This is advice to all those who wanna keep dogs.
My tale starts 8 years ago one cool evening in October. I was a dog enthusiast all my juvenile life. I decided after moving into our new home, that I desperately needed a dog. Once I had decided on the venture, started the first step, identifying the right breed.
My initial enthusiasm was towards getting one of the larger breeds. I loved the mean-lean looks of the doberman and admired the muscular good looks of the German Shepherd. I didnt want a toy dog like the pomeranian. I wanted my dog to look after my house when I wasnt around, not the entire household looking after the dog. In other words, I wanted a working dog. But a quick glance through the classifieds and a talk to dog breeders brought me back to earth. Big dogs need big homes and lots of place to do the running around. Being a middle class guy in a middle class neighbourhood in a middle class city, I found that a little unreasonable. Besides, the bigger breeds command bigger prices, and I wasnt exactly the heir to Azim Premji's empire. So, I started evaluating all the options. My next search was all those friends of mine who already had dogs and whose dogs had a recent litter. I wanted a reasonably small breed, capable of taking care of itself and someone who would be reasonably comfortable in the limited space available around my humble abode AND one who wouldnt cost much to buy or to keep. Not unexpectedly, the search turned up nothing. I came up with none.
Then I decided on the next best option.adopting a street dog. Why?
Reason 1: They're free
Reason 2: They're more robust and disease resistant(ever heard of diabetes/spinal cord disorders, etc in dogs? they do occur, and more often than you care to think, specially in pure breeds)
Reason 3: They're more abundant in number and they would also be my good deed for the day.
I actually thought I would be doing the poor pup a favour by picking it up. It turned out that now, my dog considers that its doing me a favour by letting me live in HIS HOUSE. yeah, funny.but cute.
I managed to locate one street dog who had had a litter recently. after having examined the parents and taking the permission of the owners(yes, im not kidding, almost every second street dog has owners, not the regular kind who keep them in their homes, but ones who provide food atleast), I picked up my little fellow. Just 8 weeks old, and liquid brown eyes, he had a look of innocence about him that made me pick him up. He was of mixed breed, short and stocky. Just the kind who'd fit into a house like mine yet be the kind of bar-room bouncer I wanted.
I managed to get him home without further problems.
Rule No 1: Little pups cry when they're seperated from their moms.
Mine went agains the rule, as he settled down happily to a bowl of warm milk and curled up for a nap. But take it for granted that 90% of pups do get pissed off when you split them from their family.
Rule No 2: Bringing up doggy needs the complete involvement of the family.
Its not very different from bringing up kids. And when you arent at home, the family will have to take up the responsibility of cleaning up after your pup.
Rule No 3: Before you teach your doggy to sit down or roll, you need to toilet-train him.
This is not a very difficult task. Dogs by nature are very conscious of their surroundings. They will never, if the option is available, dirty the place they live in. The best thing is to take them out-doors after a meal. This way they know that the outdoors is the place to do it. Another good thing is to set up a litter box until he gets toilet trained.
Rule No 4: Pups are just like babies, and need health care too
yep. The first thing to do when you get a pup is to take him to a vet. Momma doggies pass on lots of unwanted stuff to pups such as(YuKKKKYY) worms, lice, parasites etc. So you gotta get rid of those for your sake as much as your pets. You'll need to keep them neat, clean, healthy and well fed. As a rule, if your pup is throwing up/not eating well/ eating too much etc, you know you need to get him de-wormed. And whatever breed of dog he might be, he still needs those vaccine shots. You could say, hey.i've seen a lot of dogs out on the street, no-one vaccinates them, and yet they're alive. Yeah, true, but have you seen those that aren't alive? They probably arent coz they weren't vaccinated.
Rule No 5: Get used to your pup wakin you up at odd times. Mine, as a rule woke me up at 4 AM coz he was feelin hungry. He needed some growing up before he learnt it wasnt such a good idea to wake me up at that time.
Rule No 6: If you dont want your dog to share your favourite couch or take over your bed, then you better get started teaching him not to, quite early in his life. Once he is set no one can move him. Trust me, coz now, I dont let my dog sleep on my bed. He lets me sleep on his.
Bringing up your dog can be real fun. And as he grows up, you'll be surprised at how much you'll get to depend on him, for companionship, security, and plain old stress relief. As dogs grow older they grow more mature. They wont be up to the kind of juvenile mischief as they do when they're pups. They grow more understanding and you'd be surprised too, at how much they'd understand every word you say, and every word you dont. Me and my snoopz(my dog) communicate on a perfect wavelength. He knows when I need him to sit by me, doing nothing, and I understand when he needs my companionship(which is most of the time). I hope i'll never have to do without him.
Have fun with you dog. But before you start, understand this.Raising a dog as a pet is not a six month pet project. Its a 15 year commitment. Decide if you really are upto the task and only then proceed. Getting rid of an unwanted pet can be a painful thing to you. But its even more painful to your pet. You are the only family he has.
Have fun with your dog. After all, he's the new member in your family.
