Whose puppy was this again?

from JoeUser Forums

It's a common tale... children beg for pets and invariably the parents wind up being the caregiver for those pets.  And, well... it seems to be happening in my home.  I had to get up early today because of a meeting that I had to be at for work and since I was up it seems my daughter automatically assumed that *I* would be the one that took the pup out for it's early morning walk.  Uh, gee, thanks.

It is not that I mind walking the dog, but I have to admit to being a bit miffed at my daughter for shirking her responsibilities in this area.  We talked in advance about the need to care for the dog and we've been talking all along about the need for the dog to be walked frequently so it can unload and not keep doing its business on my floors and rugs, and yet my daughter still seems to be far too interested in her message boards and instant messages.

She may soon find herself blocked from getting to some of her favorite websites if she doesn't reprioritize or properly prioritize her responbilities.  School first, pet second, personal time third.  (With, of course, eating a balanced diet mixed in there as it should be, etc.)

Realistically the puppy will make its own choice as to who it wants to gravitate to and who it considers to be its person, but part of that comes from the time it spends with the people in the house and if my daughter doesn't want to wake up one day finding that the dog favors me over her then she needs to spend the time and build the relationship now, and not later.

Which all serves to remind me that I need to get my daughter (and the dog) enrolled in some dog training classes soon.  Hopefully those won't be too expensive.

1,812 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

Kids - and my wife!  "We" are dog sitting for a co-worker of my wife (she ws the one who said yes).  So who has walked this dog since his arrival?  She has done it twice - I have done it the rest of the time.  The dog is walked 3 times a day, and has been here 5 days. 

I know you can do the math. ;)

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top

This boiled over a bit for me last night as the pup wouldn't stop barking and when she is barking it is a definite sign that she needs to GO!  Of course as the pup is barking my daughter, completely oblivious to how much time has passed since her last walk, and how much water the puppy probably lapped up, tells the dog to be quiet/calm down and then goes on about her business doing something non-essential (as best I could tell) on the computer.  Uh, no.  Take the dog outside.  Since she wasn't make any movement to do that, I took the pup out of her crate and unfortunately as I put the leash on her she had again piddled on the floor and I wound up stepping in it.  Time for me to then blow up at my daughter for shirking her responsbility with the pup.

I did blow up a bit about it and reminded my daughter again that when you get a pet you become responsible for it and you have to understand that you just moved that animal to the top of the priority list of things you have to get done.  Granted, school work comes first, and if my daughter was sick (as she claimed) then I understand, but in this case I think the sick was more of the "monthly female" type and less of the stomach virus/flu type and unfortunately for my daughter that one -- at least in my opinion -- does not trump the dog's needs.

We may yet find that the dog becomes "mine" by virtue of a serious lack of attention from my daughter, but it really isn't fair to the dog and unless and until my daughter works with the animal more she's never going to get it to settle down into the lap dog that she might have hoped it would become.  (And still, with a Pom, well, they never really want to slow down and become a lap dog as they just love to play and frolic too much.)

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top

I actually heard the dog bark!  I think he has barked twice since his arrival.  Maybe he was just getting use to us.

Oh, and besides being a good dog, he is also afraid of snakes - even dead ones! ;)