Owning half a puppy

There's a few decisions you'll have to make together when you take possession of your half of the puppy.

Sleeping arrangements

We jointly elected to house train our puppy using a crate. I know others have different views - do what’s right for you. But importantly, if you’re half-dogging you have to agree. The crate worked well because it migrated with the dog, so she always had her identifiable, scented, space.

We don’t use the crate any more. And after a while we decided it would be easier to have a bed in each house to reduce the stuff you need to transport (she sometimes moves home by train). When the dog leaves, I use it as an opportunity to tidy up and “de dog” our living space, otherwise we feel bereaved rather than released! But I avoid washing the dog’s bedding. So her smell is always there for her to come back to.

Health

She did her initial puppy vet visits with us, but in the end we settled on one main vet relationship for shots and check ups. And she does that with my parents. We transfer back and forth any medication or healthy lifestyle requirements. For example, she had a tooth problem recently, and we now feed her carrots to help her clean her teeth - and obviously this stuff works best if both households do the same.

Insurance

We decided to insure her. This is not the place to discuss the merits or not of pet insurance. Except to say a dog loved by more people is probably disproportionately likely to get money thrown at its health problems. On your own you could be pretty ruthless, if you were that way inclined, if it came to a point where medical stuff was getting disproportionately involved and expensive. But (excuse this sounding brutal) you can’t euthanise half a dog. So we decided to insure, so that money would never force that decision to create conflict between households. We can - when the time comes - worry about it only from the perspective of the dog’s welfare.

Insurance companies are fine about our living arrangements, but want to be informed of the addresses where the dog spends significant, regular, time.

Tags and chips

The people who register dogs’ microchips can also cope with holding more than one set of contact details.

You’ll need to buy two sets of collar tags, and remember to swap them over on moving days.