Off Topic The dog thread

[Geoffrey Taucer]

So.

Last week, a longtime friend of mine found a stray dog and took it in. She couldn't take care of it, so now I'm caring for it for the time being.

Officially, I'm just taking care of him until I can find him a suitable home.

Unofficially, I'm trying to find out what it would cost to put in a fence around my back yard (to the extent I have one), and I'm realizing just how much I've missed being greeted/slobbered on at the door since I moved out of my parents' house....

I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow to get him checked for any diseases or parasites.

Anyway, this thread is for talking about dogs, whether that talk in any way relates to my situation or not.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Congratulations on you new family member! -- If you choose to keep him that is

We lost our dog last summer and it was devastating. But, now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new puppy. Our last dog was a rescue dog and although he was a wonderful dog, he came with a lot of medical and emotional issues, so this time we are going with a pure bred dog from a really great breeder.

We are currently waiting for the mother to come into heat. She was due to heat in mid March and still nothing. I am so excited to get a new dog that I can't even stand the waiting. I can't wait for puppy breath and kisses and romping in the grass. I am trying not to think about messes and chewed up shoes.

Ahhhh, dogs. Gotta love em'

 

[mustlovejumping]

Congratulations! What kind of dog is it?

I was housesitting and petsitting for my friend and her family this weekend and she recently got an australian shepherd puppy! I had so much fun training her and it made me realize how badly I need a dog like that! My family has one dog but she's older now and she's never been able to learn as many things as I wanted to teach her because she was a rescue and has a lot of fear and confidence issues. I really need a high drive dog like an aussie or border collie who will love to learn everything I could possibly teach it :]

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Congratulations! What kind of dog is it?

He's a brown boxer.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

ooohhh!!! Boxers are so cool! Congrats on your new little buddie. Rescued dogs make the best pets, I think. We found a tiny yorkie in a rainstorm, huddled in an alleyway 2 1/2 years ago. It was obvious he was a pure bred, but starving-he was so thin. We took him to the vet, and she checked him over for microchips...none. She also said she hadn't heard that anyone was looking for a lost yorkie, and congratulated us on our new addition! The kids named him "Lucky" -cause they said he was lucky we found him, lol. He has some trust issues with strangers, and he is a bit skittish, but he is SO loyal, and he follows me everywhere(he caught on right away to who was "mommy", lol) Plus, we are on the go so much, and he is tiny enough to take along. My mom's is kinda his second home.

I love dogs and had never had a toy breed, but we were the ones who got lucky this time!

 

[peace.love.gymnast]

Congrats on your new dog...boxers are the best....I have 4 of them! They are so smart & so funny, each w/their own unique personality. I would do anything for my dogs; they are just as much my family as the people in it.

 

[Gymdad2]

We have 2 dogs. The 1st dog is a Lhasa Apso that dw and dd got from the shelter when dd was 5. The first night we had her she bit me when I tried to pet her. Next day she tried to bite dd and did bite dw, so we decided that it wasn't safe to keep her. I told dw to take her back to the shelter but dw said she couldn't do it and that I would have to take her back. I said that I coudn't take back either so we still have the dog 13 years later and she still bites but we have learned to live with her. We have a human/dog agreement that we won't startle her or touch her face if she won't bite us and we get along fine now. Since she couldn't cuddle with this dog, dd begged for another puppy. DD was on preteam at this time so to satisfy her, DW told her that she could choose any dog she wanted if she made it to Nationals. One Sunday night 4 years ago we were driving back from L9 Easterns and dd announced, "I want my puppy now". Add a Yorkie to the family. We have also managed to add 2 cats to the family along the way so we have a houseful of animals.

 

[gymnastbeth]

Congrats on the new addition! I love dogs. My family has a great dane, adopted from a shelter about 4 years ago. He's HUGE! I'm sure you'll have a great time with your boxer, my cousins have a boxer, and she is awesome!

 

[gymdog]

You can get stakes and coated wire at a big hardware store and put in a fence at least of some of the area yourself...it depends on how determined your dog is obviously with the height needed and whether they might try to dig under it (you could line bricks under it for that). It is not very expensive, although of course it isn't the most attractive thing, it can work for a backyard.

 

[gymjoy]

Congrats on your new family member!!

Cancer took our beautiful German Shepherd last year She was a rescue dog, and while she had her issues (men) - she was still, by far, the best dog ever!! She adored children, although she scared their parents by her sheer size (over 100lbs!). She would allow children to crawl all over her, pull her ears and tail with that German Shepherd smile on her face. Her best friend, besides me, was one of our cats. And she was terrified of little dogs!!

We have not recovered fully from her loss, but I want another so badly. I look at the available dogs on the local GSD rescue site all the time.

Now, If I could only convince DH:scratchchin:

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Latest updates:

I'm taking him to the vet to be scanned for a microchip as well as checked for any diseases, parasites, or whatever. I'm getting a quote on a fence around my back yard on Thursday. After digging up all my property info, I've learned that it stretches back a lot further than I thought, so apparently I have a pretty big back yard.

So if the dog doesn't have a chip and if I can get my yard fenced for a reasonable price, I think I'm going to call off the search for a home and keep him myself.

HOWEVER

I'm certainly glad I decided not to let him in the house before taking him to the vet -- he rolled over to let me scratch his belly earlier today, and there had to be at least twenty ticks clinging to him. So even if I'm keeping him, he's staying outside until he is thoroughly de-ticked.

 

[Linsul]

Awww congrats GT!! Boxers are such great dogs, I love them! Very smart and sweet, and such goofball personalities! The smartest (and goofiest!) dog I ever met was a boxer! You guys are gonna have lots of fun if you get that fence up! If you dig the post holes yourself for the support posts you could save money on the labor possibly. I did that when a big portion of our fence blew down last year during high wind, it wasn't hard at all just tedious. Saved us about $55 on labor though which was nice! Also if you have any friends in construction, hit them up for the contractor discount rate on building materials. They just have to go with you to buy the stuff. Our neighbor let us use his, which was unexpected and really helpful. We ended up thinking the repair would be much more time consuming and costly than it actually was...first time home owner syndrome still bites us in the butt sometimes lol.

And..........in other news.................WE JUST GOT A DOG TOO!!!!!!! One of my old coworkers (a coach) let me know about some Great Pyrenees puppies she found under her church steps, there were 4, about 7-8 weeks old. We got the runty mischievous one! She doesn't have a name yet so any suggestions would be helpful! She's a skinny little thing, she looks like a fluffy puffball but you can feel her pelvic bones, ribs, and spine very sharply through the fur The vet said to feed her small meals often, so that's what we're doing. She goes back in 3 weeks for her next shots and weight check. Her kibble is pricier than my Labradors raw diet, so I hope she fattens up nicely! She did also have a mild case of worms too. Totally disgusting, but she got treated for it with her puppy shots. I asked if it would be an issue for my other dog, and the vet said "Well, does she eat poop?" Me:"No, well, I don't think so but the only poop available is her own." "Does she eat it?" Me:"no.." "well, great she's not a poop eater!" Me:"cool...!" Our Lab Annakin is doing very well with her, but I still separate them for an hour or 2 a day because they are SO up in each others business; both so they can relax a bit and to spend time with them separately. She's great in every way aside from being a noisy little barker for hours at a time at night...! I'm trying a playpen tonight. Hopefully she'll like it better than the bathroom or her crate so far. This girl has got some lungs on her >< The vet says she's at least 3/4 great pyrenees, so that's just what I'm calling my little mutt!

I have to post pictures With me:

With a friend:

Hangin out:

I have more, I swear I'm a photo journalist when it comes to babies and dogs ><

 

[gymgurl]

I love dogs well actually i love cats more but i love german shepherds and blue cattle dogs (or heelers) and of course my lab! I find that cattle dogs and german shepherds are horribly misunderstood! They are so lovely and so many people think they're aggressive. I guess i'm a little bias as my grandparents have always had blue cattle dogs and german shepherds

I love my dog roxy She is an adorable blond labrador and well.........have you read Marley and Me? If i didn't know any better i would swear that it was based off my dog......oh the things she has done! eaten someones christmas lunch, ran away to the local school from the dog walkers the list could go on! what a character! she's getting better though we are just hitting the 2.5 year old mark still a few years until she's calm

 

[gymnastbeth]

Linsul- your dog is SO adorable!!!

 

[sportsfanatic]

I had 2 dogs until we had to put my toy poodle down 2 years ago I have a 10 year old Australian Shepard that is my baby!

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Took him to the vet. No chip, negative for any internal parasites. Got all his shots, immunizations, etc. Getting a quote on a fence around my back yard tomorrow. Got him a bowl, a leash, some chew toys, and a tag.

So, yeah, I think I'm going to keep him.

I'm calling him Darwin.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

Yay !!!! As soon as I read it was a boxer I was planning to reply that you MUST keep him. Boxers are the.BEST dogs. Smart, funny, great with kids, loving...... we had one boxer for 8 years. She was a fawn like Darwin she passed away from cancer in January 2010. In March 2010 we adopted Tyson, a brindle boxer from a family in Fayetteville. He is a 90lb brute who thinks he Is the size of a toy poodle & loves to sit on your lap if you let him.

You will LOVE your Boxer !!!!!!

 

[Linsul]

Linsul- your dog is SO adorable!!!

thanks! She's a sassy little thing. She just chased off a scary bullfrog LIKEWHOA! Woulda thought it was a bear!

Took him to the vet. No chip, negative for any internal parasites. Got all his shots, immunizations, etc. Getting a quote on a fence around my back yard tomorrow. Got him a bowl, a leash, some chew toys, and a tag.

So, yeah, I think I'm going to keep him.

I'm calling him Darwin.

Awesome! I don't know why I'm having such a block when it comes to naming mine. I have name envy.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

WHOAH, ok, so it looks like the fence is gonna be a bit pricier than I thought if I get this company to come in and do it for me.

Anybody have experience putting up chain link fences? Can it be cheaply and effectively done as a DIY-job?

 

[MyBoysFlip]

I am the proud owner of a 12 week old German Shepard Mix puppy named Rookie from our local shelter. We lost our fox terrier Sarge in February and DH saw the newborn litter at the shelter a few days later. We were planning on waiting but I also said we would know when we saw a dog we needed. I forgot what puppy time was like. I haven't slept a complete night since we brought her home!