Owning a Dog – The Pros and Cons
October 5th, 2007 | 
Author: 
My girlfriend, Alana, and I are going to look at dogs this weekend. She’s been talking about getting a dog for probably two years now and she’s finally decided that now is the time. I figured that, in light of this event, it would be a good time to talk about the benefits and the downsides that go along with dog ownership.
Benefits:
- You will have a buddy. A dog is always loyal and loves to see you everyday. He will become one of your best friends.
- Studies show that people who own dogs actually live longer. Dog owners, in general, have lower blood pressure. There is also a lower rate of depression in dog owners.
- A dog is a great way to learn responsibility. For people who plan to be parents one day, owning a dog shows you what it’s like to, all of the sudden, have another mouth to feed. This teaches and instills a sense of responsibility in to the pet owner’s life.
- Lower divorce rate – Believe it or not, dog owners tend to lead healthier relationships than non dog owners.
Downsides:
- The biggest downside of a dog is probably cost. You have:
Purchase Price
Food
Vaccines
Vet Bills
Bed
Doggie Treats
Collars
Leashes
Training
Flee Control Medicine
Dog Shampoo
And more that I’m probably not thinking of… - Dog’s shed – Some dogs shed, leaving some extra cleaning to be done.
- Pet odors – Sometimes dogs have accidents which require clean up and odor remover…
Those are my pros and cons of owning a dog. I personally think that the pros far outweigh the cons. I am a dog lover and I believe that rescuing a dog and giving it a good home is worth the cost. I’ll give you an update once the deed is done and we’ve had the little guy for a while.
-M
if you put the money in the budget, rescuing a pet is one of the most wonderful things you can do and it will be paid back many times over. Congrats on the new addition.
Yea. We’ve definitely budgeted for it. The thing we weren’t expecting was the middle of the night howling that keeps us and the neighbors awake all night. We are attempting to crate train… He’s getting better about it though. I plan on putting some pictures up for one of my weekend posts. He’s a cute little guy.
This really helped me out because i have a pursuasive writing paper i have to do, and it’s on convincing my parents to let me have a dog. This gave me many ideas and information. Thank-you :]
I’m writing a research paper for my Honors English class on dog ownership. This was very helpful, thank you.
As a new dog owner I appreciate all the advise here. I really want my new puppy to get properly trained and have a healthy atmosphere to live in. Many thanks for the advice.
These are the craziest dogs I ever seen! You must check it out! Follow the link: Crazy Dogs