question - Page 13

I hope that he will stand by his opinion this time...

Over here in the clubs a lot of children grow up with buying / selling dogs. No chance to develop a strong feeling to the dogs. They love their " first " dog, and their heart is broken when the dog is sold, but after a while they stop to bond with the dogs - it´s more than sad - our children loose an important part of humanity at a very early age, and it´s not their fault...

When I became a mother 23 years ago ( and I really don´t like kids that don´t belong to me that much ) I totally changed my mind about buying/selling dogs.

Susie - very interesting insight to the dog training scene over there with regards to young children. I was not allowed a dog as a child (mother's allergies/economics) but so desparately wanted one that I would walk and train various neighbour's dogs, lol. The companionship of a dedicated dog for a young child has immeasurable benefits for that child throughout life.

I wasn't allowed to have a dog either, Koots. The one I did manage to get "ran off" while I was in school. I searched the neighborhood for months for that dog.  When I became an adult I sort of went nuts taking in every needy dog that came along thinking I could save them all. It took me 15 dogs and 15 years to understand that was not going to happen. Now I take the ones needing  homes one at a time .

A neighbour who lived on the block behind us had a spaniel that was an escape artist. We'd had to get rid of a beautiful white longhaired cat due to my brother's allergies, and I cried for weeks, so, when Lucky showed up at our house, I quickly 'adopted' him. My mom had a soft spot for spaniels, and we MIGHT  have wound up keeping him if the owner hadn't been located.

Of course, the dog remembered how well we'd treated him, so whenever he escaped from his yard, he'd drop by our place. I'd play with him for a few hours, then take him back home. The owner would usually give me some pocket change as a reward. That's the closest I came to having my own dog until I was an adult, and adopted my first GSD rescue.

Like Sue, I have learned to say 'no' over the years. Last summer, when I was already caring for and feeding a golden that was in need of a new home, I said 'no' to a local guy who offered me his totally untrained GSD, which had become too much trouble. One freeloader, plus 3 GSDs of my own were more than enough mouths to feed. The dog had showed up across the road when the neighbours had a large gathering, and they assumed it had come from my kennel. I told them it wasn't mine, but I'd keep it until the owner showed up, or until Animal Control came to get it, whichever happened first.

A.C. showed first, and the owner had to rescue it from the pound when he eventually phoned me.