We borrowed my brother's dog, Charlie, for a couple of days. Mainly, it was to see if Lincoln's allergies would act up since he tested positive to dog. He seemed to be fine. The real test was me. Would I totally go nuts over the grossness, the smell, the hair, etc.?
First of all, Charlie is such a sweet natured dog and cute, too. :) Part Australian Shepherd and part Pointer is what they think--he was a pound puppy about 8 years ago. If I was going to practice with a dog, this was the dog! Except for the smell and stuff, it was almost like not having a dog at all.
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I'll start with the positives. I loved taking him on walks twice a day. Truly a great incentive for exercise! And I loved that my kids were right along side me. They totally got to put their "Cesar" knowledge to the test, and they did great jobs as pack leaders!
I never once had to poop scoop; the boys took care of it pronto. So, no complaints there. It was difficult trying to get Charlie to pee in the rocks and not on our lush grass, though.
I liked that having him over made the kids happy. They loved petting him, especially Shiloh. Oh, how that girl loves animals. Charlie is such a laid back dog, though, that they only wished he would've wanted to play fetch or do something besides lay around. ;)
The negatives: I noticed the smell right away. I like my home to smell like essential oils not dog.
The shedding did bother me, but he wasn't here long enough for his hair to really pile up.
I think the thing that frustrated me the most was the water dish mess. Drink, drink. Then drip, drip all over my kitchen tile. Yuck. Everyone always assumes that nothing shows up on my brown tile, but water spots gleam and shine for all to see. And they're not just any old water spots--they're contaminated with dog slime. Ew.
This last one is probably just my OCD, but I just had an overall feeling of dirtiness. Dogs licking themselves and then my kids is just plain dirty and sick.
What I learned: I really am happy dogless, but I know my kids really want a dog. It wasn't that bad, but here's the reality--it would just be one more responsibility to add to my plate, one more living thing to clean up after, one more thing to spend money on . . . one more thing to drive me nuts!
Also, I think if we did get a dog, it would have to be a puppy. Bonding would be better for me, and I would rather train than rehabilitate.
What to do?????????? *Sigh*