I've only been seriously looking for a dog for a few weeks. And I've already gone through the list of my wants, but I prayed that if we found a dog we liked it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Even rescues can be very expensive. And some rescue places want you to fill out a long questionnaire and then they decide if the dog fits into your family and home situation. So I prayed that we'd find a dog without a bunch of hoops to jump through.
As it turns out, the dog we found was more than 3 hours away. DH was working last shift, and he slept when he got home so that we could leave earlier than later to go see the dog if the shelter felt she'd work here.
We left later than we intended, and we had to stop a couple times on our way. So we got there and had about 40 minutes to meet the dog and decide. It took me about five minutes. It took Baby much longer. Baby still gets upset when the dog gets too excited, but she's much braver about being in the same room and petting the dog.
We got home late Thursday, and I had to take DH straight to work. That also meant that I had to get up early Friday and go get him from work. :/ Thankfully, I can park the kids in front of the TV or on their computer game and go there and back and they are ok by themselves. They know their grandparents' phone number and my cell phone is on speed dial. They're almost 8 and 10, and I figure that's old enough for a few minutes alone. Anyway.
I got the dog into the house; thankfully we had put up the baby gate in the kitchen doorway to the dining room. We closed the hallway and basement doors, and that's the dog's area for now. She hasn't had any accidents in the house, but we're pretty good about getting her outside frequently.
She was supposedly trained as a bird dog, but the only command she seems to know is lay down. She was pretty wild on the leash, and I started looking for local dog trainers right away. I found a guy who has 40+ years experience and has spent 3 years studying a few different wolf packs. He had me buy a choke chain collar, and he worked her for about 45 minutes. Then he handed me the leash, gave me some instructions and I worked with her for another 15 minutes or so.
We paid up front for the training and got a discount. He says the training usually takes 8-12 weeks, but he was impressed with our dog and said he thinks she could be done in 6-8 weeks if DH and I can keep up. ha. He also said that there is an opportunity for us to learn to train dogs; the rate is $75/hr. and beginner trainers put 20% back into the company, and senior trainers put 10% back in. We'll see. Big scary dogs are not my idea of a fun career.
She seems to love us all, but Daddy may be her favorite. IDK if she just feels more comfortable since she was with a man for hunting? Someone also told me that as a bird dog she would have been trained to not bark. That explains why I've only heard her bark twice - both times were her first night here. She growled a long growl followed by a bark. IDK if she heard something outside, if she was just scared or if she heard the furnace or something. But she hasn't barked since.
She reminds me of Scruffy. That's a definite plus.
As it turns out, the dog we found was more than 3 hours away. DH was working last shift, and he slept when he got home so that we could leave earlier than later to go see the dog if the shelter felt she'd work here.
We left later than we intended, and we had to stop a couple times on our way. So we got there and had about 40 minutes to meet the dog and decide. It took me about five minutes. It took Baby much longer. Baby still gets upset when the dog gets too excited, but she's much braver about being in the same room and petting the dog.
We got home late Thursday, and I had to take DH straight to work. That also meant that I had to get up early Friday and go get him from work. :/ Thankfully, I can park the kids in front of the TV or on their computer game and go there and back and they are ok by themselves. They know their grandparents' phone number and my cell phone is on speed dial. They're almost 8 and 10, and I figure that's old enough for a few minutes alone. Anyway.
I got the dog into the house; thankfully we had put up the baby gate in the kitchen doorway to the dining room. We closed the hallway and basement doors, and that's the dog's area for now. She hasn't had any accidents in the house, but we're pretty good about getting her outside frequently.
She was supposedly trained as a bird dog, but the only command she seems to know is lay down. She was pretty wild on the leash, and I started looking for local dog trainers right away. I found a guy who has 40+ years experience and has spent 3 years studying a few different wolf packs. He had me buy a choke chain collar, and he worked her for about 45 minutes. Then he handed me the leash, gave me some instructions and I worked with her for another 15 minutes or so.
We paid up front for the training and got a discount. He says the training usually takes 8-12 weeks, but he was impressed with our dog and said he thinks she could be done in 6-8 weeks if DH and I can keep up. ha. He also said that there is an opportunity for us to learn to train dogs; the rate is $75/hr. and beginner trainers put 20% back into the company, and senior trainers put 10% back in. We'll see. Big scary dogs are not my idea of a fun career.
She seems to love us all, but Daddy may be her favorite. IDK if she just feels more comfortable since she was with a man for hunting? Someone also told me that as a bird dog she would have been trained to not bark. That explains why I've only heard her bark twice - both times were her first night here. She growled a long growl followed by a bark. IDK if she heard something outside, if she was just scared or if she heard the furnace or something. But she hasn't barked since.
She reminds me of Scruffy. That's a definite plus.
