Hello all,
My name is Judy and I'm just about ready to start looking for a new pup.
We had a few dogs when I was a child, back in the 70's and early 80's, but those were always my parents' responsibility. I enjoyed playing with them, but knew and learned nothing of training or rearing a dog properly. As an adult, I've had one dog. I got her as a puppy and raised her through potty training, teething, obedience training, and agility training. We had her for ten years before she was taken rather abruptly and unexpectedly last June by bloat.
A little about me and my family. I'm married to a terrific man. He's just retired after 28 years of active duty service in the Air Force. We have three great kids, the youngest of which is 16. There are NO grandchildren in my immediate or near future, as my older kids are still single and showing no signs of settling into families of their own at this time. (And I'm in no hurry for them to!)
We've just moved back to San Antonio, TX...our "home base" off and on for many years throughout our AF career. We plan to settle here for the foreseeable future, but are still young enough to know life may yet take us in unexpected directions.
My "one dog" was a Doberman named Mira. I researched the heck out of many breeds before settling on a Dobie, then researched the heck out of Dobermans in particular. She came from a long line of working cadaver dogs. I thought, at the time, that I'd found a "reputable breeder". She was AKC registered and her lineage looked good. Found out later, the person was really just a casual back-yard breeder who happened to have a working dog. Even so...I truly believe Mira and I, and our family, were meant to be. She was a perfect fit for our young, growing family and we loved her dearly. Even after months, I'm still near tears writing about her.
My husband's favorite breed is German Shepherd. He had one for most of his life growing up. I love GSDs as well, and am happy to let him have his "choice" for breeds when we start looking for a new pup. I've been lurking and reading up on the breed here and other places for the last couple of months.
I work from home. We own our house and have a large, fenced yard. No other mammal pets in the home at this time. Maybe...maaayyybe, someday there will be a second dog or a cat. But those are distant considerations. We've got some work to do on the home yet...and a new fence will be going up to replace the old one that is currently there. But I'm thinking that we will be ready to bring a new puppy into the home within the next 6-8 months. I loved raising and training Mira, and am very much looking forward to applying all that I learned (from both successes and failures) to raise a new family dog.
I hope that I can learn here how to find a proper breeder and get to know them well before we get to that point where we really want a dog "right now." I'm looking forward to learning what I can here!
My name is Judy and I'm just about ready to start looking for a new pup.
We had a few dogs when I was a child, back in the 70's and early 80's, but those were always my parents' responsibility. I enjoyed playing with them, but knew and learned nothing of training or rearing a dog properly. As an adult, I've had one dog. I got her as a puppy and raised her through potty training, teething, obedience training, and agility training. We had her for ten years before she was taken rather abruptly and unexpectedly last June by bloat.
A little about me and my family. I'm married to a terrific man. He's just retired after 28 years of active duty service in the Air Force. We have three great kids, the youngest of which is 16. There are NO grandchildren in my immediate or near future, as my older kids are still single and showing no signs of settling into families of their own at this time. (And I'm in no hurry for them to!)
We've just moved back to San Antonio, TX...our "home base" off and on for many years throughout our AF career. We plan to settle here for the foreseeable future, but are still young enough to know life may yet take us in unexpected directions.
My "one dog" was a Doberman named Mira. I researched the heck out of many breeds before settling on a Dobie, then researched the heck out of Dobermans in particular. She came from a long line of working cadaver dogs. I thought, at the time, that I'd found a "reputable breeder". She was AKC registered and her lineage looked good. Found out later, the person was really just a casual back-yard breeder who happened to have a working dog. Even so...I truly believe Mira and I, and our family, were meant to be. She was a perfect fit for our young, growing family and we loved her dearly. Even after months, I'm still near tears writing about her.
My husband's favorite breed is German Shepherd. He had one for most of his life growing up. I love GSDs as well, and am happy to let him have his "choice" for breeds when we start looking for a new pup. I've been lurking and reading up on the breed here and other places for the last couple of months.
I work from home. We own our house and have a large, fenced yard. No other mammal pets in the home at this time. Maybe...maaayyybe, someday there will be a second dog or a cat. But those are distant considerations. We've got some work to do on the home yet...and a new fence will be going up to replace the old one that is currently there. But I'm thinking that we will be ready to bring a new puppy into the home within the next 6-8 months. I loved raising and training Mira, and am very much looking forward to applying all that I learned (from both successes and failures) to raise a new family dog.
I hope that I can learn here how to find a proper breeder and get to know them well before we get to that point where we really want a dog "right now." I'm looking forward to learning what I can here!