I’m a very emotional, dramatic type of gal. I currently have one dog…the sweet beagle mix Marge, who is six years old.
I’ve been told that I should be looking ahead to her death in four or five years (I could barely type that sentence…life without MARGE! HOW?) by getting a puppy right NOW…so that when Marge leaps away to the great open garbage pit of eternal happiness and pop tart wrappers, I’ll immediately have another dog to comfort me.
Is this smart? Or ridiculous? The death of my dog is surely not something I want to go over and over and over, but I also want to prepare myself for what I know will be the worst week or five of my young life.
Also, what do I name this new dog? I’m vascilating between Thelonius Peanut and Karen.
Dogs are great! If you have a beagle mix, say 40 lb, there is no reason not to expect a normal life of 15-20 years. It is the larger breeds that give up after only 10 or 15.
Can you afford another pup? A good reason to get a second is to give your current a playmate: also in later years as hearing and other senses start to numb than an early friendship will help immensely.
I recommend letting the new pup name himself (not so farfetched). Whatever winning attributes he (she) displays will be clear in the first few weeks: a name will come. If you must use the names you mentioned now, name a plant or two. Or maybe they will fit the newcomer personally.
I have two: one named after a bette davis character and one after an old DJ on a rural country radio station.
I think you should have a dog to match each one of your outfits. And a dog for every mood: your Happy Dog, your Grumpy Dog, your Sleepy Dog, your Bashful Dog, etc.
The dogs you don’t happen to be using at the moment, just chain 'em up in your back yard.
(Sorry to be so unhelpful, but dog-owners are on my, ahem, shit list at the moment. Somebody’s motherfucking dog took a diarrhetic shit on my front stoop last night, and I was out there for a good part of the 38-degree morning with a water hose and Clorox. If I get hold of the guy I’ll cook the fucking dog with fingerling potatoes, leeks, and fennel and feed it to him.)
Well, I guess there is something to be said for having the other dog already around to comfort you, but the truth is, you’ll be heartbroken when you lose Marge. Whether you have ten other dogs, or no other dogs.
I lost my two cats in the last few years. When I lost the first (Simon), I had the other (Emily) still around. When I lost Emily, I had none. It hurt both times. It was nice to have a long-loved Emily to love on when Simon died, but it was also nice to welcome a new cat into our home to take my mind off the grief after Emily died.
I guess what I am saying is, make the decision to get a dog independent of your unhappy anticipation of Marge’s demise. There are arguments for and against having a second dog, and those will give you enough to gnaw over (mentally) by themselves.
Uke, are you sure it wasn’t puke? I know I’ll regret asking that since you’ll probably describe the smell in vivid detail to convince me… but when a food item comes out of my dog still identifiable, it comes outta the mouth end.
Depends on Marge! (Love the name.) Beagles tend to be extremely pack-oriented, so if she’s not dog aggressive, she’d probably love a canine companion. I have a cranky old bitch (GSDx) Phoebe. Damn dog refuses to die. She has outlived the last beloved Rottweiler (died at age 10), Jake the mutt, one husband, and numerous foster dogs. She acted like she hated every single one of them, but seriously mourned each one when they went to doggie heaven or a new home. In fact, I have stopped fostering dogs because it was so traumatic for her when one left the household. She acts like she hates the new Rottie puppy, but I know deep down she’s infatuated & just won’t show it.
A word of caution, though. It’s way better to get a dog of the opposite sex, because once the honeymoon period is over dominance issues can crop up, and you don’t want two dogs who loathe eachother in the same house.
Also, I don’t know who told you Marge is going to pop off at 10 yrs old. If she’s healthy, and a smallish mutt, she’ss keep on going like an Energizer Bunny.
Yeah, what Carina and Cranky said.
Get as many dogs as you want. Bunches and bunches of dogs. But you feel the loss of each one. If you’d like an “emergency back-up” dog, that’s great, but it’s no real emotional insurance. We had two dogs, and lost one (I love the “leaps away to the great open garbage pit of eternal happiness and pop tart wrappers” by the way). Having two didn’t really help. We again have two dogs, that seems to be a good number at the DeDay abode. They are both girls (the lost dog was a girl too) and we didn’t have dominance issues too bad. Sometimes you get lucky, but like Carina said it’s generally easier to mix boys and girls than to stick with one gender. (But my older sister has two boys dogs and my younger sister also has two girl dogs, and the neighbors’ have two boys…hmmm…maybe that’s just a myth…No, it’s really true. It’s generally easier to have a “variety pack”.)
Thelonius Peanut is the way to go with the new name. Now you have the name you have to get a dog to go with it. Of course you could get two dogs and use Karen, too. Oh, I know get a Greyhound and an Italian Greyhound and when people ask if the little one is a puppy, you say “No, she’s the mommy. The daddy was just HUGE! And you shoulda seen her squirt out that big pup. It took DAYS!” (An Italian Greyhound looks just like a Greyhound only it’s like 12 lbs. to the Greyhound’s 65 lbs.)
(GSDx)= German Shepherd Dog (cross). Carina, not everyone is hip to doggy abbreviation. And what’s this with you and crab-assed grumpy dogs? Herding dogs in general are just so…bitchy. Your GSDx crabs at everyone, and the Rotten-weiller, who I’m sure just loves to growl at people just to watch them jump…[sub] grumble…grumble…damn crab-assed dogs[/sub]. I’m kidding, German Shepards are just too pretty, and Rotties are just too cool. (Of course they’re not as pretty as Belgian Shepherds)
This is the end of my rambling, semi-hijack. Please, continue with the thread.
And BTW, Cranky’s real first name is Karen. I guess that’s where my vote lies. Some people wouldn’t want a dog to have their name, but Cranky loves it.
My boss’ daughter’s name is Marge. You just don’t see too many young people with the name, which is what makes it pretty cool. Also a cool dog name, though.
Marge must have known that I was speaking of her yesterday…she was very sweet and cuddly in the evening hours…curling up between my legs to watch t.v.
My LANDLORD’S name is Marge! Marge’s name was almost Prudence…but we decided against it. But you know how it is with dogs. We never call her Marge, it’s cheesepie, buster, fuzzface, or my favorite…Jimmy Smits.
Just a couple more thoughts to ponder.
If you decide to get a second dog, don’t wait until Marge gets too old. She may not adapt well, and a cranky Marge is not what you want.
And when she goes, you will find your house shockingly empty if she is a singleton. Having to care for a second dog will force you to keep a regular schedule. And you will have someone to grieve with.
Sometimes diluting a super strong bond is best for everyone.
