26 replies to this topic

[flash]

so, 11 years ago we picked up a bernese mountain dog, on an impulse, knowing nothing about the breed, and from a pet store. we basically did everything wrong.

turned out to be the best dog i've ever had. she's still hanging in there, which is old for a berner, but she is showing her age. almost 3 years ago we picked up a playmate for her. the thinking was that it would keep her young. it worked. however, the new child is 30% larger than the older one, and with the arthritis in the rear hips of the older one, when they play the younger one can get pretty rough, and the older one tends ot get hurt.

so, we decided to get another one for the younger one to play with. the hope is that the younger one will play with the puppy, taking the load off of the older dog, and that because the younger one is so co-dependent on the older one, that when she finally goes, the puppy will be a bit of a buffer there. the latter is also what i hope to be the case for the wife, as the older dog was her first, and she is extremely attached to her.

so, now i have 3 dogs here, no time to myself, and a LOT of cleaning up. clearly i've lost my mind.

good thing she's cute, or she'd be dead already

[EEZATOY]

Oh come on...life with a puppy what could go wrong...I'm the baby gotta love me

[banditsc]

A 3rd, yes you are nuts....

[Chris Vais]

I have a friend who has three Grand Pyrenees and another with 5 standard poodles. As long as you have the space and are invested dog food stocks what could possible go wrong? The only problem I see here is that you two failed to have a kid somewhere in the mix to clean up the dog poop.

Edited by Chris Vais, 22 April 2014 - 12:11 PM.

[ds968]

and please DO NOT modify the puppy...'cause we know you can't leave anything in the original form

[flash]

lol - the only thing i need to modify is her behavior.

[MCL968]

Those are such great dogs. We have a friend who lives above Tahoe with six (yes, six).

Your logic is unassailable, and you did a very nice thing for both the older one and the puppy.

[Mark]

That is old for a Berner, love those dogs. Hope the new ones doesn't wear the old one out with the middle one.

[JTP]

Cute dog and glad to see you love dogs too.

In contrast, I didn't buy any of my dogs. They were all strays that found me. One was a stray I picked up in Africa and brought home, turned out to be the best dog ever.

Edited by JTP, 22 April 2014 - 02:25 PM.

[flash]

not a thing wrong with that, that's for sure. i applaud people who can roll the dice like that. i'm afraid i would not react well if the dog turned out to be a problem.

i understand about them finding you though. that kind of happened with us. the first one sort of just "happened", as if the planets all lined up, which is why the first one is named "kismet" or "fate" (we call her kizzy). it was a love at first sight thing. we weren't even looking for a dog, in fact, she went into the shop on a whim, after having breakfast at our favorite joint in malibu, and was looking for a kitten that was not in season. there was a couple looking at the puppy, but not sold on it. they left and the clerk left it in the pen. wife took one look and i was dead where i stood. we had to move and buy a bigger car and everything.

the next one sort of fell into place too, hence her name of "kader" which means destiny (we call her kady).

given how well things worked out with the first two, the new one is named "karma" and has turned out to be great so far. typical puppy stuff, but learning really fast and has really been pretty easy, compared to other dogs i've raised.

[Chris Vais]

"but learning really fast and has really been pretty easy, compared to other dogs i've raised."
It seems that you have made the transition from a " Porsche whisperer" to a dog "whisperer"

[flash]

lol - i've been training them for about 40 years now. not my first BBQ. they have to behave or they don't get to live here.

[Rap]

Your planning on the dogs supporting each other was quite a good choice. I'm wondering if you ever thought of working for a social service agency to help humans. Clearly you have an untapped potential here! Most humans can be trained so you don't have to clean up their poop. Society needs compassionate people like you. Please consider using your superior potential to help all those dogs, I mean people.

Seemed so easy! Lol

[banderson]

Very cute dog, after the dog i grew up with passed away, he was an little cocker spaniel that made it to 18 years old passed away it took all but 3 months to get another dog... well two actually! haha. We now have a dachshund and a Pug. Once you get one life just doesn't seem right without em

[flash]

rap - that would all be fine as long as they also let me put down the ones i think can't be trained

[ds968]

LOL Bob - Kizzy, Kady and Karma is starting to sound like you're raising Kardashian sisters. Wait, there's a bitch joke somewhere in there . :-) :-)

[Rap]

Kizzy is a great dog and a wonderful hostess. I've not had the pleasure of meeting the others but I'm sure they are quite a crew. Don't you need a larger abode now? Is it fair to cram them all inside that little house of yours? Surely they deserve better!

[Mark]

rap - that would all be fine as long as they also let me put down the ones i think can't be trained

I'm OK with that with humans. It is a very rare thing that a dog cannot be trained, it just takes a lot of time with some of them to undo the years of bad stuff they learned from previous owners. Unfortunately I keep getting the ones that need a lot of work, just finished rehabbing the 4th 100lb+ 6+ year old dangerous german shepherd in the last 10 years. I truly am an idiot for this because I said puppies are too much work but spend months making these dogs safe to be around.

Edited by Mark, 23 April 2014 - 03:30 AM.

[94SilverCab]

lol - i've been training them for about 40 years now. not my first BBQ. they have to behave or they don't get to live here.

Any experience as a wife whisperer??? LOL

Jay

[flash]

lol - jay - no chance there i'm afraid

mark - i agree, and good on you for going through the work.