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What is the hardest part about owning a dog?

36K views 145 replies 116 participants last post by  ADogCalledQuest 
#1 ·
What is the hardest part about owning a dog?

Exercising and keeping your pup fit? Cost? Lack of affection from pup? A washout? Saying goodbye? Vacationing? Keeping the house clean?...

Why?
 
#97 ·
For day-to-day difficulties, in my experience, it's the cost and the dirt/hair.

I love letting the [well behaved] dogs inside in the evenings, but the amount of dirt they bring in, in addition to the hair, is overwhelming.

And the vet bills... It's hard to know what is actually necessary, and what is just a good idea in general but may not be absolutely required in this particular situation. Ugh!
 
#100 ·
To me, the hardest part is knowing they have such a short lifespan relative to us. The next hardest thing is probably money. Most don't realize how expensive a dog can be (never mind multiple dogs) throughout their life. After that, it's gotta be housing, especially for "bully breeds" such as the GSD.
 
#105 ·
Since GSD's seem to like continuity, it's doing the SAME thing every day, at the same time. We've had crappy weather where I live (rain!) so we had to play tug of war a lot, and learn to take naps.

OTOH, the Nylabone finally stated getting chewed on.

I like having a plan in place, but I'm not so good at dealing with changes to the plan.
 
#106 ·
For me..at the moment... its leaving in the morning to the sounds of her whining. Long term..I'd have to agree with alot of you on their shorter life span then us. In only 8 months the bond has grown so much and will definitely continue to grow

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#107 ·
Fixing and acknowledging your mistakes because we humans will surely screw something up.
 
#112 ·
I think that owning a dog is pretty easy if you like him and training)
But if you ask me what is the hardest part about owning a dog, i can say that the hardest - is to care about his health)
 
#116 ·
#3 for me it was the absolute need to build up my own confidence so I could raise,train and give Sonny the necessary opportunities to be the best he can be.

#2 finding that perfect walking stride. This was really hard and took him and I a looong time to find a happy middle. I am quite short and he is quite long. I had to speed up and he had to slow down. It was a lot of work but we finally figured it out.

#1 will always be when it is time to let go and be there to help them.
 
#117 ·
The hardest part with Summer is that I am so in tuned with her. I'm sure that's because I'm retired and am around her all day.... but..

the sheer incredibility of her happiness every day, her exuberance- encouragement, willingness and ability to tackle anything at any moment-awes me - most every day.

She gets me up at the break of dawn - every morning of the year - regardless of weather, darkness or gloom. She is ready, happy and expectant to start the new day - and wants me to show the same, as I am her partner, her owner and best friend. Hard for me every day.....

When she was a puppy and chased butterflies at 12 weeks- to when she was 9 mos old and chased bald eagles out of our yard - she shared those moments with me and delighted when I delighted..... she is made of the essence of life and happiness and invites me every hour of every day to lay down my silly ways and come celebrate it all with her. Now, she's almost 2 and has come to protect our home and yard and I trust her and again, she is wowing me with her intelligence and understanding.

The hardest part with her- is the moment I open my eyes every morning. She is going to make me enjoy every day and she is going to make me happy to be alive (because of all the simple pleasures she involves me in EVERY day).... All I have to do is let go and let her lead the way. That's hard for me apparently - but - every day she turns it all around and not a day goes by that she doesn't add some crazy interesting funny introspective thoughts to my life experience.

This dog won't take no for an answer and is making me live and enjoy my life - who sick'd her on me! :D lol!
 
#121 ·
Trying to teach the rest of my family how to handle the dog! Seriously, I sometimes find my parents teaching him the exact opposite of what I expect him to be doing! Ehem, you can't make a dog and cat friends by shoving the cat in the dog's face! (Dog looks at me apologetically). Yeah, I think that's probably the worst, but as everyone learns over time it gets better. Basically, learning to be patient, with the family as well as the dog!
 
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