Who I Am

[ladyfreckles]

I'm no very experienced.

I have been around dogs my whole life. The first dog I knew, who lived to be 17-18 years old, was a Springer Spaniel named Rudy. I was just a baby when our neighbors got him but I bonded with him as a toddler and when I got older and we used to play in the street (we lived in the middle of no where on a very narrow dead end, no cars ever drove by) they would have Rudy out there with us to make sure we didn't get into any trouble. I wandered off into the woods when I was four and they actually sent him after me and he found me and all but dragged me home. That's what made me fall in love with dogs in general.

I moved after that, and the neighbors to my left had a Kerry Blue Terrier while the neighbors to my right had a Beagle. Since my dad traveled for a living and my mom was hospitalized for months a a time every year I practically lived with those neighbors. I loved that terrier. He got sick and had to be put down, and they got a Westiepoo. Very smart dog. Trained very quickly, no issues what-so-ever. I started walking her when I was eight years old.

After that I became a dog walking service for everyone in our neighborhood. This continued until just before my 17th birthday when I moved into an apartment. Also during this time, my dad would let me dog sit for friends and family. Starting at 10, when a co-worker of my dad's who owned a German Shepherd would go on business trips, I would take care of him. He was already an adult when I started. I stoppe
d when I moved and no longer had a yard. I loved that dog. He made me fall in love with German Shepherds. He would follow me everywhere off leash and never ran off on me. I also dog sat a few other dogs, but only for a few days while friends went on vacation. Most of these dogs were mutts, though one was a golden retriever.

I used to feed my neighbor in the apartment complex's dogs when she went away or stayed at her boyfriend's overnight. They were mutts, I'm not sure what kind.

So as you can see, my experience is limited. I have read books on dog breeds on and off since I was just a kid. I used to love that. I never owned a dog because my dad did not think it was appropriate when he traveled so often. At 20 I got my first dog--a German Shepherd. I'm screwing up loads with him and every day is a new learning experience. He's loud, but never really barks at "nothing". He barks to get my attention or when he sees something he wants but he can't reach (like the cats). He's 10 weeks old and still has accidents in the house, mostly because of owner error.

I hope that someday I'm as experienced as other people and I can give more advice. But for now, I'm still learning.

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by KZoppa

well.... hmmm.... here is me.... kinda scattered lol...


Grew up with dogs around, but rarely directly in my household. two of my uncles are pretty decent dog trainers. We had a golden retriever when i was 5 for about 6 months but my parents were clueless as to raising and training so she ended up rehoming herself after getting off the chain/cable my parents had her in the backyard with. had a scottie for about 3 weeks before my parents returned him to his owners because he was too terrified to come out from under their bed.

No dogs in the immediate household since then. Walked, played with and did some training of a neighbors dog down the street. She was a blue heeler named Casey so at 11 and 12 years old ish i was training her. Helped train my immediate neighbors boxers to sit and down and stay when i was 10.

Graduated high school, moved in with my boyfriend in 2005 and we adopted Riley when he was 5 months old, now 6 years old. he spent the first 7-8 months living with my inlaws because of landlord issues at our first apartment. Second apartment we had Riley and adopted Zena who at the time was about 4 or 5 years old, purebred GSD. Dominance issues, dog aggression, primarily same sex aggression and absolutely no training. Worked out the active dog to dog aggression and she's now an angel with other dogs, though still dominant but not nasty about it. She learned manners and is now a well rounded very good girl.

I've had dogs of my own the last 6 years and have helped with friends and neighbors dogs for as long as i can remember. Been around GSDs off and on until i got my own. First one in my family to have GSDs since my great grandfather had his dog King and my grandmother was i believe 15. She's now almost 60 so GSDs LONG time ago. I'm the first female in the family to train dogs. Its usually my uncles who do all the dog training.

Issues i'm comfortable giving advice or experiences on.... pretty much anything except RAW feeding since i dont feed RAW. I'm a kibble feeder all the way. I've dealt with a lot and learned a lot.


interests include possibly in the future; agility, sch training, obedience, dock diving...

figured its time to update. Since i posted this, I have begun class to become a certified obedience trainer/instructor and am very soon to finish and graduate. So certified obedience trainer will be added to my list!