Two weeks ago we announced that we were getting a puppy. Shocking, I know – considering this seems to be the time that EVERYBODY is getting a puppy. And with good reason – specifically because so many people are home right now, it does seem like its ideal timing. Training a puppy is a lot of work and requires attention and consistency, which are a lot easier when your home (either working or not) during the days and unable to do much visiting or travelling. And while this tipped the scales in favour of our decision, it wasn’t our only reason.
We currently have a chocolate lab and he is a dream dog – super smart and kind, and with very minimal training – we really lucked out with him – and we know we will likely not get as lucky with our next dog. But nonetheless, he’s getting older. So what? Why not just give him all the attention as he enters his final years?
The reason why it was important for us to get a second dog (and we’re taking a gamble that this is the best way) is because of the relationship Harley, our lab, has with our middle daugher, Taliah. As you may or may not know, she has ADHD, Dyslexia and anxiety. She has never slept well, especially on her medication, and aside from us, Harley seems to be the only other family member that can help her calm down. We anticipate that it will be devastating for her to lose him. And furthermore, once that time comes, even if we did replace him, a new puppy would need to be trained and also need to mature to help her – so it would be quite some time before she has that comfort again. The goal is that Harley will still be her “rock” while we prepare a new dog to take on that role once its time.
Which brings me to the next point on why we chose one now – it was really just a perfect opportunity. We wanted very specific things in our next breed. Of course smart – this was very important. We also wanted something a little smaller – more mid-sized. While we love Labs, Retrievers, Huskies, they are big to travel with when we go camping and space becomes limited with our growing girls. I also wanted a running partner so needed a dog with stamina.
Aside from those criteria, we hadn’t necessarily settled on an exact breed. But then, my best friend started their search for a dog, and she had settled on a Border Collie. She had found a breeder and once we saw the cute little pups we were sold. I mean, the breed does meet our requirements – so when she had secured one of the puppies, she actually was able to secure one for us as well (the breeder was happy that brothers would go to such close friends that would see each other often). However, we did find out later the its more likely that they won’t remember each other as “siblings” later – but I still have hope.
The other requirement we had was to get the puppy early enough in the spring/summer to have time to train him outdoors before the winter. In addition, we didn’t want to be getting a puppy at the end of summer when I would likely be going back to the office and the kids back to school. Better for us all to be training him together for consistency. Luckily Tom works from home so it would be rare that the dogs are along during the day, but still – it would be more difficult.
The cool thing is, we have a very active lifestyle – love being outdoors, going camping in the summer and are really only inside in the dead of winter. We are often exercising and like to go for walks and runs. So we really do have a lifestyle conducive to have a dog or dogs. Tom and I actually started talking about this plan a year ago – him less convinced than me of course because of the extra work. But the girls have started taking big role in looking after Harley and they know the expectation is that they are helping with the feedings and clean ups, for both dogs.
So we get Koda next week – he was named after one of the bear in the Disney movie “Brother Bear”. It took us a while to agree but once I saw the meaning of Koda, I was sold. It’s essentially an indigenous term for companion, friend, or ally – which is what we know Koda will be for us. We of course are all ready to welcome him with all the gear and even had the girls doing research on the breed and how to train him. We can’t wait.
And as for our dear family member, Harley, well we still intend to give this lovable guy a lot of attention. We’ve already told the girls he will be the only dog allowed on the beds, on the old couches – basically the one that will secretly get a bit more spoiled. Because, well, he’s earned it.
If you have any tips for us on a new puppy or managing two dogs, please share in the comments below!
Kristin
Before I close, I just want to touch on one thing. Some may question why we didn’t get a rescue dog. While I 100% support the “adopt, don’t shop” movement, it wasn’t really conducive to our situation at the moment. While I’m sure there are objections to each one of our reasons why, it was just what worked best for us at this time. The major factors were, timing and the fact that most older rescue dogs come with a caveat that they can’t be in a home with other dogs or kids. For puppies, everything we saw were crosses of dogs that are large (Lab, Shepard, or Husky crosses) or not what we are looking for in terms of size and intelligence. That’s not to say these dogs aren’t out there. We were just presented with an opportunity with this puppy that also worked well for us. We would love to be able to have a rescue in the future, when the kids are older or even out of the house.
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