Iroh

I’m writing down some thoughts that I want to capture before I get a dog. My goal is to compare the expectations I have now, to the reality I’ll have in the future.

Daily Exercise

I’ll have two kinds of exercises that I’ll do with Iroh.

Primary Exercise

Primary Exercise has the main goal of tiring him out. Here is where his active heart rate will increase, hopefully to like a Z2-Z3 level. This dog will never get out of shape. :)

Park Day

I imagine the kinds of exercise I do will change. Instead of trying to do long runs, I’ll take Iroh to the park and play soccer, throw a frisbee/ball, or just run. I’ll bring weights to the park and do squats, push-ups, and crunches while Iroh explores the park on a long leash.

I’ll have a park go-bag with:

• water (two bottles)
• treats
• poop bags
• tug-of-war rope
• soccer ball
• frisbee
• park blanket
• long leash

Long Walk

There might be some days when we don’t go to the park. Instead, a long walk with an audio book will have to suffice. These long walks will be explicitly different than training walks or potty walks. We’ll add some little jogs while we’re on long walks. We’ll also be sure to take breaks to give Iroh time to rest and sniff.

Our total travel time will be 2-4 miles.

Training Adventure

On our training adventures, we’ll walk to a park. On the way there, I’ll have Iroh practice walking by my side and not pulling. We’ll walk slowly to give Iroh time to learn what that means. While we’re at the park, we may not be running around. We’ll be training recall on a long leash with a goal of learning to go off leash. I’ve read that no more than 10% of the dogs food should be treats. During Training Adventures, I’ll bring enough food for a full meal and use that to train. For this reason, we can’t be running around a lot. I don’t want him to throw up his food after.

Secondary Exercise

Secondary Exercise, unlike primary exercise, won’t have the explicit goal of physical activity. The goal is to get outside a second time so that he doesn’t get restless inside the house. This is a 5-15 minute excursion.

Block Walk

Walk around the block. Say hi to other dogs.

Financial Responsibility

I think I should set a budget for Iroh’s stuff. I’m afraid his toys, food, and health insurance could add up.

Toys

From watching Loki and Kisu play, I’ve learned that stuffed toys have a lower entertainment to dollar ratio. Cute things like avocado squishies don’t work as well as long tug of war ropes. The tug of war ropes also have the benefit of relationship building. This isn’t to say I won’t get the cute squishy toys, I just won’t over indulge.

Water bottles are also a good toy. They move around and are hard to bite. Loki and Kisu won’t hurt themselves playing with bottles.

Food

Regular dog food is like 50 dollars for a 30lb bag and a 30lb bag should last about 2 months. I’ll likely be spending more money on treats.

Health Insurance

For a $500 deductible and a 90% reimbursement after, it’ll cost $50 dollars a month for a healthy dog. When the dog gets older, it’ll be more expensive. Progressive has a pretty good plan for this. Coverage is unlimited at Progressive. Some others have an upper limit. Like they’ll only cover up to $4,000 or something like that.

Total

• $25 for dog food a month
• $30 for dog treats a month
• $50 for health insurance a month
• $15 for dog toys, just one per month at most.

$120 per month seems a little low. We’ll see what actually happens.