<p>A common occurance in our house. Momtogo and Firsttogo head off to “just look” at the kittens/pups at the rescue place. While they are out Dadtogo (me) and Secondtogo and Lasttogo start preparing the downstairs bathroom for our new famly member … who will arrive when Momtogo and Firsttogo get home. Works like a charm … Momtogo has no chance when she sees the kittens/pups. We’ve adopted a great dog (a Doby) and six cats this way so far.</p>
<p>On a more serious note … the older cats we adopted have had a harder time adjusting … and never become as cudly as younger kittens we adopted.</p>
<p>I’ve been telling and telling my husband that we’ll be getting at least one more dog once final child is gone in two years. We’ve currently got a lab/beagle mix and a pure Lab. I’m thinking a schnauzer - no shedding!</p>
NO- he’s not a drooler. It is fun smooshing his face with his jowls though. He pretty much let’s anyone do anything to him. Before getting him I tested the different dogs for skittishness and fear of suddenly raised hands (for fear of being hit if he was previously abused), hands placed on the hindquarters (where some people hit dogs), etc. since the abused and fearful dogs tend to be the biters and boxers have big teeth. This guy didn’t care about any of those actions - he only wanted to play. He really likes to use his paws as some boxers do. He’ll actually use them in addition to his mouth sometimes to catch things thrown at him and likes to use them when we’re rough-housing a bit. When he’s feisty he also uses them to try to ‘trip’ me as I walk by curling his paw around my ankle as I walk. It’s pretty funny really.</p>
<p>I actually got him a year ago when my youngest D first went off to college. We got him just a few days after she left so it wasn’t until Thanksgiving last year that she got to see him. She immediately loved him (even though he was her replacement) and he her of course.</p>
<p>We too have a 11 year old mutt adopted from our county animal shelter. I’ve had dogs all my life and this one is by far the smartest I’ve ever had. It is unbelieveable how many words he knows. We have to actually spell some words now if he’s around (W-a-l-K if H and I want to take a walk without the dog). He is a basset hound/ black and tan coonhound mix. He’s so handsome.</p>
<p>Our lab learned what w-a-l-k meant. We got to calling it a ‘w’ if he wasn’t invited. He also learned that ‘Do you want to…’ always meant something good, so we had to avoid that phrase, also.</p>
<p>^^ For our last dog (also a boxer), “Do you want to…” always meant something bad. As part of training him anything bad he did was followed by ‘do you want to … jump, run out the door, etc.’. It really worked well to reinforce what exactly he did wrong so he wouldn’t repeat it (much). We had to remember to substitute ‘shall we’ or something if we meant something positive.</p>
<p>We also used the ‘W’ but I don’t think he could spell walk.</p>
<p>LOL! I also have to spell the word “walk” if my dog is not to be included and, around here, “f-word” means “Frisbee”! You should see my dog’s smile and perky ears if she hears THAT word for real! She immediately runs to her basket to retrieve the frisbees and then to the door to go out and play…</p>
<p>We have a 10 year old mixed poodle rescued from the SPCA. Got her when she was about 1. I hadn’t been to the SPCA in years and on a whim stopped by just to see what they had. Well, of course, there sits this little mangy sad looking dog. She didn’t bark like all the others and wouldn’t make eye contact. She was a lost dog and I had to fill out an application, since they told me that even though you fill one out doesn’t mean that you will be selected if no one claimed her. I went home and didn’t think any more about it. Didn’t even tell hubby and kids…
Uh, about 5 days later they call me to tell me I can pick up my dog today!!
OK…I gently break the news to DH and tell them we have to go now…the kids and I go in and take care of the paperwork and get the dog. We go out to the car and the dog is on the leash…I can see my husband’s reaction to the dog and read his lips…“What the **** is that?”
Took her directly to the groomer and had her completely shaved…went to the pet shop and bought the crate and supplies…Now my husband calls her the $500 “free” dog. $35 to adopt her and $400 in supplies.
Casey is still the love of our lives and when the time comes to add to the family, adoption or rescue will be the way we go.</p>