 Barked: Thu May 17, '12 6:32am PST |
 | |  | | I have to second Bunny on this one. I know I'm being a killjoy here, but it sounds like he doesn't want to be inconvenienced at all by this dog. A short haired breed may save on groomer bills, but then he may need to be brushed with an undercoat comb every day or shed massively all over the house. Being velcro may be partly affected by breed, but the dog's experiences are probably even more important. Kodiak came to us relatively aloof, actually. I tend to think that having someone around most of the time is the most important factor in building that kind of relationship. And as mentioned, a velcro dog is not necessarily well suited to someone who works a lot. I'm definitely not saying that no one who works a 9-5 should have a dog, but his list does raise some concerns. Is he going to be willing to wake up early to take the dog for a 30 min walk before work, possibly pay someone to come by in the middle of the day (a lot of dogs are very uncomfortable holding it for 9 hours!), and spend a good 1-2 hours of his evening walking/playing with the dog? Unless the dog is elderly, it's going to at least need at least that much exercise. He also will probably need to potty train the dog, even if it's been trained somewhere else- it doesn't always transfer from one place to another, especially with young puppies and if the dog has only ever lived in one other place. He may bark during the night for a while because getting used to a new home is scary and uncomfortable. Kodiak needed to go out to out in the middle of the night until he was at least 7 or 8 months old, and still needs to go out at 5 or 6 am. The friend would also need to educate himself on obedience training, etc. I would be inclined to ask some probing questions Would you rather pay a groomer or brush the dog for 15 minutes a day? Would you rather have someone let the dog out every few hours, or adopt an adult dog who can hold it for longer? Would you rather deal with separation anxiety (potentially whining, crying, peeing, hurting himself trying to get out of the crate or destroying things in the house) or have a more independent dog, where it takes some time to develop a bond? Will you be willing to take a week or two off work to get the dog settled and kickstart the bonding process? I think fostering or fostering to adopt may be the right choice for this person, preferably from somewhere that does extensive behavior testing and provides some support for the foster parents. |  |  | |  |
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A breed quirk...most find endearing.
