What do you think you got right about dog choices?

[VanGoSunflowers]

Somewhat light hearted and to get you to share your proudest moments and the best choices you made!

I will start - first time dog owner and I have a 13 week old black lab puppy and I’m very glad I went for a black dog as my house is very dark and I can’t see his fur everywhere 😂

Plus, he is just absolutely adorable in my humble opinion.

I was told all the usual stuff, don't get a collie, far too much hard work. Don't get a dog at Christmas, it's not a present. All extremely good points. He came home with us New Years Eve.

I'd been looking for a family dog for ages and found nothing suitable for our family.

there was a tricolour collie puppy needing a home locally. Born in the back of a barn as a working dog but he failed to meet their standards. I went to see him on my birthday. We fell in love and the rest is history.

He cost me £150 to cover his dog biscuits and early vaccinations. Best dog I've ever had.

Trained her with love. Made sure she can count.

Best choice with this specific pup was the timing. We'd lost our previous dog suddenly and traumatically in 2021. We were without a dog for three years and I just didn't feel like me any more. After I turned 60 I started looking for a pup and within a few days we had found our girl. Best decision I ever made. She's now 15 months and life feels good again 😊

Best choice ever was naming all my dogs similar names. I call for one, and the rest come running. It's brilliant 😁

@kippersmum I absolutely love Border Collies 😍 you can just tell by looking at their faces how intelligent they are!

@CoubousAndTourmalet that’s beautiful, she is so well suited to you from the sounds of it!

@LandSharksAnonymous then I’m definitely going to need to think of more names that sound similar to Pablo 😂

😂😂😂

Our first lab was yellow… our sofas were dark brown and a waffle material that hair stuck to, even if he just walked past and brushed against it.

Our subsequent labs have been black. I prefer yellow personally, but I thought black would be better to blend the hair…

My mum was horrified at my slovenliness!

Eventually opting to use a slip lead to teach her to walk nicely rather than uselessly dropping bits of chicken on the floor whilst walking her on a harness 🤦🏼‍♀️

Managed environment at all times so she could ONLY make the right choices and be rewarded for them! One of the most powerful and effective things you can do for a puppy. Now we have a 2 year old who has never chewed, clean, well mannered around food, mostly leaves the cat alone and is happy on her own as we’ve built it up very slowly.

Well, I need pictures! Have had border collies since I was a kid,a few other dogs as well. I wanted a red, previous time DH wanted another blue merle. She's 10.january 2023, lost our Phalene,he was almost 18, tried rescues. Decided puppy, I wanted red, litter on a stud farm where we used to live,2 red/white,I think one was a boy, she was the runt, when we first met her, she would fit in my little hand. She was given her name straight away and we collected her at 7 weeks. She's just had her second birthday.

Joining the Dog Training Advice & Support FB group and doing all the recommended reading. It transformed my understanding of dogs and training and I recommend it to everyone who is getting a dog now!

Also - ignoring the naysayers about collies! DDog is a collie x black lab and is absolutely perfect. Clever but extremely biddable and a genuine dream to train. You can almost see the cogs going as she works out what you want and then her absolute joy when she realises she's got it right 😍

@Sunnyafternooning i think it’s too soon to tell with mine how much he will shed as he’s still just a baby and I can only see ‘puppy fuzz’ on the few white surfaces of my house but I’m one of those - if I can’t see the hair then it’s not there 😂

@Newpeep oooh tell me more? Like puppy proofing as much as humanly possible??

@Nannyfannybanny i want to see some pics too! Here is mine, took yesterday!

I keep hearing about that group but alas, I do not have a Facebook profile 🤦‍♀️

I absolutely love border collies. We saw one at the pub the other day and it’s watching their brains working that I love to see. He was so well behaved. The guy had had him from one year old and he was 18 months. He has obviously done a lot of work with him. He was a stunning dog!

There's a book too! Hang on I'll find you a link.

Dog Training and Behaviour Solutions: The stress-free way to live in harmony with your dog https://amzn.eu/d/beMw2rf

We got a puppy for dd21 as she never really got over our old boy's death about 4 years ago, but truth be told i wasnt keen. We are getting on a bit and I was hoping for a little foo foo, teddy bear type dog that wouldn't need much walking and could sleep on dds bed, and basically not trouble me too much. (Selfish) Anyway we got a med size mutt from a rescue who we all just adore! She is the heart of our home and I am so glad we didn't get a yappy 'toy' type of puppy.

I got dogs that don’t shed, that were known to be child friendly (though I waited til my children were school age), and got on with other dogs and was suitable for the suburban surroundings.
And crucially, I trained them to be left for several hours if need be without getting stressed. When I come home they are curled up asleep on the sofa. I make no fuss in leaving or returning. I also trained them on recall. One dog I just could not get to stop jumping on people so keep him on a leash unless alone in the park or with people who don’t mind.
Breed is important, but training equally so, and being respectful of other people and dogs - not everyone is going to think your lab is cute, doesn’t care if it’s ‘friendly’ or ‘just wants to say hello’. Keep him in check until you are sure the child/person/other dog is happy to meet yours.

WCS as part working dog and part pet. Easy to train from Day 1, amazing worker but also a great house/pet dog and around the stable yard. Perfect fit 👌

Cat-dog, hat-dog, gnat-dog 🧐

You can Google for DTAS guides and get them online too 🙂

I miss the laugh button

Same here @Newpeep Mine is an angel. Never been crated but impeccable manners around the house and 100% trustworthy.

@Bupster Hen, Clem, Pen, Ben 😁I'm tossing up between Wen and Gwen for the latest.

I just yell something sounding vaguely like 'En" and they come 😆

Fen. Fenella.

@mondaytosunday I kind of have the opposite approach in that I wish I wasn’t always hit with a wall of people going “ooooooohhhh puppyyyyyyyyyy” in their most excitable voice 😂
Not that I blame them, of course. It’s just overstimulating for me my dog.

I try get him to ignore people if they’re ignoring him but he just wants to say hi to everyone. The people that do want to to say hi, I try and get in there before they come up to him with a “you can say hello but I need to get him to sit first” kind of thing which usually works. But sometimes people will swoop in when your back’s turned 🤦‍♀️😂

All said very light-heartedly of course!

Choosing a Bedlington terrier. Sweet, easy to train, no hair everywhere, and everyone wants to say hello to her, so I've made lots of new friends!