My Boyfriend and I Want To Get a Dog

The popularity of young people as pet owners has grown significantly over the past ten years.  When I was growing up it seemed like only families living in houses with yards had dogs, but now young people take dogs to college with them and couples living in small apartments adopt puppies.  Trendy pet stores, celebrity pets, dog and cat fashion, animal adoption advertisements, and the growth of pet-friendly hotels and rental units have all contributed to the increase in pet adoption by young owners.

If you are thinking about getting a dog as a couple, there are many questions that you should consider first.  This is similar to adopting a child, so you need to take the situation extremely seriously.  If you walk by a pet store and see a cute puppy that you really really want to take home, don’t do it!  You are an adult and must make mature and practical decisions.  This is a 12-15 year commitment!  The picture that you have in your head of you, your boyfriend, and that cute Labradoodle puppy in a photo on your fridge is not quite accurate.  A new dog takes a lot of care, attention, knowledge, and patience and can be a huge strain on a relationship.

• Who owns the dog?  Does it belong to one of you or both of you? If you’re not married then you have to be realistic about the fact that you might break up.  You don’t want to fight over the dog or share custody, so I suggest having the dog belong to one person in the relationship.  That one person will be the main caretaker of the dog and this will solve issues of responsibility and payment when issues arise.

• What will you do when you go out of town? Young people travel and stay out late a lot more often than families.  If you adopt a dog you can no longer make last minute decisions to leave town or spend the night out.  You always need to think about your dog sitting at home waiting for you.

• Do you have experience training a dog? If you get a puppy you will need to take classes or do research to understand how to train your dog to be well-behaved.  It is extremely difficult to resolve behavioral issues later in the dog’s life, so address issues properly when they are young.

• Where will the dog sleep? You and your boyfriend might have different ideas about this.  If the dog is sleeping in your bed that will definitely affect your sex life and your nighttime routine.

• Why do you want a dog? Are you using a dog to try to heal problems in your relationship or make your boyfriend feel more attached to you?  Think about this seriously!  You don’t want to take on the responsibility of an innocent animal’s life because you are trying to solve relationship problems.  A dog can only create new problems in a relationship and will not solve any.