Getting the puppy

We agreed I would be the purchaser.

The breeder I chose to buy from was a careful, responsible breeder. Don’t get a dog from anyone else! She breeds genuinely working gun dogs in the rural south west, and treated the purchase process as an interview for me! She already needed a bit of reassurance that our city lifestyle would not mean the dog being left locked at home. (That's a very valid concern, and I'm glad the breeder cared enough to ask about it. My health limits how much I can work, so time is a thing I have. If you’re going to leave it alone all day while you go out to work… please don’t get a dog). I decided not to announce my half dog plan to her. I think she’d be delighted to see how her puppy has grown up. But it was an unusual plan, for which I couldn’t produce good evidence or precedent. And I didn’t want her to turn me down.

From what I could glean about dog psychology and what seemed practical for us, I began to imagine a dog that moved every couple of months. That, I hoped, would be both structured enough for us, and flexible enough too. And while I’m no expert on animal behaviour, I hoped this would enable the dog to just settle in to each home, and not be unsettled or insecure.

So the puppy came to our house at two months. And stayed with us for just two months before moving again to my parents’. Two months later, she returned to us. And for a while we kept very tightly to that sort of timetable. For her sake as much as ours. We’ve been more relaxed as the years go by. That said, she’s just had two rather longer than normal stays (due to me being ill), and we’ve agreed to get her back in the two month rhythm again. I think it’s best for her, and us, in general. But being able to be flexible about it is obviously a bonus.

Our dog’s name is Chewie (short for Chewbacca - brown and hairy). If you’re following my half dog philosophy then even the dog’s name needs to be agreed between you. It’s important that you both feel equal ownership, and naming is part of that. This was easy for us because everyone was happy to defer to my kids!