Thoughts About a Puppy
I have had baby animals on the brain; I've been looking at kittens on Petfinder. I've been enjoying all the puppy photos here on OES.org. Adam and I had a deal: no new animals until I was diagnosed and cured; something that happened quite unexpectedly back in October. I've had some additional issues crop up, and am returning to the Mayo Clinic in February for a round or two of physical therapy. But they say I'm a likely candidate for 100% recovery. So- is it puppy time? I'm always worried about Tonks. She can be a bit unpredictable and will pick fights with her sister to establish dominance. She's been on Prozac going on several months now, and we've had no fights. But some of her triggers are puppies and small dogs-- she loves them, but plays way too rough with them. So with my health improving, we've been going back to training classes with good results; the classes are always full of small dogs, and Tonks has been a star student. And then yesterday we had a 6 month old OES puppy come over for an unexpected playdate, and Tonks did amazingly well. So- is it time for a puppy? Our new cat that we got this time last year is coping really well with the dogs. And her sauntering around the house like she owns the place has encouraged my other 12 year old cat that the dogs aren't as scary as she thinks, and she's been caught wandering about too. Thanks to the new cat (Mirth) the dogs have learned to cope really well with the cats, and co-habitation is working out better than ever before. If we get a new puppy, I fear this will really throw a wrench into the works. Tonks is behaving, we're back to training, all the pets are getting along better than ever, and my health is on the mend. Getting an OES puppy will surely cast all of this hard sought after order into chaos. So I have to ask myself, as much as I emotionally want one, with practicality in mind, is it time for a puppy? I know some trouble makers here will insist it IS-- they are so damned cute, I want to agree. But I have a responsibility to all our other pets. Do I have the right to turn their world upside down by bringing a new puppy into our lives? Of course, they may love it. I suspect Tonks and Luna might enjoy a new playmate. But will they enjoy it more, than say if I took the time I would use to train a puppy to instead take them to do more Agility, or Herding? I want to make the RIGHT decision. When I got Tonks and Luna, I let my emotions rule and got a pair of sibling backyard- breeder dogs with health issues. I promised myself that when the time came to get another OES, that I'd do it the RIGHT way. I'd go to a responsible breeder, and I'd not let my emotions get the better of me. I want to layer in a third OES now that Tonks and Luna are more mature. And we have some good opportunities to do so coming up sooner than I thought I was ready for. But are we ever really ready? I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on the matter!!! |
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I think you have covered the pro's and con's pretty well.  Maybe some more playdates? Puppysitting? A foster puppy/dog to see how it goes with another dog who doesn't leave at the end of the day? Just a few ideas off the top of my head...  |
| to be honest my 2 cents.. when i had daytona and dolly i tought to bring in a pup so i did thinking they would all get along it was duffy .. from the get go daytona hated the pup i always had to watch them 24/7 it was horrible.. duffy got nailed for no reason by daytona if i would turn my back on her.. daytona was great with dolly but with other little dogs or really other dogs it was lving with having to be worried all the time .. so really think about.. i would also like to get a pup but i have my hands full with my boys and they love every dog that comes over .. a agree foster and see what you think |
well I know we'll get more chances to see how Tonks and Luna do with a puppy while we're in Minnesota next month, right Dawn??  |
| Having Morgan and Virginia stay with us for a nice long visit last summer solidified by yearning for another dog. I am so happy we had that chance, to see if we could manage more than just Mady. Of course, we had two well trained mature dogs, and puppies are, well, puppies. But they don't stay puppies, they do mature! |
| I would foster a puppy or two, one at a time, and see how they do. Maybe protect your heart a little going in by knowing it's just temporary... puppies that would be easier to let go before bringing in that OES puppy you know you'll adore and feel you have to make work. You have the benefit of knowing beforehand what it's like when dogs don't get along... how difficult life can be. When there are multiples, keeping the peace can involve rotating dogs and separating with doors/gates to prevent injury or even death. People do it but always wish their dogs would just get along. But you also have a handle on what sets off Tonks and Luna so you can try to avoid those things. Stepping in before it has a chance to escalate into conflict. My only concern is that one or both might claim the puppy as their own and cause more conflict... or that a puppy would end up in the middle of the conflict. Personally, I'd claim the puppy as "mine"... that he doesn't belong to either. (It's a non-professional perspective but I would bring in a male.) Would it be any easier to bring in a balanced adult from a reputable breeder? I always felt puppies were easiest to incorporate into a pack but Kobuck, aside from that crazy unaltered behavior was very easy. But Bumble was an easy puppy to incorporate too. A puppy will quickly become an adult and you have a better idea of the temperament you're adding to the mix if it's an adult.I probably confused you all the more.  I think the only way to know for sure is to try.Best wishes for whatever decision you make!  |
| we're intentionally wanting to add a puppy because it is a younger dog. As morbid as this is going to sound, when my 2 sibling cats died last year within a month of each other, I got a good look at how terrible it will be to lose sibling dogs in a similar fashion. WHAT IF one of the girls passes, leaving the other all alone? WHAT IF the both pass within a short period of time of each other, leaving US all alone? I think if we didn't have another younger dog in place, we wouldn't want to add one at that point. And in all honesty, Tonks and Luna are Adam's first dogs and my first as an adult; I don't know if we could stand the heartbreak of being without a sheepdog. So I want to add a much younger dog to our pack, as opposed to adding an adult. Is it a bad reason to add a puppy to a home? I don't know. Is it selfish? Maybe. I went and adopted a cat 3 weeks after my first one died, and a week before my second. If I hadn't done so, my third cat who is a little anxious to begin with, would have been all alone. The new cat is much younger than my anxious one- there's 10 years between them. And the younger cat is showing my older one how to have fun again; to run around and play and not be so afraid of the dogs. Are Tonks and Luna "old"? Hardly. But I still think adding a puppy over adding an adult will help us to achieve several goals. Also, I like the idea of doing all this training and hard work with a clean slate; a puppy with a good temperment and CH pedigree might be just what I deserve after all these years of hard work! |
| I also have to wonder... will I EVER know when the time is right? Should I just go with the flow? Sometimes I think I should just allow fate to work its magic; and not object or think so much. Maybe I'll just let Adam decide. With him in the lead, as soon as we see a litter it will be a done deal.  |
| Very hard decision and it's good you are putting so much thought into it. I totally get wanting to start out with a pup from a good breeder.....I had only ever had rescues and one pup from a BYB so I really wanted to try to raise one from a good breeder and I'm so glad I did! Bella is a delight of a dog...happy, smart, funny, healthy, obedient (we worked on that, lol). But then I decided to adopt another rescue, my Mr Simon. I knew the day I picked him up he would be a challenge. He was a mess. No confidence, no training, no boundaries....we worked really hard and have overcome a lot of his issues, but with his newfound confidence he has decided to bully the hell out of Bella. It breaks my heart to see her cower around the house to avoid him. It's been exacerbated by my own health issues which prevented me from keeping up with their exercise and training regime, but I'm way on the mend now and have started a biking program with Simon and am resetting up a small agility course in my backyard for Bella. I guess my whole point is....it is hard to make the decision and I can't advise you one way or the other. I agree with Dawn....can you try foster care, more play dates to see how Tonks reacts? Although I love my Mr Simon dearly, sometimes I really wish I hadn't done it because of the effect on Bella. Ahh.....there's no emoticon to reflect my feelings.... |
Darth Snuggle wrote: So I want to add a much younger dog to our pack, as opposed to adding an adult. Is it a bad reason to add a puppy to a home? I don't know. Is it selfish? Also, I like the idea of doing all this training and hard work with a clean slate; a puppy with a good temperment and CH pedigree might be just what I deserve after all these years of hard work! I don't think it's a bad reason or selfish at all! If you can offer the love, time, training, commitment to a puppy AND want a puppy, that's all the reason you need! With the added caveat in your case that you are still able to offer the love, time, training, commitment to Tonks, Luna, and your cats. You know better than anyone if the answer is "yes" to those questions. If it is a confident "yes", then there you go!  Also, in contrast to you, I find we are lazy dog owners in regards to training etc. but Mady is ok. So I think wow what could you achieve if you applied all your experience and knowledge raising Tonks and Luna to a great puppy from a responsible championship line?  My only question is, are you discussing any of this with Adam? Though I know from the pictures of him on the floor with the puppies, he'd be a pretty easy ship to sink with a sheepie-puppy-torpedo! |
| Interesting. You approach decision-making much the way I do: Analyze every which way to Sunday. I'll tell you how the next part goes: in the end as I try to rationally talk myself out of something because of x,y,z, it makes me realize this is what I REALLY, REALLY WANT, dammit, so that's what I'm going to do, and I'll make it work. I don't have any experience bringing a puppy into a household with an iffy dog, though i have had the experience of regretting on some level my rescue dog as she tries to bully my old girls and they do not deserve that. Lucky for her she's actually surprisingly good with puppies or she'd be dead, I can't risk a dog who presents a physical threat. I know that's not an option for you so, yes, I understand the soul-searching. Some additional research may be in order Kristine |
Baba wrote: My only question is, are you discussing any of this with Adam? Though I know from the pictures of him on the floor with the puppies, he'd be a pretty easy ship to sink with a sheepie-puppy-torpedo! To a certain degree, yes. I told him of a litter that may be coming up, from a lineage of dogs he's commented on really loving. I told him I was thinking that if we were to add a puppy that this might be the line we want to consider adding from, and that while it might be sooner than we were expecting, sometimes that happens. He listened closely, without comment. He knows I over think things, and don't tend to get emotional with my decision making. I also know he's the type to not make a decision until its actually needed; We're 2 months off from knowing if those puppies will be available, so I know he's thinking he has time to decide. And ultimately? If I think all this through and on the other end say YES its time for a puppy? You're absoultely right; I can just arrange for Adam to meet a litter, and I'll be lucky if we get out of the room with only one. This might sound manipulative, but the truth is while Adam will be responsible for making sure all of the financial needs are met, I do most of the hard work part. I do the training and the grooming and the walking and most of the other parts of owning dogs. That was our deal when we first got Tonks and Luna, and it would be our deal on a new puppy we got as well. |
| Kristine; you've got me to a T. I've already begun talking myself out of it! Do i really want that kind of work again? Do i want to disrupt our household like that? I've yet to find the time to get to a gym and really appreciate my recovering health; a puppy isn't going to allow me the ability to do that.... I've got a long list of them. On the other hand; Tonks and Luna bring so much meaning to our lives. They REALLY define me; I'm the crazy sheepdog lady all my friends know. And while everyone here is familiar with Tonks' behavioral problems, most of the other people in our lives aren't. Not because I'm not open about them; I warn everyone we meet that Tonks can be unreliable. But then she isn't; she falls back on our training and proves me wrong and behaves beautifully. I just got a tweet last night from LUCASFILM, asking when we were coming back to visit, and would we bring Tonks and Luna this time? We're going to stay with a co-worker of Adam's a famous writer out in MN for a month, and he's adamant we bring the girls. I know its ego talking, but if I can work with a dog like Tonks to a point where, knowing I say they have problems, they get invited EVERYWHERE anyway, just think what I could manage with a well bred puppy! I could FINALLY have the therapy dog I want, or even maybe work towards showing! I don't know; the Pros and Cons are pretty evenly matched at this point. I amy leave it to Adam and to fate. I KNOW I can do it; and I think I've got the training chops to keep my horde in line. Financially, I think we can afford it. So ti boils down to... how much sleep do I REALLY need? |
 I've been averaging five hours, if that, for going on 12 weeks and still going strong...Of course, threat of puppy piddle is a surprisingly good incentive to get oneself out of bed  And, hey, they have to nap SOME TIME. Just keep running in back and forth in your mind, but the answer will come to you when you least expect it and by the time it does you won't have any doubts left because you dragged them all out of the closet and confronted every one of them before you ever got that far. Kristine |
| Allison , a puppy makes intergration easier with the two adult girls. I think you will be surprised at how well they will accept a baby into the family, also a pupper is no threat as far as who is the dominant girl in the family so accepted fast. You deserve with all your hard work to add to the pack when your ready. Age of the girls now is a good time to bring in a baby. Just one suggestion, think about it being a male pup only because as it grows and matures no threat to whoever rules as far as the girls are concerned and less chance of any sort of dominant challenges later on with the pack. Just my thoughts there and whatever you decide will the the right choice for you all. Somehow I see (as we are one day ahead of you lot in upside down land   ) in the near future a new little fuzz ball blessing the house. (Or should I say peeing in the house, oh the joys of puppies till it clicks.  )It will be OK, you might even find as far as tonks is concerned not so much pressure on Luna as both girls will have a new interest in a little one. Best wishes with whatever you decide and when it is the right time you will certainly know  |
| Just catching up again...I was a good girl and ignored my computer all day! Todd's birthday today - took him out to lunch and made supper...I'm on a roll! I agree with the boy idea - much better compliment to the 2 girls. All good ideas as mentioned...in the end you will just need to go with what feels right |
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