Daisy's dog

We have a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Kiwi, who was our baby for a few years before we actually had babies. She has a soft temperament and is friendly and easy going. But the pet experience I'm going to share today is the story of how we chose our second dog, a Golden Retriever named Sully. 

When Sully was born we had two kids aged one and three. We were just about to move into a new house and weren't even considering another addition to the family. But a lady who had previously looked after my kids announced on Facebook that her Golden was having puppies. Both puppy parents were small Goldens (about 50lbs) so we figured the puppies would also be on the small side. Also, I knew they would be raised surrounded by young kids so ours wouldn't come as too much of a shock. It didn't take much convincing and we were heading over to meet the 3-week-old pups and choose the one we'd welcome into our home a few months later. 

There were six puppies all stumbling around the room when we arrived. They were all adorable. The four of us (me, my husband and our two kids) all sat down in a circle around the dogs so we could pick our favourite. The puppies were wild, gnawing on toys, peeing on the floor, wrestling with each other. It was mayhem and hard to get them to sit still long enough to make a decision. Within minutes though, and amidst the chaos, Sully waddled over to our one-year-old daughter Daisy and plonked himself down in her lap. He remained there for the whole 30 minute visit as she gently stroked his ears. 

Obviously, there was no question. He was the dog for us, or should I say, for Daisy. A couple of months later, we picked up our (much larger) puppy and brought him home. Sully and Daisy have been the best of friends ever since. There's a bond between these two that doesn't exist between any other dog and human in our home. She's taught him how play gently and be mindful and respectful of children. He's taught her how to treat an animal and be conscious of their emotions and signals. They play, they cuddle and he always keeps a watchful eye out for her. 

Oh, also, he's now a strapping 85lb, 2-year-old puppy. So much for small! 


- Shannon Woodward, Mum to Kiwi & Sully (and a couple of human babies as well) 

What's in a Name?

Allow me to introduce you to my 8 month old Siberian Husky, his name is Loki. It occurred to me recently that naming a puppy is certainly a big deal and may require careful consideration. A new pet owner might strive to choose the right name that suits their puppies’ appearance, personality, sex, uniqueness, and breed.

The name Loki originates in Norse mythology, he was described by scholars as that of the Trickster God or God of Mischief. In my experience naming my new pup was a struggle, but Loki chose his name, and what an appropriate choice it was…

About a month ago I decided Loki was grown up enough to get a big boy bed. My neighbour has this really great bed for her dog that I decided I would buy for Loki. It’s large and plush and has a removable cover so it can be washed and is described as ‘indestructible’.

Excited, I headed out to the local pet store and made this fairly substantial purchase thinking this bed will last him YEARS and somehow he will appreciate that I purchased such a lovely INDESTRUCTABLE bed for him. Turns out he instantly took to his new bed. I spent about an hour with him, observing him with his newly claimed sleeping spot, and then headed out for work.

Now, I can’t exactly tell you what happened in the next 30 minutes… only Loki knows the truth, but I can speculate. At some point, and perhaps I attribute too many human qualities to Loki, but I believe a switch in the God of Mischief’s mind went off. I am certain as soon as he heard the front door close and my truck pull away, the wheels started turning and the Trickster God had a plan in mind. ‘Don’t tell me something is indestructible’ I imagine him thinking. Half an hour later, my roommate walked in to a destroyed indestructible bed, with Loki as the blue eyed center piece in the middle of a stuffing netherworld! There was no tail between the legs, no apologetic look on his face, no, he was grinning ear to ear, wagging his tail and proud of his accomplishment.

Needless to say it took my roommate just about as long to clean up the mess as it took Loki to methodically create it.

The next day I took the destroyed bed back to the store from whence it came, the store clerk looked at it and laughed. ‘What kind of dog do you have?’ he asked. ‘A 7 month old Siberian husky’ was my response; he immediately refunded me.

Remarkably Loki has not destroyed the $15 bed he had since I brought him home 5 months ago, and is quite content with its ‘destructibility’.

So what’s in a name you ask? In my case, amongst the 15 or so names I tried on him, Loki was the only one he responded to when called by said name.  Just goes to show you never know if a name will suit your dog or if your dog will suit his name. It seems that Loki has really grown into his, and this is just the start of our adventures…

Sheena Neel, Loki’s Mom

I got a puppy!

About ten months ago a friend of mine told me her dogs were pregnant and if I wanted a new dog (mine had died about a year earlier) I was welcome to have the first pick of the litter. She was breeding (intentionally) both Rat Terriers and Boxers and I could choose either one.  I thought about it for a long time, I had always had shelter dogs and in my job I see too many animals at shelters all the time. My shelter dogs were the best dogs ever, true love! I knew there would be a lot of judgment from outside sources if I didn't get a shelter dog again. On the other hand, I had the opportunity to know who the parents were and what they were like as adults, where the dog was coming from and the home environment it would be raised in (three kids under seven!), and most importantly for me, I would get to be there from day one.

I did a little research and decided I would get the little dog I had always wanted, I chose a Rat Terrier. The day came and both sets of puppies were born and I went to meet them all. Good Heavens they were cute, I fell in love with all of them and would have happily been a hoarder with nine new puppies if my landlord and wallet had allowed it. Thankfully they didn't. I couldn't choose right away and the more time I spent with them the more I knew I was making the wrong choice.  Rat Terriers have lots of energy and need to run, while my yard is big, it's not a farm like they would grow up on. I did more research. I started online and when wikipedia had completely scared me away from Rat Terriers AND Boxers I decided to talk to actual people that I knew and trusted.

I'm lucky, in my job I know lots of people who know a lot about pets but the two people I trusted the most were people I was friends with as well. One of them works for a pet insurance company and to be honest he scared me even further away from Boxers, they don't always have a great health record. The other was my vet, with 22 years of experience, he was able to educate me even further and point out that for sure a Rat Terrier wasn't best for me.

Now I knew four things:

1. I wanted a puppy, they were cute and I was in love.
2. Rat Terriers weren't for me.
3. Boxers might be for me.
4. If I got a Boxer I'd better make sure I had pet insurance!

The next time I went to visit I chose the cutest female there was. I instructed my Breeder's kids on how I wanted them to help me train my puppy by gently pulling her tail, ears and feet. This puppy was going to be really used to kids! And then I started gathering all the puppy things you need, most importantly a matching pink collar and leash! Finally, I chose a name for her, don't ask me why but I named her Squish, and because I was there at the beginning she already knew her name by the time I brought her home.

Six months ago I brought home my rambunctious bouncing bundle of puppy. We've spent most days together since then, and I can say firmly I made the right choice for me. More than that I can say absolutely that the education I searched for before I made that choice, set me up to have the best pet experience I possibly could. If there is any one thing I could say to someone looking for a new pet it's "Ask questions!" You need answers, a lot of them before you get a pet. You might not know as many pet industry folks as I do but you have lots of options. Any vet clinic, breeder, pet store, humane society, pet insurance company or anyone else who deals with animals would happily answer your questions. They won't all say the same thing but you will get a good sense of what questions to ask and what's best for you.

Finally when you have your questions answered and you know what you want, go find it...and get ready to fall in love.

Lisa Milton, Squish's Mom, @summitLisa, lisa.miltonwork