So, we’ve decided to get a dog—that was the biggest decision of the whole process. Not every family is meant to have a dog, but we’ve decided we’re ready for our first puppy. Now we’ve got many more decisions to make on this journey. And the biggest decision is perhaps the toughest one to make: what kind of dog do we get?
I’d love a smaller dog, but my husband has vetoed any lap dogs (or yippers, as he calls them, and rather unfairly so, I think.) I can think of a number of yippers I’d like to get. Maybe I like the little ones because they are similar to a cat in size, and I’ve always had cats as pets. I’d feel comfortable with a dog that could sit on my lap, and that I could carry in my arms. But this has to be a family decision, so small dogs are off the list.
My husband would love a Labrador Retriever. He grew up with labs, and knows they are a good dog. Labs seem a little big to me. In fact, I remember my in-law’s lab knocking my son down the stairs with a playful wag of his tail when they were both toddlers. (And remember how I said I got bit by two dogs as a child? They were both big dogs.)
I’d love a border collie or some sort of spaniel; some medium-sized dog who can’t knock me over by mistake or take me for a walk. My son just wants a little baby girl dog of any sort who can have more baby dogs (not going to happen, by the way.) My daughter wants a very furry calico dog, if there is such a thing. So, there’s been no easy consensus here on which type of dog to get.
And then there’s the question of a pound puppy or a pedigree. I know that shelters are packed to the gills with homeless pets in the midst of our nation’s financial crisis. Sadly, many people can no longer take care of their pets. I’d be thrilled to give a good home to an unwanted puppy. But, you don’t often find a purebred puppy at the pound, and we’ve been thinking we’d like a purebred dog. And we do want a puppy, not an adult dog. We want to enjoy the experience of dog ownership from the very beginning, especially since this is our first family dog.
So, after much discussion, we’re going to be getting a Lab or a Golden Retriever puppy. I’m not sure how we’ll make the final decision. With the flip of a coin? Whichever one we find first? I’m hoping for a bit of luck to help us find the right dog, you know, how we’ll look back and remark on how it all worked out so perfectly? And that’s something to discuss next time. How do you find the right dog once you’ve decided what you want? This journey to get the perfect puppy for our family has only just begun.
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Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
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