Show off your pets thread

[Stephen W.]

You may recall I posted about the wife's two little dogs (well after the loss of one) last August. Here's that post:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...&postcount=851


Well, she's been dropping hints about getting another dog since before Thanksgiving, (the Canadian one) which I've been ignoring. Even had a couple lined up and I said NO! The old boy will be 15 this April and we know he won't see 16. So, at some point you have to say: No more pets!
(Or so I thought...)
Oh, she was sneaky and I fell for it. She asked about my favourite breeds and I told her all of them. However my very first dog was a dark red Spaniel. In fact it was the neighbours dog who adopted me when I was born. I might have mentioned that we'd never had a spaniel in almost 47 years of marriage.
This past Sunday I drove her to a kennel west of Ottawa, (about 3 1/2 hours in good weather) in a snow storm to get her newest dog. I had to pick it from the litter and I had to name it. Turns out she bought her for me as an early Valentine's present.
She's a 3 1/2 month old purebred English Cocker Spaniel named; My Precious Valentine. We call her Precious. (Sorry for the lousy phone photos)

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

(Sorry for the lousy phone photos)

My only question is why you have a picture of Willie Nelson with your dog?

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

My only question is why you have a picture of Willie Nelson with your dog?

I wish...
My guitar has more strings and less wear than Willie's!

[Sapphireho]

My two guard dogs.

[Sapphireho]

Here are a couple more. The second one is cute. Ochi is trying to nap in his crate, and Princess is patiently waiting for him to finish so they can play.

[dpfarr]

My friend turned 1 recently.

[IceFyre13th]

Originally Posted by dpfarr

My friend turned 1 recently.

Whats the name.........Bud, wise or errr?

[JD001]

Originally Posted by dpfarr

My friend turned 1 recently.

FIFY "My friend turned Hak-one recently".

[Sapphireho]

A couple minutes of peace and quiet to eat my tostada.

[spike021]

Considering once I've settled into my new apartment that I may try adopting a sheltered dog.

Anybody ever adopt rather than just buying from a breeder? I know to look out for the right temperament and personality, etc. But just curious to hear about experiences with this.

I'd say I'll probably check rescues specifically first, like maybe for a Golden Retriever or similar.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by spike021

Considering once I've settled into my new apartment that I may try adopting a sheltered dog.

Anybody ever adopt rather than just buying from a breeder? I know to look out for the right temperament and personality, etc. But just curious to hear about experiences with this.

I'd say I'll probably check rescues specifically first, like maybe for a Golden Retriever or similar.

Adopting an adult rescue dog is a crap shoot. You may get one that is fine or you can end up with one that is so psychologically damaged that there is little to no hope of turning it around. They can usually recover from any physical abuse but some just can not be saved from the mental trauma.
We had a couple over the years.
One was a year old beagle that could NOT be left alone for more than a few minutes. Once he realized there was nobody near bye he would start to scream and would not stop until somebody showed up. If you have ever heard a beagle scream you would understand how bad that was. There was nothing we could do to correct this and after a month of neighbours pounding on the door we ended up giving him to a retired woman that never left her home. He was fine there but could never have gone to a "normal" family.
The other was a badly abused 6 year old poodle cross. She was great with women and children but was pathologically terrified of men. We had her for about 5 years and she still cowered and pissed herself anytime any man, including me, came near her. She was so stressed by any change that she would lick her back until the flesh was raw.

Not trying to discourage you but I always see these before and after rescue stories that are all rainbows and butterflies and I know that they are probably not telling everything or are the exceptions and not the rule. Be very sure you know what you are getting into!

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by spike021

Considering once I've settled into my new apartment that I may try adopting a sheltered dog.

Anybody ever adopt rather than just buying from a breeder? I know to look out for the right temperament and personality, etc. But just curious to hear about experiences with this.

I'd say I'll probably check rescues specifically first, like maybe for a Golden Retriever or similar.

I will be doing the same. What you need to do is go to a rescue, talk to them about your living situation and your lifestyle, and visit and spend some time with some different dogs to make sure they work out for you. As Tcoat said, some of them are too "damaged" and need more care then others. Some are fine and just have some quirks. Sometimes those don't show up till later on though. My aunt volunteers at a rescue and fosters or adopts special needs dogs. If you are at all hesitant about one with an issue, it is best to let someone who can provide the full care it needs adopt it.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by spike021

Considering once I've settled into my new apartment that I may try adopting a sheltered dog.

Anybody ever adopt rather than just buying from a breeder? I know to look out for the right temperament and personality, etc. But just curious to hear about experiences with this.

I'd say I'll probably check rescues specifically first, like maybe for a Golden Retriever or similar.

Princess is the first dog I ever bought from a breeder, and her brother Ochi was a gift. Every other dog I ever had came from the pound. Go to the shelters at lunch and look around.

I heard retired racing greyhounds are great pets. They are super lay back, very docile, very affectionate, and love to kick back on the couch.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by spike021

Anybody ever adopt rather than just buying from a breeder?

I've only ever bought one dog directly as a puppy from a breeder. It was a cocker spaniel for a girlfriend's college graduation present.

Well, that's not exactly true, our first Newfoundland was from a breeder but she was two years old, and had won a couple of minor shows but not enough to be bred. She was an absolute sweetheart though.

Most my other dogs (I've probably had 20 in my lifetime) came either from friends that had litters usually from a fence jumping father, or I adopted an adult dog from someone that had to give them up because of a family situation not involving the dog. I'd say about 50% were mixed breeds.

As long as you observe them, hang out with them a bit, you can usually tell pretty quick what type of dog you have, particularly with adult dogs.

I've only had one failure. It was similar to @Tcoat where the female dog could not be alone with a human male. No idea why but she was the sweetest short-haired collie mix as long as there were women around, but anytime I was alone with her, it was like she was literally plotting my death. She would growl, bare her teeth and stalk me. As soon as MomHawk entered the scene it completely stopped, and she would even cuddle up with me.

She lasted a weekend because I couldn't deal with it, and we had 3 young sons at the time so it concerned me.