Project #1: Sample Blog Post
Pros and Cons of Dog Ownership
By: Katy Hahn
One rainy evening many years ago as I was leaving my mom’s house, I caught sight of something moving in the darkness under my mom’s parked van. A skinny, wet little chihuahua was huddled under her car trembling and taking shelter from the drizzling rain. My heart! He was scared and in need of some encouragement to come to us, so we used a few small pieces of bologna to coax the poor little fellow out. We took him inside to clean him up and fill that tiny belly, and then I took him back to my house to hang onto until we could hopefully find his family. I got him scanned for a microchip and monitored for any lost dog reports from the neighborhood over the next few weeks, but no one ended up turning up to claim the little guy. Unbeknownst to me, I had just met my new long-term roommate and best friend, Charlie.
Double Doggie Duty
I was 19 years old at the time, and I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Outside of getting a cute cuddly little teddy “bear” to cuddle with and “ooh” and “aw” over, I had no true understanding of the commitment I was making or the responsibilities that it came with. Despite my naivety, within six months I even ended up taking on a second dog, a newborn puppy I named Sophie, doubling those doggie duties that I didn’t truly understand yet.
Realities of Pet Ownership
At this point, I have spent about 12 years of my life with Charlie and Sophie, who are now seniors, and in that time, I’ve become very familiar with the ins and outs of pet ownership. While I wouldn’t go back and change my decision to adopt these two little fur babies for anything, I do believe I should’ve been more informed about what I was getting myself into when I started this journey. Thankfully, I’ve been able to meet the needs that have come along with being a dog parent, but the journey has not been without its fair share of challenges. If you’re trying to understand exactly what dog parenthood entails or whether or not you are truly ready to take on the responsibility, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are 10 pros and cons of pet ownership – from a certified dog mom.
Five Pros of Having a Dog
1. Dogs are the Best Snuggle Buddies
I’ll start with one of the greatest appeals – getting your very own snuggle buddy. There’s just no feeling like getting home from a stressful day of work, changing into comfy clothes, and cuddling up on the couch with a warm and furry little creature who would love nothing more than to sit there and spend time with you. They don’t care that we’ve already watched binge watched New Girl together from start to finish 13 times – they’re just happy for the snuggle time.
Just like when snuggling with humans, cuddling with a beloved pet releases oxytocin, known as the love hormone or the cuddle chemical. Oxytocin is known to reduce stress, improve sleep, and just flat out makes you feel good!
2. Dogs Motivate Us to Get Active
I’ve worked from home for several years, so it’s easy to get into the habit of being more sedentary than is good for me. I often get out of bed, walk to my desk, and stay seated working on the computer for the better part of 8 hours until I’m off work. Once off, I sometimes just crave relaxation, so I have a tendency to gravitate towards even more lounging. On those days, a little bit of motivation goes a long way to get me off the couch and getting active. For me, the greatest motivator to get out on days like that is picturing the look on Charlie and Sophie’s faces when they get to go on walks. They both light up, zipping around and grinning from ear to ear (yes, dogs grin) as they try to sniff and explore as many exciting new sights and smells as they can squeeze in.
Even when I don’t feel like going on the walk, it’s rare that I don’t end up really enjoying the time I spend outside with them and even feeling more fulfilled and less stressed afterwards when we’re home again. The benefits of exercise and time in nature cannot be understated – and that goes for both humans and dogs!
3. Dogs are Entertaining
Pets are just funny. Just like us, they have their own personalities and habits that drive their behavior. It’s endlessly entertaining to observe another creature who is so different than you and notice the little things they do throughout their day. For instance, Charlie gets cold easily. Fortunately for him, weighing in at 6 pounds, he is so tiny that he can lay down entirely in the narrow windowsill. At the point in the day when the sun hits the window just right, you can find him sprawled out on that windowsill baking in the rays in what looks like pure ecstasy.
Living with a dog is full of fun little surprises like this as you witness each little personality’s quirks.
4. Dogs Can Offer Protection and Peace of Mind
Dogs can add a layer of safety and protection in your life. Standing at less than a foot tall and weighing a whopping 15 pounds, Sophie holds the full-time position as Head of Security around our house. She is not quite built for intimidation visually, but any umph she lacks in appearance is more than made up for in her ferocious bark. She takes her job very seriously, keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings at all times to let us know any time there is a suspicious sight or sound. If she sees a shady character around, she will make sure they know she is there.
Admittedly, I do sometimes wish she would bark less at passerbys. I try to convince her all the time that they’re not all murderers and shady characters, but she doesn’t buy it. While we may disagree on some of her security policies, I feel safer and more protected when she’s around.
5. Dogs Offer Unconditional Love and Emotional Support
The best part about having a dog is the unconditional love. When I look into my dogs’ eyes, I see complete trust and adoration. When I’m not looking into their eyes, I can feel their love in the way they seek every opportunity they can to connect with me – whether it be by bringing me a toy to play together, sitting in my lap and pressing their little faces onto mine to get kisses, following me around the house all day so we’re together, or just laying up against me on the couch so we’re touching. On my worst days, they are there to offer me affection and emotional support. On my best days, they’re there to share the moments and the joy with me, making them even better than they would be otherwise.
Five Cons of Having a Dog
1. Dogs Can be Expensive
As with life itself, one of the harshest realities of pet ownership is expenses. Food, medical care, grooming, and boarding costs can really add up. While I’m grateful to that neither of my dogs have had any serious long term health conditions which would require a ton of extra money, even just the basic preventative health care like yearly vaccines, flea and tick medicine, heartworm medicine, etc., is a consistent cost that has to be factored into my budget. Even though I had two pretty healthy young pups, now that they’re in their senior years, they’re both gradually accumulating more medical needs as a result of age.
For instance, now Charlie has uveitis (eye inflammation) he has to take daily eye drops for, and Sophie has arthritis she needs shots for each month. Due to his sensitive tummy, Charlie now can only eat a particular prescription dog food which costs five time as much as regular dog food... Aside from those routine health costs, you just never know when an emergency medical situation could pop up. There’s been a handful of times where one of the dogs ate something they shouldn’t have and had to go to urgent care on a whim – costing me anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars in one visit. Painful.
2. Dog Parenting Can Be Stressful
In addition to being expensive and the impact that can cause on your wallet, pet ownership can bring with it a lot of stress. Those health scares my dogs have had were not only financially taxing, but they were physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. When my dogs are up all night because they are not feeling well, a lot of times so am I. If I know they’ve got something going on, I want to make sure I’m paying attention and keeping an eye out for worsening signs. In the past on nights like those, I’ve also found myself up and down throughout the night even just to clean up diarrhea or vomit. It’s not glamorous, and it’s not a fun night’s sleep.
Most of all for me though, it’s hard knowing your little fur babies don’t feel good and not being able to communicate with them to understand how they’re feeling or how to make it better. Any time my dogs are under the weather, there’s a weight on my heart until I know all is well again.
3. Dogs Can Complicate Traveling
Traveling with dogs can be challenging. Any time you leave for even more than a handful of hours at a time, you have to consider and plan to make sure that they’re taken care of. While some people may choose (and be able to afford to) board their dogs, one of my dogs has pretty bad anxiety. I could never subject her to a week of living somewhere outside of her norm – it would just be cruel. For us, if I want to take a trip and can’t take my dogs with me for one reason or another, I need a dogsitter. If can’t find someone available that I trust and am comfortable enough to leave my precious babies with for a few days, I’m not going on the trip. The lack of dogsitter has held me back from a few trips in the past, and it was a bummer.
On the trips where I did take my dogs with me, I loved having them there with me. However, it did limit my lodging options to only places that allowed pets and always added on to my expenses. I typically have had to pay a few hundred dollars of a non-refundable pet fee for any potential pet-related damages that could occur on the rental property. When on the trip with dogs, I also have to strategize and restrict my activities to make sure I am close by and available to take care of them and let them out to use the restroom. Once, my dog was sick on vacation – all over the house we were renting - and that was not a fun time.
4. Dogs Require a Lot of Attention.
Dogs tend to require a lot of attention. Aside from the attention to the physical needs of their body like letting them outside and feeding them, they also need entertainment just like us. They have mental and emotional needs that must be met. I’m an introvert, which means I require a lot of alone time. My dog Sophie, on the other hand, is most certainly an extroverted lady. Some days, she wants us to spend every waking moment interacting with each other. She wants me petting her and scratching her back, and when I’m done with that, she wants to play fetch. When she gets tired, she wants to sit on my lap and literally hold eye contact with me for 10 minutes. Then she wants to snuggle. Then, she might want to start the whole cycle over again!
While I love her to death and cherish all of that time we spend together, sometimes after a long workday, I don’t have it in me to sit there and hold eye contact in silence with any living creature, even a sweet dog that isn’t going to expect me to engage in verbal conversation. Nonetheless, I have to remind myself that while I was working all day, she was just sitting in silence looking out the window. Once I’m off, the best part of her day starts – the time she gets to spend doing fun things with me. I always do my best to consider my dogs’ emotional state and needs – factoring in time for snuggling, petting, playing, and going for walks at the park even when I’m not quite as enthusiastic about it as she is. All of those things are important components of having happy, healthy doggies!
5. Dogs Are Messy.
It’s no secret – dogs come with hair. Unless you have a dog with a coat that sheds very little, you just have to accept that dog hair is going to be a part of your life when you get a dog. When I was younger, before I really had dogs I connected with, dog hair disgusted and annoyed me, and I wanted nothing to do with it. However, at this point, I’m so used to it, it fades into the background. There is sometimes literally dog hair visible in my food or beverage because it was floating around in the air in the kitchen, and I barely bat an eye. Gross, right? I’m not proud of it, but it’s the reality of the situation. I also choose the color of my furniture based on minimizing the contrast between the furniture and my dogs’ hair.
Although I do my best to stay on top of keeping things hair free, there’s just no way to avoid it entirely. As if you did not have enough on your to do list already, go ahead and add in more frequent vacuuming, along with grooming your dog if needed, to minimize shedding and address any hair situations you find yourself in.
Making the Right Decision for You
As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when deciding whether you’re ready for the responsibilities of having a dog. There are wonderful pros and very real and present cons to consider. Depending on who you are, some of the pros could even feel like cons for you - and vice versa! All things considered, I personally have never regretted adopting my two dogs, and I would not change that decision for the world. They’ve added so much joy and love to my life, and I’m incredibly grateful to have them. Whatever you decide is best for you, you are a little more equipped to make an informed decision. Good luck!
