Hi,
I’m back to talk about the one quarantine hobby I participated in (ok, I tried and failed at sourdough starter, puppies. It seems that everywhere I look in my neighborhood I see puppies, I have wanted a dog for SO long and when my work travel was banned until March of 2021- I thought why not now? So just after the 4th of July I picked out the newest member of my family, Iris:
Iris is an Aussie doodle (part Australian Shepard, part poodle) she doesn’t shed and is incredibly smart. When I picked her up from the breeder she weighed about 7 pounds, now she is almost 6 months old and weighs about 30 pounds.
One of my main criteria when getting a dog was that I wanted it to by hypoallergenic (my dad has a bad dog allergy) and so I went down the breeder path vs going to an animal shelter. I found Iris’s breeder by googling Aussie Doodle breeders near Chicago (note- no breeder actually lives in a city, ask any dog parent and they’ll say their breeder is out in the middle of nowhere- it’s just a thing), I drunkenly emailed a bunch of breeders asking when their next litter would arrive. After a bit of back and forth, Iris’s breeder informed me that they had a bigger litter then initially planned and I could pick a pup up in July. Here is a brief timeline/ pay schedule:
Email breeders in April —-> breeder says pup is available asks for deposit—-> pup is born (May)—> Early July drive down to breeder to pick out the puppy and pay first half minus the deposit—-> July 12th- drive down to breeder’s to pick up Iris and pay remaining half (Iris is about 2 mo old)
Also during this time I am reading up on dog training and trying to puppy proof my house: making sure my stuff is picked up, putting locks on cabinets, etc (similar to a baby). I’m also nervous that I’ll be a bad dog mom and have made a mistake- so far we’re ok. While Iris is a bundle of pure joy here are a couple of things I knew before bringing her home:
- Dogs are expensive, there is the initial upfront cost (if you go the breeder route) but puppies need A LOT of vaccines that are around $30-40 depending on your vet. Iris needed about 10 of them this summer, which quickly adds up. Also going to the vet in general is just $$
- Prepare for not a lot of sleep- I took the first 2 weeks off after I brought her home and I’m happy I did, she woke up about every 2 hours- she still wakes me up early/ needs to go out often but it’s not as bad.
- Puppies have razor sharp teeth- maybe I forgot that my family’s dogs teethed, but the teething phase is really painful. I recommend getting some chew toys you can refrigerate- helps soothe their gums
Lastly remember that once you bring them home you’re their parent and they should be your top priority; there are definitely times when they can be challenging but it’s an overall rewarding experience.
What about you? Have you gotten a Covid puppy?
All-Chi 