Re: Owning a dog - Is it a good idea?
Ooopse, missed this topic.
Tom has done a lot of good summarizing much by way of matters, but I'll add a few points.
Firstly, it is not always the case that a dog will be untrained, unless you get a puppy. If you for example adopt a dog from another person it might well know commands. I would not actually recommend a puppy in your situation sinse effectively it is like looking after a baby, requires huge amounts of time, commitment and work and probably would also be a bit much on your own.
One of my major worries about dogs in small flats, is how much exercise, stimulation and attention the dog gets, sinse it's not like say a dog in a large family house with people coming and going, or indeed with another dog for the first to play with. there are some breeds that can get by on a limited amount, however you can't expect a dog to lie around the house all day. This was something that even worried me with Reever despite her being both a guide dog and extremely lazy, indeed I take her out for one working walk each day of 40 minutes or so just to give her soemthing to do.
With a pet dog this will require more commitment sinse you won't be walking with the dog when you go shopping or go out etc.
Another fact to consider is that most dogs like a run in a clear area once in a while. Unless you have an inclosed grassy field near you I would recommend getting an extendable leed, so that you can insure the dog doesn't run off and get lost, and even if you can guarantee an inclosed area it's important to be certain you've done enough obedience training with the dog to insure it will return.
One other thing I will mention, is that if your looking for a pet and aren't commited to a dog for say being a guide dog, cats have some advantages, particularly for people living in smaller flats sinse cats will exercise themselves, don't need taking for walks etc. On the down side, there are
far fewer absolutely person bonded cats than dogs, most cats are highly independent and only regard people as essentially a source of food or an annoyence, though this can vary and I have met a couple of very! people orientated cats.
Dogs on the other hand will view a person as part of their pack, and so you can build much more of a friendship with a dog than often happens with a cat.
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