Possible new furry family member...

[Cas]

My b/f and I have this little cutie on a trial period from the SPCA here... he's an almost 5 month old German Shorthaired Pointer (his mom was papered.... the other half is unknown, but might be Collie!)

<img width="330" height="500" src="http://image.photoloft.com/opx-bin/OpxFIDISA.dll?s=cano&src=/Photoloft/Asset21/2003/08/20/10999/10999360_0_2541.fpx,0,0,1,1,330,500,FFFFFF">

<img width="457" height="799" src="http://image.photoloft.com/opx-bin/OpxFIDISA.dll?s=cano&src=/Photoloft/Asset21/2003/08/20/10999/10999361_0_3534.fpx,0,0,1,1,457,799,FFFFFF">

<img width="600" height="532" src="http://image.photoloft.com/opx-bin/OpxFIDISA.dll?s=cano&src=/Photoloft/Asset21/2003/08/20/10999/10999362_0_9464.fpx,0,0,1,1,600,532,FFFFFF">

He's a sweetie, but has ultimate "must not only be in the same room with you, but within 3 feet of you, attached to your butt, will wake up and follow you if you move" syndrome. *L*

We've got him until Saturday, then we decide if he stays or goes.

Dawn

[Clownfishie]

Awwww -- he's so cute!! :D Keep him!! hehe...

[Reckless]

He looks like a great dog............I can't get a dog from the SPCA I always want to take more than one home.

[LISA127]

Congrats. He looks great. And if he's that relaxed about letting u hold him like that, u have a pretty great dog. His "velcroness" may subside a little bit when he is more comfortable in his environment. Hope he stays!

[enso]

Dawn, do it! He's young, he looks like a real sweetie. You can change his life. We took in a female Springer/Lab mix under a year old a few months ago. Now i can't imagine not having her underfoot. Are those green eyes i see? =P

[Pookie]

Aw....you know you can't resist! He's just too darn cute! :)

[Darlene]

Absolutely adorable !! They say to try for two weeks but you have to go at least a month to be fair to a pup. My Border Collie came from the S.P.C.A. It was a hard go at first but now (5 years later) you couldn't have asked for a better dog. Hope you have the same happy ending as we did !! Dar.

[Colonel SB]

Awww what a cutie keep him keep him! If not I'll take the little sweetie.

[TheRedDragon]

Awwww, he's cute! I'd definitely keep him! :D

[Linds]

Very cute! Hope everything works out for all of you :)

[OttawaChris]

How anyone cold abandon something like that is beyond me... it breaks my heart being in animal shelters

[applescruff]

So cute!!

[Cas]

Thanks all, he is a sweetheart.... and I believe we've decided to keep him. :) :thumbsup: He came with the name Shady, but we're not sure we like the name (for me it's too close to my old dog Shadow's name, RIP :().... we're looking for similar sounding names that we like better.

enso, actually his eyes are yellow(!) If he were a registered pointer, that color would be a fault..... but I think it's a great color, personally. Very expressive.

OttawaChris, I know what you mean... Shady was actually only dropped off the same morning we were there, but the majority of the dogs at the shelter up here have been there over a year - a lot of people come up here to start a family, and they get a dog... and when they leave they don't want to take it with them :p. The reason given from the people that left Shady at the shelter was that their kid developed allergies....... it's a common excuse, but in this case I can believe it. He already knows he's not allowed on furniture, or to put his face on the counters, and he knows how to sit. He's good with other dogs, our cats (though our cats still think he's a demon that's invaded their space *L*), and people - he actually pays more attention to people when out walking than to other dogs. He walks pretty good on loose leash (pulls very little), is good off-leash as long as there's nothing to chase, likes water as long as he can touch the bottom, and responds fairly well to 'no'. He's also pretty good about not jumping up unless he's really excited (he actually doesn't jump up when we have treats or food he wants).

Since we've got him (Sunday), he's almost learned 'drop it' (especially for fetch - but he doesn't drop soft things well, like feathers or tissues), 'stay out of the kitchen'... he'll go to the living room rug and sit but he hasn't learned to stay out yet, and he's getting better about not barking at the ferret or scratching at her cage (he did steal her squeaky toys though *L*). He's still attached to our hips, but that seems to be a breed characteristic... they're the ultimate family dog, and hate to be away from their 'pack'. I'm sure he'll do great when he starts puppy kindergarden next month. :)

Of course, he's not perfect.... we can't leave him alone in the house, at least not yet. We're not letting him in the bedroom, and the other night he tore up the garbage and a box of tissue - bit of seperation anxiety probably. So he spends days when we both work (3 dyas a week) in the yard, and overnight he's in the unfinished room next to the bedroom. Tomorrow we're getting a crate and trying crate training. He's also not perfectly housetrained.... he prefers to go outside, and will go as soon as he's out. But, he hasn't learned to ask to go out when he needs to yet, so we need to remember to put him out often, and take his water dish away a few hours before bedtime.

I can hardly wait for his puppy classes to start.... I've never had a well-trained dog before (my last 4 dogs were a sled team of huskies - we pretty much just trained them to pull), and I think he could be a great dog.

(btw, there really are some beautiful dogs in the shelter up here... check out http://www.fortmcmurrayspca.com/?pg=gallery&cid=1 if you're looking to rescue a dog and are willing to travel to get one :D (check out the pic of 'princess', is she cute or what? Gotta love those eyes... We probably would have had a hard time choosing, but I believe her tag said she wasn't good with cats.))

Oh, wow, I'm rambling but good here.... :rsmile:
Dawn

[lordkovacs]

good luck in your choice. I love dogs. When I get my house first thing I do (after christening it...that's for another board! haha) is get a german shephard.... love those dogs. Anyway, good luck..
MIKE

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Cas
He's a sweetie, but has ultimate "must not only be in the same room with you, but within 3 feet of you, attached to your butt, will wake up and follow you if you move" syndrome. *L*

We've got him until Saturday, then we decide if he stays or goes.

Dawn


KEEP HIM!

heheh we ended up calling our dog shaddow because he practically was glued to me (he still is sometimes). you should see him whine when we give attention to the other critters.


PS. here the spca will NEVER put down a dog that's been fixxed. So if you can't keep a dog but want to do something for the dogs in the pound donate a neuter or spade proceedure for them.