I have always been a pet lover, with a weakness for little
dogs. So, when I moved out on my own,
the first thing I did was rescue a Lhaso Aspo mix from a shelter, to give it a
forever home. It was also my first
experience with being a parent so of speak and having to care for someone else
besides myself. :-)
While I had a dog growing up, I never really knew of all the things you had to do for and how much it really cost to maintain a pet. From annual physicals (which run around $200-$300) to buying food, snacks and supplies on a weekly/monthly basis, to the occasion sick visit to the doctor or a grooming appointment, having a pet is a serious commitment and one that needs to be factored into your budget and living expenses. Also, you need to have the space for an animal. I was living with my now husband at the time in a two-bedroom apartment, which was pet-friendly at an extra $100 a month. But, there was no real dog walking space on the grounds. So, we would have to drive to a local park to take Manny for a walk, to really stretch his legs and give him the exercise he needed.
You talking about me?
While I had a dog growing up, I never really knew of all the things you had to do for and how much it really cost to maintain a pet. From annual physicals (which run around $200-$300) to buying food, snacks and supplies on a weekly/monthly basis, to the occasion sick visit to the doctor or a grooming appointment, having a pet is a serious commitment and one that needs to be factored into your budget and living expenses. Also, you need to have the space for an animal. I was living with my now husband at the time in a two-bedroom apartment, which was pet-friendly at an extra $100 a month. But, there was no real dog walking space on the grounds. So, we would have to drive to a local park to take Manny for a walk, to really stretch his legs and give him the exercise he needed.
But, if you have pets, then you probably know that they
don't like to go potty outside when it rains, especially if they are little
dogs, like I have. So, you have to potty
train your pet to go potty indoors on newspaper or pee pads. Just like with potty training children, it is
a feat to train a dog to go potty where you want them to. Manny used to start out going potty on the
pee pad and then continue to walk about peeing, leaving his mark all over the
house. If only we didn't have wall to
wall carpeting, it would have been easier to clean up and less of a
headache. But, we had light cream
colored carpets, which by the time our lease was up, had become spotted with
accidents from Manny. So, the night
before we were supposed to hand over our keys, we rented a few of the Rug
Doctor machines, invited a few friend over and went to town cleaning the
carpets so that we didn't have to pay to replace. I wish you could have seen us all, up after
midnight cleaning like crazy to remove set in stains from the past year. It was only fitting that the little man who
left all these spots was resting comfortably on this oversized pillow in our
bedroom, where it was quiet, snoring away, like only he could.
Besides his pillow and our bed, Manny used to love sleeping on the arms of the furniture or in our club chair...
He always slept so well! :-)
When we were all finished, at around 4:00AM, we all crashed
on the couches and floor to get in a little sleep before it was time to pick up
the moving truck for the bed and last minute items to move to our condo we had
purchased down the street. I couldn't
believe that we were able to get out the pee and poop stains that Manny had
left on the carpets, but we did, and it looked like a brand new, ready to move
in apartment. I learned from this
experience that I never want to be a rug cleaner as it is a lot of work and a
pain in the next, too. :-)
After a couple of hours sleep, we all woke up, only to find
that it was raining outside. Just my
luck. I was exhausted and my dog had to
go out. We had the option of putting
down a pee pad and hoping that Manny would stay in one spot, or rush him into
the car and take him to the local park to pee.
Quickly we got Manny ready with his collar and leash and took him down
the street to the park. After a little
coaxing and holding an umbrella over him the entire time, he finally went
potty. Then, we put him back in the car
and brought him back to the apartment, so that we could start loading the
moving truck. An hour or so later, the
truck was all packed and the apartment was empty and ready for a new tenant.
But, Manny was not ready to leave just yet.
He had to do one more thing...leave his mark. Yes, that is right. Even though we took him to go potty, he must
have caught a chill while at the park, and not only peed, but pooped all over
the carpet. Ugh. Thankfully, we still
had the rug doctor machine, and quickly worked to get the stains up. As we were working in overdrive to remove the
stains, I happened to glance at Manny resting, yet again on his bed, now in the
our living room. I could have swore he
had a smirk on his face, as I was wiping the sweat from my brow. Ahh, the joys of pets. They love to leave you unexpected presents
when you least expect them. But, you
can't help but love them anyways!
:-)
Do you have any funny pet stories of accidents, room
clearing flatulence (which Manny was known for), or anything else that your pet
had down that you find yourself talking about time and again? Even though Manny is no longer with us,
whenever my friends and I get together, we can't help but talk about him and
this story in particular.
XOXO -- We love you always and forever, Manny!
With the holidays fast approaching, this is a time when
families think about adopting a dog or cat, or buying one at a local pet
shop. Before you do this, make sure you
read up the breed you have in mind, and know what caring for a pet involves. Nutrition is different for each pet depending
on their age and allergies. With Manny,
we learned early on that he had a beef allergy and ended up having to buy
specially formulated dog food, which was pricey. We learned of this from frequent vomiting, diarrhea, bad flatulence and dry flaky skin, that took numerous trips to the veterinarian with blood work and exams to get to the bottom of. GI issues in pets are not fun to deal with, and you shouldn't wait to address, as they will lead to more accidents in the home. You don't like it when you aren't feeling well. Don't let your furry friend suffer either.
In addition to Manny's food allergies and GI trouble, he also had behavioral issues from being abused prior to being put in a kennel, so we attempted to remedy these with training. Once you bring your forever friend home, you will start to learn about your friend, the type of diet he/she needs, if they need any behavioral training, as well as work with them on potty training, especially if they are little and don't like the rain.
In addition to Manny's food allergies and GI trouble, he also had behavioral issues from being abused prior to being put in a kennel, so we attempted to remedy these with training. Once you bring your forever friend home, you will start to learn about your friend, the type of diet he/she needs, if they need any behavioral training, as well as work with them on potty training, especially if they are little and don't like the rain.
You can visit Royal Canin to learn all
about caring for a pet (dog or cat), nutrition for your friend (depending on
breed and size), as well as other useful information, before you make your
final decision on what type of pet you want to own, and all that goes into
caring for an animal. Also, science is the best way to look at every issue your dog may have. For more pet health nutrition information, visit http://www.mypetreference.com/#!search/ask+the+vet. And, be sure to bookmark this page so that you can reference whenever a problem with your pet arises. It really is a great reference.
Having a pet is a lot of work and can get expensive, but there is nothing better than coming home after work to find your dog wagging his tail, waiting to jump in your lap and shower you with wet kisses...or, better yet, keep your feet warm by falling asleep on them, on a cold winter's night. Just get ready, though, as both cats and dogs love to hog the bed sheets. You know! :-)
Having a pet is a lot of work and can get expensive, but there is nothing better than coming home after work to find your dog wagging his tail, waiting to jump in your lap and shower you with wet kisses...or, better yet, keep your feet warm by falling asleep on them, on a cold winter's night. Just get ready, though, as both cats and dogs love to hog the bed sheets. You know! :-)
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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