Buddy's new owners bought him on a whim- one week before a planned vacation to see family in New York. Would I keep seven week old Buddy? A seven week old fully bred Chocolate Lab puppy? Yes!!
As "mother" to ten year old fully bred Yellow Lab Abby, I have vowed to only own Labradors for the rest of my life. My husband has been trying for a few years now to convince me to go ahead and get Abby a Lab puppy to play with. I always say "no," "that is ridiculous," and "she doesn't need a puppy." One dog is enough for us! Dogs are work. Abby has integrated herself into our family life so well that she is not work. I definitely do not want a second dog, BUT I can try one out for a week.
I won't get into details, but the week with Buddy was rewarding. It was fun. It was exhausting. There were accidents and some things were chewed a bit, but he's going to be relatively easy to train. Abby seemed to bond with him and they played well together. I have never seen her bond with any of the dogs we've kept until Buddy. Is it because they are the same breed?
I was both glad and sad when his people returned and Buddy went back home. Glad-because I had to take him out so often and watch him every minute to make sure he did not chew up our belongings. Sad because he was a mostly good dog and it would have given me pleasure to keep training him. I can see myself really enjoying another pup someday. Someday. I am thinking that someday will come when the kids are grown and have left home. The children didn't offer much in the help department. The amount of attention a new pup would need from me would be all of it.
(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)
