I spent a few hours Saturday afternoon watching the US vs England World Cup match. I was very excited, but the other two members of my household were less than thrilled. In fact, they fell fast asleep. I stealthily took a picture with the built-in camera on my Macbook — and somehow the picture is a mirror image of what our living room actually looks like from that perspective. Weird.
See, we dog-sat our friends John and Kelly’s shih tzu, Gizmo, all last week while they were off on an Alaskan cruise. Despite the fact that I was totally jealous of their trip, we had a lot of fun with Gizmo around. She is pretty much the perfect house guest — she’s quiet, unobtrusive, and always excited to see us. She loves walks, and licking my legs after a sweaty run. And she only pooped on the floor once. (Ha.)
We dropped her back off at John and Kelly’s house late on Sunday night, and yesterday when I got home from work, I forgot that she wouldn’t be waiting right inside the door as soon as I swung it open. And as I walked around the house last night doing this and that, I kept on turning around expecting to see her right there behind me. I actually kind of missed her funny little face.
Jose and I have been talking about getting a dog on and off since Christmas, but the prospect makes me nervous. I’m annoyingly, obnoxiously picky about a dog’s temperament and behavior. I don’t want a hyper dog, or a barky dog, or a slobbery dog. But Gizmo isn’t any of those things.
John and Kelly, can I steal your dog?
i think that if you adopt an older dog (ie not a puppy), you’ll have much better control of their temperament.
but don’t adopt a dog unless you really want it and are willing to commit to it for the rest of its life! i’ve had two friend that have recently decided that their dogs are inconvenient and are trying to find them new homes!
agreed, re older dog. and what you see is what you get — my dog was going crazy at the pound — very cute and very friendly, and she definitely stood out. and she still is very cute and very friendly and VERY CRAZY. you want the dog that looks depressed and just lays there. trust me.
I’d like to put in a plug for getting an older dog. It was *really* nice to get a dog that was already potty trained! On the other hand, when getting a rescue dog you don’t exactly know what the dog’s past is. Kenzie is a great dog but it definitely took time for her to adjust and be comfortable with us, she’s still very scared of strangers, and we think she may have come from an abusive situation before we adopted her.
If you are serious about getting a dog, before you even start looking (and find one you love), you should look up dog breeds online and find what kind of dog you want. We found a lot of information online about what breeds are relaxed in the house, super energetic, good with kids, not good with strangers, etc etc. You should also think about how furry the dog is (how much do you want to vacuum!), and how big a dog you want. Thinking about whether you want the dog to be able to run or exercise with you is also important. Some dogs require tons of exercise or they might chew or destroy stuff, while others are fine to sit around the house.
Lots to think about but having a dog is fun! I liked your comment about missing the dog following you around because Kenzie follows me around all the time and I’d miss that now if she was not there! 🙂
Well, I suggest you modify this to “I don’t want a hyper dog, or a barky dog, or a slobbery dog, or a dog that sheds too much.” If it weren’t for the last issue, I’d recommend a shepherd mix.
Big dogs tend to be laid back – Great Danes, for example. Great Danes also do not shed. In the small dog department, I love pugs. Again, no shedding. Solid enough to hug. Laid back in my experience.
If you can put up with the hair, Shepherd mixes are a great option. They are very healthy (unlike German Shepherds), will protect you, can go anywhere you can walk, are very laid back past about 1 year old, don’t bark much. If you do get a dog, I suggest using a bark collar at the beginning – with a dog not too inclined to bark, that should nip any problems in the bud.
Jen and I are totally in agreement on our tastes in dogs. Great Danes and Pugs are totally on my list 🙂