Is it instant??

Do you instantly love your new puppy,kitten,when you first get it,or does it take time to build up a bond??

well milo arrived yesterday and i loved him before he got here

I fell in love instantly with Abby when I picked her up she was legs and ears.
Mary

It is instant for me....I love everyone elses animals too....

I think its instant from the first meeting

If you have lost a much loved companion that you have shared your life with for many years it can take a while to bond with a new puppy/kitten. There are inevitable feelings of guilt that you are somehow trying to 'replace' the irreplacable, and it may be that you will expect too much of the newcomer and be disappointed that it does not have exactly the same reactions & behaviours as you came to expect from the lost one. It is important that we realize that they are all individuals, and that the new pup/kit does not 'replace' the oldie, but that we do honour to the memory of the departed one by choosing to bring a new life into our homes.

i can imagine thats very true shadow.
I think we have to think through what we mean by 'love'. Puppies and children (apparently) are supposed to look cute and helpless by nature, so that elders will want to nurture and take care of them (i learnt this in biology). so when we 'love' them, its a different sort of love to that of a dog we have had for years.... its why i 'love' puppies, but wouldnt swap any of my grown dogs for one!

also i have met people who sdly got a pup, and then found out it had a life threatening problem (heart murmur etc). they brought it back to the breeder some days later... or in extreme cases had it put down. i dont think any of us woud or could do that to a dog we had a bond with? we would spend the money, or take the time to work through the problem.... of course this isnt true for everyone, i am sure some people would keep the pup; they couldnt bare to part with it even after 2 days, everyone is different.

I loved Luna from the moment I layed eyes on her. Eventhough she was not the pup I was meant to have originally.

I loved Oliver the sec I saw him... And the same with my other now lost kitties

loved mine before i even saw them properly..had seen pics of them on the net , then fell straight in love when i went to view them all

i loved both the girls i bought in .... pippa was sooo wanted after loosing Whitney and i couldn't sleep the night before she arrived ...both Sophie and India it's a different kind of love as they were born here a kind of protection love if any one knoews what i mean ........