Sunday Musings

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

It seems like Riley has been a part of our family forever.  It's not even two weeks but in that time our lives have been turned upside in a wonderful way.  Our children want to visit and friends we haven't seen in ages are arriving on a daily basis and a new dimension has been added to our lives.  As you know I have prepared well for Riley.

During the week a young person posted that she had taken on too much when she got her puppy.  The discussion was written after  only after one day and she was agonising, but the reality was she couldn't adjust her life to meet the needs of her puppy.  I'm nearly 52 and I think I'm just about old enough and mature enough to own a Labradoodle now!.  I have had many dogs over the years, the ones I had as a child were in truth looked after by my parents, they had the major responsibility.  The dogs I had in the early years of my marriage were easy Maltese Terriers both of whom lived long and happy lives but in truth they were undemanding, didn't require the intensive training  that Riley does. 

I remembered that when Sophie was ten years old she started pestering me for a  Boxer Dog, she  thought they were the best looking dogs on the planet ( I begged to differ) and I couldn't shift her thinking.  My Mother In Law lived around the corner and beside her were a young family with a young Boxer dog who lived in their yard and who was totally untrained.  He spent the days sadly barking, bored out of his mind.  I came up with a plan.  I knocked on the door of the house and a woman answered.  "I 'd like to talk to you about your dog" I said.  "What's he done now?", she answered.  "Nothing", I said.  "My daughter and I would like to take him for a walk to the park, if that's ok with you?" " With pleasure", she said and went and got the dog.  A large Boxer dog who was walking on two legs soon appeared.  I told Sophie we were borrowing the Boxer to see if it was a dog she really wanted and we headed for the park.  I took the lead and was pulled along until we were inside the gates.  I turned to Sophie and said "You take the lead now".  Sophie was pulled hard but she bravely held on while I walked alongside, saying nothing.  The dog was very gentle just totally untrained and very strong.   Five minutes later Sophie turned to me and said "Mummy, I think you would have to be 15 to have a dog like this".  I stayed quiet.  Another few minutes later.  "Mummy, I think you would have to be about 20 to have a Boxer"  By now she was really struggling.  When she was being dragged into the duck pond and I came to the rescue Sophie turned to me and said. "Mummy I think you would have to be at least 30 years old to have a Boxer Dog".  We laughed a lot on the way home when I took the lead once again.

We returned the poor dog to his owners and I never heard a word about us getting a Boxer dog again.  I think in retrospect that what  I did was  a reality check on Sophie's obsessional want.  Lots of people get dogs based on an idea.  If more of them did some real observation or indeed did research based on the head rather than the heart then lots more dogs would have far happier homes.

[Phoebe's Mom]

Fabulous story and a wonderful lesson that I could not agree with more.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Nicky, what a great lesson and a splendid idea. There is a parenting class that teens do in high school where they have to take home a doll that is programmed to behave like a real baby, complete with crying, feeding, diaper changes and waking at night. I think we should invent something like that for prospective puppy owners. How hard do you think it would be to invent a puppy that actually chews on your furniture and demands constant attention? If you invent this and make millions, remember it was my idea first.  :>) 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

You were one very smart Mom, Nicky!  I love this story.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Well done Nicky and well said in the end.

Have a happy weekend with Riley.

[Elizabeth & *Kosci*.]

Well done Nicky.!
My daughter has as a wish a cavoodle, she is ten years old.
And I've said when she is 13 y/o. But to day she has announced she would rather a Groodle. So how can I refuse. But can I wait the 3 years. !!!
With only a 14 week old puppy I do see more on the horizon though.
I do relialise a child's dog is really the parents responsibility .

[Susan and Sasha]

What A Wonderful Story Nicky!

Great Reality Check...

Very Smart Mum!!

[Melody & Bruin]

Job well done Mom!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Great blog post! Love your Sunday musings!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I love this story! You sound like such a great mom, what a good way to show kids the reality of dog ownership. :-)