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Okay, all is not lost. You now need to re-adjust your thinking, and time management. Puppy time is primary. So, morning, plan on time to feed puppy, walk puppy, play with puppy, at least 30 minutes. I assume he will be in the yard all day? If not, look into a dog day care...after work, you go into overdrive...puppy time, play with puppy, feed puppy, play puppy, then go for a walk, plan on 45 minutes to an hour of puppy care, walk time. I used to put dinner in the oven, or do a crock pot, because cooking dinner was no longer in the agenda. Don't expect kids to do much...playing with puppy is fun, doing all the "work" is not...so, you need to show them how to groom the dog, which needs to be done each day, brush the dog, this takes a good 15 to 20 minutes each day. And these things are important...because it develops trust and bonding...sure, you can tell kids to do it, but you need to pretty much supervise it, otherwise they blow it off. And don't expect hubby to do much either...been there, done that...this is your new "baby"...Anyway, back to time, after dinner, you play with puppy, socialize puppy, and very important...watch puppy...make sure to take him out for "potty time" every 1/2 hour or so...
Puppy proof the house now...anything on the floor is fair game to be chewed up. Do you have a kitchen, where you can put up a baby gate? Or some room where puppy can be contained?
I won't comment on the "de-barking" surgery you are planning...I am sure others will have alot to say about it...
Getting a dog debarked because you can't manage to train it correctly is cruel torture. You need to stop this dog purchase now if you are thinking in this manner because you are not qualified in anyway to own a dog. Being uninvolved in raising a dog to teach your other family members a lesson is childish and you might as well just turn the dog over to a shelter the day you pick it up since that is where it will end up anyways. Getting this puppy is a bad decision for your family so please step up and put your foot down before you ruin a wonderful dog's life. You do have a choice, lose a deposit on a puppy or give it a horrible life and eventual death because it's been left in a shelter, untrained and unadoptable. Your daughter will get over it, ruining an animal's life to make her happy is ridiculous.
Good grief. Why the "it can't"? You don't even have the puppy yet. It "can". You just have to make it a priority and have a good attitude. Like pretty much anything worth having or doing. A well trained dog, who is properly cared for and exercised will not pee in the house or chew everything up. Being a puppy is a phase, just like being a toddler. It is what it is. Attitude is a lot. The breed you have chosen is a high maintenance breed but as you've said, it is what it is. Don't give up, look for the positives and make the best of the situation. Going into it with a negative attitude will only make things worse. Continue learning, devise a schedule that has everyone helping and being involved and stick to it. Rotate duties so everyone does a bit of everything and the pup bonds with the whole family. Walk the dog after dinner as a family. Agility is a great activity but I believe can be pricey. Check out flyball. Use this as an opportunity to bond as a family. Have some fun with it rather than looking at it as one more chore. Look for joy and you will find some.
Daycare, once the pup is old enough can be great. It doesn't have to be every day. Even twice a week helps.
ETA - debarking the dog, sticking it in the backyard so you don't have to deal with it is cruel and will get you exactly the dog you are expecting: ill behaved and destructive. Not fair to the dog, not fair to your neighbors and not fair to your family. All just to prove you were "right" about the dog?
Last edited by maciesmom; 07-06-2012 at 08:56 AM..
I'm thinking this is going to be a miserable experience for all but it's a done deal. I was hoping it could turn out decent but I see it can't. There is no way dh is going to tell dd she can't have this puppy. I guess this one will be chalked up to life experience.
I'm going back to my orignal plan and just going along for the ride. I'll let them do what they're going to do and stay out of it. Hopefully, both of them will learn a lesson. I'm sad to say that that sounds like the best that can come out of this.
And when this "life experience" has been learned, what happens to the dog? You and your family shrug your shoulders, chalk it up to a lesson learned and go on your way. I assume the dog goes to a shelter and takes his chances that someone who cares will adopt him this time. That's great. Way to go.
Getting a dog debarked because you can't manage to train it correctly is cruel torture. You need to stop this dog purchase now if you are thinking in this manner because you are not qualified in anyway to own a dog. Being uninvolved in raising a dog to teach your other family members a lesson is childish and you might as well just turn the dog over to a shelter the day you pick it up since that is where it will end up anyways. Getting this puppy is a bad decision for your family so please step up and put your foot down before you ruin a wonderful dog's life. You do have a choice, lose a deposit on a puppy or give it a horrible life and eventual death because it's been left in a shelter, untrained and unadoptable. Your daughter will get over it, ruining an animal's life to make her happy is ridiculous.
Sorry, but I have to agree here. You will be involved with this dog, like it or not. Just about every post you have made in this thread you have mentioned past puppies chewing your shoes and peeing in the house. It's very clear you're not enthusiastic about getting this puppy.
Puppies take a lot of work. A LOT. You can't be willing one minute to care for it and then just walk off from it the next. They have to be watched at all times during the house training period. Don't create trauma in this dog's life if you're not up to the task yourself. Also, don't get this puppy just to make your daughter happy. Make sure she knows what shes up against.
I recently brought home my Doberman pup a couple weeks ago and they are a very intelligent high energy breed as well. They always need something to do while they are awake. They need multiple toys they can play with and chew on. I've been crate training my pup and hes been doing very with it. For the first two weeks, be ready to get up every 2 hours or so to let the puppy out to potty. Puppies cannot hold their bladders very long.
But anyway, I advise not getting the puppy. That's my opinion. Oh if you just have to, plan to have sleep deprivation the first few weeks.
And when this "life experience" has been learned, what happens to the dog? You and your family shrug your shoulders, chalk it up to a lesson learned and go on your way. I assume the dog goes to a shelter and takes his chances that someone who cares will adopt him this time. That's great. Way to go.
I SO totally agree with this post! Don't do it. You already have issues...a dog is a commitment. And I feel like it demonstrates values to our children...you get a dog, you take care of it for the rest of it's life. You don't just get it, ignore it, and get rid of it...that is not a value I would ever pass on to my children. My kids know, you get a pet, you keep it until it dies. Which is why, currently, none of my children have any pets, they are not in a place now to do the care a pet takes...
This brings up some major issues in your marriage as well...like communication on important issues...a pet is a major issue. Now, when we got our dog, it was sort of different, we did not discuss it, I got the dog, because I saved him from being killed...I brought him home, and told my husband if he did not want him, he could take him to the pound...of course, that did not happen...same thing, he brought home cats all the time...well, whatever...and our marriage was not the greatest...
Last edited by jasper12; 07-06-2012 at 09:18 AM..
Reason: edit...
This is really sad and, to be blunt, irresponsible on your part. And the dog will pay the price. I also hold the breeder responsible for considering your family a good and appropriate home for her puppies.
As I said in my first post this is a disaster in the making. And frankly what happens to you and your family is your business. You are just the kind of person that keeps shelters full of unadoptable animals. And in addition to ruining a perfectly fine animal it will have the added benefit of playing havoc with your marriage whether you put your foot down or shrug your shoulders.
Hopefully your daughter has the character you clearly lack.
Saying more would only get me banned for life from C-D.
Ivory,
I posted on your previous thread that getting a puppy can, for a cat-person, be a life-altering thing, in a positive way. So I'm not going to go there again. I'm going to go in another direction entirely:
You don't have the puppy yet. And you've decided you don't want it. So now is the time to take action. Put your foot down and refuse to accept the puppy. It's your home, too, and not everything revolves around your daughter (who is old enough to know that) and your husband who should have thought of your needs, too. Tell them you are overwhelmed, and it is ruining your life. Have a breakdown in front of both of them. Cry rivers. Maybe that is the only way they will understand that you feel trapped and desperate. Then what is probably going to happen is that you will be the designated family villain for a while, and this is when you need to take it in a new positive direction: Find out how your daughter can get involved in some kind of dog-sitting/dog walking activity, maybe earn some money, and get some experience with dogs. Maybe work as a volunteer for a couple of hours a week at the shelter. Tell her that you will reconsider your decision in a year when she has proved that she has acquired enough knowledge about dog care to take on that job herself. It sounds as if you haven't had a heart-to-heart with her at all, and it is possible that she just doesn't know your feelings about the matter.
Bottom line: Show them how miserable you'll be before it actually happens. They probably haven't even heard your protests/misgivings. Don't let the situation arise where the puppy is three months old and your home life is ruined, and they tell you "We didn't know you felt that way about it." Speak your mind NOW.
If there is too much on your plate for you to commit to training and caring for the puppy in the event that your husband and daughter don't step up, you need to shut this plan down. If your husband is determined to bring the puppy into your home despite your disapproval, perhaps you can let the breeder know that your home is not a good fit for the dog and that you can't guarantee that the dog will get the necessary training, attention and care. I would hope that this would cause any decent breeder to halt the sale, if at all possible.
While I do agree with a lot of what everyone is saying I will say do not close your heart before you have even met the puppy. You might luck out and get a mellow pup. You may also find yourself bonding with the pup as the intelligent herding breeds have a way about them and bonds with them are strong.So instead of going along for the ride and trying to support the belief that they are wrong you are right get involved as you just might surprize yourself and then realise why so many of us have such a strong passion for these creatures.Try something new as my grandpa use to tell us do not knock it until you have tried it!
A coworker got a year old Huskey. She has not had a dog since childhood but got remarried and her husband wanted a dog so the family went to the shelter and DH and DD fell for the Huskey. All of us Dog people at work were thinking it was a bad mix as Huskeys need a lot of exercise and are known escape artists. Well Her Huskey known as " ICE" is not a typical Huskey he is very mellow for the breed and in some ways is like my Silken Windhound as he loves just being with his people and he is not super active nor does he show any interest in escaping to go have a good run. So Just like people dogs are individuals and not every dog behaves as its breed in general does. So with any luck you will get one of the few mellow Aussies and not one stuck on the go go go button. But please if this is such a done deal give the dog and yourself a chance and do not close your heart to it to prove a point as that is cruel as this is a living being.
I will plead for you do not even consider debarking a dog and I say this because Phoenix was debarked by a previous owner and her whole life she struggled with choking on food so her eating was always painful to watch and she was so slow while eating. Then at age 12 she developed a pneumonia which we believe was an aspitation pneumonia and while she did get better the drugs used to get her better wiped out her kidneys and I had to put her to sleep. So please do not debark your dog. If it is a barker try a citronella bark collar and training, I am not a fan of shock collars but if it is that or debarking I would go for the collar.
Most of all do reconsider the stand you plan on taking as aussies can be amazing dogs and you may be missing out on a fantastic relationship and also my be comitting animal cruelity. Watch some of the animal cops shows on animal planet and when they are called to a home where there is a starving dog and the person says Oh that is my son's dog or my husbands dog what ever they soon find themselves being charged for animal cruelity too for just letting the situation happen and not stepping in to prevent it. So please let go of that I will show them attitude and grow up this is now about a living being one of God's creatures.Sad to say if you keep your attitude then feel justified if it turns out how you seem to be hoping it will so you can say see told you so to me there is something very wrong in your whole relationship. I do not mean to attack you but please if you are willing to sit back and take that attitude do some soul searching and find out why. I feel for you being put in this position if you really do not want a dog and for having soemone that will force one on you but also think you should be willing to drop the I will show you attitude and give the experience your best shot as it my be you that gets shown a good thing so why cheat yourself????
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