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SmokeyR67
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2 hours ago, SmokeyR67 said:

Rascal my GSD was middle aged, maybe 6 or 7, and he'd been through a lot, 2 hip replacements (my bank account to a hit on that too!) and she was young, 12 or 18 months old. She was a cattle dog, not by breed but by design, and whilst she was a lovely dog, she was very very annoying, She did have a decent life, trying to herd pigs

Totally understandable why they didn't workout, hope you have better luck this time.

I think it's a bit easier when you have two of the same breed, they tend to share enough traits and have similar play styles.

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Second the taking pup into local pet store .. I took my latest pup in before second vacc .. just carrying her in my arms.  She's been in a few times sine .. great place to take some little training exercises on the road .. but tiny bits at a time .. and in my girl's place .. impulse control .. not every person wants/needs to meet you.    Check out your local Bunnings store too .. small dogs/pups are allowed in most of them in trolleys.  When they too big for the trolleys, technically they have to be muzzle I believe, if theyre on the floor.

 

As far as spending your retirement time goes .. no, not a non-existent dream .. just that you tend to spend your time differently.   And hopefully, maybe develop new interests.   One of the tricky things when the pup is little too, is to remember to build in plenty of rest time.   I'm finding with my current pup, now 18 weeks, that the nap requirements vary from day to day, partly depending on what she's been doing, but also on her growth rate .. growth spurts _ more nap time required.   OH and you need to build in coping with alone time for pup, into your plans.

 

I get that you need/want to plan, but do remember to build in .. learning who your pup is, and what delights/concerns the pup.   That takes quite a lot of time, some of which is just sitting round observing.   Make sure to build in proessing time for pup's developing brain .. they need time to process what they're seeing, learning etc.    

 

Nephew sounds a great age to help you.

 

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Thx Barb,

 

I think the pup(s) will get plenty of sleep time, I've been a shift worker for 30 years so I'm a master of the nanna nap:)

 

Papillion Kisses, thanks for the links, they'll help me no end, and might even stop me asking silly question on here (thats doubtful :) )

 

Rascal, when I think about it, it was a poor situation to bring in a young nutter to the household, my dog was middle aged, I had my elderly father living with me (and they had bonded very well, although I can still here my Dad saying "bloody dog" every time my GSD lay patiently waiting for the crusts from Dads breakfast toast) and I was working 12 hour shifts, with ots of travel, so it wasn't a settled household.

 

Anyhow, thanks everyone for your replies, my next question will either about nutrition or toys, so standby for a new thread :)

 

Shane

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Guys after spending a few hours watching you tube video's, I've decided that not getting 2 pups of the same age is a good idea....I'm going to get one of every breed, smother myself in bacon grease, lay down and try to survive an attack of the psycho puppies:)

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Shane you sound like such a great prospective dog owner! Any pup you bring in to your life will be a very lucky dog indeed. I echo the others re 2 at the same time not being a great idea, and it's great you're having a further think on that. Good luck!

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Hi Melzawelza,

 

Yeah, I think I'll try and just get a wee little bitch first of all, but only if everyone else promises to let me borrow their pups so I can fulfill my bacon grease bath death by puppy fantasy!

 

(that sounds very sick when written, but in reality it's just a 50 year old man wanting to cuddle puppies - hang on that's not sounding so good either, lets just say I love puppies, in a clean wholesome manly way!)

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I'm laughing at the bacon grease thing .. but you know what, just lying on the floor will get you smothered in pups .. even if it's only one pup  ... or kneeling down, leaning over and hiding your face under your arms :laugh:.

 

Seriously .. love your plan.    My first dog as an adult was a bitch, and I still love them ... although they can be quite determined to get their own way.  I've had one of each once I graduated to two dogs. :)

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Tassie, my Dad used to say I must bathe in bacon fat, just because dogs seemed to be attracted to me, they honestly used to follow me home from school (I was never allowed to keep them, luckily I usually knew where they lived, so we played and then I walked them home).

 

I think I'm probably very similar to a lot of people on here who love dogs and somehow dogs know that we love them - it might be our attitude, our body language, pheromones or just our bacon scented perfume, but they know we love them, no matter how big and scary they try to be.

 

I've theorised that dog lovers have evolved on a different line that those poor unfortunates who are scared of dogs We, the superior humans have a genetic memory of our co operation with wild dogs, we used them to help in the hunt, they got a bit of a free feed and a warm place to lay down. We collaborated and thrived, cat lovers just got eaten:)

 

 

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:laugh:   Or you can have the best of both worlds..... I have always had cats as well .. currently a Norwegian Forest Cat, who actually believes she's a dog, I think, and has invented some games to play with the new pup. ..:laugh:

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You like cats?

 

It's been nice talking to you Barb, but I think I have to leave you now:)

 

(Just quietly, I like cats too, on a one to one basis - don't let anyone else know that or I'll have to hand in my Man card :)  )

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1 hour ago, SmokeyR67 said:

I've theorised that dog lovers have evolved on a different line that those poor unfortunates who are scared of dogs We, the superior humans have a genetic memory of our co operation with wild dogs, we used them to help in the hunt, they got a bit of a free feed and a warm place to lay down. We collaborated and thrived, cat lovers just got eaten:)

 

 

Well, I was terrified of dogs as a child. Until about the age of 8 I was scared of them, and when I was even smaller, apparently I would scream and run to the nearest adult and climb up their leg hahaha. My parents both had dogs their whole lives until they got married, and tried their hardest to get me more confident around them.

Then when I was maybe 9 or so I wasn't so scared of them, just a bit timid, but I thought they were cute. Then we got one and the rest is history, dogs are now my favourite thing in the world! :heart::) 

 

Also, regarding cats, I do really like cats and I want a cat one day, but I sort of don't understand cats like I do with dogs. I just get dogs, and cats do weird things that I just can't predict yet. Comes with practice I suppose! :) 

Edited by Scrappi&Monty
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  • 4 weeks later...

You sound like a lovely caring home and the pup you get will be very lucky. It's great to plan ahead, but be open to going with the flow. Depending on your pups individual personality you may need to slow down on the socialisation if they are not coping. It sounds like you are going to spend a lot of time together so will get to know eachother reasonably quickly. Read your pups body language and mood and you will know whether they are up for a new experience or if they just need to chill out for the day. You've heard this a lot now, but I would also recommend not getting two pups at the same time. If you are really worried about the age gap being a problem, why not get one and make sure it is everything you expected and you are coping.? You could still get another even just a year later. I would expect Your breed to still be quite puppyish at 1 and you would have had time to bond with the first before the new pup arrives. 

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On 14/08/2017 at 7:11 AM, JRG said:

you obviously did not contact the "right" ones :laugh: !! or you asked the wrong question!

My random sample (all taken from the Dogz Online pages) seems to indicate that - "I've been told that getting 2 pups from the same litter is a bad idea as they'll bond to each other and not me, and I was also told that no breeder would sell me 2 pups from the same litter" was the wrong question:)

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Many breeders will sell litter mates it makes them quick $$$, but a good breeder that has experience and knowledge wouldn't, if I asked the question and a breeder agreed I'd run a mile.

 

It's not just them bonding with one another more than the owner, if you spend plenty of time with them that is not a huge issue, it's the competition between them, they never get the chance to developed and grow without rivalry.

 

I have had customers not even realise their dogs had a problem since there was no physical fighting, until they lost one, all of a sudden instead of the remaining dog missing their litter mate their true personality appeared they became happier and more out going.

Edited by Rascalmyshadow
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