What is the appropriate age to have your "own" dog?
- Thread starter Herschel
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I think it depends on what is "owning" a dog.
I "own" Duke and Baron. I feed them, train them, exercise them, make the major decisions. When I got to college my parents are going to be the one's keeping them though as they paid for them. Sure I pay for collars, leashes, toys, and treats but they bought them, paid for food and the vets. I love my dogs and invest boatloads of time into them
If you define owning as effort put into a dog then I own them but if you say its paying for major things then my parents do.
My parents and I say they are my dogs but deep down I don't think they are because once I leave my home(and have my own) I'm not going to be able to take Duke(Baron is 10 so saddly I don't think he'll be around) with me and care for him.
I guess you must either live with and train a dog or live with and pay for the dog to own in in theory.
I "own" Duke and Baron. I feed them, train them, exercise them, make the major decisions. When I got to college my parents are going to be the one's keeping them though as they paid for them. Sure I pay for collars, leashes, toys, and treats but they bought them, paid for food and the vets. I love my dogs and invest boatloads of time into them
If you define owning as effort put into a dog then I own them but if you say its paying for major things then my parents do.
My parents and I say they are my dogs but deep down I don't think they are because once I leave my home(and have my own) I'm not going to be able to take Duke(Baron is 10 so saddly I don't think he'll be around) with me and care for him.
I guess you must either live with and train a dog or live with and pay for the dog to own in in theory.
Though I think it's great to have a young person take responsibility for the care of a dog, I don't think a dog is really "yours" until you are totally responsible for it legally, financially, and otherwise. Therefore, I think the minimum age is 18. But that is probably not the best time to get a dog of your own. It would probably be best to wait until you've made a decision about college and have settled into an off campus apartment before getting a dog. Even then, it is still not easy at times. Just my opinion.
Yours 17??? I had NO IDEA!
I didn't get given as much responsibility when I was younger about my pets, my mum paid for food, vert care etc.
Now that I have a job I've taken over payng for his vet care but she still pays for food as its way more conveniant. My mother got huge amounts of responsibility, at 8 years old she was given the okay to get a dog, which ment she was given her own account at the vet. Her money was saved incase vet work was needed so she used to staghoundX to hunt rabbits to feed them. IF she didn't do that, her dogs didn't eat.
I started training Buster as soon as we brought him home, but I was 13 and he was my first dog, I missed the importance of good socialisation.
I to have no social life, I havn't been out in 8 months, thats partly because I have no friends, but in that time I've found how much more I enjoy hanging out with Buster. I'm also fully responsible for washing, training, walking and brushing him. My sister and I share out feeding them. I also wash both Sophie and Harry, my sister and I share out walking Sophie and I've been doign a bit of training with Harry.
To put it simply, if I don't walk Buster, he doesn't get walked, if I don't wash him, he isn't clean and if I don't train him he's unbearable.
I didn't get given as much responsibility when I was younger about my pets, my mum paid for food, vert care etc.
Now that I have a job I've taken over payng for his vet care but she still pays for food as its way more conveniant. My mother got huge amounts of responsibility, at 8 years old she was given the okay to get a dog, which ment she was given her own account at the vet. Her money was saved incase vet work was needed so she used to staghoundX to hunt rabbits to feed them. IF she didn't do that, her dogs didn't eat.
I started training Buster as soon as we brought him home, but I was 13 and he was my first dog, I missed the importance of good socialisation.
I to have no social life, I havn't been out in 8 months, thats partly because I have no friends, but in that time I've found how much more I enjoy hanging out with Buster. I'm also fully responsible for washing, training, walking and brushing him. My sister and I share out feeding them. I also wash both Sophie and Harry, my sister and I share out walking Sophie and I've been doign a bit of training with Harry.
To put it simply, if I don't walk Buster, he doesn't get walked, if I don't wash him, he isn't clean and if I don't train him he's unbearable.
It really depends on the individual person and their maturity level. It is up to the breeds to evaluate each kid that shows interest in their dog as an individual to see if they are resposnisble enough to care for a dog or if its just going to be a fad. When I first started e-mailing my breeder (for OC) I didnt disclose my age and she was convinced I was an adult due to how well I composed my e-mails. When we met for the first time (to see the current litter she had on the ground - not OC's litter) my breeder actually thought she had been conversing with my mum the whole time and was shocked to find out it was really me (13 years old at the time). But due to how thoroughly I was able to answer her questions (regarding ownership of a dog and the Siberian Husky breed) and the questions of my own that I had for her, she was able to tell that I am more than capable to own one of her dogs and was very happy to choose me as a puppy buyer. I am her youngest puppy buyer.
I think to be considered the owner of the dog you must be fully financially responsible for the dog, you must be the one who is in charge of training the dog and makes all the decisions concerning the dog, you must be the one who excercises the dog AND your name should be on his papers. Sure if you live at home other family members might take over some responsibilities such as letting the dog out to pee and what not while you are not home, but when you are you should be doing everything if it is your dog and not the family dog.
I think to be considered the owner of the dog you must be fully financially responsible for the dog, you must be the one who is in charge of training the dog and makes all the decisions concerning the dog, you must be the one who excercises the dog AND your name should be on his papers. Sure if you live at home other family members might take over some responsibilities such as letting the dog out to pee and what not while you are not home, but when you are you should be doing everything if it is your dog and not the family dog.
I got Duke at 17, and have never had much of a problem balancing a social life, school, work and a dog. He's well enough behaved that i simply bring him with me when I go out to friend's places and since my best friend also has a dog we spend alot of time walking around talking anyways that our dogs may as well come with us. I will say that i planned to get him as a puppy a year before I moved out so I could have other people in the house to help me out with his house breaking and help pick up the slack during my last year of high school.
Again i'd say age isnt as important as a persons ability to properly provide for there dogs.
Again i'd say age isnt as important as a persons ability to properly provide for there dogs.
when people are able to take full responsibility. financially, and time wise. i'm not meaning to be rude or make anyone mad but if an emergency pops up and you can't goto the vet because you don't have money or your parents won't pay or you can't drive up there. then i'm sorry but it's not just your dog then.
I disagree with the whole "if you live with others and they help take care of the dog sometimes, then it's a family dog" mentality. I do not, and never will consider either Winston or Morgan to be my dogs. I do way more for all of the dogs than my parents do, so that must mean that eventhough they're both 35+, that they also don't have their own dogs because I also take care of them. That makes little sense to me. Perhaps I misunderstood something.
I signed Dance's contract (of course I needed someone to co-sign for me beause of my age), I pay for all of her bills (food, vet, classes, future shows, etc.), I do absolutely everything for her as far as exercising, training, grooming, socializing, etc. goes, and yet, many of you would still consider her a family dog just because I'm 17? Like I said, perhaps I've misunderstood something, but I don't think that's right. Don't get me wrong, I think all of you have very valid points, but I guess I'm just a bit confused.
I signed Dance's contract (of course I needed someone to co-sign for me beause of my age), I pay for all of her bills (food, vet, classes, future shows, etc.), I do absolutely everything for her as far as exercising, training, grooming, socializing, etc. goes, and yet, many of you would still consider her a family dog just because I'm 17? Like I said, perhaps I've misunderstood something, but I don't think that's right. Don't get me wrong, I think all of you have very valid points, but I guess I'm just a bit confused.
Not really because its not that the dogs *have* to go out, its simply the fact that they are ther and as something to do the parents have decided to let them out. There is a difference between that and someone who leaves the house for 18 hours at a time or what not and just taes it for granted that someone else will take care of the dog.
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I sometimes feel that at 25 I have limited myself by getting dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, and as my friends painfully know I put them over all else. But the rest of my friends are young. They go out and party for 10 hours straight. They go away for weekends and take road trips. I have to miss out on all of that because I have no one to take care of my dogs, so I either have to cut my night short or I can't go. Though my dogs are the loves of my life they have made me old beyond my years and quite often it makes me long for the other life.
Though my dogs have brought me SO much, I discourage other young people from adopting a dog as I want them to live the life I have had to miss out on.
Though my dogs have brought me SO much, I discourage other young people from adopting a dog as I want them to live the life I have had to miss out on.
Offically, in the sense that she was called that, I had a dog from birth. Quibble and I were born on the same day, and she was called my 'dog-sister' and refered to as my dog. Obviously, she did more to take care of me than I did to take care of her!
There were several of Dad's beagles that were called 'mine' as in I named them and played with them and tried to train them, but they weren't really mine either, and even I knew that. They were Dad's hounds, and moreover, I wasn't old enough for the responsibility.
The first dog that was supposed to be mine I was 12ish, and that was Mocky the dachshund. Honestly, I didn't do much to care for her. She was exceedingly hard to train (the breeder had told us she was selling a championship quality dachshund because she was too hyper for the show ring. No kidding. I'm not sure what possessed my mother to pick a dog for me that we KNEW would be difficult to handle, but she did. I think she had fond memories of the dachshund she had as a kid). I took care of her for a while, then refused to ever have anything to do with her again after she killed my cat. Mom took over. Dog never really was trained, but we lived on a farm, so it didn't matter too much.
Next dog was Sarama, and I'm 30. She truely is my dog. My fiance helps, but I have primary responsibility. I do feel that even if you live with your parents, if you are primarily responsible for the dog, if YOU are the one who usually walks it, trains it, feeds it, etc, then its your dog and not a family dog. Lots of people ask friends, neighbors, spouses, roomates, even children to help with the dog . . . it doesnt' make it not their dog.
As for getting a dog too young .. . I had lots of other animals from the time I left home. And it did put restrains on me . . . because of the cats, I couldn't be gone more than overnight, maybe two nights, without making arrangements. If I'd had Sarama, being as broke as I was, I would have been even more limited, since I wouldn't have been able to afford a kennel or daycare and would have had to depend on neighbors or friends to look after her if I had to go. That would have been a problem. But I think you have to make a choice. If you want to go out and party all night (And this is the only time in your life when you will otherwise be able to, so think hard) don't get a dog. If you want to have a drink with your colleges after work, don't get a dog (and you may miss a promotion because of it). You have to decide if you want a dog more than you want freedom. Since I'm sort of a homebody anyway (I'd really RATHER go home) and I have a fiance that lives with me for emergencies, I decdied that even as a first year associate at a law firm, I could handle it . . . I had, after all, waited twelve years for the income and housing that would allow a dog. And I'm really glad. But I wasn't giving up much . . . I'm inclined to come right home after work anyway. I'm not much of a party animal. So . . . take all that into account. If you want an animal, and you can't do a dog, get a cat. Or get a chinchilla, which was the creature I bought when I first started living on my own. She was great. She could be aloen overnight, even a litle longer. She was always glad to see me. She was soft and fuzzy and learned a couple of simple tricks.
There were several of Dad's beagles that were called 'mine' as in I named them and played with them and tried to train them, but they weren't really mine either, and even I knew that. They were Dad's hounds, and moreover, I wasn't old enough for the responsibility.
The first dog that was supposed to be mine I was 12ish, and that was Mocky the dachshund. Honestly, I didn't do much to care for her. She was exceedingly hard to train (the breeder had told us she was selling a championship quality dachshund because she was too hyper for the show ring. No kidding. I'm not sure what possessed my mother to pick a dog for me that we KNEW would be difficult to handle, but she did. I think she had fond memories of the dachshund she had as a kid). I took care of her for a while, then refused to ever have anything to do with her again after she killed my cat. Mom took over. Dog never really was trained, but we lived on a farm, so it didn't matter too much.
Next dog was Sarama, and I'm 30. She truely is my dog. My fiance helps, but I have primary responsibility. I do feel that even if you live with your parents, if you are primarily responsible for the dog, if YOU are the one who usually walks it, trains it, feeds it, etc, then its your dog and not a family dog. Lots of people ask friends, neighbors, spouses, roomates, even children to help with the dog . . . it doesnt' make it not their dog.
As for getting a dog too young .. . I had lots of other animals from the time I left home. And it did put restrains on me . . . because of the cats, I couldn't be gone more than overnight, maybe two nights, without making arrangements. If I'd had Sarama, being as broke as I was, I would have been even more limited, since I wouldn't have been able to afford a kennel or daycare and would have had to depend on neighbors or friends to look after her if I had to go. That would have been a problem. But I think you have to make a choice. If you want to go out and party all night (And this is the only time in your life when you will otherwise be able to, so think hard) don't get a dog. If you want to have a drink with your colleges after work, don't get a dog (and you may miss a promotion because of it). You have to decide if you want a dog more than you want freedom. Since I'm sort of a homebody anyway (I'd really RATHER go home) and I have a fiance that lives with me for emergencies, I decdied that even as a first year associate at a law firm, I could handle it . . . I had, after all, waited twelve years for the income and housing that would allow a dog. And I'm really glad. But I wasn't giving up much . . . I'm inclined to come right home after work anyway. I'm not much of a party animal. So . . . take all that into account. If you want an animal, and you can't do a dog, get a cat. Or get a chinchilla, which was the creature I bought when I first started living on my own. She was great. She could be aloen overnight, even a litle longer. She was always glad to see me. She was soft and fuzzy and learned a couple of simple tricks.
This supports my point even more. Winston and Morgan are truly family dogs, even though you do more for/with them than anyone else.
Why did your parent have to co-sign? Legally, she is your parents responsibility. Additionally, where does Dance live? sleep? play? Who owns the yard? If your school is having a field trip until 10 p.m., what special arrangements do you have to make? "Mom, Dad, can you please feed Dance and take her out? OK, thanks!" That isn't the way it works for a lot of us. It means that we either skip the trip, drive ourselves, or make special arrangements for the dogs.
As a couple of other people have mentioned, to say that a dog is truly yours it means that your life is determined by the dog. Our parents aren't in the same house so they can't let the dogs out when they get home. We have to be home. Even if it means missing a party, a seminar, or a happy hour.
Lilavati and SisMorphine touched on a really important point. For those of you that think you are ready to have your "own dog" before you even apply for college, give it some more thought. Consider everything that you will miss, the regrets that you might have, and your life goals. Everything will change and if you want to be responsible, there is no turning back. What are you willing to sacrifice?
Why did your parent have to co-sign? Legally, she is your parents responsibility. Additionally, where does Dance live? sleep? play? Who owns the yard? If your school is having a field trip until 10 p.m., what special arrangements do you have to make? "Mom, Dad, can you please feed Dance and take her out? OK, thanks!" That isn't the way it works for a lot of us. It means that we either skip the trip, drive ourselves, or make special arrangements for the dogs.
As a couple of other people have mentioned, to say that a dog is truly yours it means that your life is determined by the dog. Our parents aren't in the same house so they can't let the dogs out when they get home. We have to be home. Even if it means missing a party, a seminar, or a happy hour.
Lilavati and SisMorphine touched on a really important point. For those of you that think you are ready to have your "own dog" before you even apply for college, give it some more thought. Consider everything that you will miss, the regrets that you might have, and your life goals. Everything will change and if you want to be responsible, there is no turning back. What are you willing to sacrifice?
No, that's just convenient!
What guarantee do you have that they will be home? (By the way, whenever my parents are visiting it is so much easier to take care of the dog. They aren't dog savvy at all, but just having someone at home that can take care of them while I am at work is a huge help. Sure, all they do is take the dog out to go to the bathroom every few hours, but most of us can agree--our dogs like having people around.)
What guarantee do you have that they will be home? (By the way, whenever my parents are visiting it is so much easier to take care of the dog. They aren't dog savvy at all, but just having someone at home that can take care of them while I am at work is a huge help. Sure, all they do is take the dog out to go to the bathroom every few hours, but most of us can agree--our dogs like having people around.)
When I was at home we had dogs and cats, but they were the family pets because my parents paid for eveything. When I was 19 and in college I got my first cat. He was "mine" because I took him to the vet, I bought the food, and I paid for his care. The same goes for my other cat and two dogs now (the bf is also responsible because 2 of them are "our" animals). When I travel I have to arrange for a pet sitter or board them. Most of the time I stay home. When Joey swallowed the ball I took him to the vet, paid the bill, and visited him for that month and I returned to get his bandages changed three to four times a week for the next month. I think you have to be the one who is financially responsible to actually own the dog.
For me, I guess what I'm thinking is that when you live at home, you always have someone to bail you out. The difference between having a dog when you live at home and having a dog when you are on your own really hit home for me soon after we got Kai. He started having medical problems right away and the vet bills were pretty expensive. I knew that if he got sick and needed to go to the vet, I HAD to have some way to pay for it. Because there was no one else that would. Perhaps that is the main difference - the sense of responsibility that comes with having a dog's life in your hands. To me, it's sort of like having a younger sibling that you take care of vs. having kids yourself. This is not to lessen anyone's relationship with their dog or to lessen the importance of taking responsibility for a dog. (Which again, I really think is a great thing for a younger person to do.) It's just to say that it's a bit different. Again, just my opinion from my experience.