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Puppies are a LOT of work. We spent hours every day working with Cosmo as a puppy. I think that we did a pretty good job because she is a very nice adult dog. :)
Adult dogs that are trained, not quite so much work though they still need a lot of time for attention and care. Vet bills can be quite costly. Some breeds there is a difference between males and females, some breeds there isn't.
Wow you ladies were busy this weekend!! It took me a little while to read through everything I've missed :laugh:
My name was supposed to be Amber :yuck: I just couldn't see myself named that! My parents had agreed on Amber, but when mom had me I guess my dad wasn't there and she was PO'd. So when they brought the papers in she changed my name to Christina to pi$$ my dad off :laugh:
Erin I am working on reading that article, its actually something that I've done with my DH as well (for the most part). I have serious control issues and it has taken me years to get to the point where I have the eh, whatever attitude. I still have to correct myself sometimes. Now since having Nolan it is really hard. I am constantly telling DH how to take care of him and what he needs to do. I know I really need to stop that, but I can't seem to help myself. Mommy knows best :P
Ash I am sorry about your cousin :( I don't know the backstory, but I do hope they find him :comfort:
I LOVE German Shepards! They are very sweet and loyal animals! They do require alot of work if your going to get one as a puppy though. ITA with Chrissy that if your open to getting an older one from a pound or rescue shelter it would probably be easier.
We're looking at rescue groups-a friend of ours knows a breeder but I prefer to adopt. I wouldn't be against getting a slightly older dog.
The only thing I know about German Shepherds is that they can have a tendency to have food lodge in their esophagus and make a larger pouch area. Eventually it can fill up and choke them if it's not caught. Usually when it is caught it involves surgery to correct. What I heard was that if you buy those bowl stands that raise their food dishes up off the floor it will eliminate the risk of that occurring. What usually causes it to happen is GS will sometimes lay on their bellies with their food dish between their front paws. It mis-aligns their dietary tract and the food cannot go all the way to their stomach. So if you get one and you see him/her doing that, get the food shelf thing.
Every breed of dog has certain genetic risks. I'm not sure if there's anything else about GS that are prone to do, but I know of 3 that had this happen and it wasn't till I talked with a friend at college that I learned what (at least one vet said) causes it to happen.
That's interesting! Thanks for letting me know.
I also love German Shepherds. My dad had one when we were kids named He-Man. He was a great dog. Dad took him from a neighbor across the street because the guy was beating He-Man. I guess Dad stole him, but the guy did used to beat He-Man a lot, so much so that he was VERY apprehensive when we first got him, very submissive, he would shake if you got close to him. The guy who used to own He-Man confronted my dad about taking his dog, but since my dad was big and could both look and act crazy, the man relinquished his claim almost immediately.
We loved that dog.
Forgot to mention my mom wanted to name me Unique of all things. I think it is rather ghetto so even though I was always asked was I "black Irish" due to my name (with giggles from the questioner) I liked Erin better than Unique. Oh and I responded that I am black Irish, I am English and Irish. My maiden name (paternal) is English and my mom's family has an Irish name, Dunbar. We even got an invite to a family reunion in Ireland once. My great grandma really wanted to go but didn't have the money at the time.
Erin
Hi guys! Weather forecast says 113 today. Ugh.
Dogs are a lot of work and German Shepherds can be pretty high energy. They need a lot of play and exercise. If you want a big dog that is low key, I've heard Greyhounds can be pretty calm. Otherwise, German Shepherds are great dogs. But as Jennifer said, all dogs are a lot of work. When Nero was a puppy it was almost like having a baby. Housebreaking is the worst but with a smart dog it should go pretty fast. Gwennie wasn't very smart and she was very difficult to teach anything. German Shepherds are very smart and trainable. I've never had one but my dad used to raise Belgian Sheepdogs, which are quite similar. The big thing is you don't want the dog to get bored.
Cool, thanks for all the information.
Erin I absolutely hate hearing of animals being abused :( Kudos to your dad for "stealing" him :clap: A mutt followed my lil bro and me home from the bus stop one day, he was VERY submissive. I don't know what he was put through, but it must've been bad. We still have him (6 years later) and he will still cower away if you move too fast towards him :ohno:
A GS dog would be pretty high on my list too. I really like the intelligent breeds but DH is not a big dog person. He prefers Cosmos size so a 20-30 lb dog. We had consider getting a schnoodle for a while and also thought about going with a sheltie like Chrissy. But cockapoos are what we know and I have had three good ones in my life.....just the next one I will probably go for a light buff or apricot color.
I have to say that I pick out GREAT puppies. I picked Cosmo and I picked my parents dog...he was from up here and we had him for two weeks until we went down for xmas....parents knew they were getting him and seen pictures and video of him but my sister didn't know. It was so good, she has always had a dream of having a puppy pop out of a box...a green box with a red bow. So that is what we did...it was a box with a lid that just sat on top and we put him in it right before we went into the house and handed it to her and told her to open it. I will never forgot that look of shock on her face...and on the pups face! LOL She started crying and freaking out....she thought our parents were going to kill me because mom had been saying no to a new dog....but they were in on it! :)
I just LOVE a puppy and while I think that it's fantastic to go with rescues and kennels but I really enjoy that brand new puppy phase and picking out the puppy and getting that bond going asap and training the way *I* want the training to go.
It's the same reason I want to adopt a new baby instead of an older child (my sister on the other hand wants to adopt an older child when she is older herself).
But yeah it is definitely like having a baby in many ways....except a pup you can't take with you to the store and have to make sure to get home to potty them on time. All the hours spent on the floor working with her on stay, sit, come here.....no bite, no, drop it. I never left her alone...she was in whatever room I was in....or if I couldn't watch her, she was in her house. When not home, she was in her house until she was like two.
Yeah, I'm thinking it might be hard to train a dog by myself..I've never had a dog and I'm stressed out enough with Josh, but I do agree it would be nice to have that special bond with a small puppy. DH is not home enough to help me out much with a puppy though. We're going to keep talking about it. I'm also not sure I want to get a dog while we still have cats. I know we can find one that's good with cats but I'm just not sure I want that many pets in the house.
I think having an older dog would be easier Kate. You should check around at some shelters if/when you decide to get one.
You can get puppies from a rescue. We got Nero from a no-kill shelter and he was 8 weeks old. There are lots of puppies this time of year. An older dog would be easier, though.
Kate, you can do it if you set your mind to it and just realize it won't be all sunshine and roses from the beginning. Like I said, a lot like having a baby but they do grow up much more quickly than babies. They're pretty much adults by 2 years and over the "baby" phase much sooner than that. Get a good training book and enroll in some obedience classes at your local pet store.
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Originally Posted by daylilies
I agree with Chrissy...an older dog would be easier and I'm sure that bonds can be formed with older dogs. I would totally consider it if the right one came along.
A puppy is NOT easy at all and I had help...it was two adults with Cosmo and we had a ton of time to work on her. Plus we both grew up with dogs and have experienced a couple different ones each. And as much as I love the puppy phase there were times I was just like, OMG I cannot wait until she is older and a little calmer...she used to literally bounce off the couch she had so much energy and we used to call her vampire Cosmo the way she would come at you with those teeth. Those puppy teeth can hurt, especially getting you say in the nose or ear lobe.
I like the idea of having a dog, but I can't imagine taking care of one every day. I've always thought those Weimeraners (sp?) are so pretty, but those types of dogs need lots of exercise. We had our chihuahua for 17 years. I'd have another.
DH had a chihuahua when I met him, that had been his ex girlfriends. She left the dog behind when she left him and he refused to give her back. That dog is the only dog I've ever known that I didn't like! She was so spoiled! She didn't like when I started spending the night there and one night she got into the trash, found the bone from a piece of chicken breast we had eaten and thrown away (still had some meat on it but it was old and smelly) and left it on my pillow one night. She was trying to tell me it was her pillow and she didn't want me sleeping on it!
LOL...our chihuahua was like that! She hated everyone but me, my sister, brother, mom and dad....she tried to bite people all the time and was viscious, but I loved her ever so much!
DH adored her. I used to tell him he loved her more than me.
Oh, gross! LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Gwenn
We have a chihuahua (a mix) he is an annoying little booger. They tend to get attached to one person or a couple of people and don't like anyone else.
LOL! That about sums it up!Quote:
Originally Posted by Smplyme89
My Missy is a b1tch. She only loves certain people. I can't predict who she's going to like and who she's not gonna like, but once she makes up her mind about someone forget it!! No one can win her over :D
I think she takes after me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by missychrissy
lol!
Cosmo is a love bug....she likes almost all people but she does have her favorites. First is me, than daddy, than my sister, my MIL, my parents...and anyone else after that. She likes kids a lot but we don't see my cousins often. She likes my MIL's dog Irving better than my parents dog Charlie. she really does not like people with hats on. LOL
I had a hard day. I need a hug. And a drink.
:hugs: Bridget-what happened?
Oh, no, Bridget! :hugs:
I know there's a drinking smiley out there, but we don't seem to have it on this forum.
Bridget, I hope you're okay.
Huh...I thought we had a drinking smily too.
I have this in my photobucket http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Stuff/beer.gif
And this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...omputer006.gif Not that that's relevant, but I'd forgotten about it until I went looking for the beer emoticon. :lol:
I'm not even sure what's going on in the second one...lol