Dog Owners- what impact does owning a dog have on your married life?

We are looking to get a puppy in the summer!
cant wait!

obviously, our lives will change.. can anyone tell me what to expect? im a little worried about not having the freedom to go out after work but i dont think it will be a huge issue for me.

oh, also wondering what do your dogs do /where do they go while you and your dh are having sex?
i dont think i could do it while he or she is in the room.

so please give the the low down!
the good, the bad, the ugly.

haha...DH & i joke that the dogs keep us from killing each other

We have 2...one we got as a puppy...that was a rough month getting him adjusted and housebreaking him...

The 2nd we got as a 1 year old rescue...still took some adjusting learning her 'i gotta go out!!!' signals...so there were accidents & garbage rummaging involved (she was a stray & that's how she fed herself )

They both sleep in bed with us...except for sex.haha..then we have to boot them out and shut the door...sometimes they sit & cry outside the door.

As for having a life...you do need to make sure you or someone can let them out if you plan on going out...DH & I both work from home so we don't have that issue...if we need to be out the whole day...we either try to take them with us...or drop them off at my mom's.

But i must say the love & laughs these 2 furballs bring us far outweighs the 'work'...at first i had to get used to being 'responsible' to walk & feed them...but now it's just part of our day! Good luck!!!

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Posted by HamptonsBride

haha...DH & i joke that the dogs keep us from killing each other

We have 2...one we got as a puppy...that was a rough month getting him adjusted and housebreaking him...

The 2nd we got as a 1 year old rescue...still took some adjusting learning her 'i gotta go out!!!' signals...so there were accidents & garbage rummaging involved (she was a stray & that's how she fed herself )

They both sleep in bed with us...except for sex.haha..then we have to boot them out and shut the door...sometimes they sit & cry outside the door.

As for having a life...you do need to make sure you or someone can let them out if you plan on going out...DH & I both work from home so we don't have that issue...if we need to be out the whole day...we either try to take them with us...or drop them off at my mom's.

But i must say the love & laughs these 2 furballs bring us far outweighs the 'work'...at first i had to get used to being 'responsible' to walk & feed them...but now it's just part of our day! Good luck!!!

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that is exactly what we are looking for! we know a dog will enrich our lives even more! cant wait!

but def. not looking forward to the crying and barking outside the door while we do the deed!
that is quite a distraction!

Puppies are awesome...but a lot of work. Depending on what breed you end up getting or if you go to a shelter and get a mixed dog... will play a part in how easy it is to train the puppy. Expect shoes and possibly furniture to be chewed on. Expect to go home after work to let the dog out [puppies have small bladders.] I hear that crate training is the best way to train a dog but I did not do that...and my now 4 year old dog is spoiled.

Make sure you bring the dog out and get him/her used to loud noises after he/she gets th required shots and can go outside. My dog was very ill for the first few months of his life so I couldn't bring him outside. Now, he is scared of the garbage men, the lawn guys and just about every loud noise you can imagine!!

What I will suggest is to NOT buy your dog from a pet store!! They get their dogs from puppy mills. If you are only interested in getting a pure bred, please go to a reputable breeder. If you don't care what breed you have... please get a rescue/shelter dog. There are so many out there who need loving homes. And the shots as well as spay/neutering is included!

I was totally uninformed and almost 4 years ago, bought two mini-dachshunds from a Pet Store out on Rte. 112. My ex-BF has the one dog [and from what I hear, she is thriving] my mini doxie took about a full year to recover from the myriad illnesses that he suffered from. I literally had to nurse him back to health!! I am convinced that this was due to the fact that he was from a puppy mill!!

Getting a puppy is a wonderful experience!! Best of luck!! Make sure you post pics when you get your new addition!!

dogs are definitley a handful.. especially puppies.

for us.. we always went out... either a weekend getaway, vacations.. out with friends..etc..
with a dog, its hard to do these things, unless you have a dog sitter.. which we did not.. we kennel her everytime we go somewhere overnight.. which really is not that often anymore..

but having sex is intersting with our dog.. she always wants to know what we are doing.. its rather funny, but now she doesnt bother with us, she will play with her toys..

if you have any questions.. feel free to FM me

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Posted by twinkletoes807

Puppies are awesome...but a lot of work. Depending on what breed you end up getting or if you go to a shelter and get a mixed dog... will play a part in how easy it is to train the puppy. Expect shoes and possibly furniture to be chewed on. Expect to go home after work to let the dog out [puppies have small bladders.] I hear that crate training is the best way to train a dog but I did not do that...and my now 4 year old dog is spoiled.

Make sure you bring the dog out and get him/her used to loud noises after he/she gets th required shots and can go outside. My dog was very ill for the first few months of his life so I couldn't bring him outside. Now, he is scared of the garbage men, the lawn guys and just about every loud noise you can imagine!!

What I will suggest is to NOT buy your dog from a pet store!! They get their dogs from puppy mills. If you are only interested in getting a pure bred, please go to a reputable breeder. If you don't care what breed you have... please get a rescue/shelter dog. There are so many out there who need loving homes. And the shots as well as spay/neutering is included!

I was totally uninformed and almost 4 years ago, bought two mini-dachshunds from a Pet Store out on Rte. 112. My ex-BF has the one dog [and from what I hear, she is thriving] my mini doxie took about a full year to recover from the myriad illnesses that he suffered from. I literally had to nurse him back to health!! I am convinced that this was due to the fact that he was from a puppy mill!!

Getting a puppy is a wonderful experience!! Best of luck!! Make sure you post pics when you get your new addition!!

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sorry to hear about your doggy's health problems!

as for me, trust me! i stay away from pet shops!
I am going directly through a breeder! she is so completely humane, ethical and i am buying the dog from her b.c i was so impressed with how she treats and raises her dogs and puppies. she even has waiting lists!
her pups go home completely social and aware of all sights and sounds.. it's aweome!

oh, also wondering what do your dogs do /where do they go while you and your dh are having sex?
i dont think i could do it while he or she is in the room.


LOL as for this. I will say it is quite a mood killer when our 85 lb St bernard just ontop of dh while he was on top of me. I was laughing so hard. So now if we need need some 'special time' I close the door till we are done. Then she can come get on the bed with us. But half the time she enjoys sleeping in the spa tub in the bathroom.

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Posted by Christys0925


oh, also wondering what do your dogs do /where do they go while you and your dh are having sex?
i dont think i could do it while he or she is in the room.


LOL as for this. I will say it is quite a mood killer when our 85 lb St bernard just ontop of dh while he was on top of me. I was laughing so hard. So now if we need need some 'special time' I close the door till we are done. Then she can come get on the bed with us. But half the time she enjoys sleeping in the spa tub in the bathroom.

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i really laughed out loud. i got a great visual!

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Posted by hunnybunnyxoxo

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Posted by twinkletoes807

Puppies are awesome...but a lot of work. Depending on what breed you end up getting or if you go to a shelter and get a mixed dog... will play a part in how easy it is to train the puppy. Expect shoes and possibly furniture to be chewed on. Expect to go home after work to let the dog out [puppies have small bladders.] I hear that crate training is the best way to train a dog but I did not do that...and my now 4 year old dog is spoiled.

Make sure you bring the dog out and get him/her used to loud noises after he/she gets th required shots and can go outside. My dog was very ill for the first few months of his life so I couldn't bring him outside. Now, he is scared of the garbage men, the lawn guys and just about every loud noise you can imagine!!

What I will suggest is to NOT buy your dog from a pet store!! They get their dogs from puppy mills. If you are only interested in getting a pure bred, please go to a reputable breeder. If you don't care what breed you have... please get a rescue/shelter dog. There are so many out there who need loving homes. And the shots as well as spay/neutering is included!

I was totally uninformed and almost 4 years ago, bought two mini-dachshunds from a Pet Store out on Rte. 112. My ex-BF has the one dog [and from what I hear, she is thriving] my mini doxie took about a full year to recover from the myriad illnesses that he suffered from. I literally had to nurse him back to health!! I am convinced that this was due to the fact that he was from a puppy mill!!

Getting a puppy is a wonderful experience!! Best of luck!! Make sure you post pics when you get your new addition!!

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sorry to hear about your doggy's health problems!

as for me, trust me! i stay away from pet shops!
I am going directly through a breeder! she is so completely humane, ethical and i am buying the dog from her b.c i was so impressed with how she treats and raises her dogs and puppies. she even has waiting lists!
her pups go home completely social and aware of all sights and sounds.. it's aweome!

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That is awesome!! I wish I knew about breeders before I bought my dogs. At that time, I thought they were only for 'rich people!' Puppy mills weren't really in the paper back then... The way I rationalize it now is that I saved Leo from certain death...he was the runt of the group and sat in the corner by himself and looked at me with the saddest eyes... I am so happy that I picked him!! And the other dog I bought, that my ex has, was a fiery little madwoman! I guess they were so different b/c they weren't siblings. Good luck with picking the best puppy for you both!!

They are a handful!
Sometimes DH and I wont go out to a movie or dinner only b/c we dont want Bella to start crying and start having anxiety...which is every time we leave pretty much. Weve been lucky enough that when we do want to go on trips, we live 10min away from the ILS, so they always take care of her when were away.

When its time to get down to business she always gets jealous!! If we kiss she goes nuts and demands to be picked up and starts kissing us as well. We leave her on the floor to do her own thing when were getting busy. So its not a big deal, youll figure it out

having a puppy is trying on a good day a nd horrible on a bad day. Ok really it's give nad take.....you cant leave a puppy for to long esp when they are potty training, adn they need to be watched like a toddler. I would NEVER trade having my dog! There is nothing like my big ol nilla dog! Seeing how happy he is to see you when you get home from work, snoring into my ear at night becasue he protects me when Joe is gone and sleeps in bed with me, When we have I make Gus and Daisy leave the bedroom. It creeps me out if they're in the room with us. IMHO it is 100% worth the struggles because nothing beats a warm wet kiss from your puppy or a warm wet sand paper kiss from your kitten

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Posted by medic6809

IMHO it is 100% worth the struggles because nothing beats a warm wet kiss from your puppy or a warm wet sand paper kiss from your kitten

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SO TRUE!!!!! Its one of the best feelings!!!

Oooo i have to jump in here too, what a cool question...

I would say that equal to our Sophie is the love of our lives. I feel like before we were married, she 'glued' us emotionally, you know? The poor little thing even got all when she knew Steve and I were having a 'tiff'!!!

Getting Sophie was the best decision we ever made, seriously, and DH didn't think we were going to be able to do it!! hahahahaa. I see him now with her and they are best buddies, mutual admiration society all the way. OK I do 90% of the caretaking but that's fine with me, she brings so much to our lives.

Gabi gave you great advice, going with a breeder. Also, if you don't have any puppy 'experience' I HIGHLY recommend enrolling your in a puppy kindegarten class - its usually 1 session per week for 6-8 weeks, she'll learn basic 'manners', you'll have a great time together, AND she'll learn how to socialize with other doggies (SO IMPORTANT, and there's such a short 'window of opportunity' for that!) Start looking for a class before you get your puppy-they have to have their shots before they're allowed to join up (just like human kindegarten!!)

Also, take a look or subscribe to this YAHOO group called 'Start Puppy Training' its a great resource:
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/spt

We actually hired a trainer to come to the house to train our 2 puppies (mine and my sister's) once a week for about 3 months. With *2* in the house we figured that would be a good investment. Well, it was awesome and 2 years later, they are wonderful companions!!

GOOD LUCK TO YOU both, you will LOVE your doggie!!!!!