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There is. But I want a puppy, whose parent/s I can see.
That's not to say I'll never take on a rescue dog. But ya know...I want a pup I can train from the get go, whose only real trauma in life is the first night away from Mom. Pil's training was fraught with tension. J and I fought like buggery over it. And then after that he had to deal with us going into a final breakdown, and all the tensions that creates in a house.
Unsurprisngly, this did not make for a calm, and well trained pooch. much as I adored (and still adore) Pil, he was not an easy dog to work with once we stepped outside the house. I would go so far as to say he was a 'Problem Dog' in some ways. Sweet and biddable indoors, he was a sodpot outside until he was about 11 years old.
I want to do it right this time. Not so I can have a 'better' dog, because that would never be the case. But so I can have a happier dog, with fewer avenues closed to him.
Mum's said she might get an older dog when Dan inevitably follows Pilau. She doesn't want to do the puppy thing again. She's done it with so many now. And ya know, late 60s, not getting any younger, doesn't really want to make a potential 13 year committment. She's considering one of the schemes that rehome veteran dogs whose owners have died. Some of them help with the vet bills, which are a large part of the veteran dog owning experience, and another thing that would worry her otherwise. She's a pensioner. But she's independent. Help with odd unexpected big vet bills is one thing, but she would never let me pay the regular monthly meds bill.
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