Pepsi, the beloved and belated German Shepherd/Beagle mix we adopted from the pound when I was in high school, was the absolute sweetest dog who could give Woody Allen a run for his money in the neuroses department. She refused to walk to the park (she demanded a chauffeur), would purse her lips together and partake in the family sing-alongs, was only happy if she was surrounded by her family, had a total lap dog complex (she never came to terms with the fact that she was, indeed, a big dog), and I am almost 100% positive she learned how to say "I love you."
My sister and her family just got a dog named Daisy, and WOWZAS....Daisy makes Pepsi look like a pet rock. She was bouncing all over the place, flying over the sofa and darting around the garden outside. Had no idea English Springer Spaniels were such intense breeds - high energy, high demand, and very high levels of sweetness. John grew up with an English Springer Spaniel named Mickey, who he would ride around the house and feed peanut butter. Clearly, with that mutually beneficial relationship, they were BFFs. Seeing Daisy had him majorly waxing nostalgic.
So, now John and I have a serious case of puppy love. Not only for each other, but for a little fur baby of our own. It's an idea we've tossed around for a while, and now is coming to a mini fever pitch. My parents shriek at the idea whenever I ask them what they think, but I think they just might be overreacting because Pepsi was....well.....a particularly rare case of dog-meets-diva, to put it lightly.
So, I want to get the scoop (but not the pooper scooper) from all you dog owners out there.
How much work is actually involved in raising a pup?
Did you get your fur baby when they were a puppy or an adult?
Any training tips if we take the plunge?
Anything come up that you expected/didn't expect when you got a dog?
PS: Anthropologie is hosting a slew of Sit.Stay.Love pet adoption events throughout September. The Austin adoptions are taking place at the Lamar location on 9/21 from 6-8pm and at the Domain location on 9/22 from 10am-2pm.
PS II: More adorable fur babies here....and the most hilarious video ever. GUILTYYYYY!!!
You'll also need to be around at the right times to feed him, open the door for him to pee and to catch him doing good things to praise him! And you definitely need to have a camera to hand at all times.
I've had my puppy since he was 8 weeks old (now 14) and he has grown to twice his original size, already I wish I took more photos!
My training tips are to be consistent - always use the same word for the same thing, and repeat it and repeat it and repeat it until puppy learns. I found some good iPad apps to help with the training too.
The only thing I didn't expect was that the puppy would always want to sleep in our bed - something we're now trying to train him out of and has caused a little bit of separation between my partner and I...!
Ooooh......eeeeek. That seems like a LOT of work. It really is like having a newborn, isn't it??? Luckily I work from home, so that part would be manageable. It's the consistency part that I think I would have a tough time with. Thanks so much for your great tips!
I want a pup, but am afraid. J says it's either dog or baby. But I'd be happy to go to the Anthro on Lamar and drool with you!
oo yay! get a pup!!! All I can tell you is that yes, its hard work. It's like a small child basically except you can leave them alone for parts of the day. But its so worth it, its constant companion for when John isn't home etc. I could recommend rescuing one :) Goood luck!
No kidding, mom nearly picked up a white dog on the side of the road....all I could think of is "SOPH'S LONG LOST TWIN!!!"
We got our dog from a Boxer rescue organization when she was just 6 weeks old. As a puppy, she was more work than we expected. The crying at night, coming home from work to find she'd escaped from the gated-off room we kept her in, not to mention a good hour of cleaning poop off the floor, the cabinets and from in between the pads of her paws every night. Yuck.
But it's only gotten easier. Now, we can leave her at home by herself (crate-free, often for many hours at a time) and she doesn't have an accident or chew up anything she's not supposed to. Every dog personality is different though, so we got really lucky in this regard.
On the flip side, she's ridiculously scared of everything and perpetually high-energy (and she's nearly 7!). So taking her out in public can be embarrassing and borderline catastrophic (there was that time we took her to dinner and she knocked the table over, dumping wine all over me...), but we still love her. One of the first considerations when deciding to move overseas was if Bailey-dog could come or not. We couldn't leave a member of our family behind.
Patience, consistent training (can't stress that enough!) and a good boarding kennel for when you go on holiday - and it's all worth it. There is just nothing like that unconditional love and furiously wagging tail all for you. Hope you find a way to make it happen - good luck!
Having our pup dog is pretty much the best thing ever. We adopted her last Christmas and it's been a constant joy. The first couple of months were plenty of work, but so worth it!