How can I convince my parents to let me get a dog?

certifiedcrepe

I dont understand why they won't allow me, it has nothing to do with the money of taking care of one. My dad loves dogs and my mam isn't too bothered by them. And now I'm finished school I can take care of it and my brother (21) will too. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

mymo

Its possible your parents are looking longterm, you and your brother may get jobs or move to college, decide to travel, move out with a partner?
All these things would mean they would have to look after the dog.

Have you considered offering your services as a dog walker in you area?
You get to walk and play with a dog or dogs, and get some experience with dogs, learn a bit more. It may help show how serious you are about this, also talk to your parents about all the what ifs, and seriously think it through.
Its a big commitment and an expensive one at times, you need to think everything through. You could be talking about the next 15+ years of your life.

SillyMangoX

Your parents main concern will most likely be that they will end up being the ones looking after the dog. What age are you? If you will be heading off to college any time in the future it will be your parents left with the dog as student accommodation doesnt allow pets. Or they might be worried you'll get bored of the dog after a few months and theyll be left with having to walk, feed and clean up after it. Is there anyone you know who may be going on holidays? You could offer to look after their pets to show you are responsible enough to get one of your own. Or maybe you could suggest fostering from a rescue, this would be short term, anything from weeks to months until the dog finds its forever home. When they leave you foster a new dog (if you want). So this frees up more space in a rescue for them to save more dogs. I think that would be a great option to say to your parents especially if you are coming to a time where you have major exams or are heading to college soon as it isnt a permanent arrangement. Best of luck! The only reason I got my cats was as a bribe to repeat my leaving cert, I know how fussy parents can be :P

certifiedcrepe

Thats a great idea, thank you! I've been thinking about volunteering at Limerick Animal Welfare's sanctuary when the leaving cert is finished, worried incase I never want to leave the dogs though! :P

Cherry Blossom

If you can convince people here you should then your parents will be a breeze

So you are finished school, now what are you going to do with the rest of life? (yes, this is relevant)

After I finished school, I spent another 4 years in college while working part-time, then I swapped over and got a full-time job and continued college part-time for another 4 years, then I left the country for a year, came back for a year, moved house about 6 times in two years, then eventually settled, moved back home and started looking for a 'permanent' job. I had horses and small pets that I moved all over the place with me. Dogs are not so happy with that amount of disruption in their lives and it would have been very difficult to find accommodation I could afford that would have allowed me to have one aside from the fact that I certainly would not have had time for them at that point in my life. So I didn't have one for that entire period.

So what are your plans for the next 15 years?

SillyMangoX

My god AJ youve been all over the place! I was lucky when it came to my cats,my parents wanted them too. It has to be an arrangement everyone agrees to, my parents are happy to look after my cats while Im gone (i think they prefer them to me!) and if I ever move out the cats will still stay with my parents. So just make sure you discuss those kind of things! Have they told you why they dont want you to have a dog?

Cherry Blossom

SillyMangoX wrote: »

My god AJ youve been all over the place!

Funny thing, none of it was really planned as such, it all just seemed a natural progression. We always had dogs, but they were family dogs, very much my dads so there was never any question that I would have taken them with me. Rabbits and rodents are not too bothered as long their own cages came too.

beertons

Have a long think about it. My sister got a dog before Christmas. She's moving to Canada soon to be with her boyfriend. Bringing the dog with her is not on the cards yet.

DeeRottie

I agree that now is prob not the best time. I was never allowed have a dog as a child and spent all my life pining for one - not realising in my child's mind that the dog would have sat in the garden all day (would deffo not have been allowed in house) and the house was empty 8 hours a day anyway while everyone was at work/school - not fair on such a social animal.

After school I went to college, moved around to various counties and rented gaffs and left the country for a few months - so still no dog. Finally got my first dog at 27 and now I have 3 and I work with dogs full time! And they all happily live inside with me and my other half - wouldn't have it any other way!

And on the volunteering, I was in a completely different career until I started volunteering at a shelter, now I work with dogs full time! So deffo get yourself down a shelter as it will be a great outlet for your desires, you'll be well prepared when you're in the right place to get a dog and you never know where the experience might lead you

marley123

You could Foster to see how everything goes from your side & you parents side... good introduction to dog ownership without making the ultimate long term commitment.!

Zapperzy

Once you do your leaving cert you don't know where'l you'l end up, trust me I'm a student and unless your a very sensible student (so no parties where people might feed the dog vodka or leave the front door open ) and your lucky to find a house (and housemates) that allows dogs, even then unless you have a car and a travel friendly dog you'l not be going home every weekend.
Then it depends what sort of course your doing you might need to move house again for work placement for anything from a few weeks to a few months, so far in this college year alone I'v moved from home to kildare, then to donegal and then an hour down the road to another flat because I don't have a car to get to placements I have to live nearby, that doesn't include all the weekends home to work and the various breaks I moved back home for a few weeks. Trust me I would have found it ten times more stressful if I had pets to worry about. I have a dog and a cat who live at home, when I'm finished college next year I plan on bringing the cat with me to wherever I end up, probably get myself another dog when the time is right. I won't be travelling because I'l miss my cat too much, that's another thing to think about, I know dozens of people who've gone to australia, just look at all the for sale ads from people giving up pets to emigrate! It can cost thousands to bring a pet over. Not to mention the cost of taking care of the dog, I spend a small fortune and a considerable chunk of my income on my pair, just last week I ordered €60 worth of cat food alone! A while ago I added up what my cat and dog cost and I nearly had a heart attack, and that was just basic care not including vet costs when something goes wrong, if I had no pets to pay for I'd probably have a car on the road by now and a flusher bank account.

Anyways the point I'm making is it's not them that's not letting you get a dog, if they get a dog really it's their dog, at least for the next 4/5 years until your finished college and settled somewhere, you might only be home 2 days a week during the college year! Just think about when you've your own flat/house you can fill it with pets!

Reindeer

certifiedcrepe wrote: »

I dont understand why they won't allow me, it has nothing to do with the money of taking care of one. My dad loves dogs and my mam isn't too bothered by them. And now I'm finished school I can take care of it and my brother (21) will too. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

You could always ask your parents why they won't. Or did you disregard their response? My guess is they'll say you are in transition and not in a position to give the pet a stable home, and suspect they will end up being the pet's keeper(but not likely in so many words if they do not want to hurt your feelings). If they wanted another pet of their own, they would have likely already gotten one. If you were in the position to look after a pet, it's unlikely you would have to ask permission. After all, your parents are currently looking after you. And now you are asking them to look after you and to also look after a pet. That will take a lot of convincing.