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Originally posted by jburman82:
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Originally posted by T Dub:
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Originally posted by jburman82:
Oakley - 6 yo soft coated wheaten terrier. As many people on this board will attest, he is a living teddy bear.


I also have a soft coated wheaten. Best dog a person could every ask for. And the teddy bear analogy is perfect.

She is seriously the sweetest dog ever and fantastic around the kids (5 & 2) they pull her ears push on her jump on her and she just takes it and just asked to be petted in return.


I had never heard of the breed until my wife came home one day raving about this dog one one of her students had. She wouldnt shut up about it for months so I finally broke down and bought her one. Now, the dog and I are best friends. I dont think we will ever have another breed. Not only are they friendly to everyone and adorable, but they dont shed!!!


The no shedding was a huge part of our decision as well. They are known as the hypo-allergenic dog.

Her name is Daisy
When I was about 16, my father and I pulled into our usual hunting spot in the mountains to find a very pregnant dog sitting there all alone. She was a dobie/lab mix, and had a tag that said, "Lido" (French for restaurant?). We stayed a week, and notified the sheriff, but no one ever came looking for her. We can only surmise that some scum just didn't want to take care of her and the puppies and dumped her off in the woods. She had 8 pups in the back of my dad's pickup, all which survived. So we brought her home and gave away the pups. She turned out to be that "one-of-a-kind best dog in the world" to me. She had the sweetest disposition of any dog I've ever met.
But when I had my girlfriend (later, wife) over, Lido would, of course, plant herself squarely between us. I think the only reason Lido tolerated her at all was because she worked at a salmon smokehouse at the time and would come over straight from work. Big Grin
Lido lived with my folks to a ripe, old age. Practically a week doesn't go by when I don't think about her & miss her. She's the reason I never got another dog; I just didn't think any other dog could ever measure up. It's been about 20 years since she's gone, and even typing this now makes me a little teary.

Now my daughter has her own dog, and while she's fun sometimes, it isn't the same.
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Originally posted by mneeley490:
She's the reason I never got another dog; I just didn't think any other dog could ever measure up. It's been about 20 years since she's gone......


mneeley.... If your lifestyle allows it you should get another dog. You sound like you'd be a great owner. As someone who's loved every dog I've owned dearly, I totally understand your feelings about Lido. Trust me on this, you'll fall in love all over again.

PH
quote:
Originally posted by snipes:
I'm interested in hearing from dog lovers who have owned more than one dog at a time. How does having another canine in the house change the dynamic between owner and dog? I've always thought our Schnauzer would love to have a play mate. It would have to be the right kind of dog of course.


I have only had one dog at a time. Perhaps this link will help: Click
I log on to just lurk around for a bit before going home and find this heated debate. Well, happy to weigh in. First, we have 2 German Shepherds, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and a yellow Lab. Breed traits are often deep in the genes. I owed a Char Pei once and would not again. He was tempermental and very family protective, but just the immediate family, bit my father once. They have been inbred and bred for fighing for a couple thousand years, so what did I expect? Cute and wrinkly when small though.

However, we have not one, but 2 German Shepherds. They were specifically bred for several generations to be family friendly though and used to herd the kids around when they were small to protect them, to the extent of keeping them in the shallow end of the pool. Careful breeding and the herding instinct can cancel out the agressive nature of many of them. One of them would probably be pretty rough on an intruder, the other not much, but a stranger does not know that. We have them because we feel the need for guard dogs, as do most of the other people in our "small estate" neighborhood, which is full of Rotweilers, Shepherds, Dobermans, etc. Little dogs also get eaten by coyotes here on occasion, as I saw another "missing yorkshire terrier" sign on a mailbox yesterday.

The lab is a true lab, worthless as a guard dog but great as a friend. The chesapeake, too, is true to breed type, very protective of family, a bit temperamental, etc. Growing up, we always had a Doberman or two, maybe as much as 10 overall as my parents still have one. All were family friendly, except one which turned out to have a brain tumor and one rescue dog who apparently was abused as a pup.

Hence I would not own a pit bull. It is my personal, unscientific belief there may be some chummy family friendly ones, but they are an aberration, straining against the gene pool.

Time to go home for wine time.
quote:
Originally posted by snipes:
I'm interested in hearing from dog lovers who have owned more than one dog at a time. How does having another canine in the house change the dynamic between owner and dog? I've always thought our Schnauzer would love to have a play mate. It would have to be the right kind of dog of course.


Are we talking miniature, standard, or giant here? Not that it matters, but just curious!

Just don't fall for the old "2 dogs are easier than 1 dog" line of crap. And crap is a key consideration! Big Grin Having 2 dogs, from my experience, doesn't change the dynamic between owner and dog at all. They may be less demanding of you, as they have a playmate to expend some energy with, but they still are attached to their owner. More importantly, you need to pay attention to the personality of your current dog and that of any prospective playmate. "Alpha" personalities may not welcome a new dog into the fold easily and could result in conflicts. Is your dog protective or possessive of you as an owner? Does he/she get in between you and other people? Other dogs? Does he/she show signs of being territorial (with home, land, or toys)? There are many thoughts on bringing new dogs in: no male/male combinations, etc., but each situation and animal are different, so you need to learn what to look for and be prudent in selecting a good brother/sister for your schnauzer. I do believe that dogs are happier when they have "a buddy" around.

I broke every rule: I have 2 very large males. One I raised from a puppy, the other a rescue, who was already 4 years old. My breeder advised against the 2 males thing, but when the 2 dogs met, it was clear they would get along well. Neither had alpha tendencies, though the rescue is almost un-naturally attached to me and can exhibit some weird behavior that way. I guess it's no surprise, as he sees me as his "rescuer" and likely retains some insecurities from his earlier trials and tribulations. We've not had a single issue between them, though the rescue took to chasing the cat constantly, but she's siamese and soon put him in his place!

There is quite a bit of information on dog behavior out there that can help you. If you have any questions, feel free to page me.

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