How did you pick your dog?

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Postby plebayo » June 13th, 2011, 4:31 pm

I'm on my phone so I'll reply later but I was thinking today...

How did you choose your dog? If you were going to buy a puppy or adopt a dog how would you choose? What kind of behavior or personality would you be looking for?
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Postby iluvk9 » June 13th, 2011, 5:47 pm

I always chose my rescues by a combination of their dire need to find a home and how freaking cute they are. :)

Puppy Darlene was with her siblings at our shelter and just adorable.

Harley was about a year old, at our shelter and had leg problems...couldn't walk and was hard to adopt out because of it. He was so cute and walked like such a gentleman on the leash.

Truman was a shelter dog that was a gift because he was a black Lab and they knew I loved Labs.

Lenny needed a new life because his sucked in a crate 24/7 for 10 years.

Bearman was a ball of Husky fluff.

Carlos Garcia was abandoned in the street near my house and needed a home.
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Postby Dukes_mom » June 14th, 2011, 12:49 am

iluvk9 wrote:Carlos Garcia was abandoned in the street near my house and needed a home.



I went to school with a Carlos Garcia lol


I picked Duke because he was so handsom and very sweet. A little shy but he never barked much and he still doesn't bark often.
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Postby hugapitbull » June 14th, 2011, 5:36 am

Trouble was given to us by a friend with an 'accidental' litter, after we had proclaimed for many years we would never have another dog - thus the comment that led to her name; "We're in trouble now". We thought we had learned all you could ever wish to know about the breed as we raised her.

Duke was searched out and found after an internet friend died. Couldn't stand the thought of him living out his lifetime in a kennel, Angie would never have wanted it that way. Having Duke we now understand we knew very little about the breed, but continue to learn and grow. :doh:
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Postby iluvk9 » June 14th, 2011, 5:46 am

hugapitbull wrote: Couldn't stand the thought of him living out his lifetime in a kennel, Angie would never have wanted it that way.


That is so sweet. :)
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » June 14th, 2011, 7:25 am

I had actually chosen a 10 month old pit bull (who looked frighteningly like Inara) and adopted her, but she ended up having such extreme separation anxiety that she chewed through doors, crates and jumped through windows. We would come home to blood all over the house and out in the snow. We were truly afraid she was going to kill herself so we returned her to the shelter. When we did so, the woman running it came out with these two little puppies, my Atlas and Inara, who were only 6 weeks old at the time. She said, "why don't you adopt these two?" And in our devastation of returning Trinity, we said "ok" and picked them up a couple weeks later. Atlas had to be PTS at 10 weeks due to seizures, so now it's just me & Inara. The rest is history. :)
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Postby plebayo » June 14th, 2011, 9:51 am

When we got Sofie I was young and took her home when we went to go see her because I really wanted another dog. She also reminded me of Benji so I was sold ;)


LiLo originally belonged to a co-worker. I was actually the person who taught her how to 'sit' and 'down'. As a puppy she was really smart. The co-worker was a moron and LiLo was quickly exceeding the weight limit of their apartment complex. They wanted to try and sell her for $150 because they paid $75 for her and had to put her on baytril for some puppy vaginitis. I told them I would take her and keep her for life but I wasn't going to pay for her. They agreed. I wanted her because she was really, really smart and trainable.

I took Seth for a few reasons. He was really cute when he came into the clinic. I was afraid they were going to hack his leg off for now reason. We had a dog previously that we amputated a leg basically to make the dog more adoptable because her leg was mangled looking [but she used it!] I couldn't save her because she had serious dog aggression. With Sofie being old I wasn't prepared to deal with a dog like that. Seth met Sofie and LiLo and they were pretty fast friends. I trimmed his nails, cleaned his ears, and drew blood from a rear leg [my tests] and he let me do everything without crying or trying to kill me. Plus there was this huge dork factor, he totally sucked me in.

If I were to get another dog I would want to trim their nails and clean their ears and see how they react to the un-fun stuff. I like being able to do anything and everything to my dogs. Personality wise I would look for something easy going and trainable/eager to please. I wouldn't want something as submissive/insecure as LiLo but I wouldn't want something overly confident either that is going to push my buttons all the time.
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Postby furever_pit » June 14th, 2011, 4:51 pm

I'm still not sure why I ended up with Dylan. I had been helping out Animal Control where I lived for a year or so and never saw Dylan (or Sir Lancelot as he was called then) until one Saturday morning adoption event. I took him for a short walk to give him a chance to go pee before bringing him back out front of Lowe's where our tent was. This couple walked up to look at him and asked me about adopting him and I looked at him and for whatever reason the words, "he already has a home" fell out of my mouth. I've never been attached to a dog like this one, it defies explanation.

Gigz - I went to check out three 6 month old males from a breeding that was done with one of my favorite males. Gigz came right out of his kennel and humped the biggest dude there, not just once but constantly. He walked around like he owned everyone. He played fetch with me for 20 or 30 minutes and showed intense drive when I tested him. So I put him in the truck.

Bandit - Gigz' aunt. Funny thing is I almost took this female almost two years ago when I went to pick out my first AB pup, Gator. Now I have her. And she is just like I remembered. Nerves of steel, tons of drive, and very sweet. I love her.

Cairo - Showed no signs of environmental insufficiencies and had tons of drive. Spent three or four days with the litter and I liked him the most.
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Postby AllAmericanPUP » June 14th, 2011, 11:59 pm

The last dog i actually "picked" out was shadow and i was 16 and at the high school science fair, my ag teacher was giving away a litter of puppies his dog had and i picked shadow because she had the most white on her lol.

All of my other dogs have just kind of picked me i suppose.

I took Sheeba off the streets, Eli from his previous owner because he wasn't taking care of him, Ozzy from my sister because she wasn't taking care of him and Henry paul from my friend because she could not take care of him due to illness.

They all have different personalities and i love them all to bits
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Postby Malli » June 15th, 2011, 2:44 am

Oscar just happened. I wanted a dog ( and had NO idea of all the costs involved!), I thought about getting one from the spca or pound, and then Wes just kind of informed me we were getting him. He was from a friend's litter. I was freaked about getting him, I didn't know anything about Pit Bulls but had heard some disturbing lies and believed them. When I thought about getting a dog, Pit Bull was NOT anywhere near what I thought about getting.

Really, it was all a disaster in the making :doh: But with Oscar's wicked temperment and my (albeit poorly aimed and sometimes inconsitently utilized) determination and fondness for working with dogs, we made it :)
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Postby TheRedQueen » June 16th, 2011, 8:36 am

My current dogs:

Ripley: I really, really, really wanted an Australian shepherd. I was working in a pet store at the time, and guess what shows up on the truckload of puppies one day...a dirty, smelly ball of fur that was labeled "Australian shepherd". Long story short, no one bought him because he was a handful, store went out of business, Ripley was given to me by the owners as a parting gift.

Xander: Wanted another Aussie, this time I went to ARPH (the nationwide Aussie rescue). Found an Aussie that sounded promising in WV, spoke to the foster twice, sounded good. She decided to keep him. The rescue rep for WV called me the next week..."found your boy! He's even better!" Drove 500 miles round trip to WV with the rest of the dogs to meet him. Fell in love, took him home that day. Wonderful temperament, athletic build and a deep red coat.

Inara: My heart dog, my basset died in Dec. of 2003...and I was heartbroken. Slipping into a depression...felt horrible. Decided that I need a project dog...searched the rescue listings for Aussies. Found Inara's photo and bio. Full of problems, but she was cute, and she was laying in a baby pool in her photo (always wanted a dog that would lay in water...silly, I know). She was about to be reassessed by ARPH for being euthanized due to her issues. When I first met her, she wouldn't even come near me. I loved her...and I wanted to work with her. I adopted her without even laying hands on her. But she was athletic, a great size and drivey.

Sawyer: Simply wanted another dog...searched the rescue pages obsessively...found this cute little guy in Kansas City. Had to have him. Got on the phone with his rescuer/foster...she agreed that he sounded like a good fit. He was a stray, they'd taken him in and he was living at the vet clinic. Mentioned on an Aussie forum that he needed transport to MD. Friend stepped up and drove him all the way from MO to MD over a weekend for me. (we're still good friends). Never met him before the day he arrived...and boy was he a pain in the butt. He's never ceased to be a pain in the butt...lol He was full of beans, athletic and smart as a whip.

Score: Picked him from a photo on an online dog forum that I was on...a friend had rescued him...I took him into the Assistance Dog program at Fidos For Freedom. He got here, and we all went..."uh...he's a bit "bully". Since FFF is located in Prince George's County...the site of a really strict pit bull ban...we were worried. By the time he was about four months old, we as trainers decided to wash him from the program...he fit into the parameters of "bully" according to PG county: rose ears, squarish-head, short coat and whip tail. He was due to go back to NC to the rescuer...but I fell in love and he never left. He had beautiful structure, a great temperament and was athletic.

Figment aka The Wiener: He was dropped off at our house for weekend boarding by his first owner. He was less than 4 months old...and full of GO! I hadn't allowed myself to fall in love with a short-legged dog since my basset had passed years back. But this one...he was special. His owner came back to pick him up and he left. A few days later he called to ask if we knew anyone that wanted a dachshund...as he was breaking up with his fiance and neither one wanted to keep the pup. I said "NO". But then the next day I told John..."call him and tell him that we'll foster the pup until we can find a home for him..." He was dropped off with a crate and all of his stuff the next day. I went through numerous adoptees (including the family with the small child that hit Fig with a giant flexi leash), and said no to them all...before realizing that he was meant to stay. He's still full of GO! He's drivey, athletic and just plain FUN.

Puzzle: Yeah, she's staying. Why is she here? She came as a foster...sort of a last minute thing...her former foster had taken her to Philly..then decided that she couldn't have her at the house...and that she had to go NOW! So I got a transport arranged via flyball friends. I figured she could learn flyball while she was here, to up her chances of being adopted. She came here on a cold day in January and walked in like she had been here forever. Curled up on John's lap and everyone loved her. After a few weeks, an potential adopter was interested in her...and I realized that she couldn't leave. She's learning flyball stuff quickly...and loves to play with other dogs. Two things that I need in this house! Her structure is atrocious...but she's still athletic, and temperament-wise, I couldn't ask for better.
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Postby homebrwd » July 6th, 2011, 9:06 am

I had waited about two years to get a dog so that my work schedule would slow down and so that I knew I would be able to afford one. A coworker had showed me a site where she had rescued her second pit from and said they were great people that really cared about the dogs and wanted to make sure they were going to good homes. I had looked at the site and picked three of there dogs when I sent in my application. The three I had chosen all had paperwork starting on them already, I was sad and happy. Luckily the woman who was handling my paperwork informed me she had a young male named Rudy who was waiting on the OK from his vet after heartworm treatment. She had 3 other pits that were hers and said Rudy got a long great with them all sometimes even stepping into heated situations to break them up. She sent me some pictures once his weight had come back up and I was sold. His red brindle coat and gold/green eyes had sucked me in and a few weeks later I flew out to KC, MO and picked him up. Things no doubt happen for a reason and I love my pup. His name is Fergus now as my dad's dog is named Rudy and Fergus is just perfect for him.
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Postby SisMorphine » July 8th, 2011, 7:59 pm

In general I lean towards dogs with tons of confidence (sometimes even a bad attitude). I don't do shy or fearful.
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Postby call2arms » July 9th, 2011, 12:21 am

I'm also not into shy/fearful dogs. I like dogs who come forward and are generally happy to see people.

Jack was a gift from my former roommate (now boyfriend) and a friend for my 18th birthday - I had wanted a dog for a long time, and I wanted to adopt. So they told me that I they would pay for my dog of choice at the SPCA. I was ecstatic.

We went to the local SPCA, and they were cleaning some runs, so some dogs were in runs, some tied to posts while their runs got cleaned. It was between Jack (then named Devil), tied to a post, barking his head off standing on his back legs and a small, 10 week old yellow lab that was curled up and looked all traumatized to be there. I picked Jack, because I was not sure I'd have the time to housetrain a small puppy. And he was handsome.

Iggy was a foster from Bullies in need that came to work with his foster mom. I just fell in love with him, the first time I saw him he was having an allergic reaction to Pedigree (got into a bag by accident) and the skin on his belly was all red and inflamed, poor guy. Then I almost broke up with my boyfriend over him, and finally he came home on April 4th.
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Postby fenella » November 2nd, 2011, 10:27 am

Murphy: I knew I was going to get a dog the minute I had my own house and yard. I searched Petfinder, and found a litter of adorable puppies that had just been born into rescue. Murphy would be ready to leave about 2 weeks after I moved in, so I thought it was perfect. I'd have time to let him settle in before the school year started. He was absolutely the most aggravating puppy I had ever met once I got him and cried a lot thinking I couldn't keep him (our labs growing up had all been pretty easy). With a LOT of hard work, he is now my heart dog.

Nittany: Murphy needed a friend (or so I thought), and I had been bitten by the flyball bug. I came across Nittany's listing on Petfinder (I wasn't really actively looking, but I always browse the listings). She was too cute, and I felt badly for her. She had lived the first year of her life on a 3-foot chain outside all the time. The rescue group had convinced the owners to sign her over, and I was immediately in love when I met her. She had never been on a leash and had no manners, but learned so quickly. She is a super-easy dog to live with and loves everyone.

Digit: Digit has been in my house for 2 weeks so far. Murphy doesn't run flyball anymore, and Nittany will run but has next to no drive. She runs only for the treats and is in no particular hurry to get down the lane (though she is so excited for lure-coursing!). I wanted a dog with the drive to continue in dog sports and at least WANT to play. Speed would be nice, too. The dog had to be small, since I can't fit another big crate in my car.
I wanted a dog who was athletic and small, but NOT a JRT. I have been on a breeder list for almost 2 years now, and the puppies are finally on the ground. However, I still looked through rescue listings and stop into shelters. I fell in love with the description of a small male online and called the shelter, only to find out he had been adopted the evening before I was planning to come and visit him. They recommended a small, female, JRT puppy who seemed to have the energy I was after. A Jack? And a female jack at that? Heck no, but I went to the shelter anyway to see what else they may have. Came out an hour later with the small, female jack puppy. Erin was with me when I picked her out, and we agreed that she was something special. She is learning quickly and is very driven. Hopefully, she will love flyball (and I think she will). She charmed her way into my heart, but we are still trying to figure each other out. So much for the well-bred puppy I have been on the list for!
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