5 Pros and Cons of Having a Pet Dog

So you found yourself in the middle of a very difficult decision-making situation, whether to choose a pet dog over a pet cat. “Dogs versus cats, which pet is the best?”, you ask yourself.

Yes, some of you will prefer cats while others prefer dogs. But for those of you who are considering to get a canine buddy, here are 5 pros and cons of having a dog as a pet.

PROS

1. Dogs make us happy. If you have trained your pet dog to do tricks and witness him obey them, you will feel that all your hard work in teaching him has finally paid off. Dogs are known as a man’s best friend and has been the partner of human beings for as long as you can imagine.

2. Dogs are social creatures and like to travel with you if you allow them to. You can bring your pet dog with you on a vacation anywhere that he is allowed to and as long you can afford it. These creatures don’t care much about territory while travelling with you. As long as they can run around and meet new dogs or meet new people, then they will be very happy with it. In nature, wild dogs tend to move and search for new places for food and shelter, so domesticated canines also carry such trait.

3. Dogs promote good health and a healthy lifestyle. Dog owners are kept healthy by their dogs because they need to be walked all the time. These owners can exercise with their dogs while walking them, and during such time, the owners can breathe fresh air and mingle with others in the neighborhood.

4. Dogs are fun to be with. Dogs can play with their owners, the whole family, and even familiar faces, which means everybody will have some fun. You can play fetch with your dog. They can play hide and seek, too. And of course, there are many fun activities you can do with your dog. Other pet owners teach their dog extreme sports like skateboarding, which is fun to watch (it’s a video i saw while browsing the internet). They don’t do skateboarding tricks though, just riding the skateboard.

5. Dogs are very loyal. They are very devoted to their owner and the whole family. Some dogs even go the tomb of their owner to visit them every day if the owner is dead. They are the most loyal creatures. A true story of loyalty of a dog is about one dog that waited for his owner at a train station. Rain or shine or even at snowing times, the dog waited for his owner, not knowing that his owner has died, which is sad.

CONS

1. Some dogs require high maintenance. Yes, some canine breeds are very high maintenance, to the fact that they will smell bad if you don’t take care of them. You need to give them a bath regularly. Your house will smell like your dog’s smell if you just leave them and don’t wash them. They also need to be groomed all the time. They also need to be trained to be obedient to some basic commands like yes or no. they are more costly than having a cat as a pet and they require more care.

2. Dogs highly depend on us humans. Most dogs suffer from separation anxiety from their owners. Though others can just bare with their owner’s absence and wait for their arrival in their respective dog cages, most of them do not want to be left alone behind. They want to be on their side all the time. They also need to be fed all the time. You also need to be with them on their potty time or else they will poop on places where you don’t want to.

3. Dogs love to chew on things. Dogs need chew toys for them to have healthy teeth. If they don’t have anything to chew on, then your furniture pieces or other things in the house might be the target of their chewing. If not trained properly on what things are not allowed to chew, then having a dog inside your house will turn into a nightmare.

4. Dogs need to be walked all the time. This task is not good for the lazy owners, who do not want to wake up early in the morning to walk their dogs. Dogs need to be walked everyday because they need it for their bowel movements. Hiring a dog walker may be the solution to this, but this will cost you money. You can also let other family members walk your dog, but whoever the owner of the dog is must be responsible for them.

5. Some dogs are big and bulky. While there are some breeds that are small, there are those breeds that are big. If you don’t own a house and live in an apartment or some other for rent properties, the owners might not want to have big dogs on their property. These big dogs are also noisy and will disturb other neighbors. Some dogs are even banned from some communities. If you are about to move to a new place, it is best to research ahead of time if they allow big dogs in the building.

Now, before you welcome a canine buddy at home, take time to consider these pros and cons. Once you have carefully thought about these things, you can decide whether or not to get a pet dog.

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