So you want to have a dog, or maybe your boyfriend / girlfriend is trying to convince you to get a dog, or your kids want a dog, or they already are with a puppy at your door ... those are just details, the important fact is the decision of having a dog or not.
First of all an animal is not a new gadget in the house, the new PS4 or Xbox One, that you use for the first months and after you get bored you forget about its existence and starts to gather dust in a shelf. We like to consider that only humans are intelligent and have soul, the other mammals are just soulless beasts used for food, clothes, shoes, fun, company or to show off our personal status.
Now I don't say to turn vegan but I say that the decision to take a dog should be taken with your head not with impulse shopping, try to act like the only intelligent mammal existing on this planet, and put a bit of soul in it too. I have seen many dogs that ended having a bad life, behavioral problems or being abandoned just because they were an "impulse shopping" or a unwanted gift.
I know someone who has a dog that was previously owned and dumped after 5 months in a dog shelter. You can say that was a nice gesture that he took the dog from the shelter but actually his girlfriend got a "broken heart" hearing the story of this dog and convinced him to take it and that they will take care of it together, sharing the tasks. Guess what, after just 3 months she got bored and he is pondering to dump the dog again. Who's fault is? The owner of the pup because he thought that can get rich selling pups to just anybody, the first owner of the dog, the "broken heart" girlfriend or my acquaintance? I would say that all of them!!!
I own a dog that had a similar life, given at one month, stayed until 5 months in a biker's pub more or less without an owner, then it landed into my life as a "let's kiss and make up" thing. That kind of "relationship saver" when she does not want a kid with you to keep you there but brings a third soul in your bed, except the lover. I ended up alone in a foreign country, having to take "my" dog while I was trying to study there, paying extra for accommodation since in student dorms is not allowed to have pets, and all the joys of the "single parent", and yes, I was pondering the shelter option too.
Why I wrote so much and you still can't see a list of pros and cons? I could start with a list and stop after the list but there is more than a list when you have to decide, and also reading some stories can raise you some questions that you have to answer for yourself.
Now let's move to the arguments, I will consider the regular dog, not special dogs with problems, just the funny, lovable, smart Lassie.
Before we move to the list, you have to think that having a dog is an important decision in your life, close to the one of having a child. Yes, is true, is like having a child!
A dog needs:
- time
- exercise
- money (vet, accessories, food, transportation etc.)
- patience
- care
- YOU (yes, you, not always someone else to take care of it, you are the master and your presence is wished and wanted)
- education (yep, that one is needed too)
Arguments in favor of having a dog as a pet (no work dogs)
Good friend and family member: that one can be true to some extent, if you want to see someone who is happy when you come home, someone who will never argue with you that you came late, then a dog is perfect. It is also a good listener!Have something to do: yes, for the next 10-16 years you will have something to do at least twice a day, on good and bad weather.
Need someone to love you: those lonely moment when is no one there to hug you, or take your hand can be taken over by your furry friend who sees you like a god and loves you whatever you do and whoever you are and more important however you look.
Learn to become responsible: maybe the only reasonable argument, you will learn, hopefully, what means to have someone depending on you and you are responsible for their education, feeding, entertainment and health.
As you can see I don't find any real reason to own a pet, other than your wish "because they are so cute". I always say that is better to "adopt" a flower if only those are your arguments.
Arguments in favor of having a work dog
You are blind: then of course probably you don't read my blog but guide dogs are really something useful and is the kind of relationship where both parts are happy to have the other, the dog has something to do and feels useful, the owner is happy that the dog is there and finds all the use in the world.You need protection: when you need someone to guard you, your family and your property at the cost of their own life and all at a dumping price? Then a dog is the perfect servant, will die protecting you and will not run to other employer when you have financial problems.
You are a hobby hunter: then what would be a hunter without his hound dog or retriever or both?
You are a shepherd: what can be more nice than having your trustful friends running along the herd?
Arguments in favor of not having a dog, any dog
Time: your time is precious? Well then your time should be your time, because a dog will ask a lot from your time, at least 1.5 - 2 hours a day, or more if you want to respect its breed and health. Except the minimum two walks a day you would also need to take time to feed it and groom it, not to mention some "love" time.Couch potato: you were born on a couch, spend 90 percent of your life inside the house and on a couch? Then a dog is not for you, a dog needs exercise, needs running, needs movement not just you moving from the couch to the bench that is in front of your house and a short visit at the nearby restaurant.
Vacations: kiss goodbye vacations without problems because you will always have to find someone to stay with your dog or a dog hostel. If you don't care too much about your dog then this is no problem for you and also you shouldn't have a dog! Every time a dog is "abandoned" at a hostel is a problem and this problem has a name, it is called separation anxiety. Some dogs are manifesting it harder than others but all of them have it. Why? Because they are separated from their family, a dog has no holidays concept like we have, for them is a pack and you are not kicked out of the pack for two weeks because the alpha pair is having holidays. Ok, some are getting used to and is like a ritual, every year they stay somewhere. But if you like to travel a lot and be more anywhere than home .... a dog will spoil your fun.
Goods in your house: when your dog gets bored or feels sad or neglected will become a little devil, destroying all that can be destroyed - shoes, remote control, table, door, and all that can be chewed, not to forget that the trashcan will look better in your living room - and the contents too. Do you love too much your shoes? Then make more time to stay with the dog and keep it busy or just don't take one.
Money: your dog will cost you money and that's a fact! First you buy your dog paying hundreds or even thousands (I forgot to mention that I hate sexual exploitation of the dogs transforming them in money making machines), or if you are lucky you take a dog just with a coin as a symbolic payment. After you are the happy owner of a dog you need to buy things like line, collar, it's own place to sleep, water bowl, food bowl, later you have the nice vet visits - planned and unplanned. On top are the food costs, vitamins and other extra costs.
Social life: sounds funny but yeah ... you can't leave in the morning and in the afternoon go straight to a party where you meet a gorgeous sex partner willing to take you home and make love with you all night and then spend also the morning with your night partner and move in the afternoon to another party from where you just take a crazy two days trip at the see with some crazy dudes that you love to hang out. No! for this scenario your life could look like this:
- you go in the morning with your dog then you go wherever you need but you can't go straight to the party because you need to go and walk your dog for at least half an hour, feed it and pray that it does not have diarrhea so you can go at the party, but you are already home ... is so nice and cosy ... yeah, let's watch TV.
- you go in the morning with your dog then you go wherever you need but you can't go straight to the party because you need to go and walk your dog for at least half an hour, feed it, get to the party where everyone is already with some drinks before you, maybe someone else has taken the sexual partner at home or if is your night you end up at her / his house but in the morning you have to run to walk your dog, you missed the nice lazy brunch with the person you just had sex, because you have a boss at home that needs to be walked. Maybe you say that your dog stayed alone one day (except the walking times) and can bear one more day ... so you go to the second party after the afternoon walk. But you don't get to the see with those crazy dudes, you go sad at home to sleep with your dog.
- you go in the morning with your dog then you go wherever you need but you can't go straight to the party because you need to go and walk your dog for at least half an hour, you notice it has diarrhea so you have your own party walking the dog all night.
Patience: a dog needs a lot of patience, at least if you try to give some education. You don't have it? Don't take a dog!
Long time relationship: a dog will live between 10 and 16 years or more, are you willing to change your life for this amount of time?
Kid like: a dog is something between a 2 months old kid and a 2 years old that can't speak. Sometime they are smart and can learn a limited amount of words (yes a dog will not understand a word of your daytime story, you like to believe that it can ... but NOPE, those eyes that are looking at you are just because you give some attention not because is a good listener and is very interested in your story). They can't tell you their problems, their wishes ... ok, maybe they learn how to show you that they need to pee and you forgot them ... but having a dog is always guessing what they want, what is wrong and they never grow.
The list can continue but I will stop here for the moment.
If you still decide you "need" to take that dog, please respect that dog, it has no fault that you decided its future and that you said "I'll get that dog"
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