Hi to everyone here. My first post is going to be a bit different from most people's, as I can't describe my lab because I don't (yet, I hope) have one. I had various dogs throughout my childhood and teenage years, but in my subsequent working life I always felt that my absence from home every day meant that it would be wrong of me to have a dog, as it would be left alone for long hours.
A few months ago I was able to negotiate a good early retirement deal, so am now returning to my long-cherished ambition to get a dog, and specifically a lab. I'm in my early 50s, physically fit (though one of my reasons for wanting a dog is because I know I don't take as much exercise as I should and I want something to give me a push!), live in a good-sized detached house with a decent garden in a rural area with plenty of access to open spaces, and I'm prepared to give raising a dog as much time as it needs. The problem is that I need to persuade my wife that this is a good idea, and I need help in coming up with persuasive reasons!
My wife has never had a pet of any kind, and indeed had an unfortunate incident at the age of 2 when she was flattened by a well-meaning but over-exuberant dog. As a result she has been left instinctively wary of them. She has been very good about my dog fixation, but whenever we talk about the fact that all the reasons why we shouldn't get a dog in the past have now disappeared she tends to see only the negative aspects - the disruption a puppy would cause (we've agreed that if we get one at all we'd want a puppy), the delights of housetraining, the constraints on our freedom to go off for a weekend at the drop of a hat, etc. I'm totally convinced that once she gets a puppy she'll fall in love with it and that this will outweigh her doubts and all the downside. She in turn accepts this, but is trying to approach the whole issue objectively.
So what I need is help in coming up with persuasive arguments. Please give me as many as you can! Thanks.
A few months ago I was able to negotiate a good early retirement deal, so am now returning to my long-cherished ambition to get a dog, and specifically a lab. I'm in my early 50s, physically fit (though one of my reasons for wanting a dog is because I know I don't take as much exercise as I should and I want something to give me a push!), live in a good-sized detached house with a decent garden in a rural area with plenty of access to open spaces, and I'm prepared to give raising a dog as much time as it needs. The problem is that I need to persuade my wife that this is a good idea, and I need help in coming up with persuasive reasons!
My wife has never had a pet of any kind, and indeed had an unfortunate incident at the age of 2 when she was flattened by a well-meaning but over-exuberant dog. As a result she has been left instinctively wary of them. She has been very good about my dog fixation, but whenever we talk about the fact that all the reasons why we shouldn't get a dog in the past have now disappeared she tends to see only the negative aspects - the disruption a puppy would cause (we've agreed that if we get one at all we'd want a puppy), the delights of housetraining, the constraints on our freedom to go off for a weekend at the drop of a hat, etc. I'm totally convinced that once she gets a puppy she'll fall in love with it and that this will outweigh her doubts and all the downside. She in turn accepts this, but is trying to approach the whole issue objectively.
So what I need is help in coming up with persuasive arguments. Please give me as many as you can! Thanks.
. Barley is now nearly 6 weeks old, and will be joining us at the end of next week. Excited and scared (more the former than the latter)!
