Published on 12, July, 2020
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?
In general, I'd say that anyone who's even having any second thoughts should not get a dog. Dogs can be amazing, but they can also be difficult sometimes (especially when they're young or a rescue coming to a new home) and if you find out you don't love them, that's a huge commitment to either suffer through them for 10-15 years or dump them at a shelter like an unwanted toy.
If you're not all in, it's not a smart gamble for either you or for the poor dog.
If you found cats hard work then a dog will be far worse, they need a lot more time and attention.