Help me decide, get a pup now, or wait for a better moment?
Hi, I have introduced myself in this thread and would like to get the opinion of other forum members on my situation.
I have wanted a JA for over 2 years now and if it wasn't for a few doubts of me and my gf we'd allready have one. I've read everything about Akita's and dogs back and forth, I had my own dog while living with my parents and I have been a dog person in general all my life.
So here's my situation:
- I don't have a fulltime job yet: I am a student and will be a bachelor of commerce within 1,5 years. I intend to start a business, to find a job close to home or to work from home.
- My gf has a fulltime job but intends to go back to school next year for a masters in marketing(duration: 2 years).
- I live in a 39sqftm2 home with my gf and two cats. Check out the drawing here.
- I live on the edge of our city but with plenty of green around. check it out here.
Our doubts:
- Money is tight because of education costs.
- Uncertain future, we have to move within two years.
- We don't know how much time we'll have for a dog when we'll both have jobs.
- My house is really really tiny!!
On the other hand, we will have plenty of time to raise the pup for at least the next two years. I intend to work from home as much as possible in the future. And frankly...I just do not WANT to wait.
I think the best way to go is move to a bigger house asap and then get a pup, although that might be difficult in these times without creating major debts.
What should we do, any advice on the situation? Because all I have been doing is reading, watching and talking about akita's for the past 2 years... I think it's time for the real deal
I have wanted a JA for over 2 years now and if it wasn't for a few doubts of me and my gf we'd allready have one. I've read everything about Akita's and dogs back and forth, I had my own dog while living with my parents and I have been a dog person in general all my life.
So here's my situation:
- I don't have a fulltime job yet: I am a student and will be a bachelor of commerce within 1,5 years. I intend to start a business, to find a job close to home or to work from home.
- My gf has a fulltime job but intends to go back to school next year for a masters in marketing(duration: 2 years).
- I live in a 39
- I live on the edge of our city but with plenty of green around. check it out here.
Our doubts:
- Money is tight because of education costs.
- Uncertain future, we have to move within two years.
- We don't know how much time we'll have for a dog when we'll both have jobs.
- My house is really really tiny!!
On the other hand, we will have plenty of time to raise the pup for at least the next two years. I intend to work from home as much as possible in the future. And frankly...I just do not WANT to wait.
I think the best way to go is move to a bigger house asap and then get a pup, although that might be difficult in these times without creating major debts.
What should we do, any advice on the situation? Because all I have been doing is reading, watching and talking about akita's for the past 2 years... I think it's time for the real deal
Comments
And so long you and your GF have a plan when your both are in job, with how to exercise the dog before and after, then it's not a problem.
you don't need the biggest house, you can't walk / exercise the dog inside, just exercise head/brain with learning some tricks, brain exercise play and things like that.
But i don't know how the situation on money and animal in your country!
But i don't have a lot of money, but i have assurance on my dog's, i have one Kai and one Shiba and planning to get another Kai this year.
so if you can put a thiny amount of money every month / week you will have in case of situation where you need it
So i think you should do it now!
(i'm sorry for the bad English, but i hope it's good enough
- And be sure you get a puppy from healthy lines
1) you're house is 39 square feet. that isn't even room for one person. Akita's don't need a lot of space, but asking a puppy to share 39 square feet with two people and two cats is too much to ask. If you get an akita anything like mine (JA), the puppy (yes, puppy), is going to want its personal space and time alone. That wont happen in such small living quarters.
2) You're going to school. A full grown akita can handle you being gone for 8 hours a day. A puppy.... unfortunately not. I understand that maybe between the two of yall, the puppy would never be alone for 4 hours or more, but then that brings me back to reason number 1 you shouldn't get a puppy at this point in time.
3) Money is tight because of education costs. A Japanese Akita is going to cost about 2000, give or take 500. Then I would tack on about another 500-1000 dollars of raising it in the first 3-4 months of its life. Of course, save up, (that is what i did for my first akita, but i waiting until i was done with college....) but I totally feel ya on the education cost thing. I'm paying my way through college again at the moment, of which, i wouldn't be able to add another puppy yet, but I have plans to in the future, but not at this very point in time.
I am ALWAYS going to say to wait until the better option comes along. ALWAYS. You're going to be a great owner, I can tell. You've asked all the right questions and you're concerned about the happiness of the dog. But my recommendation is going to be to wait. I absolutly understand youre desire, but you got to put your "wants" aside and think about what is best for the puppy. Just wait until you finish college
I'm not really sure what your degree entails, but my first degree was a photography degree. So I wasn't able to be home a lot because I was off doing photoshoots. However, I am now getting a second degree that requires nothing else but a computer, so I can have time to be with the puppy I'm going to get later this year-ish.
Just some food for thought for how to cope with a puppy AND collage!
I got my adult kai two years aftercollege while working a full time job in between graduate school semesters. I had the money thanks to school (grant) and the time as I write my own work schedule (40 hrs at a job and 9 physically in class though) and every moment of my free time is given to her plus I can always read with one hand and pet with the other. Read at the dog park etc...
That being said I share a 1200 square foot apartment with a friend who checks on her periodically let's her out of my room when she is able to pay attention to what Sachi is up to so if work gets me with an extra hour I know Sachi isn't extra lonely or anything (she does not walk or feed her however).
Sachi has already had over 700$ in vet bills, I've had her two months, had to change diets as she started a hunger protest on her kibble and suckered me with those big eyes with toys and special treats, we haven't even started classes yet because of a schedule conflict and depending on how the trainer can swing it, it will be 10-20$ a class. Dogs are expensive and you need a decent reserve in my opinion which is why I waited so long (2.5 years) before taking the plunge of adopting a dog.
I would wait, and I agree with all the things that cdenney and jellyfart said. However, there is always the thing of... do you want to wait forever? Because for me, there probably never will be a perfect time for a dog. But I intend someday on getting another one anyway, because I do love them and I can't imagine never having another one.
But in my case, I may be waiting 5 to 10 years or more. Which is sad, and I just hope my situation before then is either more stable/better than expected for having a dog, or at least good enough for a cat (or a hedgehog! I kinda want a hedgehog. Or perhaps a pair of rats). The expense is something to consider, for sure, and although obviously not all dogs are going to end up with appalling vet bills in the first year of their lives, you can't really bet on being lucky even with buying from a good breeder.
I've never understood the people who get a puppy as an undergrad when they have no post-undergrad plan whatsoever. I knew one girl who got a JRT halfway through her junior year, but had no subsequent plan. She very nearly had to place him when she graduated, but managed to find both a job and an apartment that would allow her to keep him at the last minute. And she spent most of what money she did have on treating a variety of problems that came up (mostly with his kidneys) within the first 18 months she had him.
The only other thing I can think of is to try to dogsit for someone for a while or find a short-term foster to see how you feel about the reality of it... but I'm not sure if/how that would work (obviously wouldn't be likely to be an Akita, but... just a dog is better than nothing to see how you feel about it, perhaps).
you should wait little until your education ends. and see if you still want akita.
They are not indoor dogs. has to be in and out all day and I dont' recommend raise Akita inside of tiny room for whole day.
On the diagram it says the place is 420sqft.
I think everyone covered everything else.
39 square meters, sorry my bad! But still, you're right. it IS very small.
Also true, I do live 5 minutes from school though. And I do a lot of the work at home so that wouldn't be a problem for now. But as you said, my house is still small.
3 Got that covered, I knew this and saved up for the right moment
Thanks for your advice jellyfart! (weird name by the way! haha)
That's what pet insurance is for!
There really is great advice in here, I hate and love you guys at the samen time! I guess I was hoping you'd say I shouldn't wait although deep down I knew it would be the better choice..
Thanks peeps!
Everyone else... your opinions are still very welcome!
I mean, might as well. You aren't in the best position right now, but in the foreseeable future you will be able to have a dog, so why not do some shopping in the meantime and maybe go ahead and put yourself on a wait list. You're probably going to have to wait quit a while anyway if on a wait list for a good dog from a good breeder.
(this is pretty much my exact situation 2 years ago. i wasn't done with college, but and I quickly figured out that if i was to get a puppy from the kennel I wanted, or anywhere in the states for that matter, I would have to wait a year, and i was going to graduate in a year, so might as well! And now I have Toki)
You said you were in the netherlands, so you'll be looking at a lot of the european stock. I would start with this list from @poeticdragon's kennel website. Breeders like it when you look ahead of time and are willing to wait for the right puppy for the right time. If you can, visit them. Any breeder worth it will def let you drop by.
http://www.kaijukennels.com/resources/#kennels
oh. and of course. you should also check out her kennel, bahaha
There are benefits to getting a dog while you are in school, if you have a flexible schedule, simply because of that flexible schedule and getting to be home with the puppy. However, there are also so many variables after school, and that's probably why I would add my thoughts to the "wait" school. You don't know what you'll both be doing after school--you may be working too much. There's also the possibility of moving, which could be good (more space) but might be more difficult with a dog. So, I'd wait til you had a more clear plan.
We've seen a lot of people on the Shiba forum get puppies while in school, then when their life changes after school, give them up, so I do tend to say wait because of seeing so much of that. Of course, there are also plenty of students who do just fine with dogs.
Only you know, really, what will work best for you. But that fact that you're seriously considering this is great!
You don't have the time, the means (financially), resources nor the proper space to care for a Japanese Akita.
You have your whole life ahead of you tto be a dog owner. Focus on one thing at a time. Finish your school, get a job, become stable in your life -THEN- get a dog.
Because - WHAT IF: something bad happens, you get sick, you can't work, you can't pay for school, you can't get a good paying job to pay and take care of your dog's needs. So many people get dogs when they're not ready because they " just don't want to WAIT" . That is upsetting when I hear that; - if you can't provide for the dog properly, don't do it. It's not fair for the dog.
Sorry for being so harsh.
I ended up eating through my savings. I thought I had enough saved up, but it turns out I didn't take everything into account. All of my friends with dogs that I thought I would be able to socialize him with disappeared. When it came time to move, it was hell trying to find a new place to accommodate my pets. I can only imagine it would be harder with an Akita because they're larger, and the whole BSL thing in some areas.
The only benefit is that I had slightly more time to dedicate to raising a puppy than I do now working full time.
It makes my traveling limited though. I'm about to go to New York and have to rely on my parents to watch the fur babies. I might get accepted to go to Turkey and would need their help too. I am applying to a few places in New York City. If I get the job, it'll be really cramped in my apartment... unless I get the job at Google... Then I can take my dogs with me to work ^.^
Why not do the same thing?
I really appreciate the input from all of you! However, I see some of you supporting hunting with dogs.. How can you advice me on what is and what isn't good for the wellbeing of my dog while you think hunting with dogs is fun?!
I apologize and will focus on finding the right breeder for me. Thanks again people!
When you finally welcome your puppy/dog home, don't be surprised if it decides to hunt on its own-- my shiba killed a mouse in the city park while walking on leash, eviscerating the poor thing. To me, his hunting instinct is more like pest control.
These days he's too old and lazy to go after the squirrels in the backyard who are damaging the landscaping...
My JA pup is less coordinate and agile like the shiba, she kind of lumbers on, I don't have high hopes of her hunting rodents like a cat/shiba, though we are planning on enrolling her in nose work until she's old enough to participate in agility or carting (though given her midget size, carting might be a stretch):
http://www.k9nosework.com/
Given the background of most NK, I consider those who hunt responsibly as contributing in no small part to breed preservation. If no one wanted to hunt with these dogs I doubt that they would have survived to this day and age or would be currently crippled by lack of genetic diversity (a concern that still looms over some of the breeds regardless).