Question for all the dog lovers out there

[Pea-n-Me]

I've always had German Shepherds - six of them, since I was little. I love the breed. Not having one would be like missing my right arm. Owning one in today's world is a challenge, though. We have kids ourselves and lots of kids around us so safety and liability are definite concerns. But we work hard at training and socialization, and don't get complacent when kids are around. Fortunately, ours adores them.

Basically, that's how we chose her as a puppy - my kids walked over to her pen and she showed a huge interest in them, wagging her tail and bummed when they left (I could tell, LOL, and was right, cause she's still exactly the same today - just wants to be with them).

A few years back, I tried to work with a local GSD rescue in both adopting and fostering, but again, having young kids in the home is a problem for that. I want to foster very much, but as much as I want to help, I have to think of the kids' safety as well. Some of these dogs have rough or unknown backgrounds. My own kids are old enough now, but our friends have kids that are younger and the rules are that if there are kids younger than 6yo who visit your home, you can't foster. So I will foster at some point when the time is right.

Good luck with your search.

 

[agentpleakley]

I'm a sucker for dogs (I was boo-hooing during Beverly Hills Chihuahua). I love them all.

Best dog I ever had was a white shepherd/husky mix -- I swear she was human. I miss her still

Right now -we have 4 (all but the baby are spayed/neutered -and the baby will be as soon as she is old enough):

2 shelties. One female, one male. The female is show quality and is addicted to lights. The male is my special baby. He has lots of birth defects. Instead of a regular tail, he has a piggy tail. He is alot smaller than my female.

1 golden retriever mixed (with just about everything - she has the jowls of a St. Bernard & the eyes of a bloodhound). She was a rescue dog -- some jerkwad left her tied to a tree on a deserted road with no food or water. This dog is a blessing from God. She is terrific and smart as the dickens.

And, the baby -- a soon to be 4 month old miniature dauchshund. I am going to be changing her name to No-No pretty soon. She is sooooo ornery. She is really like a baby. She will sit at your feet and cry until you pick her up. She also likes to sleep curled up in the tail of my golden mix.

I love them all.

 

[mickeymedic]

My family had a miniature schnauzer when I was growing up. Her name was Dolly. She was a sweet dog...but was very annoying around strangers - barking and growling. She loved the family, though.

When DH and I were first married and bought our house we decided we wanted a dog. It was winter time, so we decided to wait until spring. Well, in February we were at the mall and DH wanted to go into a pet store. And there we found a very awkward looking puppy - a german shepard and mystery hound mix - who had just been separated from her mother earlier that day. She wasn't the cutest thing in the world, but I fell in love with her instantly. Ginger has been the BEST dog ever. She is very obedient and sweet-tempered around those she knows. She tends to steer clear of people she doesn't know. But she doesn't growl at them...just runs to hide behind DH or me. She loves babies, though. When my neice was just learning to walk Ginger would get close enough to sniff her head, then when my neice would start to move Ginger would run over and jump into my lap - yes all 70 lbs of her...in my lap. She still thinks she is a 10lbs puppy.

About two years after we got Ginger, one of our co-workers was trying to find homes for a litter of pure-bred Siberian Husky puppies. That's how we ended up with Heidi. She was a problem child as a puppy...but has since grown out of that. She is a very lovey dog - loves to cuddle, be brushed, etc. As a puppy, though, we always said it was a good thing she was cute. Because if not, she would have ended up buried in one of her holes in the back yard.

I can't imagine a house without a Husky and a Hound (Ginger looks a lot more like a hound than a shepard.) I would definitely consider doing Husky rescue in the future. Huskies are such wonderful dogs - once they grow out of that puppy stage.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Grew up with a cockapoo, she lived for 18 years and was a great dog. Was totally attached to my mom but loved the rest of us too.

After I bought my own house, I adopted an English cocker spaniel purebred (was looking for a cockapoo to rescue but this guy was available first) from a no-kill organization called help for homeless pets. I've had him for 6 years and he's just the most cuddly guy ever and my buddy. Loves everyone he meets but doesn't like a lot of big dogs.

But, he is a purebred and has the cocker purebred problems. He developed arthritis in his hips which was diagnosed last Dec. He was on a med and did great for about a month and then ate something that blew into the backyard (I think because he was looking for grass to settle his stomach from the meds and figured he'd try whatever it was he ate).

Ugh, let's just say really bad problems after that including emergency vet trips and he wouldn't eat and would throw up anything he did eat until about April. He lost like half of his weight I think. Felt so bad for him. I finally figured out it was his arthritis meds that were bugging his stomach (don't know why the vet couldn't figure that out). I switched him to a different med in April/May and he's back to puppyhood, gained back all the weight and runs around like crazy.

I also have a flat coat retriever that's my brother's living with me (my brother does too but I hardly ever see him). Oh my...he's a love, thinks he's the size of a chihuahua but is 100 lbs. He's scared of a lot of things and hates being alone. My 35 lb cocker spaniel is the dominant one between the two. Not the smartest dog but a total comedian.

When my brother moves out (he will sometime, right?), I want to get a labradoodle or goldadoodle. I'd do a rescue again but with the health problems and expense I've had from my cocker, I think mixed breeds tend to be healthier and I want to have more control over the decision. Also, I've read that female dogs attach to one person and males attach to everyone and I think I agree after having both and would do a male again.

Jasper

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/260903470/

Tuxx

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/2809496444/

 

[PixiePop]

When I was growing up we always had miniature schnauzers.

As an adult, we have a jack russell and a boston terrier.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You know, I think one reason that I've never had the same breed of dog twice is that I don't think I could bear to have another dog that looked just like one I'd loved who passed away. I think I'd always be comparing the new dog to the old dog, KWIM? Does that come up at all for any of you who stick mostly with one breed?

Well, so far I've lost 5 of my Shepherds. The first two died in the hospital unexpectedly, and that was hard. But the last three my DH and I have had to put to sleep (the latter two being brother and sister who went within a short time of one another). All three of those times were awfully hard, but the worst was with my beautiful girl Kayla, who we had to unexpectedly PTS the same day I lost all my hair from chemotherapy - talk about bad timing. I sobbed for hours and hours that night. But no, it's never stopped me from getting another.

Yes, we do compare, but in a fun way. They all are unique in their own ways, yet similar because of their breed, and it's fun to see both the differences and similarities. We enjoy it. In fact, we decided to embrace the concept of their "carrying on" our tradition by giving them names that incorporate the last dog's name as their middle name, then ending with a name that translates to "friend". That way we feel a little less "guilty" and it helps us feel like they're all related.

 

[nataliela]

Awww- I love dog stories!!!! I too can talk about dogs forever!! People always call me out on my “dog talk”


Cocker spaniel mix- I was really young when we had this one. He was crazy, the vet put HIM on birth control hoping the hormones would calm him down-lol. We had to bring him to the pound when he bit our neighbor jumping the fence. My mom said that although he wouldn’t bite us, he was still rude by pulling on our clothes to pull us down.

Toy Poodle- Pure breed- We got her during a hurricane evacuation, One of my mom’s employees was leaving, and we were staying, so we decided to watch Minnie. Well 2 months after the storm, they never came back to get her or call about her, so we kept her. They did call about 6 months later???? But we told them she was ours now. I was 7 at the time and she HATED me…I still have scars on my fingers from her biting me while trying to pick her up. She loved my mom, dad, and grandmaw though. As we both got older we started to like each other. When I was in high school she started to sleep in my room with me. She had a large tumor on her brain and had to be put down. She was 14 and only ate dog food about 5 x in her life! It was the first time I ever saw my dad cry.

Choc. Lab mix- I found him wondering around in my front yard. My friend and I lured him in the backyard with chips and closed the gate behind him. When my parents got home, I told them I found this dog in the backyard!? To this day, my dad never questioned how the dog got in the backyard. When my dad walked out to go see him, he ran in the corner and growled…My dad knelt down and put his hand out and Mickey came to him. That was the only time he ever growled. The poor dog was so skinny. The vet said he would have been dead if he stayed another week on the street. His fur was soo sunburnt and he had a terrible heart worm infection. My dad paid for the treatments and said it cost much more than a purebred lab, but was so worth it. He was a great dog….I could go on forever about him. We put him down a year ago.

These were all at my parents house. They haven’t gotten over the loss of Mickey, so haven’t gotten a new dog yet…They will wait until a dog finds them like Minnie and Mickey did. They do have a cat that I adopted, but left for them because we knew Mickey wouldn’t be around for much longer, so the new dog will have to like cats!



Min. Schnauzer- My husband got him for me a few months before we got married. He is so much fun!!! I love this dog. I never thought I would want a schnauzer, but now I want 6 of them! Yes, I want a herd of min. schnauzers!!!! This was the first dog I ever paid for. He is very vocal, but not yappy. Very mischievous, but very loving. He is my avatar picture. We don’t have kids, but he is very good with them. He let a 6 month old pull on his beard and a 4 year old pick him up. He gets a little hyper at times, but usually calms down and just wants to sit by us. He is a seat stealer and a bed hog. He loves his toys, esp. a stuffed goose and is very attached to them. Last night he started tearing out the stuffing of another toy, so I threw it away…I could tell in his eyes that his heart sank-lol

Future dogs- I have a list of dogs I want – We aren’t ready this second for another one, but we are going to look around to adopt one.
Great Dane
Cocker Spaniel
Scottie
Mastiff (Any type)


Again…I love dogs- I could have made this post 2x as long…but I thought I would spare yall from my rambling!!!

 

[NMAmy]

Well, so far I've lost 5 of my Shepherds. The first two died in the hospital unexpectedly, and that was hard. But the last three my DH and I have had to put to sleep (the latter two being brother and sister who went within a short time of one another). All three of those times were awfully hard, but the worst was with my beautiful girl Kayla, who we had to unexpectedly PTS the same day I lost all my hair from chemotherapy - talk about bad timing. I sobbed for hours and hours that night. But no, it's never stopped me from getting another.

How heartbreaking for you.

Yes, we do compare, but in a fun way. They all are unique in their own ways, yet similar because of their breed, and it's fun to see both the differences and similarities. We enjoy it. In fact, we decided to embrace the concept of their "carrying on" our tradition by giving them names that incorporate the last dog's name as their middle name, then ending with a name that translates to "friend". That way we feel a little less "guilty" and it helps us feel like they're all related.

That's a nice tradition. I'm a big fan of shepherds, too. One of my dogs was a shepherd mix and she was wonderful.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

When I was growing up we had a black toy poodle. He had multiple health issues including epilepsy. But he was such a fun little dog.

My parents inherited my brother's pit bull when he joined the coast guard. He wasn't a bad dog but I never trusted him. My brother had not socialized him very well as a puppy and we couldn't have any strangers around him - he would get very aggressive. My parents finally had him put to sleep when we moved into town. He kept getting out of the yard and my Dad was worried about the neighborhood children getting bitten by him.

My dad bought a weimeraner when I was in high school. He was the goofy-est looking puppy but what a sweetheart. He just loved to be around people. They had him put down when he was 14. His hips just gave out and he could no longer get up and down.

Our Lab/Rott mix was a fun dog. Very smart but a little aggressive. We had to watch her around the boys when they were little. She was basically an outside dog and was fine unless they got too rough with her. She died at age 13 from tortion.

(see my siggy)
We currently have a purebred lab that has been the easiest dog to train that I've ever seen. My older DS and DH use her as to retreive ducks and geese when hunting and she is just awesome. She is such a love - we call her "Licky von Labrador" because you can't get within 10 feet of her without her licking you.

I bought my younger DS a german shepherd last fall. She is just a year old and hasn't lost that lanky teenager look yet. She has a different personality from the others that I've had (of course they are all different) but she is just darling. She can be intimidating but if she gets into trouble she runs for her crate and hides. She is so smart it is scary. I planted petunias in my flower boxes in front of the house. That same afternoon she carefully pulled out a blue one and left it in the front yard. I scolded her for it but she did it every day for about 3 days before she quit. DH said she just did like that one. Funny thing was that she was so careful about pulling it out that it was never damaged.

 

[puffkin]

I am not opposed to other types of dogs, but we have always had Beagles and I just love them.

Growing up we had 3...Jack, Boomer, and Snooper. They were all different in many ways but also shared a lot of similar traits. I just love their size (sturdy enough to play with and not hurt but not big enough to get stuff on the counters, pet peeve of mine). They have all had wonderful temperments, especially with kids. They can be stubborn and will not stay in your yard, but all they want is to be loved. Snooper is still alive and is battling throat cancer. He became like a person once we all moved out and has been the most unique of all our dogs. It is day by day and my parents (and the rest of us) are just devastated that the end is so near. I really don't think my Dad will be able to do another Beagle again after Snooper.

When I moved out on my own, we got a Beagle puppy. Murphy is actually a very easy Beagle and the sweetest thing except for the barking. He is the only howler we have ever had. He has also had more health issues than any of the others (chronic ear infections, underactive thyroid, allergies, etc). My family doesn't do cats, but we rescued Lilly as a companion for Murphy since we couldn't handle another dog. She is my baby and we love her to death. Our lifestyle is not very conducive to a dog, so I think Murphy will be the last one we get but I really would like another cat now. Funny how we change!

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Right now we have 2 doxies. We love them so much. 1 is a standard and 1 is a mini, but the mini is almost as big as the standard. The standard we rescued and because we loved her so much we decided to get another one - the mini we got from a breeder.

I think doxie's are much like chihuahua's (sp?) that if they are not used to children, they may get agitated. My doxie's have been around all 3 of my children and have never onced nipped at them. And believe me, my kids give them plenty reason!

My parents have chihuahuas and they are mean, when the kids are around they have to be put up because they are not used to them.

ITA! I hope you don't think I was saying they are all nippers. I love Doxy's, too! Oh - heck I love all animals!

I have a FM who insists he is like that because he's fat . Well I have three fatty pugs and they never nipped anyone EVER! I think it's just his personality. He will, however, love you for some people food. I always drop stuff for him. He's never nipped me!



.

 

[Master Mason]

You know, I think one reason that I've never had the same breed of dog twice is that I don't think I could bear to have another dog that looked just like one I'd loved who passed away. I think I'd always be comparing the new dog to the old dog, KWIM? Does that come up at all for any of you who stick mostly with one breed?

In my case, I got a black lab the first time, and a choc the second time. If I have another it will be a yellow, same breed same charactoristics, but they look different enough that your not doing a comparison thing.

 

[5Slays]

ITA! I hope you don't think I was saying they are all nippers. I love Doxy's, too! Oh - heck I love all animals!

I have a FM who insists he is like that because he's fat . Well I have three fatty pugs and they never nipped anyone EVER! I think it's just his personality. He will, however, love you for some people food. I always drop stuff for him. He's never nipped me!



.

I do not think you were lumping them all together at all. I totally agree with you about them being nippy, especially if they are not used to children.

 

[bellebud]

collie - when i was growing up. wonderful, wonderful dog! Lassie.

mutt from the pound (benji-type) - when I was a teen. wonderful, wonderful dog! Peanuts.

sheltie - first dog for dh and I as a 'family'. he gave him to me on xmas - cute little puppy w/ a red bow! awwwwww! he was wonderful and lived till 13yo (we put him down 2 years ago). Buddy.

malanois - 2nd dog for dh and I (a year after we got our sheltie). We got him as a puppy - great, great dog for us. we protection trained him (we own a business and he came to work w/ us every day - so did the sheltie). We had to put him down 3 weeks before we put our sheltie down 2 years ago. He lived till 12yo. He wasn't good w/ our kids though - he'd show his teeth to them, and was very skiddish around them. But he was the smartest dog I've ever known, and was SO awesome w/ adults and other animals. Thor.

boston terrier - family surprised us w/ her as a christmas gift. we had to find her a new home when she was about 7 - she tore my malanois's side off him two separate times (w/in 2 weeks of each other). 50 staples to put him back together. we don't know what the heck happened to her (we weren't home), but I couldn't chance her killing my other 2 dogs, or hurting my kids. she went to a home that knew what happened - they had no pets or kids and wanted an adult boston, so it worked out. I'd honestly never get a boston again. Belle (bellarose)

We now have 2 dogs-German shephard -almost 2yo male (got as a puppy), who is smart but so laid back. he's WONDERFUL w/ my kids and babies, toddlers, other animals. Odin.

Golden-Doodle - male, 15 weeks old and 38 lbs. TOO CUTE! wavy hair, blondish-red. He'll probably grow to 80 - 100 lbs. Toby.

Odin and Toby are in love w/ each other and play, play, play! But when the kids are home, Odin the shephard is always at their side, and toby goes back and forth between the kids and me.

we've almost always had 2 or more dogs - and I'd never have it any other way. I'd love to have cats too (we did growing up), but dh is allergic.

we vacation a lot, so we kennel them, but their kenneler is Toby's breeder, so I trust her. When our puppy is a little older, I'd like to try to do some vacations with the dogs (lake house, rv maybe, beach). we've never done that, and dh is a little hesitant, but I miss them so much when we go away. so we'll see.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

We have had so many dogs..God bless 'em all..

4 labs-wonderful dogs, hyper til they are about 3, then they mellow out some..one lived to be 13, but one died at 6 from heart problems.He was a HUGE full blooded lab that looked like a Great Dane. His owners were going to LET HIM GO in the woods (during hunting season) because they didn't want him anymore..we took him in to find him a home..he never left, of course.. The labs were Scarlet, Melanie, Nick, and Opie.

1 Sharpei-wonderful sweet dog, lots of skin problems, ear infections, and she died from cancer at age 7. Her name was MaoKwai (best spelling we could come up with) after the Gremlins -she was soft and fuzzy on the outside, and a terror waiting to come out..

1 Mutt-we still have him at age 10ish..chronic ear infections, very sweet dog. Wylie is his name.

1 Newfoundland-big BIG HUGE, sweet dopey dog. He passed away 10 which is way past a Newf's life expectancy. Problem with his esophagus. I still have slobber on my ceiling from where he flung it. Mitch. (aka Slobbermouth on these boards)

2 Bernese Mountain Dogs. We lost Stella in March, at age 10, from a combination of old age things. She was my favorite dog out of all the ones we have ever had. So sweet and mellow, wonderful family dog..protective, but wouldn't bite a flea.

The other Berner is in my siggie, my Zoey at 4 months. I didn't want another huge dog after having so many, but my heart finally went out to the dog breed I love the best. Out of curiosity, I googled Bernese Mountain Dog attacks, and the only thing there were two idiots trying to teach the dog how to be aggressive by teasing and tormenting it. No other attacks. They shed alot and eat alot..but these dogs are the greatest family dogs I have ever seen. Gotta love em!

ETA: I was one who thought after losing my favorite dog, I couldn't bear to have another one that looked just like her. We got one anyway, and I couldn't be happier with our decision. I'm so glad I didn't let that stop me from enjoying my favorite breed! I even slip up and call her Stella once in a while, it's still OK.

 

[ckay87]

Both our dogs were adopted. Our beagle mix is up in age now and she's one of those pathetically sweet dogs. You couldn't do anything to her to make her angry with you. She despises other dogs, however. But she is fine with her buddy...

our Dachshund, Murphy. I heard Doxies can be very difficult. His adjustment period was a little strange after we got him. I think they have trust issues, it's a little dog thing. He never seemed quite sure of us would snap when he felt threatened. Now that he's all settled in, he is sooooo very cool.

Next dog for me, I'm fairly certain, will be a doberman. I've never gone the purebred puppy route. Have been reading up on different breeds and I feel like a doberman would be wonderful. Someday...

 

[Magalex]

We are fans of older rescue dogs. We adopted a male Brittany, now 6 yrs old (maybe mix maybe purebred). Think Star from the Greatest American Dog show We had him now for 2 yrs. Ourselves and him have grown a lot. We have worked a lot on his reactive problems on walks. Getting better. But he is most loving dog with people. Loves everyone! No stranger to "Daniel". I took him to the groomers today and they said he was wonderful(can be nervous in those situations). He is a total sweetheart and cutie. I studied up on the Brittany breed. We probably won't adopt another in the future because we do adopt from shelters. But Brittanys will always have a very special place in my heart. Because of "Daniel" I now volunteer in the administrative offices at our local humane society while my DS is in school. I do enjoy seeing all kinds of dogs get adopted to loving families.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

This is OT, but are you guys looking forward to the movie "Marley and Me" coming out in December? I am taking a whole box of Kleenex with me to see that one. I told my DH he had to read the book when I finished it, but I marked the part where it started to get sad..He is so tenderhearted, and Marley was so much like our Opie-yellow lab, that I didn't think my DH could handle it when the book took a bad turn.

What a great book, the movie should be wonderful, too! Stars Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Quick question for those in the know. What is the difference between German Shepherds and Malinois? They look almost identical.

 

[Pakey]

Up until the current 2, our dogs were all adopted. Past breeds were cocker spaniel, dalmation, Australian shepherd.

Due to my allergies getting worse and worse through the years, I did a lot of research prior to getting my current dogs. I now have 2 hairless Chinese cresteds. They are an amazing breed and I'll never have anything else going forward. I just love the temperment and low maintenance on these dogs.