Dog Ownership Teaches Children Responsiblity and Compassion

My girlfriend/breeder asked if I wanted to bring 3 extra puppies home with me when I picked up Abby and Mercedes. She suggested that it would give me a taste of what it is like to have a bunch of little dogs to care for and to see if I have what it takes to breed my dogs, and also to see if I will like it. I brought them home and am loving it!

I wondered if all those puppies would be stressful but they aren't at all. They get up before I like to fussing because they are hungry, but that is no big deal. I feed them and go back to bed for little bit.

They are tiny pooping machines! They were already paper trained when I got them so I just had to keep changing the paper. Five puppies can put out a lot of poo. If I didn't replace the paper right away they would walk through it. That is very gross. I replaced it with clay kitty litter. It is so much cleaner! They didn't want to walk in it at first so I put newspaper over it to entice them (they can't resist going potty on a fresh piece of newspaper). They quickly learned that the kitty litter is lots of fun to walk in and potty on and dig in. They love it.


The kids are really loving it. I am very proud of them. They take initiative and do what ever needs to be done to be sure the puppies are well cared for, including baths and everything. I don't have to tell them to do anything. They also make sure to play with all the dogs, not just their own. That was their own idea not mine. They ask one another and me which ones have had the least attention so each puppy gets lots of love. This is one of the best things I have done for them. It is helping them develop compassion and self motivated responsibility.

I hope the three extra puppies sell soon. They are adorable and we keep getting more attached every day. Every day we decide that one puppy is our favorite, then the next day we realize that another is our favorite. I suppose they are all so awesome in their own way that they are all our favorites.