6 things to consider BEFORE adopting a pet for the holidays

With the holidays approaching I felt this would be a timely post. The following is a list of things to consider before acquiring a dog for the holidays.

cute puppy!1) Consider your motivation: What is the main reason for acquiring a pet? Some people have recently lost a pet and are missing the place their pet held in their heart or in their family life. Are you trying to refill that empty space? This is an understandable motivation and on the surface it seems like a good idea. However I would strongly recommend that you give yourself adequate time to grieve your last pet before getting a new one. You risk comparing the two with the new one falling short. How can a brand new member of the family compete with your idealized notion of your newly deceased dogs? Dearly departed Lassie could wipe his own paws! The new one can’t even indicate that he needs to go outside. The old one laid around 10 hours a day and needed a 15 min walk twice a week. The new one is tearing around the living room for hours on end. Be very careful that you are ready for everything a new dog entails – training, exercise and expense.

Other people haven’t lost a pet, they just get an idea in their head that getting one is a good idea. Maybe a friend got a new dog and is encouraging them. Maybe they are lonely, or scared at home alone. Maybe they saw something on TV about how many dogs are euthanized each day and wanted to do something to help. Maybe they have always wanted a dog and, well “why not?!” None of these are necessarily “bad” reasons for getting a dog, just make sure that the thinking about it doesn’t stop there. Really try on the reality of dog ownership before impulsively going to an “adoption event” at your local pet super store. Impulse buys of dogs usually end in a dog getting returned.

black lab2) Consider your timing: Why do you want a pet now? Why now rather than after the holidays? Most people have this romantic notion of what a new baby dog or cat will be like, popping out of a gift box on Christmas morning. Oh how the kids will love it! Oh how the girlfriend will swoon!! And that is true, usually people ARE really excited by a new little ball of warm fur and sweet big eyes. But that excitement rapidly wanes, especially after the puppy or kitten pees on something (or someone), eats or tears up something else precious, or has to be let out in the frigid cold to potty. Really, do you really want the extra stress and effort of bringing a pet into your life at this busy time? Let yourself explore this as deeply as possible because I can tell you that getting a pet before the holidays SOUNDS like a good idea but rarely is.

3) Consider your schedule: Do you have time to spare for a new pet? Puppies especially require intensive work in their first year of life. I always tell people that if you put in the hard long hours of training on the front end, you’ll reap the benefits as they grow older. You should plan on spending a good hour on training each day, spaced throughout the day of course! Little minds have short attention spans. You should also plan on spending an additional three to five hours a day on playing and exercising the new pup. That is a minimum of four to six hours a day every day of the week in one on one time interacting with the pup. And puppies don’t sleep in on weekends. They will need potty breaks, some of the young ones in the middle of the night. And no puppy under a year should spend more than 4 hours in a crate during the day. Ever. This is just a reality of dog ownership – if you take on a baby dog, you need to be able to care for it well for that first year of life.

cute dog picture4) Consider the expense: Dogs cost money. The expense of dog food, basic care supplies, bedding and training can run you into the thousands of dollars. And routine vet care is expensive too. An annual wellness check can run anywhere from $20 to $60, and that is not including the cost of the vaccinations. Adding that expense usually brings the cost to over $200 a visit. Do yourself a favor and do your research. Find out what your local vets charge, how much training in your area costs and what sorts of supplies you’ll need. Many people highly under estimate the cost of owning a dog.

5) Consider the source: There are many places to acquire a dog – some reputable and many others not. Do not get a dog from Craig’s List. Do not get a dog from a puppy mill. Getting a dog from either of these sources will end badly for you. If you feel a need to “save” a dog from a situation such as this where there is obvious abuse going on, contact your local authorities ( the police) and let them know what you have seen and where the animal is located and let them do the saving. Many people choose a pet store to purchase their dogs. Please do your research well because many of these dogs and puppies are also sourced from puppy mills. Reputable rescue organizations are wonderful places to get a dog or puppy as their staff and volunteers are usually well trained and knowledgeable and the animals are well cared for. Additionally, you can acquire a dog at low cost. However, the background of the dogs is never fully known and there is no way to insure the dog’s temperament or even size as they develop. When you need or want to be as certain as possible about a dog’s heritage or temperament, buying from a reputable, long standing breeder is your best bet.

dog ready for adoption6) Consider the age of the dog: Sure puppies are cute but puppies are a LOT of work. They chew things, dig things, play bite children’s hands, have a lot of energy and need nearly constant supervision. They also will need to be house trained and will usually cry a lot at night for the first few nights. Mature dogs are more predictable, tend to need less training, are more used to living with a family. Senior dogs require less exercise (usually) and are usually the best trained of all the ages but they are, well, old and often set in their ways. Think about what age works best for your lifestyle and your family.

November 20, 2012 • Posted in: advice, dog adoption • No Comments

Checking in after a bit of a break

I have been out of the posting loop for a spell, given that my life has taken a few twists and turns. I’ll have a post coming shortly on things to consider before acquiring a dog from the holidays. But first a few updates…

Bella and Hermes, 2012

Bella and Hermes, 2012

Our foster, Buddy was renamed Pupidaly by our son. We had Pup for about 4 months before it became clear that he and Lollie were going to be vying for the number one (alpha) dog position. This created too much stress in the house so Kristin’s parents agreed to give Pupidaly a try. They are now all deeply in love and have been living together for a year! Yay for a happy ending.

Lollie is still with Kristin and she is still learning every day how to manage such a strong willed and slightly off kilter dog. So far no more stitches have been required to fix any scuffles and most nights there is peace among the three dogs, Hermes, Bella and Lollie.

Lollie, 2012

Lollie, 2012

November 19, 2012 • Posted in: Bella, Hermes, Lollie, story update • No Comments

Super Bowl alternative: the Puppy Bowl is back!

Ok so the snacks are served, the party has started, but the game is still hours away. Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl provides some canine fun to supplement your Super Bowl programming.  If you can’t find it on your televison system, you can get your fill on their website:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/

Of course our puppy videos are entertaining as well – without the football theme:

Visit our Puppy Videos on You Tube

February 5, 2012 • Tags: , , , • Posted in: pups, video • No Comments

A brief update on Indy, with pictures

Here’s an update from on Indy (formerly Sweet William of Chloe’s litter):

Indy the dog, standing in a bay in Door County, WI

Indy, enjoying Door County, WI

Hi Kristin,

I check your website from time to time to keep up with the puppy updates, although our dogs are no longer puppies. Indy is doing Great!! We had another funfilled summer in Door County, WI. Indy loves to roam free and go swimming. He actually seems a little depressed when we return home or maybe just “wiped out”.

Hope the rest of Chloe‘s Clan is doing well.

K-

Indy getting a hug

January 19, 2012 • Tags: , , • Posted in: Chloe, story update • No Comments

Jubilee update and pictures

We have a recent update from Jubilee‘s owners:

Jubilee with dog back pack, in autumn 2011

Jubilee - Autumn 2011

Everyone here is great. D is 20 months already and just loves animals. She loves the dogs and is always calling out their names followed by “Where are you?” Its really funny. D and Jubilee have really started to bond…….the table food might have something to do with it. Jubilee brings her toys now so she can throw them for her. Jubilee has done an amazing job knowing the difference between her toys & D’s. Even when they are offered to her from D she will not take them. We need to start working with D on stranger dogs. She is too comfortable with dogs at this point and loves to give hugs and kisses. It’s cute and sweet with our dogs because we know how good they are but unfortunately that’s not the case with all dogs.

Jubilee has been great and healthy, she loves her walks and if for some reason we can’t go on one you can always tell she is bummed. Shena “The old Lab” is hagging in there. She will be 16 in a few weeks (Crazy!) but she still seems extremely happy by wagging her tail all the time and still loves to eat. She too loves D but once again I know it’s food driven.

Jubilee on the trail

November 27, 2011 • Tags: , • Posted in: Chloe, dog ownership, story update • No Comments

Update on Willow from Germany

This is great news about Willow!!

Willow in 2009

Greetings from Germany! I was cleaning out very old emails and I found your address. I thought I would update you on Willow. She is doing GREAT! She has become quite the international traveler. All my fears about her traveling were unfounded and she did great on our first trip to Germany (and our trip back to the US and back to Germany this summer). She absolutely loves it here since we walk everywhere and often take her. She also gets to routinely go on very long walks in the hills/forest in this beautiful place where we live! She still has the issues with being afraid of men, although she has improved a little. She is still nervous around my husband unless I am sitting right there next to him. She will only relax and let him pet her when we are laying in bed (we didn’t want the dog in bed but he really wanted the chance to pet her, so we sometimes let her come up there 🙂

Dogs here in Germany can go to nearly every public place, even restaurants. They really have well-trained dogs and love them to death! How are things going with you and all of your animals? Are you still taking in rescue dogs? Well, better go, as it is almost 10 PM here.

Take care,
Lisa & Willow

September 25, 2011 • Tags:  • Posted in: story update, Willow • No Comments