Friday, December 5, 2014

How Do You Spell LOVE... T-I-M-E

How do you spell love…T-I-M-E.  Relationships are not built overnight.  They take time.  So why do we always want to rush the relationship with a new dog?  Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how many people decide to adopt a dog and within the first week have to take it out and show it off before the dog even trusts them!   Then when the dog does not react well to an unfamiliar situation with unfamiliar people, the potential adopters return the dog rather then regroup and start over.
It takes at least two weeks for a dog to get comfortable in a new environment and to begin to trust his new human(s).  If we take the time to lay the foundation of the relationship we are rewarded with a lifetime of love, dedication, and obedience.  But just like any other relationship in our lives we cannot expect that to develop overnight.  It takes time, patience, and trust.

So before you decide to adopt a dog think about your expectations and ask yourself a few questions:  Are they realistic?  What are your demands and what are my preferences (i.e. demand – the dog must be housebroken; preference – I would like my dog to learn to play dead)?  Are you ready to take responsibility for a living creature for 10+ years no matter what (that means even when things and times get hard)?  If not, please spare the dog the disruption.   It is a huge disruption to the dog and their routine for someone to agree to take a dog on a trial adoption and not even give it the full week.  For that reason I ask you to please make sure you can give it at least a week before making any decisions, and if you cannot commit to seven days don’t move forward.  Wait until you are ready.

No comments:

Post a Comment