It’s not all Kisses and Head Butts
Having pets is a lot of work. We pet owners do not often like to talk about that. Instead, we talk about the joy our animals bring us. And joy they do bring, in infinite amounts. But by discounting the amount of work pets are, I think we do a disservice to potential first time pet owners. If all they hear about is the good stuff (and there’s lots of good stuff) how can we expect them to be prepared for the less fun stuff, for the work? How can we expect them to become the pet owners we want them to be if we do not prepare them for the realities of owning a pet?
Yes, some people figure it out. But a lot of people don’t. Those people are fodder for all sorts of pet blogger complaints, and they are also the people who drop their pet off at the shelter when things get too hard. We are harming the pets as well as the people when we’re not honest about all the work that goes in to taking care of our pets.
I’m going to talk about dogs because dogs are what I’ve owned as an adult- when I’ve been responsible for their care.
I am not talking about the basic you need to feed your dog, walk your dog (though lots of people forget that one), pick up after your dog, take him to the vet once a year. I think most people know that going in. But there is more.
They bark. Some more than others, some at easily identifiable triggers, and others at just about anything they can see. Your neighbors may even complain if houses are too close together or if they are barking outside (especially at night).
There are all sorts of reasons dogs bark- fear, aggression, excitement, or just for the joy in hearing their own voice (kind of like some people).
The work here involves first figuring out why your dog barks and then more work figuring out how to train them out of it, or at least limit it. (It is very hard to train a dog who likes to bark not to bark. Best bet then is to limit their exposure to the triggers that cause the barking.)
Sometimes just getting them more exercise during the day helps, but not always.
They get bored. Some dogs will happily sleep all day, but even dogs who spends most of their time sleeping will occasionally find some mischief to get in to. Smokey was a big sleeper, but that didn’t stop him from destroying a couple wooden spoons and hard back books. Most of the time, it appears that Junebug is happy curled up in the blankets, but at almost three years old, I still can’t leave a pen where she can get to it. And just because she appears to be asleep on the blankets doesn’t mean that she’s not destroying something- she loves to have blankets in her mouth.
Other dogs when bored have destroyed furniture, dry wall, vertical blinds and more. Dogs that are crated all day might try to destroy their crate. Or, when you get home and let them out of the crate, they’ll go crazy.
Sleeping is nice, but if that’s all you were allowed to do for 9-10 hours a day, don’t you think you’d go a little stir crazy too?
This is the worst for working and herding dogs. These are dogs that were bred to have the intelligence and energy to do a job. If you have one of these breeds, pop over to You Tube and look for videos of them doing what they were bred to do. Then realize that you’re expecting your dog to sleep for over 2/3 of the day.
I’m not saying it can’t work. It can. Lots of people have proven it can- but it takes work.
Dogs like to go through doors, dig under fences, or even jump over them. Your dog will escape, at least once. Now, whether he then takes a 12-16 hour romp around the neighborhood and into the black powder rifle range on the 4th of July (Moree and Smokey) or just runs to the bottom of the steps in order to surround the UPS guy (Larry), depends on your dog, but no guarantees that he’ll always do the same thing.
Preventing your dog from getting out is step one. But no one is perfect, and dogs are smart and dedicated. Your dog will escape at least once. So then there’s the work of getting the dog to come back. Even dogs with good recall will sometimes realize they’ve “escaped” and not want to come back.
So then you need to follow them if you can. Take leashes and treats, try to keep them out of harm’s way.
Sometimes they escape when you’re not home, or they go somewhere you can’t follow. This is when you have to hope they make it home safe, and it’s really important that you’ve done your pre-work- you know, having them licensed and micro-chipped.
Sometimes they have tummy issues. And even when they are years past the puppy stage, you find yourself getting up every 2 hours to take the dog out.
They poop. Sometimes they eat poop. Sometimes they throw the eaten poop back up. And you have to clean it up.
Some dogs are fearful. Others have separation anxiety. Some are aggressive. All of these things take work on the owners part, generally with the help of trainers or other experts, to deal with. Not dealing with these issues can lead to property destruction and even possible attacks on other dogs or even people.
They get sick, or hit by a car, or in a fight with another dog, or get a leg caught in loose wire, and you find yourself driving 30 miles to the emergency vet at midnight on a Saturday, trying to see through the tears, wondering if they have a chance to survive and if you can afford that chance.
From the tiniest teacup Yorkie to the biggest Mastiff or Great Dane, dogs are work- lots of it. The work will vary by what kind of dog you get and where you get them from. But a buying from a breeder is no guarantee your dog won’t be fearful or having separation anxiety. Adopting a mutt from a shelter is no guarantee of great health.
Dogs are not Ron Popeil kitchen gadgets. You can not “set it and forget it.” Are they worth it? A million times yes. But we can’t let people go into pet ownership thinking its all puppy breath and cuddles.
Dogs are time; they are energy; they are money. Dogs are work. Rewarding work, yes, but work all the same.