As most of you know we have two Rottweilers, Nathan's girls Katie and Cody. They are 8 years old and sisters that have never been apart and live predominantly outside. They love us, but they love each other more and that is ok, but I would like to get a dog that will love and protect Natalie without knocking her ass over teakettle. Rottie's tend to have life expectancies between 7-10 years and I am not looking forward to the day when one goes before the other. It will be very hard on them and us. While they do drive me insane with all the barking, I love them and am not looking forward to losing them.
Nathan is against the idea of adding to our canine family. Now, I'm not saying I want to rush out immediately and purchase a puppy. (Oh man! I'm NOT looking forward to going through the puppy stage again.) I just want to start discussing breed types, size, temperament and maybe narrowing down the "when" part since I would like the pup and Natalie to grow up together.
When I was a little girl I had a best friend named Tootsie. She was a little Yorkie Terrier and she was awesome. She let me rough house with her, dress her up, and she played hide and seek (and many other games) with me. I loved her dearly and she lived for almost 20 years. There are still times when I come into my parent's home that I find myself looking for her. She was an integral part of my growing up.
I also had a Collie named Rusty that loved and protected me. She too was a best friend and as an only child it was nice to have playmates and confidants all rolled into one. We lived in the middle of a large plot of land (100 acres) and Rusty went with me on all travels outside the house. Tootsie, while she THOUGHT she was a Great Dane wasn't much in the protection department, but Rusty would get between me and anyone (including my Dad and cousins) that she felt was a threat with teeth bared. I was never lonely and I always had someone to go on adventures with. From tea parties (Tootsie's department) to hunting down the perfect tree house (Rusty's area of expertise). Living on 100 acres of apricots and pears I was always finding a new and improved tree house.
I don't blame Nathan for his skepticism. When he was a boy dogs served a purpose and stayed outside. It was only after he moved out (and empty nest syndrome set in for his parents? My guess.) that they began to have inside dogs. In my family they have always been dual purpose. Outside while the humans are gone and inside while the humans are home. I kept a king size bed after my divorce simply because I needed room for my Brogan to snooze beside me. He showered in my shower and he spent all his time with me. He went on most trips with me and I specifically set up my back seat just for him. (Leather interior is not doggie nail conducive and when I purchased the truck I never thought I'd have a big dog again, little did I know within a few years I'd have three... LOL) I miss my Brogan every day and still have not wiped his licks and wet nose prints off the back window of my truck. In time I suppose...
I digress, dogs have always been a big part of my life. I had a doberman when I was around 5/6 named Dallas. She was also an amazing dog. She let me do whatever I wanted with her and had the kindest heart and eyes. I am tearing up as I am remembering all the dogs I have been so blessed to have in my family.
I don't know how to relay all of this to Nathan who hasn't had these kind of connections (to my knowledge) with dogs. He loves his girls, but I just don't see anything like the relationships I have had with my dogs. This is important to me and would be a small adjustment in his life. I would train the pup and clean up after him. I would occasionally need Nathan's help I'm sure, plus I'd like him to bond with the pup as well, but I just wish I could take his hand and place it on my heart (a la Fern Gully and, "Can't you feel the tree's pain?") and show him how much this means to me. Nathan does not deny me much and I am very grateful for that, but I just don't know how to communicate this properly.
I have still continued dog research. I'd like a medium sized dog, but funny enough when I opened the "Find your perfect dog" quiz to big dogs a Rottweiler and a Standard Poodle came up. My Mom's Standard Poodle, Claude, has been an amazing dog as well. Super smart, kind, and obedient. And since they have "hair" and not "fur" they are easier to clean up after. Plus we've NEVER tortured him with the typical poodle 'doo and I think he's appreciated that. Haha. But since Natalie is going to be on the smaller side, at least for a while, a medium sized dog is better. One that won't accidentally "mow her over" when excited.
So here I sit at our impasse scratching my head and wondering what I can do to get Nathan to understand what this would mean to me, but most importantly to Natalie. Sigh.
About Me
- Jakki
- Happily married. Loving our beautiful daughter who arrived on Friday the 13th November 2009. I love and am grateful for my family, friends and critters. We make our own grief and we make our own happiness, so choose to make your life happy.
3 comments:
I feel ya. I've had a dog my entire life. Okay, I take it back. I've had a cocker spaniel my entire life. Mark is not much of a pet person. I basically steam rolled him into buying Bailey. We bought Bay 3 weeks after we got married. It was just part of being a family and made sense. Bay made it 9 years, all of which were spent at my parents' house. It took some convincing to get Abby (she's 4). He didn't want a dog, but I told him that I needed that kind of companion and that I would take care of her. Needless to say, when he met her, he fell in love. We actually got her when she was 2, so we passed the puppy phase. She's been a great dog...she's big fat and happy as a clam. :)
Abby is adorable I am so glad Mark accepted her and loves her. Nathan has always had dogs, but they have (seemingly) had a much different role in his family then in mine so our expectations are totally different.
The ONLY reason I want, neigh, am willing to do the puppy thing again (because Brogan was a good, but mischievous pup so I'm a little gun shy. LOL) is when I looked into all of the rescue groups they state point blank that they can not guarantee a baby friendly dog since they do not know all of the dog's history. I was pretty bummed, but Natalie's safety has to be my first concern so if we get a pup it will grow up with her and learn that she is his and he is hers.)I'm partial to males, but a female would work too. Haha.)
All I can hope for is that Nathan will come over to the dark side with me. I'm going to try tempting him with alcohol and cookies. LOL.
Good Luck Jakki! We got Mylo (as an 8 week old puppy for much of the same reasons you want a puppy) for Owen because we both wanted him to have a dog to grow up. Neither of us had a dog as a child, only as older teens and we are very much an animal family. The decision was one that we mulled over passively for about 3-4 months, actively for 3 months in terms of deciding on a breed and then still a couple more to actually find the one. It was quite a process. We usually like purebred dogs but could not find one that we both liked and that did not require countless hours of walking and stimulation. We wanted it to be medium sized so Owen could rough house with him but not so big that he took over our house. We finally decided that a mixed breed would bring the best of both worlds. Mylo is awesome. After the first few weeks of a hellish transition and many bites and scratches later as the pecking order was determined in our zoo, Mylo and Owen are content and each others best friend and play thing. It is quite cute and what we had in mind when we started. Mylo is even adorable with Chloe and we hadn't thought of him as for her too, but she seems to enjoy cuddling with him, his doggie kisses and rolling on his bed with him. I hope you can get Nate to come around in time. Oh, this is Aimee by the way:)
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