Flittering worries

[hazliya]

I really hope I'm a good dog mama.

Seriously, I'm worried about this.

I want to give this dog the best life possible. But I also need to work, have a social life, spend time with elenuial, and have other pursuits. Ideally, I want this dog to be completely happy and healthy and have a fulfilling role in our family. My mother has offered (read: practically begged) to babysit, so having to kennel him won't be a problem, but then again, he'll need to be crated while I'm at work.

I know of so many people, especially working where I do, who are broke, live in shitty apartments, don't take care of their dog's hygiene, feed it cheap food, don't train it at all, and generally don't set pack rules. Their dogs are still generally happy creatures.

I have a steady source of income and am building up my "puppy account," live in a nice place that will (hopefully) be organized by the time he arrives, plan on a weekly grooming regimen, did research and narrowed his diet down to three companies, will train him extensively, and will have a healthy pack structure.

Everything's sorted out, right? Why am I so worried that I won't raise him right?

Comments

[endlessgame.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read "Merle's Door"? I listened to it on E-book, and found it very interesting. Not applicable to city life, but an interesting story nonetheless.

Anyways, I am fairly certain you'll do fine, just by virtue of KNOWING this stuff and being willing to do it. The ones that don't do well are the ones who don't know that what they're doing is wrong, or don't have the resolve to follow through.

[relique.livejournal.com]

Well, part of being the best dog mama you can be will be reassessing if you're actually doing the best job you can, right? So if you weren't having at least some concerns, some doubts, etc, that would be a bad sign-- right?

There is a difference between healthy worry and unhealthy worry, and only you can decide which one you're falling on the side of, but some worry is okay.

[draike.livejournal.com]

You're already doing better than most pet owners. I'm sure you'll have a very happy and healthy pup because you're doing your research. You just have to keep in mind that no matter what you do, no one has a perfect animal. They all have their quirks.

On diet: What companies are you looking into? Wellness is a personal favorite of mine, though expensive. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (and all its varieties) is a really good compromise between good ingredients and budget. My two kittens are doing very well on their Kitten variety. Hard stuff to find though.. our local pet supply store special-orders a case for us every month.

[hazliya.livejournal.com]

I'm actually not a fan of Wellness. Some students of mine (all completely unrelated cases) had their (completely different breeds) eat it for a few months and then suffer complete organ failure. =/

The brands I'm looking into are Royal Canin (they have really excellent toy breed formulas), Eukanuba (really great for high metabolisms) and Nutro (good company, awesome food). I did look into Blue Buffalo, which is pretty top-notch, but their formulas for small breeds are really lacking.

[endlessgame.livejournal.com]

We use Nutro for Fiona, and she's bouncy and healthy as ever (although I recognize this is merely an anecdote).

[mindways]

I can't say for sure why you're worried, but to throw out an idea: perhaps because you're taking the responsibility seriously, but not yet fully trusting your (future) self in some fashion?

Or it could just be the nervousness of doing something for the first time.

It really does sound like you'll do great, though!

[kooda6801.livejournal.com]

If you didn't care then you wouldn't be a good caretaker. Clearly you care and worry so no matter what happens you will be a good dog momma.