The joy of owning a dog

I just love the vacuuming every day and getting up at 4am to let one of them out - Oh! all of them. Getting pounced on when I come out the shower, watching them play in front of my favourite TV programme.

Wouldn't be without them

Our dogs have enriched our lives, they bring comfort and joy.
When he was young, ours walked for miles and nothing was too much for him, now with so many health problems it's my turn to comfort him.
I've been sleeping downstairs with him since last September as he now cannot cope with being alone through the night.
I dread the time when we no longer have him, he is a special boy, as are they all.

I like dogs,too but won’t have any more now because here the restrictions have become so draconian the poor little things have, well, a dog’s life!

Ooh this is a nice thread grannyrebel.

Our dogs make our house a home and for me the only negative about being a dog owner is when they die and it breaks your heart.

I love my dogs, they are both as thick as planks, but very pretty and cuddly which is what I needed when my sons both moved abroad. One is getting on now and I don’t know what I’ll do when he finally crosses the bridge to doggy heaven.

I don’t have any criticisms of people who don’t like dogs though, I’ve trained mine with a view that not everyone likes dogs, and so they have good manners. Many people who don’t like dogs or are cat people, say they like mine dispute their usual dislike because they are so good. If more people trained their dogs better, it might reduce people’s dislike of dogs in public spaces.

Once seen on a birthday card, sent to someone appropriate: ‘If your dog thinks you’re the greatest person in the world, don’t seek a second opinion.’ ?

I agree with all you said, grannyrebel7.

We’ve had dogs in the past, none now, because they are admittedly a tie, and after we retired wanted to be free to go out for the day/away at short notice. Just can’t do that around here, nobody to leave a dog with and at many times of year kennels need to be booked well in advance.

As I’ve said elsewhere today though, if I were left on my own, I’d certainly have another dog.

This is the love dogs thread - the joys. There's another thread for the opposite view, though I appreciate comments will cross over.
I think that's why grannyrebel17 started it.

But some of us dont want the responsibility of a dog or any other pet.
We know 5 people who have got dogs over the last year, three of those dogs are untrained, undisciplined and a liability. One couple in their early 70’s have a Newfoundland/ poodle cross, they can’t control it, another couple a rescue German Shepherd ‘doesn’t like people walking past it’, so it snaps.
Our local news states the financial difficulty many are having providing properly for their recently acquired pets, hence increasing numbers now being given up.
My brother however has an adorable well trained spaniel.

It’s not all ‘doggies’ and rosy pictures grannyrebel7.

I'm not a dog person and prefer cats. However, dogs have lots of advantages. You can take them on holiday with you, for one thing, and not have to arrange lodgings or carers for them. You have to walk them, and then other dog walkers talk to you. I discovered this when looking after a friend's dog for extended periods. They're consequently ideal companions for people who live alone.

I'm not keen on the smell of dog, clearing up after them or of them jumping up, but I've known and liked several dogs belonging to friends - and they've made me smile.

Just because they're loved here.

Totally agree. We lost our beloved old Lab in June 2020, and the months before we got our new boy in April 2021 were the longest we have ever been without a dog, and I cannot even begin to describe how empty the house felt without one. I genuinely feel sorry for anyone who has never known the unconditional love a dog brings. They enrich our lives in so many ways - yet ask for so little in return.

My dogs make me smile every day and they don't jump up on anyone. I accept not everyone loves them like I do and I respect that.

I agree, the unconditional love of a dog is a wonderful thing. It's always the owner that is the problem.

I couldn't agree more. Dogs are wonderful companions if they are trained well but you will never convince people who don't like dogs.

Here here! Dogs can be a joy and our dog has brought us a decade of laughter, love and companionship. It's the owners who can be a problem.