muscles for holding urine and feces may not be fully developed for quite a while, so your job will have to be to take him OUT of the crate regularly and often as he is learning to go outside. If you get a puppy, this may be every two or three hours for a while, but it gets better and gradually longer, and generally pups can be trained within a month or two if you're understanding and consistent, but there will likely still be accidents for a while. Never punish and consider it your own fault if there are. Dogs are going to want to go shortly after they eat, so take pup outside, wait for them to go, and praise when they do. Personally, I don't get into using puppy pads, I want my dog to learn to go outside, not inside. Always make training fun and it will go a long way to having a happy and well-adjusted dog. (Training is about developing a language between the two of you.)

I use crates, but I have had a dog who really hated and stressed in the crate, so I don't think that all dogs learn to love their crates, necessarily. This dog would self-harm and I would find blood on her paws and skin torn off her nose when I left her crated she was so desperate to come out of it. So we put the crate away and the gated kitchen became her "crate" until the time where she was totally reliable in the house and didn't need it anymore. I have seen other posters here say the same thing before. But most dogs are probably ok with it if they're not left in there too long and it's not used inappropriately.

My negatives...
-have to kennel when we go away, expensive and he doesn't like it
-our dog is dog aggressive so we can't take him places (like Petsmart, dog park, even to the vet is embarrassing) and we have to walk him as we live in townhome and he goes nuts when we pass other dogs
-he will pee and poo in the house if left too long (and sometimes we walk him, for example, for like 15 mins and he doesn't poo but will come in and go 10 mins later). He also likes to pee on things sitting on floor (like to mark them)
- he has had bad teeth and needed dental cleanings and extractions which cost a lot of $$$$...and meds and shots at vet cost a lot...and now he's elderly, they do bloodwork and he has issues they then do tests for and he's now on allergy meds...just lots of costs and sometimes unexpected (tore his ACL a couple years ago). Plus, when they get really sick you are presented with the dilemma of do we spend a crazy amount of $$$$ with no guarantees of recovery (we had other dog that died from lymphoma)
- he, in his elderly years, has become restless at night and wakes us up super early. I am sitting here falling asleep while on the computer due to having many terrible nights sleep in a row thanks to that dog.
-also, today, it's rainy and cold and I have to walk him to go potty (and he's a smell everything and takes his sweet time to go potty...has to be just right). And snowy weather....uggg. Or when he needs to go out at creepy 2AM and DH is sound asleep....eeeek.
-he yaps at everything. Can't leave the door open with sun coming in the storm door because he sits and watches and barks nonstop.
-he hates getting groomed and has been kicked out of 3 groomers for nipping. I try to do it myself but he's nasty so I don't do it often (he's a cairn terrier and his hair is longish). I can at least bathe him. I have vet clip nails but it's another cost. He won't let me brush his teeth.
- if you are out (with friends or family or activities) you have to be home within X amount of time to let the dog out to potty or feed them. We go over friends for dinner and drinks and always have to cut short to get back to dog. (our dog can go about 5 hours and I've been a stay at homer but if I worked we'd have trouble getting him out to potty)

So you won't know temperament until you get them home and grown up a bit (mine was sweet as a puppy...actually he's gotten worse as he's aged...he is sweet with people, loves people unless they try to groom him, but dog aggressive and the stubborn in things like potty stuff). And pets are expensive and unexpected expenses will come up. And you can't just go away, you have to plan for doggy care while away. And then when major illness or injury, and eventually death, comes up you deal with the heartbreak. And extra work...like walking 4-5 times a day, feeding, bathing/grooming and extra housecleaning due to hair and dirt from dog.

(full disclosure...my dog is 12 and will be our last dog due to all I mentioned above...at least for many many years so I may not be the best one to respond to this thread)

OMG, lovin, I was feeling your pain reading your post and then I realized it was your Cairn!

I think you've defined really well what it can be like to live with a high- maintenance dog. I was exhausted just reading it! (Fortunately my Cairn is an easy companion!) I do agree that grooming can be difficult, it hurts them, I believe. It's an issue I struggle with myself.

I never had a dog growing up (my parents didn't want the hassle). As soon as I moved out I got my first dog and I continued to own dogs for the next 35 years.

At one point, I had three of them at one time. My last dog passed away at age 18 this summer. She was one we got from the shelter when she was 6 months old and was the best behaved dog of all that I had.

Anyway, as lonely as I am for another, I've said I won't get another. Why? Well, we both work all day and as I've gotten older, I've realized that it's sort of cruel to leave a dog for 10 hours alone. Sure, I might consider doing that again for a dog that is okay with that. I'd never do it to a puppy again.

Second, vet costs of increased considerably. As I said, at one point I owned three dogs and wasn't making very much money (also had two kids in daycare). Somehow I managed to pay for their routine care, teeth cleaning etc. For my last dog, I was stunned at how expensive it got. No way I could have owned three. Of course, having an older dog is more expensive because things start going wrong. But man, it was expensive.

Traveling. None of my dogs were ever thrilled with being boarded. The last one really didn't like it no matter where we went and she was just a mess for a week after.

So, I just don't know if I want to deal with all that again, but these are things you should really consider.

I remember when you had three dogs! I hope someday you find a dog who might do well with your living situation. Personally, I know I can't be without a dog, but fortunately our work schedules are dog friendly and we don't travel too often.

I had a whole thing typed out but deleted it because everyone knows I’m not a pet person, I don’t need to reinforce it LOL

All I will say is that your kids think it will be great fun to have a dog and will love taking it for walks and feeding it? The fun will wear off and you’ll be stuck doing 99% of the care.

Come on, Kim, what were going to say? Hi Chewey!

 

[Nayan]

I would say no. Like many of the PP said, she'll be moving out in two years and chances are almost 100% she will not be able to take the dog with her, leaving it with you. You then will be 100% responsible for the care, boarding if you want to travel, vet bills, etc.