I've Got a Case of the Puppies

Lord, help me, I want another dog. Why??? They are a TON of work, they cost an ass-load, an when they're puppies, they DESTROY your house. So why do I want one?

After we put Rusty down, I figured I didn't need a second dog, and I have actually been enjoying the "less work" factor of only having one dog. Recently, however, Nikki has been acting strange, and the only thing that has changed is that she is now alone. Last night, she kept me up until like 1:30am, whining, wanting to go out, etc. We'd go out and she wouldn't do any of her "business." Just look around, eat some grass, etc. Finally, I just let her whine it out in her crate and she eventually settled down. She has also gotten more angry in her interchanges with the next door neighbor's female lab mix. The whole fence-fighting thing. Not to mention the breaking and entering incident this weekend. I mean, sure, she could have some physical ailment causing the whining last night, but it just seems like too much of a coincidence that 3 weeks after Rusty's departure to the other side (hate saying "death"), she is getting all weird on me.

Part of me knows that Nikki would probably be happier with a buddy. This revelation sparked the "I must have a puppy" in me, and I feel like a 12 year old kid who keeps bugging his parents for a dog. Instead I am bugging my husband.

For a goldendoodle.

Or a labradoodle. Sure, I have been singing the praises of the Miniature Australian Shepherd ever since getting the Fuzzy Lady, but I think I would rather have a different breed, just to mix it up. Plus, the doodle mixes tend to shed less and the reality is, I do have a dog allergy. It has gotten better with age, and Nikki doesn't bother me much, but it's still there. Certain breeds tend to aggravate it more, so, I figure, going with one better for allergies is a smart choice. Plus, they have medium sized varieties that get to be about 30-45 pounds.

I have a moral conundrum, though, with buying a puppy. There are so many dogs that need homes in shelters. The problem is that, generally (out here in Southern California), the shelter selections are big dogs (I really don't want 50+ pound dog again), or very high energy (not into the high energy thing, did that already), or the pit bull variety. It is harder to find a medium-small dog at a shelter that isn't (a) old as dirt, or (b) psychologically messed up. Add on that I need a male due to Nikki's dominant female behavior, and the pool is SMALL, possibly non-existent.

Anyway, this is all just "blah blah," really, but, man, does the "I want a puppy" feeling really take over. Maybe this is what normal women feel about wanting a baby. Still waiting for that feeling to kick in.

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