HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT STARBUCKS PUP
Or one that likes to ride in cars, camp in the woods, or hang out at brew pubs
“Can you make her stop whining?” Joe pleaded as Shiloh stretched to the end of her seatbelt tether. I rolled down the window to let the breeze occupy her nose. The temporary reprieve was soon replaced by what sounded like seagulls screaming on the beach. Joe stopped at a rest area. Shiloh pulled me across the lot and pooped. We walked a bit. She peed. Ah, good. Now she’ll feel better, I surmised. Down the road we sped as the seagulls began to cry anew. I tossed Shiloh treats. I petted her head. I cooed to calm her. It was a 13-hour game of give and take that crossed five states. When we finally landed on the beach, Joe and I were frazzled. Shiloh was ready to go.
Shiloh’s car-riding anxiety didn’t stem from fear of the car but rather from her inability to manage her excitement for adventure. She was our first ever ball-playing, water-loving dog who adored each of us with equal abandon and couldn’t wait to get where we were going. We learned this about our girl when she’d been our foster dog. We adopted her knowing we would always need to balance her excitability with her love of play.
Foster dog Lizzy, a rare-breed royal Lowchen, hated the car. No journey peppered with treats or a promising destination soothed her soul. She was a homebody to the core and wanted nothing more than to be home with one body. She hid from visitors and paid little attention to toys.
Foster dog Odie (Odie number one) looked like an arctic fox in seasonal transition. He was a gentleman in the car and fond of fetch. He preferred to spend his time with one person, never a crowd, unless he could hang at the edge of a coffee shop patio.
Foster dog Odie (Odie number two) was a tri-color beagle who loved to chase rabbits through the garden. A stocky fella, he would boll-over any child in his path. He was not suitable for families with young kids but loved any teenager who’d throw a toy.
Foster dog Annie, a corgi mix, was the quintessential hang-your-head-out-the-window dog whose tail wagged like a metronome at the mention of the car. Her favorite destination was a park full of children. She found a home with a little girl who’d dress her in costumes.
Our fostering experience has taught me that dogs are not unlike people. Their personalities are molded through genetics and experience. In my previous post, Like Teen, Like Dog, I wrote about our first foster dogs, Poet and Margo, and how each of their personalities aligned with those of my kids. Poet was much like my daughter, Anna. Both were sharp-brained and attentive. Big Margo was much like Mia - laid back and in love with all things human.
If you want a best-fit pet, one most suited to your companionship ideals, living situation, and time and interest you have to invest in training, you have to look beyond general breed characteristics.
In fact, not all golden retrievers are happy and engaging. Not all pit bulls are menacing. Many play frisbee and fetch while their lab friends don’t play ball at all. Not every Great Pyrenees loves the outdoors but some tiny dogs love it. Not every Maltese enjoys sitting on laps while many big dogs do.
1. Step one in finding a best-fit pet is to know what rises to the top of your wish list. Is it to have a dog who can accompany you to the coffee shop, brew pub, or dog park, so you can commune with other humans and canines? Are you looking for a running companion, hiking buddy, or agility contender? Do you want a therapy pet you can train to take to the library, nursing home or hospital? How about your own emotional support pet?
2. Step two is knowing what wisdom you are capable of imparting to your pet. Do you have the time and desire to train a dog? Do you have the money to hire an expert if you are unable to provide the right path? Dogs are highly sensitive creatures that look to their human companions for direction on how to be a dog in a human world. They can be much like teens set loose without guidance. They’ll figure things out for themselves, and you may not like it.
3. Step three in your journey to a best-fit pet is to adopt a foster dog. As parents of human children, we can’t know who our kids will become until they become who they are. Things can be different with dogs. When you adopt a dog from a foster home, you get insight.
Foster dog Wrigley was a puggle (pug-beagle mix). The first potential adopters who fell in love with his picture, took a pass after they met him. The couple lived in a downtown condo. They didn’t feel Wrigley’s shyness would fit into a people-centered living environment. That same couple came back to our house two months later to meet Skip. The couple fell head over heels for his outgoing personality and instant friendship with their dog, Frank.
A dog who’s been in the safety and quiet of a foster home, as opposed to a shelter, will exhibit behavior more aligned with a home situation. A care giver can tell you many things such as a dog’s behavior in the car, in a kennel, or carrier. Do they gravitate to or away from adults, kids, men, women, babies, cats, or other dogs? Are they house-trained? Do they come on recall or know tricks? Are they reactive or passive? Do they play fetch, chase sticks, or swim? How do they behave at the veterinarian’s office? You might even learn how the dog reacts at the store, the coffee shop, the beach, or a campground.
Joe and I adopted Shiloh knowing she had quirks. Do we always love them? No, but we’ve figured out how to manage the negative to truly embrace her love of adventure. To get your best-fit friend, know how you want to interact with the dog, what personality traits you desire, and what training is needed, then seek a pup from a foster home. While there are no guarantees, a foster dog can be as close to the best-fit pet as it comes!
Here a few popular posts about fostering that may help you decide to take the plunge to save a life.
A Love Story for the World’s Best Dog