Is my Family Ready for the Responsibility of Caring for a Dog?

[Northendzone]

So my family consists of myself and my wife (we both work full time during the day), my 10 yr old son and 7 yr old daughter and lately the kids are pushing us to get a dog. Our preferred breed is a labradoodle or golden doddle because they don't shed much.

I keep wondering if we are ready for a dog? right now we leave the hosue at 7.15 am and we usually don't get home until 5.15 at the earliest during the week. I'd imagine that next year, my son will be coming home from school by homself at around 3.

for those of you that have dogs and are gone from the house all day what do you do with your dog? lock him up in a room, something outside? put him in his kennel all day?

My concerns with respect to getting a dog are:
* cleaning up after it - I am worried this job will become mine
* giving it excercise int he morning - i like to sleep as late as possible, so does my daughter - son and wife are early risers. although I doubt the wife will want to take dog for walk
* unexpected vet bills - i dread them like an unexpected mechanics bill

I also wonder if there is a certain time of year where it is good to get a dog - part of me wants to wiat until after our summer vacation because then we don't have to kennel the dog.

Other thoughts about dog ownership.

P.S. I hate the sound of dogs barking, so I'd like to think I'll be a responsible pet owner.

[Displaced Flames fan]

No, you're not ready. Your kids say they will help, but they won't. The job will become yours.

I love dogs, but I will never own one again. They tie you down more than your kids do.

[TheGrimm]

My biggest concern would be the amount of time the dog will be kenneled or unattended. Those are very long hours unless you are planning to hire someone to come walk the dog each day at noon (which I would recommend).

[Hockeyguy15]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't both those breeds intelligent? Intelligent dogs usually wreck things when they are locked in the house for long periods because they get bored.

[CaptainCrunch]

It doesn't sound like your ready. The walking thing to me would be worrying, you have to get up early and take a dog for a good walk and not just a poop rain or shine. If you don't and you leave him alone all day all of that pent up energy will lead to a destructive dog who's bored.

you also have to take it for a good walk at night, preferably before it turns in for the first time, not just a go out and poop. A restless dog at night will keep everyone up.

You do have vet bills, I think you can cover for some of those with insurance but pet insurance isn't cheap.

Good food for a dog isn't cheap either.

If you get a puppy you really need to get to some training classes as well.

Kids are terrible at promising to take care of a dog and then forgetting about it once it leaves the cute puppy stage leaving it to the parent.

Ask yourself the question if you think that bringing a dog into your home is fair to the dog? Dogs crave a lot of attention and companionship. A lot of exercise and stimulation, its a big commitment, not just a cool thing to do to make them happy.

I would love to have a dog, I'm a huge dog person, but my life demands would be unfair to a dog.

If your worried about the cost don't get one
If your worried about the walking duties don't get one(Walking a dog though is one of the simplest yet best things in the world. Especially if your dog sees you as a pal.

The shelters don't need any more dogs that were bought to make kids happy.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't both those breeds intelligent? Intelligent dogs usually wreck things when they are locked in the house for long periods because they get bored.

Big time. We had a Ridgeback that was hyper smart, and was an escape artist as well. We did the 80's thing of putting him in the back yard during the day. Everyday he would find a new way out when we were gone.

He wasn't as much destructive as very inquisitive, if anything new was put into the environment when he was alone, well first he'd try to kill it, then he would try to eat it. He was the greatest new furniture hunter ever.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Get a cat

[Old Yeller]

Nope, 10 hours alone in a crate is waaaaaaay too long for a puppy or even an adopted new rescue.

But good on you for asking the question and not impulsively just deciding to get one.

[First Lady]

Good to see someone asking the questions and giving pet ownership serious consideration beforehand.

Saw this on Kijiji

Beautiful husky puppy with a rare color and rare eye color, only 10 weeks old and potty trained to go on newspapers, shots and deworming done and also has a chip! Got this puppy from a registered breeder but I got no time for this beautiful puppy. Need to go to a caring loving home .

2 weeks!! and they are looking to re-home. Pathetic.


I would echo many of the comments already made. Our second dog is very active and he now goes to daycare twice a week for the extra excercise and socialization.

Another option you might want to consider is fostering. There a many rescues and many are in need of foster homes. It's a way for you to get an idea of what it's like to have a dog; without taking on the full financial and long term responsibility.

[Swayze11]

pet insurance is a must and it really isn't very expensive. I pay around $30 bucks a month.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

You should agree to their promises and tell them "Daddy is going to go get a dog now!" Then leave the house. Go to the bar or whatever till very late, and wait till everyone is asleep. But before then, stop by the pet store and pick up a dog collar and one or two chew toys.

In the morning, leave the dog collar on your children's bed. When they find that surprise, they will race down the stairs. Leave the chew toy as trails so they will follow it. As soon as they enter the room to where the dog was suppose to be, yell "Tada! I got you a dozen eggs from safeway! Nuture them and they will grow to become chickens!"

Ignore the crying. If it helps, go to the bar again.

[Kybosh]

You're ready if you're willing to put in the effort. My dog hangs out at home while I'm at work, but I take her out in the morning and after work for walks or to the dog park. She gets the run of the mainfloor of my small house. When she was younger, I went home at lunch to let her out and play etc. That pattern went on for about a year I think with a slow build to her being left alone first in a crate then gradually getting more space.

In my opinion, it isn't a huge issue to make the time for your dog but it totally depends on where your priorities are. Don't count on the kids for much though.

[Russic]

Good for you for asking the question, and I'd agree with people here that you don't sound like a dog is for you. It's important to realize there's nothing wrong with that and it's impressive you're thinking about it now rather than 2 months after you get the dog and realize you aren't enjoying it, and it isn't enjoying you.

Dogs are a huge responsibility and too much to put on kids imo. They should certainly help, but to expect much more than accompaniment on a walk is probably unfair. If you think you'll be the only one walking the dog, then you *will* be the only one walking the dog.

I'll be perfectly honest with you: I don't like walking my dog. He has aggression issues towards other dogs and after burning through a couple trainers and several hundred dollars we've been unsuccessful in curving the behaviour. I view walking my dog as a job, and while I do it every day, it certainly isn't something I look forward to. It's a frustrating experience on the best of days.

Don't make the classic mistake of recognizing that you only walk once a week but telling yourself that a dog will somehow encourage you to suddenly become an avid walker.

I'll echo what has been said by a couple other posters: I like my dog, the kids adore him, and it'll be a sad day when he goes, but he will definitely be our last dog.

[MRCboicgy]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Get a cat

Actually, if they are away from the house that long, they should really have two cats, unless one is a calico or another loner of kitty.

[TheGrimm]

I lost my 7.5 year old Boxer to a brain aneurysm last week, there were definitely days when we were being lazy and didn't want to walk him, but hey, it's good to walk for yourself as well!

We were very fortunate with our dog in that he was never crated, he had full run of the house and *almost* never got into anything. We were very gradual in adjusting him to being alone and it worked great, however YMMV.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

Actually, if they are away from the house that long, they should really have two cats, unless one is a calico or another loner of kitty.

My ex-girlfriend and I owned a Calico and that thing was a giant baby. Walked around the house meowing until 4 AM if I went out drinking.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Swayze11

pet insurance is a must and it really isn't very expensive. I pay around $30 bucks a month.

In my experience as someone who had it, and needed it, it was a waste of money.

They try to claim what they had was a pre-existing condition if something is genetic. I successfully fought that off, but they ended up covering about $1000 of my $5000 in bills for a genetic liver issue, saying they only pay what they think it should cost, not what the vet actually charges. So, I more or less recovered my premiums plus a little, but didn't really do much to save me from a large bill that I thought was the reason I had insurance.

As for the original question. I got our dog in the divorce. Not sure I'd call that a win or a loss. The ex gets to use it against me that I have her, but she had no interest in dealing with her or having a place that she could keep it.

They are a bit of a burden at times. Passing up on short notice weekend trips, and the stress of figuring out what to do with her on vacation is probably the biggest PITA. My kids love her though, and it makes it worth it.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Good to see someone asking the questions and giving pet ownership serious consideration beforehand.

Saw this on Kijiji

2 weeks!! and they are looking to re-home. Pathetic.

People like this should be kicked repeatedly in the junk.

[Swayze11]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

In my experience as someone who had it, and needed it, it was a waste of money.

They try to claim what they had was a pre-existing condition if something is genetic. I successfully fought that off, but they ended up covering about $1000 of my $5000 in bills for a genetic liver issue, saying they only pay what they think it should cost, not what the vet actually charges. So, I more or less recovered my premiums plus a little, but didn't really do much to save me from a large bill that I thought was the reason I had insurance.

Who did you go with if you don't mind me asking?

[Jason14h]

pet insurance is a must and it really isn't very expensive. I pay around $30 bucks a mont

If you could afford a big vet bill, insurance is not worth it. There is a reason they do it, not to be nice to pet owners, but to make money.

Put $30 a month into a savings account for Vet bills!