Quote:
Originally Posted by Tangs4President40
Hey CP,
Sorry for another dog thread, but I'm not sure I can get the advice I'm looking for from anyone else. Also, I'm sure some of you have gone through a similar situation and might be able to give me some advice based on your personal experience. I'll try to keep this as short as possible...
The back story: I've never had a pet my entire life (not even a gold fish!) so when I started dating my girlfriend a few years back I wasn't sure how crazy I was about dogs. Not that I hated animals at all, but just never had any experience with them. Her dog was about 5 years old and was extremely well behaved. Before I knew it I was attached, very attached. I found myself being amazed how she could hear EVERYTHING going on outside my house and helped me find comfort when going to bed at night knowing if anything were to happen outside, she would let me know.
So, just recently I decided to call it quits with my girlfriend (which is another story in itself.) This obviously means she's taking her dog with her. It's weird, I dated her for almost 2 years and I find myself crying over missing her dog and not over her.
I just started looking at animal shelters online contemplating picking one up for myself, but I have a lot of concerns. First, since I've never had a pet, I don't even know what to expect from a puppy. Is she going to destroy my house that I just moved into? If I did get a puppy, am I done going on weekend getaways? Maybe I should get an older dog that is already house broken? I don't know anything about animal upkeep, how often do they need shots, or anything else?
Well, thanks for reading and letting me ramble on. Any words of advice I would really appreciate. And since I know CP has a soft spot for dogs, here she is.
|
First of all getting a dog that is your own requires some serious thought and consideration in my opinion. If you want to adopt and that's what I suggest you do the animal/local shelters are a great place to start. Most of the dogs there are already house trained and all have had their shots so that is a good start. If not, then I would highly suggest you go find a dog trainer for the first month or so to help you get adjusted.
As far as weekend getaways you can always bring your dog with you, just bring his kennel and you should be good to go. If you can't bring your dog with you then find a good friend to take care of him/her.
Dog's need attention and in my opinion they should be walked once a day. So if you're the type of person that works 9-5, goes out for a few drinks after work, maybe goes to the gym and gets home around 8 or 9 at night.. then i'd seriously consider whether or not you're in the right stage in your life to have a pet.
Cheers!
Bluck