Getting a dog at a young-ish age sounds like the perfect “mom come meet your grandson” (and it’s actually a dog) moment, because you get to play with the dog, you intend to go on long walks everyday and keep up with your healthy lifestyle, you feel like a little family (whether you have a partner or not) and can post cute pictures of the pup.
Growing up I always wanted a dog and would beg my parents to get one and that I would take care of him all the time. Now, 15 years later, I realize how stupid I was. Living alone is already a big conversion in life, but then also getting a dog is very hard. Luckily, Balou is a very well-behaved dog and will not pee on the carpet (although had some explosive diarrhea during the christmas holidays which ended up on our carpet AND his own little bed).
However, it is hard for one person (or even a couple) to keep up with a good routine for the dog. Balou needs 3 walks a day and gets his food in the morning and in the afternoon. Managing that with for example me going to university and being away all day and my partner being at work from either 4:00 to 13:00 or 12:00 to 21:30 is very difficult. Another disadvantage is for most people our age the hardest: going out. If you go out say at 21:00, you need to go for a walk with the dog because god knows when you will return back. Sleeping until noon is also not an option, because the dog needs to go for a walk again. If the dog is sick, he will probably need to go out at least 6 times per night, unless you want a messy and stinky carpet like ours.
For some people the “idea” of having a dog is more pleasing than actually owning a dog. If you are willing to overcome these “issues”, then let me tell you how much fun it is to own a dog. You get to play with him and fool around with him all the time, he will support you emotionally and going on walks seems like the perfect saturday evening mood!
