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Getting a dog

pdaddio83

Me and my wife have been considering getting a dog to help the wellbeing of the family. In a family of 5, my eldest daughter is diagnosed as autistic and I'm self diagnosed. I can clearly see from the way my daughter loves dogs and plays with other people's dogs that she would absolutely love this, and I think this will be a calming influence for her - I'm aware of the links between autism and dogs and how they can help.

My issue is that I've never lived with a dog before, never grew up with them, and never been a "pet person". I relented to get 2 cats once because my wife begged for a pet. All I felt for years though was that I hated them, they drove me crazy, felt constantly stressed when they were around and felt like my personal space was invaded. It had the opposite affect on me.

A dog might be easier (depending on the breed), but I've still got a lot of reservations. Has anyone ever got a dog and found that they actually really liked them when they originally thought otherwise?

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  • I always found cats a lower overhead than dogs as cats largely look after themselves and just need feeding and letting out (or get a catflap). Dogs are always hanging around you (they are pack animals after all) and will be hovering for anything when you eat, will want to play a lot (especially pups) and need a lot of training to be suitably housetrained an safe with the kids.

    Getting a puppy will be great to start but this is likely yo bring around a year of chaos so be prepared for that.

    Maybe an older rescue dog which has already been socialised to a family would be a better option (and kinder) and cause less disruption, but you will need to be careful in the settling in period not to overwhem it.

    Costs for running a pet are also high (vets bills are really expensive and a regular thing if your dog is a clumsy one) plus insurance in case the dog bites someone etc - not to mention feeding, bedding, toys. leashes, damage, cleaning etc.

    From what you have writted I would say steer clear if a cat caused stress - dogs are much more of an overhead in many way.

    I did love my dogs when I had them (3 labs, a collie and a spaniel over the years) but I don't think I could go back to having them again.

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  • I always found cats a lower overhead than dogs as cats largely look after themselves and just need feeding and letting out (or get a catflap). Dogs are always hanging around you (they are pack animals after all) and will be hovering for anything when you eat, will want to play a lot (especially pups) and need a lot of training to be suitably housetrained an safe with the kids.

    Getting a puppy will be great to start but this is likely yo bring around a year of chaos so be prepared for that.

    Maybe an older rescue dog which has already been socialised to a family would be a better option (and kinder) and cause less disruption, but you will need to be careful in the settling in period not to overwhem it.

    Costs for running a pet are also high (vets bills are really expensive and a regular thing if your dog is a clumsy one) plus insurance in case the dog bites someone etc - not to mention feeding, bedding, toys. leashes, damage, cleaning etc.

    From what you have writted I would say steer clear if a cat caused stress - dogs are much more of an overhead in many way.

    I did love my dogs when I had them (3 labs, a collie and a spaniel over the years) but I don't think I could go back to having them again.

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