3. They will piss all over your house.

Harley never used to do anything in the house until we adopted Mila. The very first day we got her she managed to pee on every carpet, bed and blanket we owned. Not only that.. but Harley then went and peed on top of her pee like they were having some not so secret pissing war over whos territory this was!!! I. was. fuming!!! Not only are there the odd accidents while we’re at work but they’re both pretty susceptible to doing ‘excitement wees’ whenever their favourite guests come to visit. We’ll be lucky if we don’t have to re-carpet the entire house before we move out!! I’ve tried every kind of air freshener there is and nothing seems to work for very long! Anyone got any tips?!

4. They are harder to look after than children.

At some point, children grow up and learn to talk and tell you what they want. They learn to feed themselves, can take themselves to the toilet, entertain themselves etc. Dogs will never be able to do those things. It would be SUPER cool if dogs could talk!!! (someone needs to invent the collar from UP asap pretty please). But unfortunately, you are always going to have to just KNOW what your dog wants. You need to know when they are sad, when they are scared, when they need to go out for a walk, when they need to pee, when they’re hungry and when they need to rest. You will eventually come up with a routine that works for you both but until then, its a lot of guess work and trial and error. 

5. They have SO MUCH ENERGY.

Having a high energy dog means an absolute minimum of 2-3 walks a day. I am not a morning person AT ALL. If sleeping was a competitive sport I would win gold every time. However I now have to get up an extra hour early in the morning to walk the dogs so that they don’t go crazy and take their extra energy out on a 4th pair of my shoes, our 2nd toilet brush, hoover parts, countless towels, chef uniforms and underwear!

Sometimes you come home, tired from work and you just want to sit down and relax. But noooo your dogs have a different idea. You can forget about sitting down on the sofa with a cup of tea for at least an hour before the pups have got out all of their excitement about seeing their fav hoomans again. 

But hey.. at least it keeps you active and it gets all your steps in! 

6. Everything you own will now be furry.

I swear my clothes come out of the washing machine with MORE fur on them than when they went in. I also now own about 7 lint rollers as every item of clothing we own is constantly covered in fur! We’re now at the point when we just apologise to people and explain that we own two dogs. There is just no getting around it. You have furry pets? You are now also furry. Sorry! Come to our house and the second you come through the door you will be miraculously covered in fur, and will probably still be finding it on your socks a good 3 weeks after your visit. Brand new items of clothing I bought for my trip to Barcelona also made it back from Spain with fur on them despite never even coming in contact with the dogs!!

7. You will feel guilty if you go anywhere without them.

Whenever you are not with your dog, you will become overwhelmed with guilt about not being with your dog. Leaving them at home means you know they are alone and missing you. Going on nights out now means coming home early to snuggle with your pooch. It means timing your outings into 2-3 hours chunks so that they’re never alone too long. If you can’t bring your dog with you on holiday that brings on a whole other set of issues, like;

‘Who will dog sit?’

‘Do I have to find a kennel?’

‘Will they be okay without me?’

and the irrational fear of  ‘What if they forget who I am!?’

8. Not everyone will love your dog like you do.

And that is ok. Not everyone loves dogs. Not everyone loves all breeds of dogs. Staffys unfortunately have a bad rep and are classed as a ‘bully breed’ … meaning they are labelled as ‘dangerous dogs’. I personally think is a load of absolute bollocks.

They’re the softest most loving and loyal dog I know. Traditionally they were kept as Nanny dogs and were left to look after children! Train your dog to fight and it will become a fighter. Train your dog to love and it will love like you’ve never known love before.

I’m a firm believer in that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. If you cannot be a responsible dog owner and provide your dog with love and nurturing then you simply should NOT own a dog! 

9. You will throw money down the drain on dog toys they don’t even like.

I’ve lost track of how much money I’ve wasted on dog beds that were ripped up within days and toys that ended up as shrapnel scattered around my house. Mila isn’t a fan of toys.. she just likes to chew my shoes and towels! So many balls, ropes and other toys have just been left discarded around the house. She is so uninterested I just stopped trying. The only thing she likes at the moment is teasing Harley by stealing his favourite bone and running away with it!!!! Cheeky bugger!!

10. It will be the best thing you ever do.

Honestly, despite all of the annoyances mentioned above, having Harley and Mila in my life is the best anyone could ask for. They are always happy to see me, waiting for me to come home after work everyday. They know when I’m sad and come to cuddle up next to me. They bring so much laughter into our lives, watching them do their dopey dog things. Mila chasing her tail and making herself dizzy.. or Harley sleeping upside down on his back. Yes, they are a lot of effort and take a lot of energy and upkeep, but there is nothing more rewarding that showering your pooch with unconditional love and affection and to have them give it back to you. They are your partners for life.. and who could want anything more?

Looking to adopt your very own privacy stealing and life changing pupperoo?

Take a look at some of the links below and find your nearest rescue center 🙂 There are so many dogs that need some good loving homes and someone to give them a chance. Maybe that someone can be you!?

Have your own doggy issues you’d like to share?

Whether its a funny story or an embarrassing tid-bit about your own dog mom (or dad!) life.. share in the comments below and lets all have a laugh. If anyone has any tips for me on how to be less furry, that would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks!