4
« on: July 17, 2006, 08:36:50 pm »
I need some input. I have a 4 yr old adult male now, and have the opportunity to get a 14 month old spayed female and don't know if I should or not. I keep weighing the pluses and minuses in my head and can't come to a decision. My male is awesome. He's devoted to me and follows me around the house, etc. That said, I feel like I'm not allowing him to be all he could be by him being an 'only dog' without a live-in dog buddy. He sees other dogs regularly at the park and other places I take him, but not every day, so there are times where he goes 4-5 days w/o being able to play with another dog and that makes me feel sad. My feeling is that he's not really content with just hanging out in the house with me. I feel like he HAS to be content b/c he has no other options. He's NOT good at keeping himself entertained, and I think he gets bored and just lays down because he doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll lay down and take a deep breath and let out a big *sigh* and just kind of make the best of it, and that makes me feel like I'm depriving him.
The female I have the opportunity to get isn't a rescue, she's just a pet quality dog that's not going to be a part of the owner's breeding program. By all accounts she's incredibly intelligent & athletic, and is also object oriented (not sure if that just means she likes to chase balls and sticks or if she also has a pronounced prey drive).
The pluses are obvious: my male would have a live-in buddy for play and for keeping him mentally stimulated when I'm unable to or not at home (and he gets along GREAT with female dogs, as 'buddies' I mean).
The minuses.... I'm not sure there *are* any that I can put my finger on. I seem to be imagining a lot of 'what if....?' situations that have led me to make this post in the first place, but for some reason I'm still nervous about the whole situation and I don't know why.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Show Posts