Spring is coming–and that’s a problem for us, because we’ve been putting off the kids by saying that we couldn’t possibly get a dog until the end of winter. It seemed like a smart move back in November. Now we’re dreading an idea that would’ve been a lot of fun for us back when we were kids. Oh, we wish we good enough people that we could only imagine all the fun that’ll come from having a family dog. Instead, we’re just thinking about chewed-up antiques and hair all over the furniture and chewed-up furniture and the joys of house training a dog and…well, something else that’s chewed up.
We’ve found a few good resources while getting ready for the big decision, though. Our friends at GreatPetHealth recently found an excellent online app that’s helped us narrow things down to about fifty different breeds. (The app is more specific than that, but we made the mistake of clicking “More Breeds” with the kids watching.) We’ve also gone in search of videos that might narrow things down–and we’re pretty happy with this one. It’s not quite as specific as an online app, but the Animal Planet’s Doc Halligan covers a lot of territory in a very short time. She’s also reassuring about a few of our worst fears–and it’s nice to know that conditioning a puppy to respect the children is a matter of weeks instead of years.
We also like her advice on what kind of dogs are likely to get hurt by kids. We know our little monsters angels would never intentionally harm a pet, but we also want to make sure that a dog is going to be safe in our house. Especially since we don’t want a puppy feeling threatened. This video also brings up a few breeds that got left off our initial app search, so that has us up to about 60 kinds of dogs on our short list. And, of course, we’ll add that there are plenty of mutts who need to be saved from our country’s shelters. This video (and that app) are still useful on that end, though. Mutts still display the best (and worst) aspects of their lineage. Anyway, check out the video if you’re in the same spot that we’re in–or expect to be, someday…
