Oh, yes...
the idea of bringing a new puppy home has crossed many people's minds quite frequently, but I am not exactly sure where that idea originates.
All I can do here is explore the possibilities and of course, there is a reason for analyzing such a possible movement.
I would love to think that most of those considering bringing a new puppy home are doing it for the right reason.
Why do I emphasize the word right? Simply put, because when we make decisions in our lives, we don't make them out of thin air or because some strange force outside of us makes us do it.
No sir, we make them always because we have our reason or reasons for that.
Remember I said our reasons.
That doesn't make them necessarily the correct or valid ones...
just ours.
We are constantly exposed in our daily lives to all kinds of reasons that move not only people, but even whole countries.
Do we agree with them all? Most likely not.
Big mistakes have been made historically for the wrong reasons and they continue to be made, which is the sad part of it all.
Without trying to become philosophical at all, especially when we are simply talking about bringing a new puppy home, the exploration of the reason or reasons to consider making that movement is extremely important, and the "why" is because it has consequences many people do not take into consideration before they take that step.
When we are children and even adolescents, the impulses predominate in many of our decisions, so many, many mistakes are made on the road to maturity.
We are, simply put, not complete as far as our brain development is concerned.
Our equipment is not yet totally ready to perform at full capacity.
That said, and going back to the subject of bringing a new puppy home, the first question I would ask is: Who is making that decision? Is it an adult that has considered everything involved or just a child or an adolescent that has "fallen in love" with a cute face or a wagging tail? Children exert a lot of pressure on parents to get their wishes fulfilled.
We should know.
We were all there at one point in our lives.
Are the parents adequately prepared to deal with that pressure, or are they of the kind that says "yes" easily precisely not to have to take it? Let us suppose for a second that it is the child who has seen a puppy at a friend's house and comes running home asking mom or dad to have one too, simply because he wants to be in the same position as the friend or have the same "toy" to play with.
We know that happens all the time.
The intentions may be the right ones for the child, but are the reasons the right ones for the family or home? And what about the puppy? That is what concerns me the most here, because it is the one who will also suffer the consequences in a very direct manner without having been taken into consideration at all.
It is just there to receive what is given to it and expected to return everything with loyalty and devoted love to its owners.
If it is an adolescent who wants to bring the new puppy home, has he or she remembered that this is the most critical period of a person's life, when everything suddenly becomes new and exciting and school pressures are much more demanding that the ones faced when in elementary school? And what about waking up to sexuality, when the focus of attention and peer pressures are extreme? That adolescent will, most likely, put the new puppy in a second place of care quite fast and relegate the responsibility on his parents.
Were these in agreement to bring the new puppy home in the first place? What was their reason for agreeing?Are they willing to go on with caring for the little animal as it needs, or will they immediately try to get rid of it as seen in so many horror stories? Finally, if it is an adult the one making that decision, what is he or she basing it on? Pure love for the pet, a need to fill an empty space or, as in many cases, as a means to attract someone to his life? The list of reasons can grow to points not even imagined.
That is exactly why, when we say that the right reason has to be explored before deciding to bring that new puppy home, we mean it.
That reason has to be not only valid, but also correct for both parties involved: the human and the puppy.
It is, if done this way, the best way to assure a wonderful relationship with one of the, if not the, most loyal pets anyone can have to share his or her life with.
the idea of bringing a new puppy home has crossed many people's minds quite frequently, but I am not exactly sure where that idea originates.
All I can do here is explore the possibilities and of course, there is a reason for analyzing such a possible movement.
I would love to think that most of those considering bringing a new puppy home are doing it for the right reason.
Why do I emphasize the word right? Simply put, because when we make decisions in our lives, we don't make them out of thin air or because some strange force outside of us makes us do it.
No sir, we make them always because we have our reason or reasons for that.
Remember I said our reasons.
That doesn't make them necessarily the correct or valid ones...
just ours.
We are constantly exposed in our daily lives to all kinds of reasons that move not only people, but even whole countries.
Do we agree with them all? Most likely not.
Big mistakes have been made historically for the wrong reasons and they continue to be made, which is the sad part of it all.
Without trying to become philosophical at all, especially when we are simply talking about bringing a new puppy home, the exploration of the reason or reasons to consider making that movement is extremely important, and the "why" is because it has consequences many people do not take into consideration before they take that step.
When we are children and even adolescents, the impulses predominate in many of our decisions, so many, many mistakes are made on the road to maturity.
We are, simply put, not complete as far as our brain development is concerned.
Our equipment is not yet totally ready to perform at full capacity.
That said, and going back to the subject of bringing a new puppy home, the first question I would ask is: Who is making that decision? Is it an adult that has considered everything involved or just a child or an adolescent that has "fallen in love" with a cute face or a wagging tail? Children exert a lot of pressure on parents to get their wishes fulfilled.
We should know.
We were all there at one point in our lives.
Are the parents adequately prepared to deal with that pressure, or are they of the kind that says "yes" easily precisely not to have to take it? Let us suppose for a second that it is the child who has seen a puppy at a friend's house and comes running home asking mom or dad to have one too, simply because he wants to be in the same position as the friend or have the same "toy" to play with.
We know that happens all the time.
The intentions may be the right ones for the child, but are the reasons the right ones for the family or home? And what about the puppy? That is what concerns me the most here, because it is the one who will also suffer the consequences in a very direct manner without having been taken into consideration at all.
It is just there to receive what is given to it and expected to return everything with loyalty and devoted love to its owners.
If it is an adolescent who wants to bring the new puppy home, has he or she remembered that this is the most critical period of a person's life, when everything suddenly becomes new and exciting and school pressures are much more demanding that the ones faced when in elementary school? And what about waking up to sexuality, when the focus of attention and peer pressures are extreme? That adolescent will, most likely, put the new puppy in a second place of care quite fast and relegate the responsibility on his parents.
Were these in agreement to bring the new puppy home in the first place? What was their reason for agreeing?Are they willing to go on with caring for the little animal as it needs, or will they immediately try to get rid of it as seen in so many horror stories? Finally, if it is an adult the one making that decision, what is he or she basing it on? Pure love for the pet, a need to fill an empty space or, as in many cases, as a means to attract someone to his life? The list of reasons can grow to points not even imagined.
That is exactly why, when we say that the right reason has to be explored before deciding to bring that new puppy home, we mean it.
That reason has to be not only valid, but also correct for both parties involved: the human and the puppy.
It is, if done this way, the best way to assure a wonderful relationship with one of the, if not the, most loyal pets anyone can have to share his or her life with.
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