Hey everyone,
You’re probably thinking I’m going to turn this into another one of my begging fests as I talk about all the things I want for Christmas. But actually, I want to talk about something much more serious.
I know that Christmas is a time of year when a lot of people go by pet stores or they drive by the pound, and they make the mistake of stopping in and looking in those animal cages and there’s something sitting inside looking like this:
And all you can think is, “Awwww.”
But getting a puppy is definitely not a decision to be taken lightly….and I’m sure if you ask my parents (especially my mom) they will tell you that having a puppy is usually not fun, it takes a lot of time and training, you’ll probably have more than a few sleepless nights…and even when we’re grown up, it’s like having a toddler in the house all the time.
Adding a dog to the family is not like getting a cat. We demand attention, we need walks and playtime, we like to be fed on schedule, we need boundaries, and if you get a giant breed, everything is just amplified. We also need shots, regular check-ups, and might even need to be groomed often by a pro.
If you are going to get a puppy for your family, make it a family decision. Someone needs to be responsible for us most of the time and one primary person needs to take on our training. We cannot have 5 masters. If we’re strong willed,we need to go to puppy school or we need someone who knows what they’re doing to put is in their place.
In addition, please learn a bit about what puppy mills are and why you should avoid them. In most instances you don’t want to buy a puppy in a store found in a mall or shopping center. You have no idea what sort of health that pup is in and it may be a long, expensive and heart wrenching ordeal to keep that dog as part of your family later on.
Getting a dog from the animal shelter is perfectly fine…but make sure it’s a breed that will be compatible with your family. If you’ve got other pets, it might be difficult to bring them all together. But as long as the new dog isn’t aggressive, it can be accomplished with some work and boundaries. Like in our house — we have two cats but I swear they’re ghosts. I rarely ever see them because they stay on the second floor. They seem to be happy that way most of the time…although I do catch a whiff of them sometimes when they come down to eat mom’s plants or visit them in the living room during the summer months.
There are also reasons that people spend a lot of time looking for a reputable breeder and will spend a grand or more on a puppy. I know it might sound crazy to some, but you’re hopefully paying for the piece of mind that comes with knowing your dog will remain healthy and live a long life, without you needing to spend you child’s college tuition money on medical treatment.
If you’re willing to get a slightly older dog (believe me, getting a dog that’s already trained has it’s benefits) or you’d be willing to take on a sick pup, try looking for rescue organizations in your area for dog breeds you are interested in. They almost always have more dogs than they know what to do with…usually because people get dogs without realizing the commitment they’re signing up for.
Dogs are not meant to be disposable and we do not like to be referred to as “stupid animals.” If you love us, we will fully live up the the title of “man’s best friend.” We’ll probably even love you when you don’t treat us so well. But please remember that before you get us, make sure you’re willing to spend the rest of our lives with us. Because every family that rejects us, we leave a little piece of ourselves behind with. And none of us wants to end up like our kitty Marilyn. She was in 3 homes all over the US before my parents found her at the pound. How anyone could have turned her away is beyond their comprehension.
If you’re not ready to commit to a dog full time but still want to spend some time with animals, why not volunteer at your local animal shelter instead? You’ll be able to help a whole bunch of animals at once on your own schedule without having the full time commitment of your own dog.
I wish you all the happiest of Christmases…and I’m sure I’ll be back next week with some more lighthearted adventures. But if you’d like to ask me anything about Newfies or having a dog in general, please leave me a comment below. Mom always lets me know pretty quickly when I’ve got fan mail!
Oh my gosh, those are some melt-your-heart photos!! I love the one of her stuffed into the storage spot! What a hoot! 🙂 Our Saint was so cute as a puppy – I have a hard time looking at those photos because you just want to squeeze her…but she’s not here to do that. {sniff} Lots of great advice here – and so true to stay away from the puppy mills! I feel sorry for the dogs though. 🙁
We did do a lot of cuddling her when she was a puppy…and some squeezing too, but that was mostly because she was hurting us! I definitely don’t miss puppy teeth!! The sharpest, nastiest, meanest things in the world! 🙂
Sorry we made you miss your Saint. It’s hard when you lose dogs, but I think even harder still when they’re big.
Puppy mills are tough but if people understand that they shouldn’t buy dogs like that, then hopefully they can be put out of business eventually. The only way is to keep informing people. Yes, sometimes you end up with a totally healthy dog that lives a long happy life, but other people end up with pups that die quickly after they’re brought home or they’re plagued with health problems. And that’s a horrible way for the puppy and the owners to live too.
yep, Ayla’s definitely up there with “cutest pups, esp. newf’s, of all time”:)…I adopted my newf (a small newf too, at about 100 lbs) from a shelter when he was 7 (decided i wasn’t up for puppyhood – good decision, older dogs are pawsome!), and his past life i know was probably not much fun (had scars on his nose from digging under fences, or…)..and just want to point out, that for some, sad, ridiculous reason, all-black dogs are far less likely to be adopted (i was told this by several people at the shelter, at least in the US. And if you adopt from a shelter, get pet insurance! Mine had a severe strain of kennel cough which turned into pneumonia about 72 hours after adoption, so the first few weeks were rough, but he made it. But that pet insurance was very helpful (if you find your pet on petfinder.com, and adopt from a shelter through them, they’ll add it into your adoption fee for free for the first few months, or used to). Great post! thanks, Ayla…
That’s a great point, Alexandra. I’ve also heard that black dogs get adopted less often. I haven’t got a clue why that is but it seems more people have fears of black dogs as well. Kinda strange really.
You can get pet insurance over here in Germany as well. It’s always nice to know that your pet will still be taken care of should something unforeseen happen. Vet bills rack up quick!!
Yeah for you, giving that pup a second chance at a happy home! It seems the older Ayla gets, the more loving she is. And the puppy stage was definitely awful at times!!
What a great post so well written and so true. I have a resuce puppy and a breeder puppy and love them both. Unfortunetly the rescue is now living with my in-laws, he got a bit of a ‘tude with the last move.
I had tons of rescues growing up and they were all great dogs…never from rescue organizations but from people who just couldn’t keep the dogs anymore. Ayla is our first breeder puppy and I think with a big dog it’s extra important that they’ve got some decent genes since caring for them is often even more costly…plus with all the hip problems they can have. It would just be heart breaking for her to get ill because of poor breeding. And most of the rescues and a lot of the pound pups are full bloods anyway! At least most of the cast aways we had…and that included a full blood Lhasa Apso and a Shar-Pei.
Little late for my comment ! But you are right ! I hate these shops in Malls with all puppies, cats, bunnies, and so on !
Kids can convince their parents too easily to get one of these poor creatures, without thinking about the future ! These shops should be forbidden everywhere ! Go to a breeder or to one of the shelters ! To many Christmas-gifts end up there !!!!