I lost a good friend yesterday

Did she have a good life? Did you treat her well & did she respond to the joy & love you threw at her by throwing just as much joy & love straight back at you?

Despite the occasional bout of 'selective hearing'.

There's a dog out there desperate to come & live with you. Whether it's a puppy or a rescue, we need the dog just as much as they need us. So don't leave it too long before allowing another one to come into your life, it isn't disrespectful to the last one in any way & how sad would it be if you didn't find each other.

Dork Lard said:

Despite the occasional bout of 'selective hearing'.

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True enough.
TBH This time I am not sure about another. First dig was the lab collie cross. RSPCA rescue with a serious chewing problem. Never totally cured. Then a GS rescue. I suspect the main problem with that one was too much for an owner. Next one a GS pup. Curiously she knew about hiding under beds etc. The breeder said he never cashed cheques quickly and this was an older pup. I suspect some one else had her for a while. Then the latest GS pup, just a month old when bought.

Previously we have wondered about having another but the longest period without one has been a month or so.Worse still I have a thing about GS's. Not what some seem to think - big dog, big teeth, barks etc it just relates to temperament.. Their main need is company and they like watching what people are doing. They will also play and are pretty intelligent. People often say they need loads of exercise. They don't - they do need things to interest them. I feel I am getting a bit old for another one. My wife feels we both are.

Problems. When out of sight anything might happen. Rarely does but.... Sometimes there is meed for care when people they don'y know are around. Playing with other dogs is often a problem - they like to nip. This is why some people think they are inclined to bite.

It is sad when you lose a much loved pet. I’ve had two dogs before, both named Susie so I am familiar with the heartache of the inevitable with a pet. When we picked our current Susie up, I started filling up knowing that one day I would be saying goodbye to her in the future! Our Susie isn’t getting any younger, she’s 10 years old now and I have the occasional thought about how long she's got and it fills me with dread. You can only console yourself by remembering the good times you had and the fact that you gave her the best life possible. With the loss of a pet, time really is a great healer - I hardly think of Susie 1 and Susie 2 these days!

ajohn said:

I feel I am getting a bit old for another one. My wife feels we both are.

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Hear me. Without one you will get a lot older a lot quicker.

All mine have had a name beginning with B. Beth,Biddie,Bella and Berry. I suspect I have run out of suitable B's. Some breeder feel bitches make better house dogs. They don't strut their stuff etc.

Biddie was probably a fairly easy introduction to owning a GS. Fully grown, part trained after a fashion but she needed to learn who was boss. She came from some one that bought GS from where ever and had loads of them. Risky really. The only known problem with Biddie was food. She had been fed biscuit and meat and decided not to eat the biscuit. She wasn't "very" obedient initially. 3 days 2 lying by her food and glaring at me and she decided to eat and accepted me as boss. The seller would have accepted her back at a cost. Actually I think she expected that from talking to her later - she said Biddie has finally found a new master. She did have a problem with her dogs - no idea what others had done with them. She showed me one to explain that. All it did is sat to attention in a corner. That is what some idiot had taught the dog to do. Establishing the boss part can be a problem with GS. It can't be done by beating them up. Even the pups have this phase. The owner has to be insistent and patient. They quickly turn into pretty powerful dogs.

Well this is why I wonder about taking on a another. Rescue dogs can be very risky. They are often there for a reason.

ajohn said:

All mine have had a name beginning with B. Beth,Biddie,Bella and Berry. I suspect I have run out of suitable B's. Some breeder feel bitches make better house dogs. They don't strut their stuff etc.

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We only ever had one male and there was a constant problem of it trying to escape to go wandering, if you dared turn your back on him, he would be off. He could spend hours away touring the village, but would always find his way home. The place is well fenced and gated, so no obvious escape route, but caught him once, jumping the gate.

Never had that sort of problem with any female. Present one 11 year old, I could leave the gates open and she wouldn't venture out, unless taken.