The worst vice is advice......

Had a phonecall from a friend I haven't seen or spoken to in a while just now, which was all fine and dandy until she started asking about Dexter having seen on fb that we have a dog now. As I was rambling on about him I mentioned that we are with him pretty much all the time (I meant this as a positive) she started mmming and aahing about how we need to leave him at least a couple of hours a day or he will become too attached and we will never be able to go anywhere.

Why would I leave him if I didn't have to? We have been out without him a few times (probably 3 or 4) and he has been fine apart from the one wee on the bed because we hadn't left his doggy door open and he had access to the bedroom so not his fault, or a sign that there is a problem imo. I got off the phone feeling fed up, she hasn't got a dog or had one ever as far as I know and I am fully inclined to ignore this 'advice'. Dex is one of us, we love having a four legged shadow and our homelife is unlikely to change dramatically, oh has always worked from home and I have been in the same job since 1998. She mentioned holidays and I pointed out that first he would come with us, but if for some reason he couldn't my sister would look after him here he wouldn't have to go anywhere else. Right rant over folks....going to shake it off now.

I hear ya! And completely agree. Why would you get a dog if they are not part of your life? I do some work away from home, but we make it work so that there's plenty of doggie quality time.
Does your friend have a dog? Some friends/family think they've "lost me" now. In all honesty they are probably right, but they just don't understand the bond of your new best friend. I didn't really before I had Betsy. On the other hand though I've become closer to other friends who are more accomodating of Betsy i.e. going for walks and stuff that includes her
Hope you've shaken it off now

Thank you always nice to hear when others feel the same. No she has never had a dog far as I know (she's more of a fish person, not that I've owt against fish but it's a totally different kettle of...well, fish ) whereas if she had a ton of experience I may have felt differently. Plus she hasn't met Dexter, if she did she might understand why we don't mind him being with us all the time

What a wally!

Ignore 'advice' like that & carry on being close to your sweet Dexter!

i 'love' having people tell me how i should raise or deal with romeo. everyone has an opinion, its just that most are stupid and dont matter

We gave up our foreign holiday ideas to have the dogs. Have told my Auntie who has made it clear she wont have the dogs in the house that if they don't come we don't come (I see her once or twice a year and as my departed mums sister is very close to me though she lives 150 miles away) and unless I had no other option including paying a large amount of money for a dog sitter would never put my dogs in kennels. They are my dogs and my kids. I took the responsibility of owning them and I take full responsibility for their welfare.

Duke is with us all the time, he sleeps downstairs and if we nip to the shops we leave him home but it is never for long , as you say they are part of the family Pygmy .

See...you lovely lot all get it! The idea when we began discussing having a rescue dog was to have a companion, I'm not knocking anyone who does leave their dog when they work or go out, don't get me wrong as this could well have been our situation and that would have been fine too - but as we are at home a lot we feel lucky to have the time we do, so we make the most of it, I tried explaining that to my friend but no understanding there at all!

How you raise your dog is entirely up to you, some people have dogs as companions others,,,,well others i wonder y they have them lol
My best friend who doesnt have a dog and will never had a dog tells me i baby diesel too much, "dogs are pets and not human, they shouldnt be allowed up on sofas..." yet she let her cat up on her couch to snuggle? let it sleep in her bed? Only dog people understand the bond.
And i've seen her giving diesel a sneaky wee pet whilst shes snuggled up on the couch lol

Advice can be good but also misguided from some. alot of the time your gut instinct is the best thing to listen to as you and only you know your dog and theyre many individual quirks. as you bond you will be subconsiously noticing things that others simple wont have and couldnt have seen.
Sounds stupid but I instinctivley know when Marley is going to poop on a walk and get a bag ready. people have commented and ask how I know and I havent been able to answer lol.
As for getting to attached, well... dogs crave company and especially staffs who love they're humans to be around.

I have to admit i am one of those people. I will happily tell my friend her dog is too skinny/fat or something is not quite right. I told a lady in work the other day that she shouldn't be feeding bakers cause she was complaingin about ho wmuch money it is and i told her to stay way from it and pedigree. If its not appreciated well thats too bad lol

Hayley wrote:I have to admit i am one of those people. I will happily tell my friend her dog is too skinny/fat or something is not quite right. I told a lady in work the other day that she shouldn't be feeding bakers cause she was complaingin about ho wmuch money it is and i told her to stay way from it and pedigree. If its not appreciated well thats too bad lol

Well thats a bit diff as you know what your talking about. I would always hope someone would tell me if i was doing something wrong. Its then up to me iif i take that advice or not but i will always be thankfull for suggestions. Prob same for you but when out walking with the dogs and their friends all us humans talk about is dogs. We are always talking about what works for our dogs and "have you tried this?" no one in the group is afraid to say that wouldnt work for my dog or thats a great idea. I think the origonal post was addressing ill informed off the cuff advice based on hearsay.

Yeah, I would always listen to advice particularly from someone with a dog who knows about nutrition etc, or had faced a training difficulty that I was experiencing. Plus Hayley you are absolutely right about the cheaper dog foods!! May aswell feed your dogs smarties