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Time for another ‘my dog is awesome’ thread

Patricio Swayze

By Patricio Swayze
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HornOnTheBayou

HornOnTheBayou 8877

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On 2/1/2019 at 8:28 PM, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

almost a month to the day, I was at my mother-in-laws house when a small dog ran up to me as soon as I got out of my truck. It was whimpering and cold and wet (it was raining and was very cold) and had a shoelace tied around it's neck rather tightly which had been torn (which is how we surmise it escaped or ran away).

My MIL wouldn't let the dog in to get dry and warm so I ended up letting him sit in the foot of my truck with the heat on. My daughter implored me to be kind to the dog (we have never owned dogs or desired to) and so I went to a QT and bought a can of dog food. The dog ate it up like it hadn't eaten in years. It was dry and warm and would intermittently fall asleep and then jolt up after a few seconds. It was as if it couldn't trust to fall asleep completely.

I went home to figure out what to do and we thought to make a little area for him in the garage. He's a small dog, so he was still cold. We brought him inside and he was attached to me. The next day the kids and I went to PetsMart and scanned his chip. Found the chip number, called HomeAway and the representative let us know his real name. He would find a great meeting spot for me and the owner to meet. He called me 15 minutes later and the owner had snarled "I gave that dog away a while ago, quit calling me take me off this list". The home away representative was sad hearing this and said the only thing he could recommend was for me to take him to a shelter. After thinking for a second, a weird impulse came over me, and I said just put my name on the account. I was taking the full jump to dog owner and responsibility of adding a new family member. The next day I went to the vet and dropped $275 on shots and check ups and stool samples and everything else you can think of, and then bought a ton of dog stuff (kennel, toys, food, leash, harness, etc.)

It's been a month, and the journey hasn't been perfect-- small dogs have small bladders and it's a big adjustment for people who have never owned dogs-- but it's been very worthwhile. I am on the road a lot for work and I'm not usually the person that is the most attentive or playful with the dog, but he still prefers my company over anyone else's and chooses me over the people who play, feed treats, and all around enjoy him the most. Part of me think it's because we can just chill out together and he might like the break, but the other part of me thinks that he recognizes me as someone who saved his life and opened up a home to provide comfort and warmth and love. He's a loyal little guy and I can now for the first time in my life say, my dog is awesome.

This post is worthless without pics. You better get to it.

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Sbbruin
Sbbruin

Well that was just about the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  How is it that an animal buries itself so deeply into your heart and soul.  He was my best buddy in the world.  Not seeing him waiting in th

Al_4_ISU
Al_4_ISU

Oliver left us last night. He waited until I got home from the field, brought him to bed, snuggled him, and tucked him in. Then he left. I could sense for the past 10 days that he was saying goodby

Reynolds Woodcock
Reynolds Woodcock

Had to say goodbye to one of my best friends of the last 14 years today. Her name was Avery. At 8 weeks old she was left tied up in front of my future father in law's vet clinic. Freshly out of c

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HornOnTheBayou

HornOnTheBayou 8877

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29 minutes ago, Sandman said:

One of my kids got into some trouble and has to perform 10 hours of community service. One of the options was our local animal shelter/sanctuary. She loves animals and it's nearby, so my wife and I decided to swing by there today and ask some questions. Fuck. There's a dog up there that stole my wife's heart (and a small part of my own). It was all I could do to walk away. We already have a couple of dogs and the wife doesn't want a third. But I haven't been able to get this dog off of my mind. This sucks.

You knew that everyone on here was going to say adopt it, so I'm going to assume this post was a declaration that "Hey everybody, I am definitely adopting this dog but I want everyone to give me some positive rep before I do it." Don't worry, I'll take care of you.

 

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Sandman

Sandman 3402

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11 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

I mean you already got 2, what's 3 gonna make a difference? 

My main concern is that the 2 I currently have are Boston Terriers, so they're under 30 lbs. This new guy is a 90 lb mastiff mix. So there's the size difference and the fact that they're all males. What if they hate each other? My boston's are siblings, so I didn't worry about them. But if the big one got pissed, that's a wrap for the little fellas.

 

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C-Man

C-Man 26992

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3 hours ago, Deej said:

This. I've got three. Almost no difference in the amount of effort compared to two. Big back yard is a must, though.

Yeah, we've got three now -- 12yo Yellow Lab, 6yo Jack Russell and 11wk old White lab. All girls. The JRT is not super fond of the puppy. She growls at her anytime Pearl gets within about a 3-foot radius of her.

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 53965

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14 hours ago, Sandman said:

One of my kids got into some trouble and has to perform 10 hours of community service. One of the options was our local animal shelter/sanctuary. She loves animals and it's nearby, so my wife and I decided to swing by there today and ask some questions. Fuck. There's a dog up there that stole my wife's heart (and a small part of my own). It was all I could do to walk away. We already have a couple of dogs and the wife doesn't want a third. But I haven't been able to get this dog off of my mind. This sucks.

Make it easier on everyone and just go ahead and do it.  

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Dbeasy

Dbeasy 14953

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Please PM me! We are thinking of doing a 6 week PetCo class we saw in their store

Posted for anyone else that has had issues with potty training.

Everyone that I know who has problems with dogs going inside didn’t spend the time necessary right away to teach the dog the rules. Here is what I’ve done.

You need to dedicate a few days to the training. First get a kennel. When you aren’t there, the dog must either be in the backyard or in the kennel. If everyone works, you have to figure out a way to let the dog out of the kennel to use the restroom. You don’t want them in there for more than a few hours.

When you let them out of the kennel, say “outside”. Immediately take them outside. Have them run after you outside. Once outside, say “go pee”. If you see her squat to poop say “go poop”. Once she does her business, praise her big time.

Now, take her inside and watch her like a hawk. Don’t turn your attention away from her the whole time she’s inside. You will quickly learn to notice her behavior of getting ready to pee or poop. She will break off her activities. As soon as you see the movement towards going say “No” firmly, then “outside”. You might have to pick her up if she doesn’t immediately follow.

Once outside, do the same as described earlier.

Do this routine for about 3 days or 4 if possible. This should ingrain the behavior. Never never never turn your head away while she’s inside because if she goes without you immediately catching her you basically need to start the training all over. If you can’t watch her, put her in the kennel.

My dogs never ever go inside and outside they will pee or poop on command.

Notice that I never hit the dog or yell at her after going earlier inside. That is not helpful.
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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 53965

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On 2/4/2019 at 4:46 AM, Dbeasy said:


Posted for anyone else that has had issues with potty training.

Everyone that I know who has problems with dogs going inside didn’t spend the time necessary right away to teach the dog the rules.

So I see that you don't know anyone who owned a Basset hound or a Newfie. 

They know they're supposed to pee outside; they just don't always want to.  The Basset wouldn't pee outside when it was raining. 

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7727

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54 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

So I see that you don't know anyone who owned a Basset hound or a Newfie. 

They know they're supposed to pee outside; they just don't always want to.  The Basset wouldn't pee outside when it was raining. 

Shit, it took us the better part of a year before Bruce would stop pissing on one spot on the stairs.  We had to replace the carpet it was so bad.  Thankfully Pepper is smarter and easier to train.

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austingirl

austingirl 2184

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Edgar has ignored Rocket since he came home despite the little guy trying to play with him at every turn. He finally tried playing with him today and got a taste of his own medicine.

90c7afbe78f5c149a766b0ddd241e88b.jpg

Also the little guy made a pillow from one of his toys and I swear cartoon hearts come out of my eyes when I look at this picture.c51c7ff647141738ce2709a7790cd9dd.jpg


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Bama Chick

Bama Chick 28596

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OMG Rocket (that’s the baby, right?) is so adorable I want to put him in my pocket!!!

And please tell me you laid down on the couch with him and shared his little toy pillow. I wouldn’t have been able to resist snuggling up and napping with him looking all cute like that.

I want another dog so bad but my husband is such a curmudgeon.

“One is plenty” he says. Bah.

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austingirl

austingirl 2184

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1 minute ago, Bama Chick said:

OMG Rocket (that’s the baby, right?) is so adorable I want to put him in my pocket!!!

And please tell me you laid down on the couch with him and shared his little toy pillow. I wouldn’t have been able to resist snuggling up and napping with him looking all cute like that.

I want another dog so bad but my husband is such a curmudgeon.

“One is plenty” he says. Bah.

Yes, Rocket is the baby and every. single. thing. he. does. is cute. Tries to lick his balls? Gets unbalanced and falls over. Tries to walk in a straight line? No go - puppy uncoordination FTW. Naps on Edgar's dog bed? Last time he did it he rolled over in his sleep and fell off the bed. I mean come on. 

Drag your husband to the AHS Puppy Bowl next year. I was much less worried about a puppy after we trained Edgar from the ground up. Since we have small kids I prefer getting the younger rescue dogs that don't already have ingrained bad habits, and there are so many great opportunities in Austin for puppy socialization and training and whatnot.

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Paco

Paco 1923

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OMG Rocket (that’s the baby, right?) is so adorable I want to put him in my pocket!!!

And please tell me you laid down on the couch with him and shared his little toy pillow. I wouldn’t have been able to resist snuggling up and napping with him looking all cute like that.

I want another dog so bad but my husband is such a curmudgeon.

“One is plenty” he says. Bah.
As the owner of two mastiffs and a Walker coon hound, I would say your husband is... absolutely correct.
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austingirl

austingirl 2184

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On 2/7/2019 at 12:04 AM, blacklab said:

squeaky donut for the win.

we've gone through about 5 in the last year. They are by far the favorite toy ever. They last about a month and then get completely destroyed.

I got those at TJ Maxx, of all places, as Christmas gifts for the other dogs in the family. Was never planning to give them to Edgar because he can destroy things of that caliber in less than 10 minutes. We forgot to bring them when we visited family and I came across them in after we got Rocket. 

On 2/3/2019 at 1:27 AM, C-Man said:

Here’s the white lab I gave to Mrs. C-Man for Xmas. Picked her up on 1/11. Pearl was born 11/13.

a9bff7c9b75366ab5b38d30b894c83ed.jpg

How old was she when you took these? We're not sure when Rocket was born - there's a 4 week discrepancy between when the first shelter said he was born to when AHS said he was born and I"m trying to get a better idea of his age to gauge training expectations and whatnot.

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PokerFace

PokerFace 65

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74468314f5cc41e5523d919d74c891dc.jpg
My yellow lab of 11 yrs passed away a few months ago. Hadn’t thought thought too much about getting another dog since then—she was perfect and just figured it’d happen when the time was right. So I guess today the time was right. Happened upon a 1-2 yr old chocolate lab, great with kids, and all-around loving dog. So, say hi to Charlie!
2389740562a67a3f34966153c0f10297.jpg8ed21245b903f9c90f51cd7db5598e30.jpg

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C-Man

C-Man 26992

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On 2/10/2019 at 10:06 AM, austingirl said:

I got those at TJ Maxx, of all places, as Christmas gifts for the other dogs in the family. Was never planning to give them to Edgar because he can destroy things of that caliber in less than 10 minutes. We forgot to bring them when we visited family and I came across them in after we got Rocket. 

How old was she when you took these? We're not sure when Rocket was born - there's a 4 week discrepancy between when the first shelter said he was born to when AHS said he was born and I"m trying to get a better idea of his age to gauge training expectations and whatnot.

I took these on 1/25 and 1/26. Pearl was born on Nov 13.

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Nuge

Nuge 1961

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Well, the hits just keep on coming. Not only have I transferred from the stupid wife to the divorce thread but I just got back from the vet's office where I was told that my girl, Olive, has lung cancer. FML
It breaks my heart to hear her wheezing and know that I'll have to put her down soon.b4e6576ef288126927ef1158fe484ddd.jpg

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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Sorry to hear about Olive.  We lost two last year.

But, I have a little bit of good news.  We're going to get a puppy later in the year.  We're watching three Bernese Mountain dogs for a friend for a couple of days.  What a wonderful breed.  This is Trip.  He's a big boy.  He's 2 years old and still plays like a puppy.  It's hilarious to see this huge dog pounce on toys like a pup.

33022753-A28-B-4-CF6-82-C5-08902-E62-D1-

Edited by VABuckeye
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7727

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32 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Sorry to hear about Olive.  We lost two last year.

But, I have a little bit of good news.  We're going to get a puppy later in the year.  We're watching three Bernese Mountain dogs for a friend for a couple of days.  What a wonderful breed.  This is Trip.  He's a big boy.  He's 2 years old and still plays like a puppy.  It's hilarious to see this huge dog pounce on toys like a pup.

33022753-A28-B-4-CF6-82-C5-08902-E62-D1-

Does he play bow and growl when he plays?  That's what Chewy (my avatar) used to do.  Cracked me up.

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Nuge

Nuge 1961

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14 hours ago, sdm said:

So sorry Nuge. Olive sure has a sweet face. By the gray hairs I suspect you've been together for some time now.

She's 11.5 in human years.

We got her when she was 11 weeks old from the Humane Society shelter on Townlake.  My wife (soon to be ex) and I would walk around the lake and stop in at the shelter to check on the dogs.  We originally were looking for a chocolate lab.  One day while we were there one of the volunteers told us that the black dogs were rarely adopted and consequently put down the most.  We were like, "people are racist against dogs?" so we determined that we'd be adopting a black lab.  One day we're on our usual weekend jaunt and stroll through the shelter.  Every dog in the place was absolutely losing their shit.  Barking, howling, jumping - generally being crazy.  Except one.  This little 8 week old black lab puppy.  She was fast asleep in her pen.  We opened the gate, went inside, and sat down.  The puppy woke up, walked over to my wife, licked her hand and promptly went back to sleep in her lap.  We looked at each other and just knew.  We found our dog.

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We had to wait a couple of weeks to take her home in case her original family came to claim her.  No one ever did.  We couldn't figure out how somebody could lose a beautiful black lab puppy and not try and find her.  Whatever, their loss.

We named her Olive.  She was, and continues to be the best dog I have ever known.  She loves everybody and everybody that has ever met her wants to take her home and keep her.  She's perfect.  She's happiest being off-leash accompanying me playing disc golf.  She's never chased a disc and is always within 30 feet of me happily sniffing and snuffling everything.

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She doesn't have much time left now, so she'll be eating steak for her remaining days.  We're making a bucket list of her favorite things and will be taking her to her favorite places.  I'm going to miss her deeply.  Thankful that I got to enjoy her for the past 11 years but sad that our adventures together are ending.

Goodbye Olive.  I love you.  You're a good girl.

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