Dogs: The Down Side

I love dogs and adore the two I have. Winston is a new addition, a stray rescued from an animal shelter; when I took him to the vet he had all sorts of medical problems which fortunately are all easily treated with (expensive) medication.

He is on oral antibiotics and I think this morning it was too much for his tummy: I was getting ready to leave for work and he threw up all over the new living room carpet.

Of course he is more important that a carpet, I got everything cleaned up and settled him down, but the incident got me thinking about dog stories I had heard of events that bring out the down side of dog ownership.

Thank goodness that some of these kinds of things have never happened to my dogs, especially the ones involving skunks, lol.

Do y'all have any 'dog downside' stories?

Trying to make a long story short......my Crested climbed up onto the dining room table and ate half of a beef roast one time. And this was a BIG roast. I found out when I stepped out of the bathroom, and stepped in what he had puked back up.....well, in ONE of the spots be had puked it back up......poor dog was puking half the night, and pooping all over for the next week. He had to be kept in his kennel....which is next thing to a death sentence for him.....he likes going in there when we aren't home, but when we're all here, he thinks it's the end of the world.

He STILL tries to get on the table when no one is looking....you'd think they'd learn, lol.

Well as far as puking goes, here's Jersey's finest:
I was running a little late for class (I'm NOT a morning person) and so I wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the clock. Anyway, I finally threw my backpack in the car and pulled out of the garage. Before I left the driveway I started to smell that lovely eau de dog barf scent in the car. Jersey somehow managed to throw up ON my backpack. I have no idea how she did since it was sitting up in a chair, but she did. Despite running late, I was not about to sit though 5 hours of classes with a backpack that smelled like a college bar bathroom floor. Fortunately it cleaned up pretty well.

As far as other "dog downside" stories, another that comes to mind is when Jersey got stung in the face by a bee/wasp/hornet/whatever and her face swelled up so much she looked like a chow and had to be taken in on an emergency vet visit.
Or maybe when I swore Jersey had swallowed an AA battery and needed x-rays. Fortunately she didn't, but you can never be too careful.
Oh, then there was the Christmas when we were at mom's farm and Jersey and mom's biggest sheltie, Ranger, protected the smaller dogs from a coyote that found it's way into the dog yard. A coyote could have easily made off with one of the smaller shelties over the fence (esp. little 12 pound Kineesa). Jersey and Ranger had war wounds all over their front legs and chests. It's a good thing we get a killer discount at the vet clinic.

And yes, I have stepped in dog puke...barefoot.

A story of the down side of dogs. How down do you want to go?
Finding surprise vomit is inconvenient.
If you want to consider the down side of dogs consider having to euthanize your 2 year old cocker mix because his spine has been severed after having been set upon by a pack of strays while in his own yard.
How about having clueless (selfish, neglectful, cheap, lazy...) owners that allow you to develop horrid knots in your fur that go all the way to the skin.
Being in a condition of life threatening anemia because of a long standing infestation of fleas.
Dog stories? I've got a lot of them.
I think the biggest down of dogs is some of the people that have them.

Originally Posted by PaulSage

And yes, I have stepped in dog puke...barefoot.

It's worse when it's cold.

Ever have a puppy poop between the sheets at the foot of your bed?

i have one for you.despite being immunized every year and religious use of frontline,my 8 yr old english setter developed a slight cough 1 day.went to the vet the next day,they sent me to the animal hospital where i stayed for 12hrs.the day after,she had to be put down from kidney failure due to lyme disease.i took her pheasant hunting every fall,so i was exceptionally strict on her shots,heartworm medication and frontline for ticks.she slept with my 8yr old son at night and broke all our hearts when she passed.the vet told me afterwards the lyme vaccine is 50percent effective at best and many vets won't give it out as a result.it would have been nice to know those odds beforehand.when they were giving my dogs the shots all these years,i was led to believe they were more like 90percent effective.just a heads up for other dog owners.sorry for the long post but she died in august and i'm still upset over it.

Originally Posted by coyote

Ever have a puppy poop between the sheets at the foot of your bed?

Ummm....no.

My dogs are crate trained and can make it through the night without crying/needing to go out before they are let out at night.

i have to agree with coyote on some people being the downside for the dogs. one story i have of that is last summer i saw a beagle that was running around in the yard and came back with a stick stuck in it's....no lie....penis!! as we sedated the dog to relieve him of his situation, the doctor told me some info of the owner. apparently the owner had called when he saw what had happened to his dog but didn't like our $90 exam fee. he decided that he could pull out the stick himself!!!! needless to say his dog told him otherwise because he bit the hell out of the guy's hands and leg. that's when the guy decided to bring him to us and let us take care of it. fortunately the dog was ok with the exception of some splinters that we had to take out. i kid u not, this is a true story.
now a downside story including dogs....when my huan was a puppy she used to whine to be put on the bed. one morning she was doing her whining thing and my then boyfriend at the time decided to put her on the bed before he walked her to wake me up. apparently she really had to go and i woke up to the smell and sensation of warm pee getting into my hair and heading toward my nose. needless to say i freaked. probably why to this day i don't let them on the bed, subconscious fear of golden showers.

I have to say that there is no down side with dogs, you know when you get them that can/could/ will most likely be problems here and there. You also know that you will outlive your dog so the heart break of that is known at the time you begin to become a dog owner.

The only true down side I have had in my experience is that you cannot get the same medical care for them and you can for us. And even if you do the dog insurance is not alot of help/

I had a young male Rottie with hip dyspepsia that needed surgery then, and would need it to be replaced a few times as he grew. The cost was not a problem but his happiness would have been severely affected by constant containment for weeks after each procedure a few years apart.

I actually think we are better to our animals (well some that see that their pain huts more than their life is worth) than we are to out elders, we will drag out the life of a grandparent that has no possibility of recovery instead of letting them go in peace.