Blog

Bringing Up Doggie.- How to choose the right puppy for you

Woof!  Fess up time … I stole that tagline about being the dot com dog from another blog that mommie visits often, it is John Chow’s “…the dot com mogul”.  Well, maybe I’ll become the first dot com dog mogul!

But let’s get down to some good stuff … beginnings!  Bringing a doggie into your life is just like adding a new member to your family. Bringing up doggie may not be the same as bringing up baby, but oh my goodness, there are indeed some similarities, and most important of all to remember, your puppies don’t grow up and move away, they will always be your baby!

Today I’ll start my series of tips on Bringing Up Doggie.  Today’s topic:

How to choose the right puppy for you

Oh yes!  With a doggie you get to choose:  boy or girl?  Big dog or little dog?  Brown, black or White?  Active working dog or lap top …errr…that would be lap dog.  Your choices will depend on a lot of things not the least of which is whether your new furry family member will be joining just you or a several other humans.

If puppy is going to be part of a family with children then it is important to consider the ages:  older children and teenagers can easily settle in with almost any type of dog, while if your own youngsters are still at toddler or just a bit older stage, then you need to consider a breed that is typically a very tolerant type, such as a lab … bless those labs, they will take almost all kinds of “attention” from the little guys!

Sometimes parents think that a small dog is the answer.  Hmmm…. From my experience our little types are not the most tolerant of doggies.  First, your little tykes think that just because the pooch is little and easy to pick up, that is just what they do, but the handling is oftentimes very uncomfortable for the puppy.  Also, your little people often treat the puppy as if it were another one of their toys!  A puppy is not a toy.

If you live in a condominium and there is just one or at most two of you, a small to mid-size dog will be fine.  Unless your heart is set on a specific breed you may want to visit your shelter first and see if there is a suitable doggie to adopt.

Consider your own lifestyle.  Are you active or do you prefer to vege  out in the evenings after a long day at work?   Some of us pooches are super active all the time – others are the original couch potatoes.  Dogs do need to get walked though – couch potato or not.  For obvious “comfort” reasons in the morning, early evening and before bedtime.  At least one of those “walks” should be a good exercise.  It is in our DNAs … just playing in the backyard is not enough — we have to go on a walk, it has something to do with when we had to go out and hunt for ourselves all those millions or years ago.  After a good brisk walk we feel that we have done a job and you know what, we doggies lovv doing jobs.

Barkfully!

Boo Barkley
Top Dog – Sit BooBoo Sit

The miscellaneous ramblings of a dot com dog