Why I Didn’t want A Puppy

Note: Julia Thomson is a regular contributor to That Mutt. check out her blog Home on 129 Acres where she writes about country living and diy renovating.

Who’s been enjoying reading about Remy joining the ThatMutt family?

I have to give Lindsay a ton of credit report for being so open and real about the ups and downs of puppydom.

When we were searching for a canine to add to our family, I knew 100% that I did not want a puppy. all of my searches on Petfinder were for young or adult dogs.

Why I didn’t want a puppy

1. energy level.

My first reason for choosing an adult canine was energy level. We were committed to giving our canine lots of exercise (and living on a farm we have lots of opportunities for exercise), but we are a low key, adult household.

We wanted a canine who could be with us around the farm while we were working without needing our undivided attention every minute (breaks for scratches or zoomies or fetch were expected). and at the end of the day when the work is done, we wanted a canine who was content to doze while we viewed TV.

I wasn’t sure that we’d get that with a puppy—at least not at first.

2. Training.

My second reason for choosing an adult canine was training. This is my first dog. I wasn’t confident in my ability to train a puppy competently. I hoped that with an adult dog, he’d already have some basic obedience and be pretty much house broken.

Again, we were committed to working with our canine and had training classes lined up, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to deal with a blank slate, like Remy.

When Baxter concerned us, he was completely housebroken and had the basic obedience skills we were looking for. There were still things to work on, whether much more obedience or mastering some tricks, so we got the opportunity to do some training—and as Lindsay says, training is ongoing.

Probably Baxter’s many essential quality is that he’s a ideal match for us in terms of energy level.

Dude is low energy. and I imply low.

He loves his walks and can run like a greyhound when we’re doing zoomies in the yard, but his default position is horizontal. In Baxter, we ended up finding the ideal canine for us.

See the post: Deep thoughts on diy from the dog

I haven’t ruled out puppies entirely. Someday, it might be the best fit for our family. However, reading about Lindsay’s adventures with Remy (I had absolutely no idea evening craziness what a thing. Yikes!) I know a puppy is certainly not best for us best now.

Lindsay is very good about emphasizing that people ought to do what is best for themselves and their dogs, whether it’s training or feeding or adopting or buying.

And I think that’s good guidance to apply to choice of what kind of canine to get too. know yourself. Be reasonable about what you can commit to. Be truthful about what type of life you lead and make the effort to try to find the best canine for you.

You, and your dog, will be happier for it.

What qualities are many essential to you in a dog?

Does anybody else share my hesitancy about raising a puppy?

Read much more of Julia’s posts:

How to train a canine to be off leash

Silent squeaky toys for dogs

Tips for home renovating if you have a dog

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