![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxI find that I have a bit of a low level depression going on at night. It's incredible how habituated you become to certain things and I find myself almost enacting patterns associated with my cat such as checking the chair next to me, or heading into the kitchen just before bed, or closing the bedroom door behind me in the morning. It's when I catch myself mindlessly about to start one of these rituals that I have a pang in my heart. I miss her.
And... dog hunting is exhausting. The internet has actually made an overload of information. There are just too many options. I actually applied for one rescue pup (who was adorable!) but it turned out that it had a few issues that wouldn't work well with my situation (It was the running/escaping. I live near a VERY busy road (and not far from an incredibly busy commuting highway) and an escape artist could pose a danger to itself if it wandered more than a few houses away.
Plus, it snapped at small pets and my mom has a cat that she absolutely adores while my sister has a 9lb poodle that she does, so snapping at small pets is also a problem). So... I moved on. Adorable pet, but I tend to think it's important to be aware of the nature of a breed as well as of a specific dog.
I don't want to feel that I have to remake a dog, because I'm not sure how successful it is to remake. Like cats there's some stuff that's just there. My sister's poodle clearly has bird dog in her... and it comes out in her ball obsession (which is quite cute. But it goes back to poodles being a type of retriever and it comes out in having a love of ballplay like whoa).
Certain breed/types are happier in some situations than others. Best to find a nice confluence of what a certain dog needs and what I can provide. I think this particular pup would be happier somewhere a bit more rural and without small, harmable competition.
I've actually been considering puppies, because when I think of all the dogs my family has owned, we've never had behavior problems but we've also always raised our dogs from pups. Given that I have retired parents that live very close, who also tend to drop by during the day simply so that they have some reason to get out of the house (and they were wonderful when my kitty was ill. Mom came over to check on her every. single. day. when I was at work. And she stayed with Carly all day her last day), I think I can manage a pup. Plus if I can socialize it with my mother's cat, that means I can eventually adopt a cat as well.
So I've scoured around for puppies... and sheesh. Again, information overload. Right now I have a line on a 3 month old Havanese and a 2 week old toy poodle (yeah, that one is with its mom and may be 'reserved' but won't actually be 'available' until March).
Speaking of, sheesh poodles must have gone majorly out of style. Do you know how difficult it has become to FIND a poodle? There are some standard poodles around, but trying to find a miniature is completely impossible. I literally have found no miniature poodle within a reasonable distance. And even toy poodles have become difficult to find. It seems there's every kind of shi-poo, malti-poo, schnoodle, and goldendoodle-- every cross breed imaginable -- but trying to find a plain old miniature poodle has become difficult! (Although, I would consider a schnoodle).
... and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for miniature poodles because that was the dog I had when growing up. I had a sweet as pie black miniature poodle that (and everyone always says this about the dog they had growing up) was one of the best dogs ever. She never knew that she was a poodle, because we never cut her like one or treated her like one... so she simply never knew. If I could find a mini like her, I'd snap her up.
I'll have to know more about the 2 week old toy (like what is the size, health, temperament of the parent(s) And, looking at the Animal Planet Pets 101 and the wiki on Havanese, I'm willing to explore those. They seem generally sturdy, trainable, and easy-going. All plusses. They are a warm weather dog, but, hey, warm weather climate here. And they need a lot of grooming, but grooming I can handle. I brushed my cat every day too (to reduce shedding... which she still did a lot of anyway, but, hey, that's pet ownership! :).
I've basically decided against a Maltese as they seem perhaps too small and too prone to separation anxiety. I realized the other day that I had somewhat subconsciously anticipated all breeds of dog to be like the dogs that I've had before. Then it struck me that all the dogs I've had before were poodles (who are independent little dogs) and I began to worry about dogs with really soft temperaments like the Maltese. After reading that the #1 reason for the surrender of Maltese was incessant barking, I began to think that adorably cute balls of fluff though they are, they may not be the correct breed for me.
And as gorgeous as Cavalier King Charles are (and oh they are gorgeous and lovely), they seem to have many health problems (congenital heart problems are common. Also problems because of their small sloped skulls)... though I might consider a Cavachon... except that still doesn't solve the health/heart problems.
I've considered a Bichon Frise (healthy, cheerful, long-lived) as well, but the only one available around here is a male, and call me sexist if you want, but I want a female.
I'm sure it'll work out in the end, and I'll fall in love with whatever I get, but I didn't know that trying to find one would be quite so overwhelming.
... and I still miss my kitty (which is why I'm not searching for a kitty. It seems somehow wrong to replace her with another kitty so soon. But I've been wanting a dog for years and had delayed doing so because I didn't want to stress my beloved, ancient cat. I will most probably have another kitty eventually... hence the wanting a well socialized dog. I'm depending on my mom's cat Gracie helping me teach a puppy to accept cats).
And... dog hunting is exhausting. The internet has actually made an overload of information. There are just too many options. I actually applied for one rescue pup (who was adorable!) but it turned out that it had a few issues that wouldn't work well with my situation (It was the running/escaping. I live near a VERY busy road (and not far from an incredibly busy commuting highway) and an escape artist could pose a danger to itself if it wandered more than a few houses away.
Plus, it snapped at small pets and my mom has a cat that she absolutely adores while my sister has a 9lb poodle that she does, so snapping at small pets is also a problem). So... I moved on. Adorable pet, but I tend to think it's important to be aware of the nature of a breed as well as of a specific dog.
I don't want to feel that I have to remake a dog, because I'm not sure how successful it is to remake. Like cats there's some stuff that's just there. My sister's poodle clearly has bird dog in her... and it comes out in her ball obsession (which is quite cute. But it goes back to poodles being a type of retriever and it comes out in having a love of ballplay like whoa).
Certain breed/types are happier in some situations than others. Best to find a nice confluence of what a certain dog needs and what I can provide. I think this particular pup would be happier somewhere a bit more rural and without small, harmable competition.
I've actually been considering puppies, because when I think of all the dogs my family has owned, we've never had behavior problems but we've also always raised our dogs from pups. Given that I have retired parents that live very close, who also tend to drop by during the day simply so that they have some reason to get out of the house (and they were wonderful when my kitty was ill. Mom came over to check on her every. single. day. when I was at work. And she stayed with Carly all day her last day), I think I can manage a pup. Plus if I can socialize it with my mother's cat, that means I can eventually adopt a cat as well.
So I've scoured around for puppies... and sheesh. Again, information overload. Right now I have a line on a 3 month old Havanese and a 2 week old toy poodle (yeah, that one is with its mom and may be 'reserved' but won't actually be 'available' until March).
Speaking of, sheesh poodles must have gone majorly out of style. Do you know how difficult it has become to FIND a poodle? There are some standard poodles around, but trying to find a miniature is completely impossible. I literally have found no miniature poodle within a reasonable distance. And even toy poodles have become difficult to find. It seems there's every kind of shi-poo, malti-poo, schnoodle, and goldendoodle-- every cross breed imaginable -- but trying to find a plain old miniature poodle has become difficult! (Although, I would consider a schnoodle).
... and I have to admit that I have a soft spot for miniature poodles because that was the dog I had when growing up. I had a sweet as pie black miniature poodle that (and everyone always says this about the dog they had growing up) was one of the best dogs ever. She never knew that she was a poodle, because we never cut her like one or treated her like one... so she simply never knew. If I could find a mini like her, I'd snap her up.
I'll have to know more about the 2 week old toy (like what is the size, health, temperament of the parent(s) And, looking at the Animal Planet Pets 101 and the wiki on Havanese, I'm willing to explore those. They seem generally sturdy, trainable, and easy-going. All plusses. They are a warm weather dog, but, hey, warm weather climate here. And they need a lot of grooming, but grooming I can handle. I brushed my cat every day too (to reduce shedding... which she still did a lot of anyway, but, hey, that's pet ownership! :).
I've basically decided against a Maltese as they seem perhaps too small and too prone to separation anxiety. I realized the other day that I had somewhat subconsciously anticipated all breeds of dog to be like the dogs that I've had before. Then it struck me that all the dogs I've had before were poodles (who are independent little dogs) and I began to worry about dogs with really soft temperaments like the Maltese. After reading that the #1 reason for the surrender of Maltese was incessant barking, I began to think that adorably cute balls of fluff though they are, they may not be the correct breed for me.
And as gorgeous as Cavalier King Charles are (and oh they are gorgeous and lovely), they seem to have many health problems (congenital heart problems are common. Also problems because of their small sloped skulls)... though I might consider a Cavachon... except that still doesn't solve the health/heart problems.
I've considered a Bichon Frise (healthy, cheerful, long-lived) as well, but the only one available around here is a male, and call me sexist if you want, but I want a female.
I'm sure it'll work out in the end, and I'll fall in love with whatever I get, but I didn't know that trying to find one would be quite so overwhelming.
... and I still miss my kitty (which is why I'm not searching for a kitty. It seems somehow wrong to replace her with another kitty so soon. But I've been wanting a dog for years and had delayed doing so because I didn't want to stress my beloved, ancient cat. I will most probably have another kitty eventually... hence the wanting a well socialized dog. I'm depending on my mom's cat Gracie helping me teach a puppy to accept cats).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-02-03 04:03 pm (UTC)I have small dogs, but rat terriers are lovely and cuddley but they are much more energetic than the breeds you're mentioning.
But have you thought of Pomeranians? All the Poms I meet are lovely.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-03 05:04 pm (UTC)And, yeah, exercise/expenditure of energy needs are one of the factors I consider. My coworker mentioned that his wife takes their dog on her 3mi run ever morning, which is fantastic for a lot of breeds of dog. On the other hand my sister's Meggie would pass out after a 1/4 mi walk because for her short little legs that's a really long way. As I'm infinitely more likely to do the 1/4 mile walk than the 3mi.run (which would be never on the 3mi run) better to get one who has all the exercise she needs with a walk around the neighborhood.