Choosing a dog can be challenging at best. There are so many different reasons you may want one, you may want a rescue, or a mixed breed, or even a pure bred also. There is no real right or wrong way to choosing a dog. There is a lot to think about in terms of exercise or activity level, maybe even dietary needs too. Whatever the reason there are many, for us it was a bit more personal. Maybe you are picking the same way your family did, or a dog you always admired. Regardless of reason here is how we choose our Sheldon!

Growing up my partner never had any pets. Myself, we had a dog when we had moved into our house and she was our family dog. There was one thing we both knew was that we wanted a pet. At the time, we had already had a cat. Now, don’t get me wrong, our cat is awesome. He is super chill and relaxed. He never hissed or did anything bad except when he was a kitten and would sometimes chew on cords. It will be also noted that as out dog was a puppy he did like to test the cat A LOT. But even still there was not a whole lot happening til now that they are adults and they can tease one another and that is funny to watch can be annoying with them chasing each other around and around.

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We both decided that when I moved in that we would get a pet. Like a dog that we can walk and run around the yard with, and do whatever else. We wanted to have one that could stay with us for the longest of times and become part of the family. We are not people who believe in getting rid of a pet when they become an inconvenience. This was going to be a forever thing. Or at least until you know..

You may be wondering, What kind of dog is a duck toller? In long form, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a medium dog that is similar to a golden retriever. They have a long coat which does need to be groomed in some sense. Either professionally or brushed regularly by you, the owner. They are hunting dogs and instinctively retrieve animals that hunters shoot, mainly a duck, and bring it back to the hunter. They are high energy and excitable and they also whine a lot too. The health of a duck toller is relatively low key as compared to other dogs which may have a higher need medically. Aside from their annual check ups and vaccines for different diseases.

Growing up my grandparents had a few duck tollers. I only knew of one named Princess. She was a bit of a grouch and was deaf by the time she crossed over the rainbow bridge however as kids, she was great. She was a dog that never really cared for us in the sense that she wasn’t defensive, she never attacked, she was a fun dog to be around. I spent a lot of my time growing up at my grandparents. We would bring Princess camping with us and she would sit in the back of my Grandfathers truck with me from campground to house and back again. Being around her so much really made me feel like she was a great breed to have. One of the big things for my partner and I was eventually, we knew we would like to have children (Surprise, we now have 2!) and getting a dog for the family and having them typically be great with children was a huge things for us when looking at different breeds.

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As you are aware I am sure, among other reasons, a lot of people get dogs as a companion. They really do become part of the family and we are no exception here. Essentially having a dog, from a puppy even, is similar to having a baby in many ways. You have to train them, take them out, exercise them. There is far more to raising a dog instead of just looking cute as a puppy.

For us, one of the big reasons that we did not want to get a rescue dog was at the time we were both working a lot. It worked out great so that I was home the times that my partner was working and vice versa. However at the end of the day we understand that rescues can need a lot of attention to help train them or teach them that you are safe and they are in a safe space also too. If people choose to get a rescue that is their choice however for our family we figured the best route would be a puppy since we could train it to whatever needs we wanted. We also know that kids can be a bit rough with pets and knowing our dog would be older by the time we had kids we did not want to risk something happening if maybe the rescue was abuse or tormented by children in a previous home.

Regardless of the reason you choose to pick the pet that you have, this was ours. We would love to have another duck toller however I am hoping we will have a fully fenced in back yard first so that the dogs can just run and run and run around and not worry about getting them lost in the woods or stolen.