Comments on: 20 Things No One Tells You When You Get Your First Dog

By: Saturday Splash! | fabulous flo

Saturday Splash! | fabulous flo — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:20:39 +0000

[…] Something Wagging This Way Comes recently wrote a post about things no-one tells you when you get your first dog. No one ever told me how much delight I could get from watching my lovely dog having the time of her life, just running in and out of the waves. Sigh. Flo successfully warns a marker buoy to keep its distance […]

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:04:13 +0000

In reply to Jt Clough | Big Island Dog. Oh so true!

By: ForPetsSake

ForPetsSake — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:57:12 +0000

Great post – and great comments, too! I’m going to have to think of all those unspoken things…
As a vet nurse, I try to tell clients as much as possible in their first puppy visits, but there’s soooo much to cover! You really had me laughing at numbers 1,3, and 14. Everyone giggles at puppy barks, but not a few months later…

By: Amy@GoPetFriendly

Amy@GoPetFriendly — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:25:50 +0000

Oh my gosh, this is so true!!! I live every day with number five, and I never realized how true number seven was until I had both Buster and Ty. Buster sheds more … buy Ty’s fur is insidious and much more difficult to clean up. Great post!

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:41:28 +0000

Love this list! We used to smear peanut butter on the sides of the bathtub 🙂 Once we spent $20 on toys to take on a camping trip with us and Cali spent the whole trip chewing on the firewood!

Everyone always says “dogs live in the moment” – if that’s true – why does my dog always go back and look for the thing I made her leave alone the day before on our walk?

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:37:18 +0000

In reply to Sam. good one!

By: lauren

lauren — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:40:10 +0000

i LOVE this and am going to post on facebook. the one thing i think is missing?

nobody told me none of my friends would understand how getting a dog completely changes your life and makes you less available. a dog can be “worse” than a baby in the sense that you can bring babies virtually anywhere with you, whereas you almost always have to leave your dog behind. makes impromptu and/or long gatherings really difficult, and forget about happy hours or other after-work activities. no one understands that if i can’t bring my dog, i probably won’t go–and if i do go, it won’t be for long. why would i want to leave my dog alone for one moment longer than is necessary?

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:46:53 +0000

Great list! So many things I wish I had known…when I got my first dog it was years ago and I knew nothing about training except what bystanders told me, which tended to be on the order of “you really need to show her you’re dominant.” Fortunately my fosters are growing up in more enlightened times!

I wish someone had shown me the clicker, and told me the basics of shaping. I think it would have made for some joyful times when my Tashi was still alive, and would have resulted in a happier, more confident Lamar!

By: Karen Friesecke

Karen Friesecke — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:15:08 +0000

Peanut butter in the soap dish? Pure genius!!!! I am so using that the next time I give Dexter a bath.

By: Greyhounds CAN Sit

Greyhounds CAN Sit — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:25:10 +0000

I’ve spent 24 hours trying to think of more things I would like to have known before I got my first dog, but seeing as that was 45 years ago I can’t remember that far back:)

What I know now is that I never want to be without at least one. And while they never stay with us long enough the joy of having them is worth the grief of losing them.