The Puppy Diaries: Life With a New Puppy

The latest Puppy Diaries finally went up last week, and it’s great discussion on why we get puppies and how they effect our lives. This is a great topic for the holiday season, as puppies are a perennial holiday gift.

Ms. Abramson discusses “empty nesters” and how some get a puppy (or adopt a dog) to fill the void left by children that have struck out on their own. Setting aside the problem with people who treat their dogs like furry children (and by the way I find the term “fur baby” not just cloying and irritating, but downright vile) this is a good reason to get a dog.

Getting a dog because you have time and because you are looking to create a new relationship is good. This is the line of thinking one should be on when considering a pet.

Getting a dog to “teach your children responsibility” is not a good reason, not unless you are ready to step up and take care of the puppy’s physical and emotional needs when the kids ultimately end up being kids.

Getting someone else a dog because you think they have time and they need a relationship isn’t a good reason either. A dog (or puppy) should never be a gift, at least not a surprise gift.

And if you are considering you first puppy, before forewarned: they are a lot of work. Arguably more work than a child. I know a lot of dog people who, while they will most likely never be without at least two dogs the rest of their lives, will never adopt or buy a puppy ever again. (I’m pretty sure I’m one of them.)

Toilet training a child almost never involves subzero temperatures. Forty pound children rarely knock over visitors or lick their faces. Toddlers pull on leash a lot less than Golden Retrievers. And not once did my son steal a sandwich off of the coffee table before he started high school.

And, as Ms. Abramson points out there are places you can’t take your puppy, even when your puppy is six months old. This isn’t the case with a child: children are almost always allowed to be children, while puppies are frequently banned for being puppies. (That’s not an editorial statement as much as it is a statement of fact.)

I don’t want this post to be a complete downer. Puppies are great, and I love teaching puppy kindergarten. I played Santa at a fundraiser tonight and loved holding the puppies and sitting with children for photos. (Pictures later today.) It just that is the season of puppies and I hate to seem them as impulse purchases or ill-conceived gifts.

Please, if you are considering a puppy as a gift, think carefully, and then think again.

Related Posts

1. Puppy Diaries: Back to Kindergarten
2. The Puppy Diaries on New York Times
3. Puppy Diaries: Adolescence
4. The Puppy Diaries: Temple Grandin and Anthropomorphism
5. The Puppy Diaries: Part 3