Before You Adopt a Puppy, Read This:

We lost Dumbledore at the end of October.

While it was a loss that I knew was coming, it was still a cliff that hung off the edge of my heart. He is irreplaceable, a loss that lies heavy here every day. I spent more time with him than I did most people, with the exception of my children. Needless to say, there was no room in my heart for another soul, not at the moment.

But life makes moves, doesn’t it.

Nearly three weeks ago, Loki, our aussie cattle dog, got very sick. We ended up making an emergency trip to the vet, with me fearing the worse. In the end, after three hours, a few tests and me madly chasing him about for a urine sample, all was well. During this waiting, one of the techs popped in, to smile and whisper, “There’s a puppy in the back that needs a home. A German Shepherd.” I shook my head. Not yet, I thought. Besides, we had four dogs at home already.

If you don’t know me, I have a thing for German Shepherds. I would rescue and rehome them in university, until my own Shepherd found her way to me. She was a nightmare—anxious, IBS and on top of it, living in the city. I made sure we had a yard, but eventually we made it here, to the farm. She saw me through the birthing of all my babies, giving way to degenerative myelopathy when she was nine years old.  

But I caved. I asked to see her. I walked into the back room, expecting to see a six-month-old beastie, an anxious snarling mess. She was tiny, pitch black, her ears standing up like a satellite above her head. She was drugged and so calm, only ten weeks old. I sat down on the floor beside her and listened to her story.

She had been set for euthanasia that evening. With the urging of a local rescue and the veterinarians that has been tasked to take her life, the puppy’s life had been saved by sheer luck. Separated from her mother at four weeks during an SPCA seizure, she had since been deemed “vicious with women” and plagued with crippling anxiety. She was on a cocktail of about four different medications just to keep her calm.

Three weeks later, Juno feels like she has always been part of our family. She’s off her meds and has shown no signs of aggressive behaviour. Our spaniel puppy keeps her busy and in puppy mode, while the others guide her as she explores. To be honest, not much is required of me as a trainer—she’s made it easy.

Juno is an extreme case, but the point is that so many people are taking in puppies, buying or adopting them, without really thinking about what owning a puppy can entail.

So this is what I want to say about puppies. Not to make anyone feel bad, but maybe to save another dog this gosh darned heartache. Please pass this post along to anyone considering bringing a new dog into their lives✌️✌️.

If you’re thinking about getting a puppy, please consider:

✨BREED: All dogs are different. They bring different things to the table, from agility to intelligence to sheer stubbornness. Some breeds take a couple of years to mature and some of those individual dogs might take longer. For instance, if you want a dog for protection, a German Shepard might be a good choice. Buy GSD dogs come with a lot of extra variables to consider. They have different needs, like a border collie or a cattle dog would have. Are you ready to exercise? Try, fail and try again? Maybe you like the look of a Great Pyrenees. Are you ready for all-night barking? Do you have a job for them, land and animals that they can protect?

Different dogs, different needs.

✨TIME & ENERGY. Puppies are toddlers with canines. Jacked up on sugar. They will go hard until they pass out. They will test boundaries and push past them if they are not corrected. Because dogs are apex predators, this is a serious endeavour that you need to consider. Toilet training is HARD. Sometimes it’s fast—other times it’s not (Jolene was six months, I kid you not). They will eat or defecate on your carpets. Maybe your furniture. They might eat walls, even if you crate train and do everything right. In our case, Dumbledore ate walls and I was sure that Stoik had pika. Seriously. Also, they might not be like the dog you have, or had before. You’ve got to be able to acclimate❤️

✨ STATE OF HEALTH. Getting a dog isn’t going to fix your problems or get you in shape. Please do not put that on your dog. That being said, be prepared to move. Puppies need a ton of stimulation and regulation. If this isn’t provided, they will look elsewhere for these things and make decisions that you won’t like.

✨10-20 years is a long time. Are you ready to settle in?