DOG, part 2
Mar. 25th, 2009 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clauditorium(continued from here)
I found out to my dismay that when you tell certain people you’re getting a dog, instead of sharing your joy, they take this occasion as their cue to question your judgment and tell you how to live. Some insulted my intelligence by emphatically reminding me more than once that having a dog is a big responsibility. One person actually said, “You’re sure you want to do that to the environment?” After I told a colleague at work that I was getting a bulldog, she somehow didn’t see how inappropriate it was of her to tell me (as though it were fact) that this particular breed is “ugly”. Another colleague thought she was entitled to give me a lecture on the ethics of getting a bulldog. All I have to say is, FUCK Y’ALL.
I considered adopting a rescue dog, but they come with a lot of baggage. I might get one after I’ve had more experience. So I searched the internet to locate bulldog breeders in my area. I was very surprised to find about two dozen in southern Ontario alone. I e-mailed all of them, expressing interest in getting a dog. Then I wrote to the ones who responded, giving them more specifics and asking more questions. I discovered that dog breeders in general seem to be a bit behind the times, in terms of technology. I was surprised how hard it was to get pictures of the dogs they bred, in some cases. In fact, most of them didn’t even have a website up. Which may be for the best, because the websites I did find were horrifically designed (http://gargoylebulldogs.com/GARGOY~1/Page_1x.html).
I soon found out that bulldogs are among the most expensive dogs around. The average breeder asked $2,500, and a few charged $3,000. I crossed the latter off my list, but not because I was looking for a bargain. I’m suspicious of breeders who sell cheap dogs, because those animals are usually the product of “puppy mills”. These people can afford to charge less, because they don’t spend much to keep their dogs happy and healthy. This was not a practice I wanted to encourage. Still, I managed to get my puppy for only $2,000. The breeder was recommended by two of her peers, and I paid her a visit before making my decision, so I felt comfortable with my choice.
I had already decided I preferred the look of male bulldogs (not unlike the way I feel about humans). Also, a male companion just felt right. From watching videos on the internet, I realized I favoured bulldogs that were predominantly brown. My favourite video star is Sam, whose antics you can witness here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Woutneyn. Part of his charm is that his tail sticks out, which is unusual for bulldogs. They tend to either have a short nub, or a curly tail that’s kind of smooshed onto their butts. The latter is more trouble to keep clean. But I figured there was no chance any of this litter would have a tail, because the parents didn’t.
The bitch ended up giving birth to four males and three females. Once they were four weeks old (they kind of look like hamsters before then) I made the trek to the breeder’s to make my pick. She asked me to select two. I was the first to visit the puppies, but someone else had made his deposit before I had, so he had first choice. There was only one brown male, so I made him one of my picks. Among the white fellas, I was delighted to spot one that had one of those cute sticking-out tails, so he got the other slot. I truly didn’t favour one over the other, because though I liked the brown one’s colouring, the white one had better features. And a tail!
Well, the other guy chose the brown male, so in eleven days, I’ll be going to pick up the cutie-pie in the pictures below. Will all my big talk about educating myself and being ready to raise a dog turn out to be as meaningful as a bag of wind? To be continued. Surely this little guy won't cause me any trouble...
I found out to my dismay that when you tell certain people you’re getting a dog, instead of sharing your joy, they take this occasion as their cue to question your judgment and tell you how to live. Some insulted my intelligence by emphatically reminding me more than once that having a dog is a big responsibility. One person actually said, “You’re sure you want to do that to the environment?” After I told a colleague at work that I was getting a bulldog, she somehow didn’t see how inappropriate it was of her to tell me (as though it were fact) that this particular breed is “ugly”. Another colleague thought she was entitled to give me a lecture on the ethics of getting a bulldog. All I have to say is, FUCK Y’ALL.
I considered adopting a rescue dog, but they come with a lot of baggage. I might get one after I’ve had more experience. So I searched the internet to locate bulldog breeders in my area. I was very surprised to find about two dozen in southern Ontario alone. I e-mailed all of them, expressing interest in getting a dog. Then I wrote to the ones who responded, giving them more specifics and asking more questions. I discovered that dog breeders in general seem to be a bit behind the times, in terms of technology. I was surprised how hard it was to get pictures of the dogs they bred, in some cases. In fact, most of them didn’t even have a website up. Which may be for the best, because the websites I did find were horrifically designed (http://gargoylebulldogs.com/GARGOY~1/Page_1x.html).
I soon found out that bulldogs are among the most expensive dogs around. The average breeder asked $2,500, and a few charged $3,000. I crossed the latter off my list, but not because I was looking for a bargain. I’m suspicious of breeders who sell cheap dogs, because those animals are usually the product of “puppy mills”. These people can afford to charge less, because they don’t spend much to keep their dogs happy and healthy. This was not a practice I wanted to encourage. Still, I managed to get my puppy for only $2,000. The breeder was recommended by two of her peers, and I paid her a visit before making my decision, so I felt comfortable with my choice.
I had already decided I preferred the look of male bulldogs (not unlike the way I feel about humans). Also, a male companion just felt right. From watching videos on the internet, I realized I favoured bulldogs that were predominantly brown. My favourite video star is Sam, whose antics you can witness here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Woutneyn. Part of his charm is that his tail sticks out, which is unusual for bulldogs. They tend to either have a short nub, or a curly tail that’s kind of smooshed onto their butts. The latter is more trouble to keep clean. But I figured there was no chance any of this litter would have a tail, because the parents didn’t.
The bitch ended up giving birth to four males and three females. Once they were four weeks old (they kind of look like hamsters before then) I made the trek to the breeder’s to make my pick. She asked me to select two. I was the first to visit the puppies, but someone else had made his deposit before I had, so he had first choice. There was only one brown male, so I made him one of my picks. Among the white fellas, I was delighted to spot one that had one of those cute sticking-out tails, so he got the other slot. I truly didn’t favour one over the other, because though I liked the brown one’s colouring, the white one had better features. And a tail!
Well, the other guy chose the brown male, so in eleven days, I’ll be going to pick up the cutie-pie in the pictures below. Will all my big talk about educating myself and being ready to raise a dog turn out to be as meaningful as a bag of wind? To be continued. Surely this little guy won't cause me any trouble...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 04:15 am (UTC)Have fun!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 05:37 am (UTC)Don't let him wrap you too tightly around that tail... make sure he knows you're the pack alpha! *Grins*
-=Kiyoshi
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:48 pm (UTC)Thanks for the nice wishes!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:56 pm (UTC)-=Kiyoshi
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 12:10 pm (UTC)D
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 09:29 pm (UTC)I'm reduced to expressing his cuteness in fragments.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-26 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-01 04:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-01 12:20 pm (UTC)