Apparently, dogs are all about dominance, so my daughter tells me. I have little experience with dogs as pets and have often thought it would be fun to own one. I have names picked out, like Chester, Schroeder, Grover and my favourite; Charlie. Some things I know about dogs are that they like to play fetch, chase after deer and rabbits and sometimes cats; they go into ecstatic convulsions when the owner comes home and they provide satisfying companionship.
As I have mentioned, we are house sitting a dog and her two cats. The dog does all of the above things that I expected of her and much more. She needs a lot of patting, gets constipated, eats grass and throws up, misbehaves by laying on the leather couch, not coming when she’s called and eating whatever happens to be lying on the ground as she trots by.
A dog is like a 2 year old that never grows up.
Maybe you are considering buying a dog or maybe someone wants you to take theirs from them, as my nephew did. His parents are now the owners of a busy little beagle named Bailey. My brother and sister-in-law seem to be enjoying the experience even with the downside of pet ownership. They don’t mind the expense, the clean-up or the fact that they now talk like smitten-dog-owners.
Of course, the decision is yours but if I may make a recommendation. Why not give the experience a trial-run? Look after someone else’s dog and see what you think. It has worked wonders for us and although I have learned it is unwise to say, “never”, I venture a guess that I will never be a dog owner because I think it’s far too easy for the dog to own the owner. I am the eldest of three sisters and I am far too attached to my subtle role of dominance to hand it over to a dog.
The best part of being a dog owner for me is I am forced to go for walks even when I don’t want to, like right now at 7:00 am before I go to work! Bailey is good company for me when Don works night shifts. There is research that says people who own dogs live longer, it has also helped me with my struggle with depression. Having a dog that has already been trained has made it a very enjoyable experience. It helps that he is so cute and many people stop to comment about his looks. Some dog owners are nuts about their dogs!!! Did not think that Don and I would ever be dog owners, we were the ones who said never, your right about never saying never about anything.
Margaret, I was hoping a dog owner would write in response to my post! Well done! Yes, I can certainly see why you enjoy Bailey and I appreciate your reference to stats on the positive side of dog ownership. My life may be shorter as a result of my choice not to own a pup but for me, those years will be happier. Thanks again!