Doggone Etiquette—

House Hunting?

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:

After listening to all the conversations your VIPeople have had that occasionally included your name, you finally figured it out! They are talking about hunting dollars and houses. Being a dog, I’m sure you’d like to help, but it’s not at all like the kind of hunting you dogs do. Your people are not discussing going after rabbits, birds, or tennis balls. They are trying to find a house, and when people are house hunting, money is mentioned a lot. Dogs are very lucky because you don’t ever have to be concerned about money — not where to put it or even what to do with it if you had it. Your concerns are only with things like food, shelter, and caring people. So, in this case your best bet is just to keep your ears alert to the tone of the conversation. Don’t voice your opinion because it won’t be appreciated, but do try to be super-well-behaved. Your good manners may help the house hunting be successful for you, too.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

The reasons that people look for somewhere else to live are numerous, and where it used to be a late winter or early spring adventure, searching for the right home now goes on year-round. If a dog is part of your family, there are many things to consider that pertain primarily to him. Planning a move to a bigger house, or to one with more land, would no doubt be exactly right for whatever dog you now have. Who knows, you might even be planning to get a second one as a playmate for Rufus. But downsizing could present you with some major decisions to be made about Rufus.

Our own lives do not always change conveniently, and the changes can’t always include our dogs. Many apartments and condos now have restrictions about dogs — either putting a limit on the size, the breed, or go to the extreme of “no dogs allowed.” There are retirement homes, again with their own individual policies regarding pets. Any scaling down in your living situation requires that you are told and understand all such stipulations when house hunting. There are also the situations such as assisted living places, nursing homes, and hospices where therapy dogs with their trainers may visit the residents, but privately owned dogs are not allowed as pets.

It doesn’t have to be a physical disaster that necessitates a move. Simply a change of jobs, with or without the need to move to another state, or these days even another country, can mean the future of your dog must also be considered.

Recently we discussed the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen testing, the CGC title award earned, and what it proves to the world about your super-nice dog. Well, if for any of the above reasons you must give up ownership of a dog with those outstanding CGC credentials, rest assured most of your worries (and those of the dog) are over. Lucky you, and Rufus, if you have a good friend or relative who would be pleased to take him into their home; better still if they are well acquainted. If that’s not possible, and if Rufus is a purebred, then the first contact to make is with his breeder or his breed’s rescue group. Your next step is to write out every single thing you can think of that involves your daily life with Rufus so the next owner will be able to make the change go as smoothly as possible for the dog in his new home.

Oh, and back to the beginning — that bigger house, the one with a huge fenced-in yard for Rufus? Go for it!

Until next time — BE GOOD!

—Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.