The impact of owning a dog - research.

I'm not sure if this is in the right section - apologies if it's not!

I'm writing an essay regarding the impact that canine behaviour problems have within their homes, for example; arguments within family members about how to solve the problem, feelings of guilt, frustration etc.

And wondered if anybody could help with anecdotes, or any other help would be brilliant

It can create a bit of tension in our house, mainly when mum and I agree on one course of action to stop a certain behaviour, but my brother and dad disagree.

For instance, when Dempsey starts chewing the cushions on the sofa. Mum and I think that getting him off of the sofa is the right thing to do, followed by praise for stopping the unwanted behaviour. Dad and brother feel that it isn't fair on Dempsey to kick him off the sofa, even though they're shouting at him anyway to stop, which again isn't particularly fair as it causes confusion for him.

So it's mainly disagreeing on what course of action to take if he's naughty. But it usually blows over quickly, so no major problems.

Hope that helps! Good luck on your essay!

Me & my husband - there is a bone of contention that we have Louby in the first place. We both love dogs, but im a bit more on the obssessive side. We didnt technically choose to have a dog, we both work full time and dont really have enough time for a dog, she found us in that she followed mum home from the shop. I couldnt let her go after that, although there was nowhere for her to go! Because she is on her own most of the day, i get up an hour earlier than i used to, so she has a walk and company before i go to work. i dont like to go out on an evening and want to stay in at weekends, if i go anywhere she is with me. Lots of guilt on my part.

My husband says i worry about her too much. i am constantly worried that she is ok. If we are out i am always saying 'i hope she is ok', 'i hope she is behaving' etc etc.

Hope this helps x

We have issues on how to treat darcy when naughty too the kids think if I'm correcting her on something I'm being mean & that's not fair.
Also things like I won't leave her on her own in the evening if we go out for tea and the pubs not dog friendly, my mum dog sits the OH says this is one of the things about owning a dog that restricts us, me i couldn't care less about going out & missing out on staffy cuddles
Of course there's the holiday issue, of the things we decided on before we got her was no-one would be happy to leave her in kennels, my son is 20 she he decided he's to old to come on holiday with mum, dad & sister anyways so he would take a week from his annual hols to spend time with darcy, other than that we tend to do pretty much everything with her anyway, including finding pubs that serve food that are dog friendly. Sorry about the essay got carried away.

Good luck Rach, sorry but its only me and Moo at home so unless I argue with myself (it has happened) we have know problems!

Feelings of guilt are when we (rare) go out on a night time, Pixee hates the dark. We leave all lights on, treats, and those are not touched till we come home.

We dont argure over Pixees behaviour, as she gets upset if any of us shout. We all learned that since we are all different, she is going to be treated different by each of us, and she knows this so we sort any problems out ourselves as and when it happens but house rules are follows, e.g. not allowed on the sofas, except her two chairs in the conney and of course she is allowed on our new sofa in the kitchen.

Couldn't really add much more to others! I often argue with my mom thinking it's okay to constantly feed her treats and my mom lets her beg in front of her and if I tell her off my mom will always go and cuddle her ect which does cause some problems! As well as the added guilt for staying out all night, working long hours but it also stops arguments as I leave with the dog when things get heated which I never would if I was on my own because I'd look like a loon walking round by myself. Ebony also hates shouting and loud noises so it does keep me a bit calmer an stops me from slamming doors ect on another post a lot of people spoke about their depression getting better along with being a bit more confident and getting a stronger bond with their family Good luck on your essay! What subject is the easy for if you don't mind me asking?

I argue often with my parents because they go with whatever they think is right, and I'm the one doing the research constantly, but if I explain to them how to train him, they treat me like I'm an idiotic child so lots of arguments.

And....i am Louby's main carer so to speak, i do most of the walking and feeding and cuddling, but when i ask on the odd occasion for t'other half to do it, he can sometimes moan so we have a few words.

Me and the OH have actually never argued over the dogs, even Chance and the hard work he's been we've never regretted getting him nor did either of us threaten to get rid when he's bitten us.

When it comes to the dogs, i'm very much in charge over everything and he always says he's learnt alot from me even though he's grown up with dogs, so we are very much on the same page which TBH is awesome!

Thanks so much for all of your answers!! HUGE help

Rachel33 wrote:Thanks so much for all of your answers!! HUGE help

Hope it helps

It's only me and Daisy so there's no arguments here!! My mum looks after her a lot though and it can be frustrating sometimes, she doesn't agree with me on everything and doesn't listen to me!! For example I don't feed Daisy while I'm preparing or eating my food but my mum will make a sandwich and give her dogs some cheese, ham or whatever and Daisy will get the same when she's there, which annoys me because I don't want Daisy to expect the same from me. But then I feel bad complaining because I do rely on her for the help and obviously appreciate it massively