I just want to say up-front - all pets are wonderful. But my love for dogs is another level and they are the ones I feel most attached to (sorry husband , and the countless fish I tried to pet while growing up).
Dogs are supposed to be human’s best friend. Even though they are fairly capable of surviving on their own, as domestic pets they fill our lives with abundance of love and loyalty.
They are the descendants of wolves by evolution and domesticated by us humans for our mutual goals - like catching preys (early in the days) or now helping keep us safe (by sniffing, attacking predators).
Do not get fooled by their genuine cute faces when they are puppies. That is a fair warning, which you will come to realise sooner than later once you decide to adopt a pet in your lives.
As per a 2016 consumer study, a third of the world’s households now have dogs as pets , making them the most popular pet in the world. Says something about them , doesn’t it ?
Why Bring home a Dog ?
First things first, if you are actually thinking of bringing home a dog - it is as good a commitment as bringing a child into this world. It will require a lot of commitment , unconditional love and fair amount of money.
It may seem rude or off-putting to some, but to many people like me , these are small wins in a society which places more importance on the number of jobs and kids one woman can juggle. Yes, I do prefer pets more than kids presently, but I am still trying to figure out what I actually want... another topic for another day.
Dogs are not just great to give you company, but they also give you a lot of insight on ourselves and the kind of people we want to become. They do this by making sure you become capable of caring and loving another living thing unconditionally and making sure that you do not forget to give them equal importance as other things in your life.
You need to take out time genuinely - to play, feed and ensure they are well rested and have good motion cycles - you know, basically the same care as you have got to do for a toddler.
I recently read somewhere that dogs have the brain's capacity of a 2 year old toddler, that is like a lot. Imagine the kind of things one can train their dogs to do - from fetching newspapers to being your personal security guard.
For me, getting a dog was a super-conscious decision and an equally impulsive one. After discussing with my therapist, we decided that having a pet will definitely bring about a change in my life and help me in dealing with my anxiety & depression. Impulsive because I just met our dog when he was a puppy and fell in love with him on first sight.
I never expected to be so attached and loved by Max who takes care of me - more than I take care of him.
Here is a list of things which I made when I was making the decision. It is basically a pros & cons list and hope it helps some of you.
How to Get a Dog ?
Congratulations if you have taken the leap of faith and decided to get a pet. Here is a small list of ways of getting a dog. I would definitely recommend doing enough research for the kind of breed you would want to foster and adopt as a family member in the end.
Go and adopt - In places like India, where I live - there are enough dogs living on the streets who are deprived of the basic needs and necessities in order to survive. Do not hesitate, become a local hero by adopting a small wonder from the streets and welcoming them into your homes.
Go to an animal shelter or foster home - If you are living in places where there aren’t street dogs, then the next best thing would be to visit your local animal shelter or foster home. There are always stories of people abandoning their pets when they find taking care is too difficult and unfortunately the pets end up in animal shelters. These are animals that also deserve the best shot at living their best life, like us humans. So why hesitate in bringing one home.
Recently there are a lot of animal welfare organizations and foster homes also on social media who are bringing light to all problems faced by local dogs and abandoned pets. Be sure to check some of them out, I will be sure to link them on my social feed.
Check out a Legit dog breeder - If you are interested in getting a specialty breed (like Dachshund / Siberian husky) or interested to know more about the dog’s family or lineage, it is better to seek out the legitimate dog breeders around. Be forewarned, there are many ones who breed dogs illegally and abuse the breeding mothers in the most unsanitary & in human conditions. Would recommend visiting their centers if you can to find out the legitimacy of the high promises made by all breeders.
Ask your friends - Most often than not, you will know someone in your circle who is a pet owner. If that’s the case, there may be a chance that they would have puppies up for adoption or willing to give out to their friends and family. Stay in touch with them for sure so that you might have a chance of getting a puppy home :)
Local Pet shop - Many advocates of “adopt don’t shop” would not like this option. However it still is the most popular one after asking your friends. But do enough background checks and breeding states to know about the conditions your dog was brought into the world in.
If you know of more options of getting a dog home, feel free to comment below and I would be happy to discuss them more.
What to expect when you get them home ?
Generally, if you are bringing home a puppy, then it should be a minimum 45 days of age or above. Since they are moving to an entirely new environment, expect it to feel scared the first week at least.
With Max it was fairly easy the first week, as we had done most preparations beforehand to ensure that he is comfortable in his new home and has the best of facilities to help him grow.
Week 1
Day before Max came home : We had arranged for a small comfortable bed and some utensils which could be used to feed him. We spoke to a few dog owners and pet shop owners to find out the best food which could be given to him. Turns out there is a special dog baby food just like Cerelac.
Max came home : He came home in the evening of July 2nd, hot summer weather conditions where I live. Fortunately since he was only 45 days old, there was not much fur on him so he could be kept cool in the room with air conditioning.
We thought he might cry or howl in the night , since that is what we had heard from most dog owners. But to our surprise, he had a comfortable sleep on the first night and urinated around the house a couple of times.
Make sure your dog eats only in the required amounts as prescribed on the food packaging. Puppies tend to overeat in excitement / not eat in anxiety. So try to make them as comfortable as possible.
Later on during the week, we tried to train him to go and do the toilet in our front yard.
Vet visit : you can choose to take your pet to an initial vet visit within the next 2 - 3 days. Even though the vaccinations will start later, it is better that your pet starts bonding with the vet and you can try and gain some insights from the doctor. We got to know a lot about the dietary requirements to be kept in mind and grooming essentials which eased out the first few months definitely.
Month 1
Max was somewhat conditioned to the potty training routine and we had set his meal times by the clock.
Initially dogs eat 5 times a day in small batches to make sure they keep getting the proper nutrition.
Because of the high summer heat, Max had an episode of dehydration and stopped eating for a day, but the vet was able to relax him and with help of meat and some vitamins he was back on his feet in no time.
If you are a plant lover like me, make sure you train your pet to stay away from certain big plants. Some leaves or plants can be hazardous for your pets if ingested, so it may become dangerous if your puppy is unattended.
Month 10
To neuter or not to neuter your pet would be entirely your decision. There are enough articles on the web to help make your decision.
But since your dog would be growing up by now, they may start to display some amount of aggression or behavior in order to try and release their sexual tensions.
Think over and do your research well before you take your decision.
For Max, we will be taking a decision in the coming months now, since his vet suggested the best time to neuter him would be after he turned 1 year old.
From toilet training, to making sure that I wake up early in the morning and to never sleeping without me, our pets become a loving and kinder extension of ourselves.
Don't forget your pet is as good as any family member, and they adapt to the environment in which they are brought up - just like children. They too get affected by their surroundings.
Max never got acclimatized to kids since we don’t have any, so whenever kids come to greet him, he does not like it.
If any other dog comes to greet us in the park, then too he becomes very possessive and does not appreciate it easily. (Later on, he got used to it, and has now started to make some friends too).
I would say, we are lucky that we live in an area where there are a lot of pet owners and different breeds of dogs. So there is always a medium to discuss opinions and experiences with one another, it does help a lot.
There are a couple of good channels on YouTube which discuss specifically to training and nurturing dogs, I shall link them here in case you are interested. (These are in no way sponsored & what I used personally).
A lot of people find it amusing but I also tried music therapy for my pet while he was growing up. This works when you start at puppy stage as I tried on a full grown dog and it did not work. The music helps to make him more comfortable in his environment and release his anxiety. There are a few good soundtracks available on YouTube linked here. (Again, these are in no way sponsored).
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