Are You Ready To Own A Pooch?
Deciding to own a puppy or dog is a gigantizoid decision!
Ask yourself how thoroughly you’ve thought this through. If you’re unsure, I would have multiple conversations with friends who’ve adopted a young puppy. Even speaking with a local veterinary clinic or doing online research will shed light on this life-changing and serious decision.
Think of a puppy as an infant. Would you be ready to adopt an infant today?
Consider the resources and energy you would require, the time, specifically, the hours you’d need to be available, which is pretty much 24-7. At least during the first six months of the puppy’s life.
Contemplate the wisdom and knowledge needed in countless decisions you’ll be making and then, think again.
She’s a Maniac!
Before our puppy arrived, I became an obsessive researcher!
The breeder provided a comprehensive list of what to buy to prepare for our puppy’s arrival. I looked up the dozens of items on the list, read all the reviews on each product and decided to purchase them or look for an alternative. This took hours!
Think about how you go about deciding which products are best for you in your life. How did you choose your car, your house, your outfit today, skin products, and vitamins? The list can go on.
Just as I’m choosy about which items I purchase for myself, I was set on wanting to make sure everything we bought for our pooch was at a very high standard.
As this puppy’s owner, I wanted to do my very best to see to it that he had a great life with us. Through the never-ending hours of research, I came to see even more that we had a big responsibility on our hands.
Were we ready for it?
Caring For A Life
If you stop and think about everything you own in your home, you’ll see how extensive the list goes. Anything from floss to superglue to a sewing kit to iron, we possess items for daily situations, but also the what-if situations.
The more I observed the items on our furball’s list, the more I began to realize how detailed it was for this little one’s life coming into our lives. I appreciated our breeder’s thoroughness but also second-guessed every other decision I was making.
To further reiterate this point, you will be responsible for this puppy’s life and everything that comes with it.
This puppy’s health was in our hands. Things like hygiene, health, safety, and discipline would be up to our standard. His entertainment, social life, experience with humans, contact with nature was also in our control.
Even when the puppy grew up to be an adult, he would be dependent on us for his meals, potty breaks, fun, and ultimately, his quality of life.
Bringing home a furry friend is a gigantic decision that should be thought through very seriously. If you’re not in a place to commit to this furball 100%, until death do us part, I’d think again.
I Think I Can, I Think I Can
Remember to consider the day to day quality of your pup’s life as well! It took weeks for us to make sure we were 100% committed to creating a great daily life for our new puppy.
For me and my husband, a huge deciding factor relied upon the flexibility of my husband’s job. While I was away from home a minimum of 9 hours each day, he mainly worked in the field. Even better, his region was our city! This convenience allowed him to stop in at home every few hours during the day.
Although getting a Bichon Frise was my dream, it was not his.
If he was on board to stop by home every so often to tend to our pup, then we could move forward with the decision to buy him. If my husband chose not to accept this responsibility, I would have to respect that. There would be no new furball in the house.
It was as simple as that.
Luckily for me, my husband was ready to move forward with his commitment to tending to our little one throughout each day. YAY!!!
Since we both had stable jobs, we were able to comfortably budget money towards our furry friend’s wellbeing. Overall, the timing was pretty ideal for us to welcome a furball to our home.
Are you in a good place in your life to bring home a new puppy?
Take all the time you need to consider all the factors. A significant decision like this one doesn’t need to be rushed at all. You and your furry friend will be much better off this way.
