Make Your Dog Part Of The Family
There are those families who all agree wholeheartedly that it’s time to get a dog. Everybody offers opinions and study on what type of dog to get and they all chip in when the new pet is brought home. There are also those families where only one or two of them want a dog, others might want a cat or some other type of pet and still others – thinking of the work and disruption to their daily routine – don’t want a pet at all.
Some dogs are brought to their new home with a unanimous, enthusiastic group of people, everyone cheerfully setting up the feeding bowls, agreeing the best food, and deciding who is going to walk Fido first. Other dogs are snuck in as stealth missions, their advocates all the while working up the right “story” to get the recalcitrant members of the family to grudgingly agree. And still others are brought home under family conditions and agreement that fall somewhere in between these two ends of the spectrum.
For all of the above circumstances by which a dog joins a new household, there are common steps to make the dog a part of the family. This, after all, is a living thing and we, being higher beings, have a responsibility to care for those lesser creatures we bring into our home that provide us with unconditional love and approval.
So what you can do to make your new dog a member of the family? First, make the right decision for the type of dog for your household. Do you live in a small apartment? Do you like big dogs that are bred for sport? If you answered yes to both of those questions then you have provided an example of where a breed of dog is not a fit for your household. Another example might be where you are looking for a dog to accompany you on your morning three-mile run. Do you really have the heart to make a small, lapdog with short, stubby legs try to keep up with you?
You get the picture. Take a good look at your house and the people living there. Try to match what you are looking for in a pet with the reality that you are bringing that pet into.
Second, make formal training of your new dog a precondition for both the age of the dog you get and your budget. This is especially important for those families where not all are onboard, or are plainly opposed, to bringing a pet into your collective space and lives. A dog that barks constantly or does not walk straight and proper on a leash annoys the person that loves it, much more so the person that never wanted the dog to start with.
Finally, realize that a household is comprised of both people and the objects that are attached to each person under a roof. That desk of Dad’s is part of who he is in the house; Mom’s antique chest of drawers helps define her space and what she values; Brother’s room with his sports posters, Sister’s shelf with her collectables. All these objects mixed together with the people who add meaning to them are how a house becomes a home. So, find something to put in your house that makes your dog a part of the collective stuff of home. Sure, its food and water dish count, but think of something that goes beyond basic needs. For example, instead of simply replacing bags of treats in the pantry, how about buying a dog treat jar that sits in the kitchen area. People start associating this object with the dog and the dog takes one more step to be a part of the family collective, with its own “stuff” in the house. Find a treat jar that matches your dog’s personality or find a cookie jar and dub it the treat jar for the dog.
Now, when that reluctant family member gets a treat for the dog, he or she starts to associate that object with meaning, and maybe, start to accept the new dog as part of the life of the home. The treat jar indicates the dog is here to stay, it has its own stuff right there on the kitchen counter.
Your dog is a living being. Treat it well, make it part of your family. It’s the least you can do for a creature that wants nothing more than to unconditionally accept and love you its whole life.