| One of the great joys of sharing your life with a | | | | life. |
| dog is the fact that they have the potential to | | | | She had also chosen to adopt a special needs |
| act as ambassadors for making new friends and | | | | puppy that, due to a medical condition, would |
| acquaintances. People are far more likely to strike | | | | need to have a carefully controlled and somewhat |
| up a conversation with you when you are with a | | | | limited exercise routine for the next 6-12 months. |
| dog. On the down side, people are also likely to | | | | The rescue group was surely thrilled to have |
| make comments and offer advice without | | | | found a woman who was a stay-at-home writer, |
| solicitation. | | | | with loads of time to provide for this dog's special |
| I recently had a third lesson with a lovely woman | | | | needs care. They also rightly assumed that this |
| who had adopted a five-month-old Newfoundland | | | | dog would do well in a city environment. I assured |
| puppy from a rescue group. A few minutes into | | | | her that she had nothing to feel guilty about. |
| the lesson, I realized that her eyes were welling | | | | Contrary to what some people suggest, large |
| up with tears. She explained that she was feeling | | | | dogs can be superb apartment dwellers. In fact, in |
| terrible guilt about her puppy. It seems that | | | | many cases, more so than some smaller dogs |
| someone had stopped her on the street to let | | | | who may be highly active and vocal. While the |
| her know how horrible they thought it was that | | | | size of your living quarters is of some concern, it |
| she had such a large dog in the city. I assured her | | | | is far more important to be sure you can provide |
| that her puppy was lucky to have been adopted | | | | a particular dog with the exercise, training and |
| by her. Not only was she being diligent about his | | | | socialization required. With that said, spending time |
| education and socialization but, she had carefully | | | | (ideally over the course of a number of visits on |
| chosen a pup with a low-key nature whose | | | | different days) with an individual dog will give you |
| activity level was relatively low, especially | | | | some idea of their activity level and suitability for |
| compared to many smaller dogs. It seemed this | | | | your family. |
| pup was superbly suited to apartment and city | | | | |