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Post by Think Pigeon on Feb 27, 2012 8:39:27 GMT
Hi everyone - I'm Denise and me and my partner Fliss have been volunteer dog walking for a few weeks now. I love it and wish it had occurred to me to do this years ago. I love spending time with the dogs, obviously, but it's also a real privilege to be part of a group, volunteers and staff, that work so hard and creatively to make things better.
After a lot of thought and discussion we've decided to adopt a dog. Neither of us are the type to rush into something like this which I know is a good thing....but it's also very, very difficult trying to make the right decision. People say you'll know when it's the right dog for you but so far I've met about 6 or 7 potentially right dogs for us (Lulu, Casey, Meg, Beauty, Freddie, Bruce, Cheyenne, the new little terrier in Kennel 7 to name but a few!). In the case of Beauty and Meg I think we knew that they might not be the best fit for our circumstances even though we loved them. But how to choose from those who could fit into our family? In a nutshell, we have no children of our own but lots of dog loving nieces, nephews and godchildren. We have a female cat, Lulah, who is hard as nails (beautiful, a character and we love her but doesn't suffer fools (i.e. dogs in her mind) gladly. We live in a terrace and have a very small garden but our working patterns mean we have time to do long walks and the dog wouldn't be left alone for hours on a regular basis.
Any suggestions or advice gratefully received! xx
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Post by pinkandfluffy on Feb 27, 2012 9:51:44 GMT
Hi Denise! Lovely to meet you on saturday and put a face to the name How do you choose from so many adorable dogs at the home? They are all very special but choosing 'the one' must be so difficult. Poor Freddie has been in kennels far too long, Lulu's story really pulls at the heartstrings and Bruce just wants to have lots of sloppy kisses and hugs. Such a difficult choice to make....... Bridie and I have walked them all too and for what its worth, Bruce really did it for us! Friendly, happy, loveable, eager to please. Not sure how he would manage your cat Lulah but Im sure he would figure out a way to let her think she's still the boss whilst getting the love and attention he so desperately wants I know others will probably suggest some of the other dogs you have mentioned but ultimately it is your decision in choosing the right one....Keep us posted and good luck..... Alicia
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Post by Think Pigeon on Feb 27, 2012 10:55:24 GMT
Hi Alicia,
It was lovely to meet you and Bridie too. What a lovely girl. Thanks for your feedback. It's really helpful hearing about other people's experiences with the dogs. Bruce is absolutely fab. I know that ultimately we're just going to have the take the plunge and whoever we choose (or chooses us) will be part of our family, hard cat sister and all! We'll keep you posted.
xx
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Post by Becky on Feb 27, 2012 11:03:52 GMT
Hey Denise Me and Kirsty met you on Saturday too just as you were getting back in your car. Cant remember if we had Meg or Major at that point (walked them both on Sat). We have 2 small terriers and like yourselves live in a terrace with a small garden. We find that the garden is fine for our dogs, as they get two good walks a day, for them the garden is really just somewhere to wee before bedtime We have our nieces (aged 3 and 7) for sleepovers quite often and our dogs have grown up together with the kids (our dogs are 3 and 9) so its a bit different to your situation, but it may be an idea to take your nieces and nephews along with you on a dog walk? Our nieces love all dogs, so they come to the Home with us quite often and I have to say that every dog we have walked with the girls has been extremely well behaved and very gentle with them. With regards to Lulah, it certainly sounds like she can hold her own ;D Our older dog Betty despises cats but after she received a left hook (which resulted in a cut face!) from one of our friends cats she more than keeps her distance from them now!! I did see somebody on the weekend bringing their cat to the Home (in a carrier obviously!) to see how the dog they are thinking of adopting reacted to the cat. I know its not the same as having them both loose in a home environment but the dogs inital reaction may help you decide? As for choosing which dog.......I think thats the hardest part!! There are so many lovely dogs at the Home and every one of them deserves a second chance. I think you are doing the best thing, take your time and you will come to the right decision Keep us posted Becky
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Post by Think Pigeon on Feb 27, 2012 11:12:58 GMT
Hi Becky - it was really nice to meet you and Kirsty. You had Major out and he just plonked himself down and spread out while we chatted. So sweet!
Our young family members live all over the place and not in Wales so not practical to bring them down. But I'm not so worried about that. The kids are good with dogs and all the dogs we're considering at the moment would be fine I think. And I'm sure the Lulah issue will resolve itself. It's the making a choice that's the really hard thing as it inevitably means choosing not to take someone. We'll get there in the end. Good to know your small garden isn't an issue. I'd see ours as a last wee / chilling in summer (if we get one) place rather than a place for exercise so I was hoping it wouldn't be a big problem from the perspective of the home.
Denise xx
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Post by Becky on Feb 27, 2012 11:49:15 GMT
Oh yes, I remember Major having a bit of a relax now ;D I know its a really hard decision to make choosing which dog to add to your family. I am so glad that we arent looking for another dog as I wouldnt be able to choose either (although had Malibu not gone to his lovely home this weekend, it was looking highly likely that Kirsty would have come home from work very soon to find him on our sofa!) You shouldnt look at it as choosing not to take someone, you are going to make a massive difference to one dogs life and I think that is priceless! Im sure I can speak for most of the dog owners here when I say if we all had more money, space and time we would all be like the Osbournes with about 7 dogs each Becky x
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Post by Kara Collie-Cross on Feb 29, 2012 11:43:00 GMT
Hi Denise, We've chatted about my experience of introducing cats & dogs and whilst there are some received wisdoms of what works and doesn't work so well, at the end of the day it's to some extend down to the cat and the dog's personality, their history etc etc. I was lucky that Kara was only ever curious, and chased to herd, not bite. The cat of course didn't know this and almost moved out in protest, but now she realises she is top dog and will happily hang with her paws on Kara's snout like she's swinging from chandeliers. The cat also had to get used to having her afternoon snoozes interrupted by a wet nosed bum-shnaffle "just checkin!!!" like collies do when a lamb won't move. The first week I thought "oh dear oh dear" but now their dynamics are hilarious! Finding her a boyfriend however is proving more difficult. Malibu was very nice to her and a real gentleman, but she was a right snarly primadonna... which was most unlike her. On the way back from holidays we stopped at a rescue place in Shrewsbury where I had my eye on a lovely collie-x. Again he thought he had met the love of his life and she was telling him to eff off. Then the staff produced a black lab boy that had just been handed in, and oooh she loved him big time... but not reciprocated by him sadly! We'll find "the one", just like Mali met Sally... but it takes a bit of patience. Most her bessie mates are girlies (like Cheryl's Megan for example - they get on like a house on fire), so maybe we'll try with girls next time. ;D
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Post by skye on Feb 29, 2012 21:55:44 GMT
Hi sounds like a tough choice! I'm kinda glad I didn't think too hard otherwise the guilt on the ones I left behind would have been painful ( even though it's illogical) I saw jake I know n love springers n I simply couldn't process the idea of not bringing him home. A firm idea of the dog that fits the bill helps i think but whoever you choose I'm sure you won't regret it and you will change their lives Karahs mum: I don't know if your lil lady is anything like my other halfs collie but our Rosie has never liked any other dogs bar my springer girl and a handful of completely random dogs ( there has never been any logic to it!) we knew when Jake came home she would hate him on sight. Out of the house she disliked but ignored and jake had the sense to keep his distance, in the house the first 2 weeks she followed him around growling ( but towed the line as she has always known her place). Week 3 she loves him, they're both neutered but she clearly wants to have his babies. He is bemused but is a man so isn't saying no. I think I preferred her hating him than the after dinner frisky which is now daily. All I'm saying is be careful what you wish for!!!!
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Post by Think Pigeon on Feb 29, 2012 22:17:55 GMT
Hi Skye - how funny. Shows that it's a case of holding your nerve for the first couple of weeks as things almost always work themselves out one way or another....maybe whoever we end up with will end up charming The Evil One (as our cat is known to some) and I'll be able to post cute photos of the two of them cuddled up. You never know...
I'm feeling much more chilled about the whole thing now for some reason. We'll take it slowly, take lots of dogs out and see who chooses us.
Dx
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Post by skye on Feb 29, 2012 22:26:39 GMT
Haha Iove the fact the cat is referred to as the evil one!!! To be fair in our situation we knew the collie would figure it out ( although didn't bank on romance), it was important that the spaniel liked jake as she is top dog and once an impression is made she's unrelenting. The collie is just over anxious and always gives into our decisions. On your issue it sounds like you're managing to be sensible, and all those dogs are loving the extra walks! Sx
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Post by Think Pigeon on Mar 1, 2012 22:12:58 GMT
Behold, The Evil One (AKA Tallulah Boadicea Catastrophe Rogers-Evans) This is what the new addition to our family will have to contend with! She's a love really.
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Post by Baglady on Mar 2, 2012 2:15:29 GMT
laughing out loud Formidable ;D Beautiful, but scary as! Lovely pics ;D
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Post by Think Pigeon on Mar 2, 2012 7:40:38 GMT
Thanks Susie - you summed her up perfectly there! Congratulations on being a nanna again!
Denise
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Post by Kara Collie-Cross on Mar 2, 2012 10:53:08 GMT
Karahs mum: I don't know if your lil lady is anything like my other halfs collie but our Rosie has never liked any other dogs bar my springer girl and a handful of completely random dogs ( there has never been any logic to it!) we knew when Jake came home she would hate him on sight. Out of the house she disliked but ignored and jake had the sense to keep his distance, in the house the first 2 weeks she followed him around growling ( but towed the line as she has always known her place). Week 3 she loves him, they're both neutered but she clearly wants to have his babies. He is bemused but is a man so isn't saying no. I think I preferred her hating him than the after dinner frisky which is now daily. All I'm saying is be careful what you wish for!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Genius!! ;D
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Post by Kara Collie-Cross on Mar 2, 2012 10:54:53 GMT
Oh that cat on the padded pedestal is just superb!!! ;D Mine developed from this... into this... and ... "yoo are not allowed on the bed... only meee...!!"
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