Sunday, April 24, 2011

Look who is coming for dinner?

...and lunch and breakfast....

In about a month,  we will have a new family member. We are going to be joined by an Airedale boy who will be just a little younger than what you see in this picture here. We chose the airedale breed because of Missy's allergies, after considering a number of other breeds as well. What we like about this breed is that it is relatively rare and therefore has not quite as many breed specific health issues as some of the other candidates.  We also wanted something larger than a yorkie. One of our neighbors has an airedale, so we had Missy rub her hands into the dog's fur and then rub her face and eyes. There was no reaction!  IT man and I love the mastiff breeds but Missy is terribly allergic to them and with all the over breeding, they do have a lot of issues unless you go with some of the rarer breeds. Due to the allergy issues we were not going to go with a rescue dog, although I visited the local sites frequently and even inquired about one young dog who was an funny and adorable mix of two low allergen breeds. But he had already been adopted. We hadn't planned on getting another dog but the kids wanted one so badly and IT man and I like the security of having another set of ears in the home at night.  Our dogs' barking chased away a burglar once so we know it works.  The kids' age is ideal for adding a dog to the family right now, with Bear going to be six in August and Missy 11½. Airedales are very energetic and smart  (unfortunately also stubborn) and so our life is about to take on another level of crazy :)

4 comments:

Alasandra, The Cats and Dogs said...

He looks adorable. Congrats on your new family member.

Marlis said...

Thanks :) This isn't him of course, just a picture to show what he'll look like. We can't wait!

A Homeschool Story said...

Aaaw, a new puppy dog, I love it! No kids should grow up without a dog (OK, blanket statement that I may regret later, but a dog adds so much to a family's life!) Glad you willing to take the plunge again with a new dog, congratulations!

Angela

Marlis said...

Yes, the kids are super excited about it. I look forward to having a dog, not so much a puppy. I remember nights of getting up to let the pup out, console a crying dog, followed by cleaning spots on the carpet....Oh well, they grow up way faster than kids, so that's a good thing. Meanwhile I look at the house and think 'OMG, that is prime chewing material, and that, and this will get eaten....' Que sera.