I want a dog
 

Just the other day, we were being asked questions about where to get a dog, how much they cost, and lots of other questions. She knew we were breeders but of course was not interested in our large breed. We were happy to oblige.

But the thing that kept bothering me, is when I asked what and why a dog now, the answers were I am sure clear to her but not me. This woman btw a lovely lady, thinks her children want a dog, and now as her youngest is nine the time can be right. But she has not settled on a breed. Other than a vague desire to have a smallish dog-not my monsters lol. She wants a companion dog, when queried what is a companion dog she was stymied. Finally said a friend for my kids. Well what wou.ld you like to do with your dog? Blank stare. Just a dog my kids can love.

Well I said what is your lifestyle like? Do you camp boat hike? Do you want to take the dog with you? Do you have joggers or cyclists that might want to take the dog along?

Also the sticker shot was a bit of a surprise. She was surprised I was not recommending a Yorkie. I said they are yappie and can be hard to housetrain.

I am pretty sure she has a model of clean house, despite three kids. I also said if you get a dog that just might be hard to maintain. She hummed...

You are concerned with housetraining but that is only the beginning of training for all dogs. Awh she said I see. I have seen you outside training your big ones. I said yes, but what you have likely seen is the competitive. Obedience training. You probably have not seen the very beginning.

Your dog needs to know sit come stay leave it drop it and to walk easy on a lead.

I can understand her sentiment but oh you are so correct. It is such a bigger commitment, so much more an experience then that clip on the commercial. It is not a decision that effects your family occasionally, it is an every day, every moment kind of choice to have a dog JOIN your family. That decision dictates how long you stay out, where you go and where you don't go. Having a dog changes everything, it really is like having another child. And a dog for your children to love on is a great idea- but such a singular dimension of the vastness of cleaning, feeding, training- basic maintenance.

When I chose Lilah to join my family there were so many reasons she fit my life. She was a very meticulously, well planned addition and she is absolutely mine. She has been a perfect fit and my dream would be to get her a sister yorkie and show her.

About a month ago, my family had a sweet little black lab puppy join us- hopefully for the next 8-12 or even 14 years. His name is Sam and Sam had some troubles with his family before he came here- he came to our home earlier than a puppy should after being bottle fed and was able to stay with his brother and his dad luckily to gain some social skills until almost five weeks - and that is its own story, but anyhow- and I am definitely still reeling about this change and wrapping my head around what it means for me, my family and for Lilah. It is so big. Everyone is happy and everyone is working hard and I am proud of them. We had some weeks of shoe bleaching and puppy milk and nighttime puppiness (and this is the small stuff- the whole baby nurturing thing I have down, it is the running, slobbering, energy, I have asthma thing that seems daunting to me) and even an already planned yearly family camping trip with our church where we had an amazing tarp/expen/kennel/baby sling carrier set up and took a puppy who couldn't touch the ground camping :eek: The kids have been weed whacking fence lines for the fence we are building to attach to our large chain link kennel that we augmented to serve as a goat barn long ago, watching mandatory training videos, taking a puppy out to potty every thirty minutes and rotating play times. Puppy classes start in four weeks. This is so big, having Sam join our family and is not being taken lightly- ha! Could not be taken lightly. It was really important to my family (turns out my singularly devoted porcelain princess who must be played with very delicately and follows me like a devoted angel was not fulfilling the canine needs of anyone but myself...) it is such a game changer and I wish more people got that.

You my dear get it! And truthfully unless you have personally owned a dog before you can't truly get it !

I hope your lab does well in your home, just remember I have heard they stay puppyish for up to three years. Think about prey drive and to exuberant play.

Yes, owning any dog means a total commitment to care, etc. My hubby of 55 years passed way last year just before Thanksgiving. My first Yorkie died at age 14 in 2013. I decided I needed to get another Yorkie for companionship. I got my Gidget the first of March when she was just a few days older than 6 weeks. She's the love of my life and my little snuggle bug. She's asleep in my lap right now. I also knew there were would places I couldn't go but I knew that when I decided to get her. Several ladies at our church went to the mountains for a weekend retreat. I knew about it before I got Gidget but I didn't hesitate to get her. She's my little girl, my sleeping buddy and my emotional support 24/7. I appreciate my ladies at church but they have their own lives and families. My Gidget is my little love bug 24/7. Can't even imagine my day-to-day without her.

Thank you Gail, it was a little tough for me. I mean, the bugger is cute don't get me wrong, lol. But yes, a big deal. Mostly a seperate life will ensue for Lilah and Sam- kind of a parallel play lifestyle is my plan at this stage of the game. I appreciate your words of wisdom.

My life has changed since getting my two. I can't believe it is almost going to be a year. I have modified my lifestyle to accommodate my dogs. It took some getting use to but well worth it. I have learned to balance a social life and being a dog owner. Sometimes I need to say no to going out or have things more pre-planned than being spontaneous. I love my dogs so much it doesn't bother me too much.


Just yesterday Boomer was curled up on my chest sleeping while I was watching tv. He looked up at me wanting to be scratched. I looked down at him and was thinking this is the best thing in the world.

awh how sweet!! I have two different breeds of dogs. Neither one is more precious to me. My heart catches in so many moments, different moments in time. As I have said in the past, big or small I love them all!

I think Yorkies are grand dogs, but not for everyone., for different reasons than my big dogs. I think it takes a very special and dedicated owner to own large and small.

Oh dear. Border collies need a very active home life to be truly happy, gawd knows I couldn't own one. Runners joggers etc, lots and lots of exercise. I know so many folks go on dog looks or their friend has that dog and I like it.

Oh my goodness, talk about it- my sister has a border collie mix and that guy blows my mind. Not my cup of tea- smart and energetic!? Ack!. I know labs aren't one of the big dogs but honestly Gail, this is a stretch for me to support my family in. I commend you with your big black beauties! :) I love them all but the commitment of ownership is a whole nother story! My kids really wanted a husky but between the very high prey drive and the tendency to being nomadic (runners!) I just had to put my foot down. And this little guy just happened to show up at the right time. My oldest daughter who is going to high school this year will be SAMs handler in puppy class along with my oldest son and I think that is the right way for us.

My father lives less than two miles away with a seasonal pond in his backyard and his black lab (we grew up with labs and retrievers) and we are already working on retrieving- lol, he is a natural! And we are definitely in a position to do some scent training and water retrieves etc. we shall see where it takes us!

(Okay, and the agility set comes in the mail tommorow :embar: )

Wow that sounds ideal your fathers spot. Now remember the exercise guidelines. No weave polls until growth plates close. Keep the jumps to ankle height, and no fast running on wet grass.
I would wait until at least one year old to neuter I know the breed has hip dysplasia but there are likely other disorders. Remember we have that big report on here about genetic issues she's by breed. I posted one and ladyjane posted one.

Enjoy your new addition!

That's very interesting and a lot of people don't think about the commitment. I've been going back and forth on the idea of a second but when I calculate the commitment and what's going on in our lives, a second would be hard for us. So even though I get excited about the thought, reality sinks in when I think about exercise, what I want, portability, ease of training, clean house, space, cost and the list goes on.

Rachael1983 -- So true, plus (for me anyway) the expense of providing excellent and timely care for an additional canine unit--little or big, is prohibitive ! I have to make choices, which I am very happy to do; for example, when it comes to grooming it's either Piper or me. Yep, let's just say, I am sporting a very "natural" look these days!!

Dogbreedhealth.com. Shows disorders by breed.

Your encouragement is very positive for me, thank you Gail :) it is just an indoor puppy play set to start and we are being light on the retrieves too. Trying to use the two minute training rule right now since we are talking about an eight week old. I really like Jane Killions puppy culture excercise guidelines to and have been using that as a reference. I am really concerned about the spay/neuter growth plate conundrum :( it sounds like we could x Ray at twelve months and hope they are closed but are likely looking at eighteen months for full growth plate closure- and especially with labs tendency to have hip issues (you should have seen the bone length on his papa- those were some long lab legs... :eek: ) of course the training facility require spay neuter by six months- just like dang near every other one does. There is a training facility that offers confirmation about two hours away from us but this boy is not a confirmation boy, he is a sweet little guy who had a rough start whose sole purpose in life is to be a family dog/ the potential agility interest is to keep the kids engaging and to have classes to move up to after we complete puppy and obedience one through three (they also off some open agility courses monthly and man does it rain around here). I showed my husband information on growth plate concerns but I know the idea of waiting to neuter at eighteen months still sounds pretty daunting.

I think that if you train and remember to be constant even if just five minutes a day, socialize well and continually, temperament issues should not be a pr oblem. Most large dogs do not mark in house. Your female is fixed so that is not an issue.

Teach a solid come and a stop command. And start now.

I peeked at the genetic diseases for labs and they had a few eye conditions listed. Also ED seems more prevalent than HD.

I really enjoyed the website reference, thank you! I didn't know about the ED, I was familiar with the eye and hip tendencies. I thought the COI information was fascinating but I find genetics super interesting too. There were less testable genetic illnesses listed for yorkies than I thought were available? Neat website!

Sam is doing pretty good at simple lay sit, lay down, shake, roll over stuff and love love loves his retreive. He will be able to receive his second vaccine next weekend when he hits nine weeks and I will feel more comfortable with him going on outings thereafter but he has been on a camping trip where he couldn't touch the ground and got to meet a lot of church folks, lol, that was great- and of course our six kids and my sister and her kids and her dog (all vaccines up to date, so gentle and friendly and paws are disinfected upon entry, we are still bleaching shoes too). He goes outside on our closed property and is doing awesome at all that potty business (though we did an initial disinfect of his outdoor grass/pen area too). Puppy class starts in four weeks, and the kids go back to school about the same time- a little nervous about that.

Lilah is not spayed actually, though she is definitely grown now at three and a half so she could be. I suppose I still fancy like she and I have learned so many other things together as I have stumbled through the first part of my yorkie learning curve that maybe one day she we would practice showing together too but I don't imagine that is a practical thought, just a little thing I guess j have held on to. Do you think it would be better for him to halt formal training for six months to a year over neutering at six months?

Unfortunately there are for most breeds few genetic tests available. Instead we make do with specific health screenings.

On the neutering front, never sacrifice overall health. You can train at home. Or hire a trainer. Lilah could compete in altered class, if you want to spay her, and as she is coming up to four yrs and has not been bred, give that serious thought. Remember many breeders spay after they retire their females. You will need to weigh the risks of keeping her intact. My spay and neuter thread has lots of research links.

The other thought I had is a dog club. Are you anywhere near Eugene,I know their is a dog club there. Many obedience clubs do not demand s or n. Beyond that remember you will meet folks in puppy obedience and you could organize a mini training group for after the session.

Btw, I loved Oregon when I visited there years ago.

I suppose I am sure that I knew or should have known the correct answer to that question, LOL – I think Sam has some serious bones to grow into. Knowing what I know now about early spay and neuter, it has been on my mind lately that my Lilah is about due to be spayed herself, In part because of the age that she is but also recognizing that Sam will be around and should be allowed to grow into his bones before he is neutered. She has not nor has ever been intended to be bred. Besides that she has not proven herself in a breed ring, she has a slight grade one LP in one knee, Is under 5 pounds, has a somewhat high strung temperament, and has shown up with elevated liver enzyme two or three times on her bloodwork. Not to mention she has never shown any sign of cycling ever. No, Ms. Lilah is a beloved pet dog. That is Sam's destiny as well.

A dog club sounds fun, is this like a kennel club maybe… Like one of the shows that I was at the summer was by Clackamas kennel club for example? Or is this something different? Eugene is maybe two or three hours from me, but I am very close to Portland. I am sure there is a lot we can do at home, and many social opportunities outside of official classes – I like the idea of structure because I am so new to doing anything formal with a dog (my childhood being raised with dogs in the country was a very different experience then my choices as a dog owner are as an adult) with the idea being that I would be a better instructed and "do it right first time " and make sure my children are being clearly instructed as well. I already see so many things that I would've done different with Lilah from the get-go although I am quite pleased for the most part with who she is and our relationship. I am excited we will be able to do puppy class and first obedience before we age out without spay/neuter.

I am fond of Oregon myself, thank you :) we actually live nearby multnomah falls in the Columbia river gorge and it is very beautiful. I would love to visit Canada myself :love: it seems vastly different from the west to the east and both sides seem very interesting.

Yes like a kennel club. Some clubs are say set up for obedience and often would have obedience in their title, some might say performance sports, some might say an all breed club.

Portland should have some options for you.

great thread.... even if I just "skimmed" parts of the post.
I just wanted to add how much I agree with yall about the commitment. It is for the life of the dog..... to do your best to provide love and care. I know a lot of breeds that I love to "visit' but would not adopt because they would not be a good fit in my life. I also want every yorkie I see.... really.... but I know my limits on what I can provide. This has come home a lot with Remy's illness and I am glad I did not adopt more because she needs me now.