The great dog-off

This past week we had two dogs stay with us on two separate nights as a way to find out which one would be the best match for our family. Pup Idol. Dogvivor. The Bark-chelor. House of Paws. You get the idea. It was a bit of a surreal speed dating experience but super valuable, and I recommend it for any aspiring dog owners.

Ever since we had to leave our lovely Rubee behind in Scotland (who, by the way, is with a beautiful family living her best life in the Scottish Highlands, so don’t feel bad for her) we knew we would one day want to invite another furry friend into our family. Fast forward to the present, and we find ourselves with a window between guests and before school starts where we are settled in our new locale and looking at other dog owners with a bit of envy. Now seems like as good a time as any, so we’re doing it.

Here’s what we decided…

First, we always wanted to adopt a rescued animal from a shelter. There are so many dogs that need homes, and our last dog was a rescue (and amazing), so this wasn’t even a question. I would argue that there is no more risk of getting a “bad seed” from a shelter than from a breeder. I’ve seen firsthand horror stories of dogs that have massive behavior issues who come from breeders and shelters alike. You run the risk either way and, unless you are on the dog show circuit, why not save an animal who already needs a home?

Second, after we picked a rescue shelter and started working with them, we met many dogs. After narrowing things down a bit with some short visits (i.e., seeing the dogs at adoption events and spending time with them) we wanted to see how they’d do in a real-world experience in our house, so we arranged for the current foster parents to let their foster pets spend the night with us.

Finally, we arranged the days for the dogs to stay over the same week, with a day in between each. We tried to do the same things with each and spent basically the exact amount of time with each. Each dog spent a full day/night with us. We took them on walks. We took them on some short errands in the car. We took them into public spaces. We left them alone for short amounts of time (1-2 hours) while we were elsewhere in our house. Of course, we also played and hung out with them a lot. We had fun.

Here are the dog finalists:

Both dogs slept through the night. They both had some potty training issues. They both were super affectionate and funny. In the end, the thing that sealed the deal is that one was slightly better in the car, on walks, and in public. It was so close though. We loved them both.

I wasn’t sure if this process was more hassle than it was worth, but we all had a blast with it. If there was one downside, it was that it was very difficult to decide which dog to choose. We would take both if we could. In the end, there could only be one winner.

And that winner is…