| In the previous article, I quickly recounted my own | | | | routine for reasons such as work, partying or going |
| experiences with adopting Lucky, who's a beautiful | | | | to the movies with friends or your spouse. No stress! |
| four-and-a-half year old Golden Retriever now. As | | | | Just get back to it as soon as you can. |
| you can tell from my experience, it can easily turn | | | | Personally, I'd recommend that you look ahead of |
| out into a catastrophe if you haven't mentally | | | | schedule and 'preview' your busy days. It's not |
| prepared for it. | | | | always going to be possible, for instance, when you |
| In fact, it's very similar to sprinting a hundred meter | | | | work OT, or when you get an unexpected familial |
| race. You know how there's usually an announcer | | | | issue. Just try the best you can. It's perfectly fine. |
| who yells out, 'ready, set, go?' You've probably | | | | It's not the end of the world if you didn't walk your |
| participated in one of those races yourself during high | | | | dog in the Ontario dog park in mid-July under a full |
| school. Most people don't properly use those three | | | | moon between 11:28 to 1:31. It's okay. Just take a |
| seconds, and end up losing on the critical moment - | | | | deep breath and relax. |
| the start. When you're against competitors around | | | | After seeing which are your busy days, you can cut |
| the same caliber as you, when you lose the edge, | | | | down on your tasks for that day. So, for example, if |
| you lose it. As a result, you probably didn't get the | | | | today's the day where you'll have to walk your dog, |
| results that you could have, if you just mentally | | | | then, either take him out for a shorter period of |
| prepare in that split second. | | | | time, or leave it till weekend. |
| The same can be said with adopting a puppy. You're | | | | 4. When traveling |
| going to be sailing under rough weather, that's for | | | | If you're a frequent traveler, if you're comfortable |
| certain. But there are many ways you can mitigate | | | | with your neighbors or friends taking care of your |
| that, the primary one being organization. And, I hope | | | | dog, then do so. But remember, just because you |
| to be the one to deliver a few useful tips to | | | | like your neighbors, friends and family, it doesn't |
| accomplish that. | | | | mean that they'll consent to take care of your dog, |
| Unfortunately, to provide a complete list of | | | | even if you reduce the to-do list. Always make your |
| responsibilities will be impossible in one article. As such, | | | | expectations clear up front to avoid confrontations. |
| I had to split this into a few articles to cover the | | | | If you can find a fellow dog owner in the |
| range in a comprehensive manner, so I do apologize | | | | neighborhood or a pet sitter who'll help, that's the |
| for this. | | | | best solution. |
| So, in this article, we're going to discuss the whole | | | | Alternatively, you can leave your pet with the local |
| notion of establishing a routine. | | | | vet, and you can be sure he's well taken care of. |
| Without further ado, here it is. | | | | 5. Three categories of tasks |
| Everything we're going to discuss hereafter falls | | | | To top that off, tasks can be split in three broad |
| under this category. When you don't have a routine, | | | | categories: daily, monthly and yearly tasks. Why isn't |
| things are going to spiral out of control. | | | | 'weekly' here? There isn't much you need to do on a |
| You might be thinking, 'how can I create a routine | | | | weekly basis, except maybe visiting the dog park, |
| when I don't know what I'm going to do?' | | | | something that you might not have time for during |
| That's exactly the purpose of this article. | | | | week days. |
| So, don't stress! We're going to discuss some general | | | | What's the significance of this? |
| principles to stick to, before exploring the more | | | | Again, in preparation. When you learn more about |
| specific responsibilities and tasks as a dog owner, | | | | what to expect, when you actually come to adopt a |
| then wrapping it up in a conclusion. Sounds fair? | | | | puppy, things will fall better in place. In a sense, it's |
| There are a few things I want to mention before we | | | | like a crash mat, a shock absorber. If you go indoors |
| move on to the specifics in the next article: | | | | rock climbing without a harness, and you fall, you'll fall, |
| 1. Defining your time frame | | | | literally, because there's nothing to catch you. If you |
| The Oxford English dictionary defines a 'routine' as 'a | | | | did have a harness, or, better yet, a crash mat, you'll |
| sequence of actions regularly followed'. We're going | | | | still fall, but you'll know it's safe to fall because of the |
| to take that one step further. We're going to design | | | | safety precautions. |
| a routine. First of all, designing a routine involves | | | | It's the same with raising a puppy. When you know |
| allocating designated time intervals to accomplish set | | | | what to expect, things will be more in control. And |
| tasks. A fancy way of saying 'taking the time to do | | | | when raising a puppy, that's your ultimate objective - |
| stuff'. | | | | to have a great relationship with your pup, without |
| So, the first question to ask yourself is, 'how many | | | | letting the cleaning chores and such impose on your |
| free hours do I have each week?' | | | | lifestyle. Knowing what to expect helps offer you the |
| When you have an answer to that, the second | | | | peace of mind. |
| question to ask is, 'how much free time am I willing | | | | Wrap up |
| to spend on taking care of my puppy?' This is | | | | To wrap up, when you do eventually get to |
| significant because you'll need time to spend with | | | | establishing your own routine, do NOT over |
| your family and friends, maybe by yourself as well, | | | | complicate it, and do not spend your life on it. There |
| to recuperate from daily work. If you know that the | | | | will be folks out there who are obsessed with getting |
| work involved in raising a puppy might get in the way | | | | things absolutely 100% integral the first time. |
| of your life, you might want to reconsider your time | | | | It doesn't work that way, sorry! |
| management, perhaps splitting the work between | | | | Haven't you ever planned for a picnic, or a trip to an |
| you, your spouse and your kids if you have them, or | | | | amusement park, where something just failed in the |
| even the adoption decision, because this isn't a choice | | | | end, for instance, the person who's supposed to be |
| you should take lightly. | | | | bringing sandwiches didn't bring them, or the ride |
| That being said, after completing that quick exercise, | | | | you're looking forward to hopping on was on |
| you'll get a rough idea of the timeframes you'll have | | | | maintenance that day? |
| to spend time with your dog. | | | | It's the same with looking after your puppy! |
| 2. It's busier in the start. | | | | There are no absolutes, that much is certain. |
| In the beginning, expect to be busier looking after | | | | That being said, do make a commitment to complete |
| your pups. You'll have to get injections, do checkups, | | | | a task that you've set to do to the best of your |
| get used to the routines. It's going to be real hectic in | | | | ability, but not at the expense of your own personal |
| the beginning whether you have a routine or not. But, | | | | time. If you get stressed, it's no good to you and |
| as time passes, you can scale back on the | | | | the puppy. As I said, it's going to be real busy in the |
| 'operations' that you're used to in the beginning, and | | | | beginning, but it'll be smooth sailing afterwords when |
| truly enjoy a rewarding experience as a dog owner. | | | | your puppy's health stabilizes. |
| 3. Deviation is perfectly fine. Don't stress. | | | | So, that's it for this article, thanks for reading, and I |
| There will be times where you deviate from the set | | | | look forward to your readership in the next articles! |