Paws-itive Perspectives: Puppy fever is here, and you have it! Now what?

By Angel Dumoulin on March 28, 2026.

If you read my last column on why you should not get a dog and decided that this woman is full of #?*!, “I am getting a puppy!” this is the column for you.

First of all, are you legally allowed to have a dog where you live and is there a size limit? Getting evicted from your apartment doesn’t make you a hero or a martyr. It means you made a bad decision and now must live with the consequences of your decisions. Congratulations!

Some other things you may want to consider is your income level. If your heart says Great Dane but your budget says shih tzu, choose wisely or keep saving up. The local food banks are already stretched to capacity and your decision to live outside your budget is not their problem.

How much grooming are you willing to do? A poodle of any size, may not shed, but the expense of monthly trips to the groomer is significant and necessary. That goes for a doodle, any double coated dog of any size, or any dog whose hair continues to grow. Proper maintenance is going to be time consuming and expensive.

Do you have the time? I mean that! Do you? Potty training alone is a time consuming and necessary chore that can take months to perfect. Socializing and training are extremely important and often done wrong from the dog’s perspective. It takes time and patience. Dog parks and daycares are not appropriate training grounds for any dog. They are play areas for well rounded social dogs who already like going to those places for exercise.

Do you travel much? Is it fair to leave the puppy at a kennel for much of the dog’s life? A dog’s life is short, spending it trying to outrun lunatics at the dog park, or alone in a kennel, are not ideal.

Education is important! If you took your human child to kindergarten to learn social skills and then turned them loose on the world without any other skills to cope, Child Protection Services would be all up in your business. Puppy classes are barely considered kindergarten level for most dogs, and people think that’s all they need to live a full healthy life.

One more of so many things to consider is the breed of dog you choose. If your current lifestyle is couch potato, please consider getting a likeminded breed of dog. Border collies, and most other herding breeds, as well as huskies are extreme high energy, creative thinkers, and very intelligent. If you lack any of these same qualities yourself, please pick someone who suits your current lifestyle. Never pick a breed to help motivate you to be more active, you fall in love based on a movie, or you think is pretty unless you plan on spending the rest of their life catering to their specific exercise and grooming needs.

There is so much more I could say about this whole topic so if you don’t want to wait for the next column to discuss this more, get in touch. I’d happily ‘talk dog” all day.

Dogs are only a part of our lives; we are their whole world. Make their shorter life worth living!

Angel Dumoulin of Funny Farm Canine is a positive reinforcement trainer with 20+ years of experience, dedicated to humane, science-based methods that build trust, cooperation, and joy. Emphasizing compassion and respect, she fosters a partnership between dogs and owners without fear or force-only motivation, play, and clear communication. Her philosophy, “dominion over domination,” champions empathy and understanding, allowing each dog’s unique personality to shine. Play. Learn. Wag!

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