Yet another possible puppy thread

I am having a serious puppy dilemma right now. I was at an agility seminar over the weekend with Justine Davenport (coach of Canada's work team and amazing agility handler) and I was working Pan. We had a blast, although I had to jump Pan at 10 inches since we're working on her weirdo jumping style away from fast sequences. I'm not sure if Pan is ever going to be able to jump full height normally, and so she may never be competitive.

I will always do agility with Pan since we both love it, but I also *do* want to compete at the highest levels eventually. I guess my commitment to training and learning was apparent, and I was offered the chance to get a BC pup from a really amazing breeding coming up.

The huge issue is that this is the worst time possible for me to get a pup. My husband was out of work for a few months, and he is now working in Alberta on the oil rigs. I am still in Ontario, but am moving out there sometime in July most likely. So, we will have to find somewhere pet friendly to rent (not easy in AB), and start saving to buy a house. We also have a **** load of debt to pay off.

The pup won't be ready to come home until October, but I feel like we still won't really be settled. My husband is also not approving of the idea at all. This is a really amazing opportunity though.....I am so torn!

It does sound like a wonderful opportunity, but remember that there will be many other promising litters and puppies later. I think it is very reasonable to say "I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity. This is just what I'm looking for, but unfortunately the timing is not good due to my husband's work right now. I may be ready for a puppy next year; would you mind if I contacted you then to see if you can recommend any possible breedings at that time?"

You've got good connections now; if you keep training and working hard, your connections will only improve in time.

The last thing you want is the get The Puppy, and not have the time or money to put into training as intensively as you want.

There will always be another litter. If it were me, I would wait and not rush into anything. I would talk to people competing on the levels you want to be at about their dogs and where they acquired them. Do you really want a BC or do you want another Mal?

It doesn't sound like the timing is good at all, but if you think you can make it work then go for it.

So much this. I couldn't have said it better myself.

^This again.

There will be the perfect puppy for you when you are ready. Really. Getting the perfect puppy at the wrong time is just not worth it -- wait and it will pay off.

Grrrr, you mean people.

This was my first instinct, but then possible puppy fever took over. Boston, you raise very valid points. I don't want to feel rushed, or that I am not able to put a 100% effort into puppy foundations.

It does make way more sense to get settled, make new connections in AB, find training locations, buy new equipment, etc, before adding a pup.

Thank you guys for being the voice of reason. My husband brought up similar concerns....he has no problem adding more dogs in the future, but wants to be settled first. It's easier for me to hear it from uninvolved parties though.

meepitsmeagan, I definitely do want both another Mal and a BC in the future. I really think I want a BC next though, since I enjoy agility and handling so much myself.

Thanks again everyone.

I want a puppy so badly, actually I want an adult trial ready dog but a puppy is more feasible.

I wish we were ready but I think we'll be waiting for a dog to go before adding another. It's a dirty feeling really, I loathe the idea of it, but it is logical for now.

I passed on a Phendi/Jersey pup at 7weeks. It seriously freaking sucked. You can join my pity party. :/

Oh man, that does suck!

I so hate waiting. I want all the things...now.

Yes. So much.

I will join your pity party. 3 pups on the ground right now. Got an email this week for two of them.... I want one bad. I could swing one too- I have no debt at all, have a good training place, etc... but I need to move first and get settled. I don't want to wreck my financial life for a dog. I am sure there will be awesome sports prospect pups for us all in the future when the time is right.

I'm having a super hard time waiting too. Good chance neither of my current two will be competitive. It sucks.

Good things come to those who wait, right?

IUofou

Wtf? I was just ordering food, I think I pocket dialed Chaz. Sorry.

I was trying to figure out what that stood for.

I hope so.

Lol! Me too.

I was trying to make that into I love you. Somehow.

*Group hug*

Me, too. I mean, I know I'm old and all but I'm fairly up to date on my internet abbreviations.


Anyway... I'm pretty much the exact opposite of a planner and I even I think a puppy is a bad idea for you right now. Sorry, usually I manage to enable in these situations but I got nothing.

Move here you'll love it! What part of Alberta though seriously lol. If its fort Mac, then ya pet friendly rentals are tough (you said oil rigs so I'm going to say not p here since we don't have rigs lol). But a friend of mine just found a rental house in innisfail and she has 2 dogs, a Dane and a shepherd/husky/pit mix, so if your looking further south I Would say look in the smaller towns. Problem up here is there are no smaller towns.


And umm take the puppy, lmao...I wanna be the nice guy

Hey, even with a dog who isn't very competitive, you can still manage this:


It would have been nice to have a dog who was fast, confident, and had a high Q rate instead of a dog who borders on slow, struggles with confidence, and leaves almost no room for error lest we be over course time.
But I wouldn't RATHER have had one.

I love Payton and I'm excited to trial him.

But I wish I were trialing Auggie.

I accidentally wrote Auggie's birthday down on one of Payton's entry forms and realized what I had done. It was just force of habit. How many entry forms had I filled out with Auggie's information? I can't even begin to put a number on it. And now I have to fill out a different dog's information instead. A great dog that I love, he really is just so great. But he is not Auggie.
And I just sat and cried.


I know it's hard when you want to be competitive and have a dog who struggles on course. It's an expensive game to not Q very often. It's a very frustrating game when the difference between a Q and NQ is a single second. Or a single bar. Or a single toe that just wasn't quite in the yellow.
What's competitive anyway? Everybody's definition will be different. For some people it's being on the world team. For some it's blue ribbons. For some it's a MACH. For some it's just having a dog who beats your friend's dogs.

Enjoy the dog you have, competitive nature or not. I'm not saying to not look forward to another... but don't forget that the one you have right now is immensely special. And sometimes they can do far more than we give them credit for, if only we let them live up to their definition of competitive rather than ours.

"If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn't mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they've given it their best. That's a winner."
- Walter Payton


ETA just leaving this here too...
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People did tell me to "just get another dog." LOTS of people told me to "just get another dog." I did get another dog, but I didn't "just" get another one. I got the right one, that's for sure.
But I also HAD a dog who was great. Just nobody else saw it like I did. And sometimes even I didn't see it.
All of our dogs are great, regardless if they live up to somebody else's measure or not. The most important measure is the heart of the dog.

Grande Prairie. I have found a few rentals on kijiji that look promising. It's so different from ON, where it's illegal for landlords to not allow pets.

I totally agree. I absolutely love training Pan, and just hanging out with her, as a dog.

And like you said, agility is such a funny game, where one small mistake costs you the Q, or the win. And even with a great breeding program, puppies are still a huge gamble.

So yeah, I'll keep enjoying Pan until I can get a pup, which we will both love. Pan absolutely loves most other dogs and will be in heaven with a friend to play with.

ETA: That sounds bad. I will keep enjoying Pan even after I get a pup, lol. I do still think she has great potential, it'll just take a bit more time and effort to uncover. I honestly do enjoy the training process, we have a blast with everything we do.