Skye Terriers       

As time goes by, I find that there is a real correlation between how well we learn life's lessons and how painful, expensive, or embarrassing they are.  For instance, driving to a local Dog Show (90 miles 1 way) to drop off the dog to be shown the next day and forgetting the dog.  Or making plane reservations for a show in New York for the wrong weekend.  Many of the people who are now reading this article feel better because they have not done either of these things.  You can believe I learned some very valuable (and costly and embarrassing) lessons.

Now, there is a another lesson which many times can only be learned by making some mistakes and that is the REAL cost of purchasing a puppy.  As you trundle home with you little bundle of love which has already begun to be a part of your heart, you have already invested the price of the pup as well as a fair amount for food, bowls, leashes, etc. Your breeder can give you a good idea of what is needed even before you bring the puppy home. Ask questions and be prepared !! This will make the adjustment  much easier on you and the pup.

The hidden costs that I am talking about are the ones that you don't consider until your lovely little pup points them out and it is too late.

Realize as puppies grow and their teeth come in that they will want to chew. The bigger the breed the more they chew. Since a skye is a BIG dog on SHORT legs you must realize that they will do a LOT of chewing as they grow.  Do not get them little chew toys and rawhides or use items at home such as socks. They not only chew them up VERY quickly, but they can actually be dangerous if they get them soft and lodged in their throat.  Try and find things to chew on that will last and will come apart in small enough pieces so that they can be easily swallowed without being harmful. Look for rawhides that are large such as large rawhide circles where they have to eat around them or large long rolls of rawhide the do not have knots on the end.  They tend to get the knots off of the bones and then soften them and swallow them.

If you do not provide something for them to chew they will choose their own "chew toy".  This may or may not be something to you liking. A lot of the chewing problems can be taken care of by keeping the puppy under supervision and not giving them the run of the house until they can be trusted, although this timing is hard to determine. There seems to be a little glint that comes into their eye and if you miss it you had better hope that you have some additional funds in savings for repair of home and hearth and whatever else they have taken a fancy or dislike to. A long time breeder tells of the time a young skye female who took a dislike to a sofa sleeper and was able to totally disassemble it in under 30 min.

You will swear that you only left the room for a minute and perhaps you did, but they are very inventive. A box of candy on top of a shelf?  Not so hard to get and you will find yourself wondering what the noise is as they chew up the candy and those little paper cups. A large ham on top of a table? Short legs are no problem. Our skyes are nothing if not smart.  You simply grab hold of the table cloth and pull it off. Nothing could be easier. The big problem is the sleepless night as you wait for you sick skye to recover.

Many a breeder or new owner has been lulled into a sense of well-being by a well mannered skye, but it will happen to you if you let up your guard.  A litter of skye pups at a friends home gave them a real good reason to remodel their kitchen. They kept the pups there in a nice exercise pen in their kitchen so that they could keep a eye on them round the clock, but during the short periods of time when they were not under supervision (they were supposed to be sleeping) they managed to remove the molding around the floor and most of the flooring in their pen. It is amazing the speed with which they can work.

As I brought home my first skye puppy I was thrilled to have her a part of my "family".  She was so sweet that I did not give it a second thought when I left her loose in the basement playroom which had been newly remodeled with nice blue and white linoleum.  My skye decided that HER chew toy would be the linoleum and I returned to find 3 LARGE holes in it. On the edge? NO, right in the middle of the room. No way to cover these spots with a chair. 

This is why a crate can be a lifesaver (or room saver).  My little skye baby can relax and I can come home knowing that the next pay check will not have to go for new flooring, curtains, or to replace furniture.  When shopping for a crate remember that you are buying a "den" and not an apartment. It should be roomy enough for comfort  but too roomy and they may feel as if it is a 2 room condo and the second room is the bathroom.  A "den" should be a place where they can rest and feel secure. It is a good tool to use if the atmosphere around them gets too hectic.

Do not put a lot of money into those beautiful beds for your little one until they have grown out of this phase somewhere in their second or third year.  No I'm not kidding. Use old bedspreads, old towels, etc. You can use pillows, but you would be amazing the speed with which they can become just an amazing amount of small pieces of stuffing.  Remember that their motto is "Foam is Fun".  After they have passed the test and made it through at least 3 months without destroying anything, you can take the chance on purchasing the lovely plaid dog bed you have had your eye on.

The hidden costs also can be a real surprise.  Many skyes love to chew and rip up paper.  I think that they learn this as puppies with all of the paper in their pen. I used to take some newspaper and crumble it into a ball and the pups had a great time with it.  However it does give them a real love of tearing up paper, kleenex, and a special favorite, toilet paper.  It is really hard to reprimand a cute little skye pup as they come racing out of the bathroom with the end of the roll in their mouth and a long streamer of paper behind them. The laughter takes something away from the lesson you are trying to teach them.  One good friend tells of the time her paper chewing skye helped himself to an envelope from her purse. The only problem was that the envelope contained her bank deposit with five $100.00 bills.  She returned to find a grinning skye pup with pieces ( small pieces ) of  $100.00 bills stuck to his face.  Luckily after a morning of taping together small pieces the bank did accept all five bills.

You can't watch your pup all the time. Be prepared to be surprised as you enjoy their growing up years and have a little extra cash stashed away.  They do eventually grow out of this stage (thankfully) and you can look back on it with a good deal of laughter and love.