Some months ago, in an ordinary day, I decided I would have taken a dog. Luna, my daughter, during the years developed a real fear and she didn’t care about the size or breed, she was afraid of any dog.
With the passing of years, in my path of personal growth, I’ve always worked on conquering my fears.
Fears often limit and don’t permit us to do some things that instead are incredible and they enrich our life, so they create new brain connections.
Well, I decide that we’ll take home a dog. But my husband and my daughter are refuse it, some in fear, some for rationality… the dog is a commitment, a baby that doesn’t grow.
I don’t give up, I give up the argument for a while and for everyone is like I’ve never talked about it, instead I was studying what breed was the best for our family. How to choose a dog?
I find that this is important, behind everything. If you pause to look at the puppies they are all gorgeous, but then they grow up and every one will have their own personality and its behavior given by the race to which it belongs.
In my research I’ve chosen not to give an aesthetic priority, but instead to the behavior of the dog. The sweetness for kids was fundamental, as the fact that doesn’t bite and growl and that was a faithful partner for plays and cuddles. And so I chose the race.
The approach chosen was a Cavalier King, a fantastic race for kids; even if the good thing is that the adults are the first to perish. They are cheerful and joyful dogs, and at the same time snuggly.
In those days my husband was on a trip and he would have missed all the weekend. So, I took the chance! I started a series of calls and research, to find a Cavalier puppy. I wanted to take it before he came home, in order to make him a surprise.
I knew that I would have done the rational handling of the newcomer, and I was ready. I also knew that they would have gone crazy, but I wanted it to be a surprise.
I spent the weekend at the phone, asking some friends that already had dogs if they knew a good breeding and for good I meant with precise characteristics: no cages and no dogs spawned in series. Finally thanks to a friend of mine I find a litter in Brescia, from a breeder that is also a vet. Unfortunately the litter had a week, and I had to wait 2 months and a half to have this amazing dog at home.
I told Luna, we saw the pictures and the videos about these puppies and she immediately fell in love. But after the weekend, it was the time to tell Giacomo. It hasn’t been an easy moment, but my determination helped and seen the premise that I would have taken care of it, he accepted the decision.
I immediately studied books on Cavaliers, if you take a dog I think that reading something on it could be absolutely useful and formative.
To me it would have been the first dog. I had some watchdogs when I was little, but they lived outside, in the garden of the villa and I didn’t take care of them, so having no experience about it, studying was the first thing.
The next step was going to buy the first thing she need once she would have been home. Thanks to Facebook, I met a pet shop that I had good feelings about and it was well-stocked on what I was looking for.
I went there; I found a really competent person that had in shop a Cavalier king that could give me some advice.
Finding trusting people that could help us is essential. Unfortunately in a big shop, this could be hard. As much as we live a social era, I love the personal relationship.
But sure, a big shop will help us for the various things, for a bigger choice, knowing that we renounce at the personalization part.
I took Candy, 8 May, in Brescia, and she’s an incredible dog… there was an extraordinary feeling between us, and I say we choose us. How to choose a dog is a matter of chemistry.
What I can say, is that the first difficulty at home was that we fight over her. We all wanted to stay with her, super loved and spoiled and I had to put some rules. But needless to say, a breath of joy has come at home.
Another thing I’ve done is talking with a friend that is a canine trainer to take some lessons for Candy and all the family.
The rules are important, for the dog and for the family. Sometimes it’s us to give a wrong input to the dog, so it’s a “purchase” to make in count if you decide to take this step. The person you’d choose will be determinant for the succeed of the work you’re doing together.
At the first meeting, my friend arrived with a packet of sheets and rules. She explained a lot of useful things and taught Candy a couple of essential things. We couldn’t do that on our own. The next lessons were as good, and above all the fact to call her on the phone whenever I needed it, when I saw something “strange”, but that I discovered to be absolutely normal, she helped me to know Candy better.
To me that I spent a lot of time at home, because I work from here, she’s an incredible companion. Generally, she sleeps around me… anywhere. If I’m in terrace, she will put herself a few feet from me, and so inside the house.
The thing that literally amazed me, is how puppies are flexible and accommodating. A white sheet to work on.
She faced a travel of 6 hours and a half together with us, even if she didn’t ever got in a car. I held her in my arms all the time and she crouched down without complaining and without suffering the car. They told me that she would have cried during the night, and that she would have done that for days, but it didn’t happen.
When she got home, I made her choose the kennel on which to stay, and I put her next to me in my bedroom for the first nights. After 5 days I’ve moved her kennel in the living room and she cheerfully accepted her “new” position at home. Without crying nor scratching the door.
The information is good but my special advice, according to my experience, is to listen to our puppy and let your instinct guide you, with safety.
Now Candy is with us since 20 days, and it’s an incredible experience. We all learned a lot of things and to make you understand better, I’ll report you here the question Giacomo asked me the other day: why haven’t we took her before?
My answer: because it wouldn’t be her!
Viviana Grunert