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The new dog

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
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On Friday afternoon and evening, I spent a lot of time on the phone with a neighbor who owns a Bichon and my veternarian. My vet was strict that I needed to examine both the parents of the puppy as well as the living environment of the dogs. Understand the breeding experience of seller. Get a female since you have large lab males in the house.

OK so I get up on Saturday morning and the pressure to get a new puppy is intense. My little one is asking about it incessantly and my wife is chiming in. The Progesterone is overwhelming the Testosterone by a mile...I start to cave.

Out comes the newspaper and I make a few calls. For one reason or the other, the sellers do not give me confidence or they have no females available.

I go to the Internet. A breeder in Macon, Georgia has good looking pictures of adult male and female which she has repeatedly bred. I call her and it sounds good. We face a 225 mile drive in each direction.

We drive to Macon and follow the directions off the Interstate and quickly find ourselves in a slum-ridden, poverty stricken area...by the time we find our destination street, I am uncomfortable with my wife and little one in the car....but we proceed anyway.

We drive up to the house...it is little more than a shack. These are poor people folks - a reminder about poverty. We go to the door and as they open it, we see a blur of white puffs barking and buzzing about the tiny front room of the house. We go inside.

The house is very clean and the dogs are beautifully kept. My vet's instructions are being played out to me...I check both mom and dad. They are very healthy, vigorous and playful dogs in very clean shape and their brood is running about the room...The woman shows me the paperwork and contract about buying the dog...I take a deep breath.

In the meantime, my little one has picked two females she likes. One is obviously the runt. My wife is able to steer her toward the larger dog. She is bursting with excitement.

OK here we go...I write a check for $800 (eight hundred dollars) for this tiny dog and we get in the car. We drive about 5-6 miles before finding a gas station in a good part of town with a decent bathroom and are homeward bound.

The dog is a joy. She is 12 weeks old and is very well socialized. The woman did a good job as the dog had never been in a kennel and lived in their house since birth. I liked the fact that the woman would not sell the dogs until they were 10 weeks old and pretty strong...

Of course the puppy yapped and moaned all night long on Saturday night. On Sunday night, we put her in the office with our female lab and she was quiet.

Off we go into the world of little toy dogs....God, the money...labs are big and cheap...this is like owning a Porche...
 

Rockford35

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Aug 30, 2004
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$800USD? Did you get the paint package and air conditioning?

I could have bought and shipped you one for less.

If you don't plan on showing a dog, don't pay more than $350. It's worthless. Most dogs that don't come from papered parents can't be certified anyways.

Why pay for filet when all you need is blade steak?

Paying massive amounts for a dog confuses me to the nth degree.

No offense, B, as everyone does it. It's just too bad that they didn't, and maybe people wouldn't rape on pricing.

R35
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
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Apr 16, 2005
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You are a good father B. Well done :)

FYI - My lab was the runt as well. He now weighs 96 lbs.
 
OP
Bravo

Bravo

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Aug 27, 2004
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Rockford35 said:
$800USD? Did you get the paint package and air conditioning?

I could have bought and shipped you one for less.

If you don't plan on showing a dog, don't pay more than $350. It's worthless. Most dogs that don't come from papered parents can't be certified anyways.

Why pay for filet when all you need is blade steak?

Paying massive amounts for a dog confuses me to the nth degree.

No offense, B, as everyone does it. It's just too bad that they didn't, and maybe people wouldn't rape on pricing.

R35

The "going price" for purebread dogs in our area ranged from $575 to $675....so I had already soiled myself in financial preparation for acquiring the animal. (I paid $250 for my wonderful, gentle purebred Labrador eight years ago. She is healthy as a horse, gentle as a lamb and as cheap as a VW bug to maintain.)

My vet reminded me that the life span of this breed is about 15 years. I am thinking about this as I make the decision. If it is a really healthy dog, it will be worth it in lower vet bills.

While at the same time, I have to admit that I just totally caved on the entire affair. We could have been more patient, waiting for more dogs to become available in our metro area from reputable breeders that met the criteria set forth by my vet.. But I have this incessant pleading from my wife and daughter (Laura has been talking about a puppy for the past two year folks).

So Bravo just completely caved on it all...I had had enough....had it "up to here".

Soon I will acquire the new skill of grooming and trimming a Bichon will electric shears so I don't incur $35 fee every month for grooming.

I ain't looking forward to this but at least the pleading has stopped.

Choose your battles.

Sun Tzu.
 

Rockford35

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I realize the bind, of course.

12 weeks old, eh? Get trimming the nails. Those little bastard dogs can be a be-atch when it comes to nail trimming. The bigger breeds (i've found) are much more docile when it comes to the maintenance.

Learn 'em when they're young, I say...

R35
 

Pa Jayhawk

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Nov 15, 2005
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Bravo said:
While at the same time, I have to admit that I just totally caved on the entire affair. We could have been more patient, waiting for more dogs to become available in our metro area from reputable breeders that met the criteria set forth by my vet.. But I have this incessant pleading from my wife and daughter (Laura has been talking about a puppy for the past two year folks).
Bravo said:
We face a 225 mile drive in each direction.
You want to look at the economical side. Think of the money you saved in gas by not having to drive all over creation to look at several dogs. Nowadays that may have saved you the entire price of the dog.

This doesn't even include the added torment of having to deal with the wife and child whining in your ear, during a car trip you really don't want to make, to spend money on something that will forever be compared to a rat.

IMO, you made the right choice. You can go off and play golf during that time, come home to a smiling wife, and a kid that probably for the first time in a while will gladly do choirs and even probably fetch a beer out of the fridge while you kick back and watch TV after a hard day on the course. All for the sake of having a little white ball of fur scurry around the floor. :)

Just make sure you set the ground rules early and let the dog know who is boss.
 

Pa Jayhawk

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Bravo said:
Soon I will acquire the new skill of grooming and trimming a Bichon will electric shears so I don't incur $35 fee every month for grooming.
Just never cut them to short to were it hurts the dog, and always give a nice treat afterwards. Ours just sits there and watches, and lies on his back while do the back paws anxiously awaiting the treat part. Actually, it is much more difficult to trim the nails of the Cockatiels than it is the dog. You would think I was killing them, and I've been doing it with them for close to 17 years.
 

SiberianDVM

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Jul 25, 2005
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Bravo, you're just like my clients...ask for advice then do what you want anyway. :)

Congrats on the new pup. I'm sure the whole family will enjoy having her around. And your money went to a family that could use the money, it sounds like, so you can feel good about that.
 
OP
Bravo

Bravo

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Aug 27, 2004
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SiberianDVM said:
Bravo, you're just like my clients...ask for advice then do what you want anyway. :)

Congrats on the new pup. I'm sure the whole family will enjoy having her around. And your money went to a family that could use the money, it sounds like, so you can feel good about that.

Well I didn't follow the advice of one vet (you) - but closely followed the advice of another (mine)....I mentioned Shelties and Long Haired Chihuahuas to SWMBO and got a big scowl....it was one of those situations where "the decision has been made"....:)

You are right about that family. We drove away thinking they really needed the money for essentials, food, clothing, power bill etc. I told my wife that the contract had a "money back guarantee" if the dog died within one year, but there is no way they would have $800 if our puppy died...so here we go.

BTW, SVDM, we are now acclimating the large male labs to the little one. These are two brothers who live next door. One of them is Mr. Alpha (Sid) and the other (Scout) is clearly submissive to him.

Sid and Scout showed up yesterday afternoon. I bought them inside and made them lie down. I then picked up the puppy and brought her in the room and sat down next to them. Sid sniffed her and had no reaction. Scout wagged his tail while emitting a deep growl at the same time.

An hour later, my vet showed up unexpectedly (he is a good friend). I told him about it and he theorized that since Sid is the submissive one, he was attempting to exert his authority over the pup...

Well anyway, we'll get her integrated into the mayhem somehow.

I'll post some pix in the next few days. I gotta admit its a really cute little thing...
 

Farquod

Short Game Tragedy
Mar 8, 2005
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Bravo said:
Of course the puppy yapped and moaned all night long on Saturday night. On Sunday night, we put her in the office with our female lab and she was quiet.

Nice solution, that. It takes care of the worst part of acclimatizing the new puppy--the whining at night.

Remember the chewing? That comes next... ;)

Good luck with her, JB.
 

SiberianDVM

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Jul 25, 2005
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Farquod said:
Nice solution, that. It takes care of the worst part of acclimatizing the new puppy--the whining at night.

Remember the chewing? That comes next... ;)

Good luck with her, JB.

Along with the pissing on the floor. Kinda like having Rock over. :biglol:
 

Farquod

Short Game Tragedy
Mar 8, 2005
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SiberianDVM said:
Along with the pissing on the floor. Kinda like having Rock over. :biglol:

There's always Pampers. Rock can use Depends..... :D
 

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