Want to go out after work? Gotta go home and tend to the dogs first
Weekend getaway? The cost just increased by however much it's going to cost you to board the dogs or hire a sitter.
Surprise! One of your dogs has developed a thyroid condition and will require daily medication for the rest of its life.
Time for that annual teeth cleaning ($$$$$)
That said, next to fatherhood, it's one of the more rewarding things in my life.
I spent about the first week sleeping on the floor next to him to make sure he was comfortable and to take him out if he started whining.
We were also told to expect him to top out around 35 lbs. We had him neutered on Black Friday last year. Figured he was born about May 1st last year. When he got fixed he was already 45 lean pounds. A year after bringing home, he seems to have peaked at 60 pounds, nearly twice what we told to expect. He definitely has tons of energy and is very athletic (he can easily jump entirely over our couch). He could easily clear the baby gates we have to keep him in the living room/kitchen in our townhouse. He did it once without thinking, chasing one our cats upstairs.
First 3 months or so, there were a lot of accidents with urinating and defecating in the house. And he had worms when we first brought him home. I had to carry him up and down the stairs for that period, as well. At firat because he just couldn't get up and down the stairs on his own, and then later to prevent him having an accident before getting outside (never had an accident while I was carrying him).
A year in, he's fairly well trained, but we still have some problem areas like barking and jumping on people. He's crate trained. He sleeps in his crate overnight and when we're away from home for a bit. My wife works from home and sleeps in a bit and he's gotten used to me taking him out early in the morning to do his business and goes right back into his crate on his own after having a bit of food and water until my wife wakes up an hour or so later.
Glad to hear things are working out for you :)