[masraum]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

I want a dog but wifey says I will regret it and maybe even resent the dog when it starts to limit our freedom to roam about. We plan to travel quite a bit during the summers in retirement. Can we really take the dog abroad? How much does it cost up kennel a dog for weeks? Is that unkind to the dog? Have you had a dog sitter come your house instead when you’re not home? What do you guys do with your furry friends on vacation?

No regrets with pets.

Our daughter and her husband got a couple of dogs years ago. I don't think they should have as they were both super busy between work and social lives of young people, so they didn't really have time for the dogs. Then when they had kids, they had even less time for the dogs.

Dogs can impact your ability to travel. Depending upon how you travel, you may be able to take the dogs (dogs can go in cars with you and you can take them on planes). You just have to make sure that you can have the dogs where you're going. Or if you have friends or family that would be willing and trustworthy with the dog/pet, that's a good option too.

We put our dogs in a kennel once or maybe twice, and probably wouldn't do it again. I'm sure that can be good, but it can also be bad.

We've had several over the years and I don't think we'd change that. The best thing that you can do is to get a trainer to work with YOU and the dog. 99% of dog training is actually people training. Make sure the dog is well trained and that you understand how/why you do what you do.