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I've had my shelter baby for a month now. He's about 2 years old. I'm pretty sure I've never been this loved by any humans in my life. I can't make a move that Maynard is not right at my feet. I doubt any puppy could love me more.
I adopted one girl when she was three......and she is inseperable from me....up and down stairs in and out and comes when I call her everytime......she looks at me with adoring eyes and her tail beats out a stacatto rhythm if I so much as look at her......Its a Heavy Responsibilty to be so loved. Heavy but so wonderful. Beautifully said.
very different relationships......wonderful dogs.....individual temperment.....different needs......I dont think it is puppy vs older when adopted.....they are just different.
I think Bella will be my last puppy. I had forgotten much work they are and how many times you need to get up during the night. LOL Of course she is now 1 1/2 years so all the difficulties are starting to fade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kele
I've had my shelter baby for a month now. He's about 2 years old. I'm pretty sure I've never been this loved by any humans in my life. I can't make a move that Maynard is not right at my feet. I doubt any puppy could love me more.
The benefit to getting a dog as a puppy is the ability to train it completely. The problem is, 95% of dog owners have no clue how to properly train a dog anyway, and wait until it's old enough that it doesn't make a difference if they had adopted an older dog vs. a puppy.
I compete in agility, and many people there only have puppies because they want to train them from the time they're 3 days old to be comfortable on wobble boards, in enclosed tunnels, etc. Plus, many dogs only have a limited competition age--so the earlier you start them, the better. For the average dog owner who's looking for a pet though, that's not the case.
Growing up, our best dog was Rusty (Golden Retriever/Chow mix). He was between 2 and 3 when we adopted him from the shelter. His first owner had him as a puppy and brought him to the shelter because she was older and couldn't handle his puppy stage. His next owner, a man, we believed (as the did the shelter workers) abused him. Rusty was terrified of men for the longest time. The only guy he every approached without any hesitation was my husband...well, he was my boyfriend at the time. Anyway, Rusty loved us all. If my sister or I were home alone (and we were older...in high school) he would be at our feet and attentive. As he got older he would come upstairs and sleep in one of our beds or at the foot of one of the beds. At about the age of 13 he became very sick and after several rounds of antibiotics the vet could do no more, and said he would be suffering, so my parents decided to put him down. Only the second time in my life I have seen my dad cry. We all did.
My husband and I have Bear...an almost 6 year old Pomeranian. We have raised him since he was a puppy. He is a WONDERFUL dog. We have a daughter, almost a year old, and he is great with her; exactly the opposite of what people say about small dogs. He is gentle with her and particulary enjoys sitting by her high chair. He is very loyal and though he's tiny, he doesn't know that and thinks he's our protector.
I think as long as you love your dog they will love you back...but it's in their own way. All dogs are different when it comes to affection.
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