I have had a number of dogs in the house over the last 27 years, with only a small gap between them. When my lovely cocker spaniel died of old age earlier this year, the house seemed too quiet and there was nowhere to run and greet us when we entered. I knew we had to get another dog, so after a couple of months it was time to start thinking about what to get.
The first choice was whether to get an adult dog or a puppy. I had always had my dogs when they were puppies so I knew what I was getting myself into. Having a puppy is just as demanding as having a new baby, but there are many rewards to be had as long as you are prepared to spend the time and energy to properly care for and train them. I looked at several dog rescue sites, but honestly, nothing appealed to me to be my companion for the foreseeable future, or many dogs had set up problems that I wasn’t sure I could handle.
The next question was, what race? I wanted to look up a pedigree, simply because each breed has different characteristics, and thus some way of knowing how your pup will turn out. You know how big they will grow, what their temperament should be, how much it will cost to feed them, and how much exercise they will need. If you buy a cross breed, you may find that it grows much larger than you expected!
I read about the different dogs that I liked, I prefer hunting dog breeds. It’s important to get as much information as possible and carefully consider whether the dog will fit into your household. I was tempted to get another Cocker Spaniel, but I knew I couldn’t replace my lovely old man, so I decided to pick a breed I hadn’t had before. I had previously owned an English Setter and loved the setter’s personality. So, to be different, but still with something I knew the general traits of, I decided on an Irish Setter.
Certain breeds of dogs are much more common than others. If you choose a particular breed, you may have to travel a long distance to find the right puppy, or even get on a waiting list if they are popular but few and far between. I was very lucky, when I started looking there was a litter that had been born just 4 weeks earlier and was only an hour’s drive away.
The puppies were listed on the Irish Setters breeding site, and when I spoke to the breeder on the phone, she gave me details of where they came from and where I could find more information about their pedigree on the internet. I arranged to go see them the next day and found things exactly as they should be: mother and cubs living in a family home.
It is just as important to select the litter from which you are going to choose your puppy as it is to choose the puppy itself. Puppy farms should be avoided at all costs. These ‘farms’ buy puppies when they are only a few weeks old and too early to be separated from their mother. The stress of this can cause health and behavior problems, and the people who breed and sell them are just there for the money. Always be careful if people have multiple litters of different types of dogs for sale at once, or if you can’t see the mother; this is a sign for a puppy farm. Don’t buy a puppy from a pet store; again, they have likely been separated from their mother too soon and being exhibited in a cage is not the best start in life. Never buy on impulse! Choosing a puppy is choosing a companion for possibly the next 15 years, so you need to think long and hard first about whether you really want a dog or if you’ve just been temporarily carried away by a cute little ball of fluff with big eyes and a wagging tail and, second, if his lifestyle is stable enough to give him a good home for life.
Puppies should not be separated from their mother until they are 7-8 weeks old, so always be present when you visit. The mother’s temperament will give you some clue as to how the puppies will turn out. What we found were pups that had obviously already been subjected to many visitors (it was the first litter of the family and the mother). The mother was so used to seeing people handing over the puppies that she went herself and lay down in another room as if she would like to let the entertainment of her little ones take over for a while. The mother was a beautiful loving dog who loved to be petted, even by strangers to her. She is not a large specimen, and I could see myself with a dog just like this one. The pup she chooses will most likely turn out to be just like her mother, so the first test was passed with flying colors.
The pups weren’t at all worried about us showing up, and kept playing or sleeping, and weren’t worried about being handled or passed around. This time he had decided to have a dog. I’ve only had dogs before, so I thought having the opposite sex would be interesting. Dogs are supposed to be more affectionate (but so were all my dogs!), and they weather the seasons, which will be a new experience for me. But I’ve been reading about it and I understand what I’m getting myself into. There is always the opportunity to have a litter of puppies in the future as well.
Selecting a puppy from a litter is quite difficult. At the age of 4/5 weeks there is not much to choose between them, especially if they are all the same colour. You should avoid selecting the largest pup or the pup that is jumping towards you. This is likely to be the dominant one, and he will always try to be the boss. Unless you are very experienced and prepared to take on such a temperament, you should avoid the more dominant puppy. On the opposite spectrum, the one who is the last to show up, the littlest and the one who hides is probably going to be a more nervous guy. What you should be looking for is one in the middle. Not too bold, but not too fearful either.
All puppies need to be alert and interested in what is going on around them. They must be happy to be handled. They should be playful and you should watch them play together. If one does not join this, it may be that he is not as fit and active as the others. When you pick up the puppy, it should be clean and dry, with no secretions on its underside, and its belly should feel soft when gently pressed. The eyes must be open, clean and clear; you must look at him and respond to his voice. His coat should be clean and shiny, and there should be no sore spots.
As much as you feel it, you should not select the runt of the litter. There may well be health reasons why he is not growing as well as his siblings.
Having made the decision that I was only going to look for bitch puppies, I focused on the two of the seven puppies that were bitches. They both looked very similar in temperament, neither dominant nor submissive. They were the same size and both looked very healthy. My son held one and I held the other for a while in our span. One particularly appealed to me, hard to say why, but my son wanted the same one. So we had chosen what will hopefully be our companion for a long time.
It’s easy to be tempted to have more than one puppy, though if you’re buying an expensive pedigree dog, price will help your head rule your heart. But even if you can afford it, don’t buy two puppies from the same litter. As they grow they will bond with each other, not with you, and you may have separation issues. What starts out as a good thought can lead to problems you didn’t anticipate later on.
Having chosen our pup, we had to go and begin what seems like a very long wait until she is eight weeks old and we can bring her home.