Why did you choose your dog?

Mick and Murph chose me, I guess... 2005, already had 5 dogs: Patch was found in 1989 wandering down the road. She passed us by (we were putting up fence on our newly bought property) came back, sat, watched for awhile, and when I called her, crawled into my lap and cried. We took her home that day. She was my heart dog for 16 years. Emily was a rottie/mix puppy (1996) given to us by a friend who had a pure bred Rottie dumped on her, Emily became my velcro dog. Holly was given to us by the owners of the boarding stable (1997) where we kept our horses before moving to our place. Robbie belonged to a neighbor who moved and left him (1997), at age 14, so we took him in. Abbey was found dumped along a state highway (1999).

Anyway, we thought Murph and Mick were another set of dumped dogs, they were skinny, extremely wary and Mick was limping from a hurt front foot. We couldn't get near them, so put food out across the road in the pasture. We'd have to leave before either dog would approach. After a few weeks of hit-and-miss appearances, the two decided to stick around, and when I walked the other dogs down the road, they started tagging along. Emily did not like them, so there was no thought of bringing them inside our fence.

Fast forward 3 months, the boys were now sleeping beside the front gate, chasing cars that went by, and Emily was no longer raging at them, so we brought them inside our fence because I didn't want to find them squashed on the road. Emily sat on them (literally), they said fine, and we had 7 dogs. Then, in the following three months, I lost Robbie, Emily and Patch.

Was walking Murph, Mick and Abbey down the road one evening, when a car went by, stopped, backed up and the woman told me, "Those are our dogs! We've been looking for them for months!" Turns out they owned the mother dog and lived about a mile down the road. I thought it was a little strange they didn't notice Mick or Murph chasing their car during the months they lived beside our gate or had any signs up, but the boys recognized her and her kids, so I turned them over, walked Abbey home and cried. An hour later, the woman called and asked if I wanted to keep Mick and Murph; evidently they had a history of killing neighbor's chickens, chasing livestock, climbing out of pens and escaping chains. I guess her husband didn't want them. I said yes, she brought them back and I've had them ever since. They're good boys and I'm glad that family didn't want them.

Riley was from a litter of 7 wk old puppies dumped alongside a road. The daughter of a woman at work found them, caught 3 of the 5 but couldn't catch the remaining 2, and then couldn't find them after putting the 3 caught puppies in her car. They thought they'd found homes for the 3 pups but the person who was going to take Riley and his sister backed out at the last minute. An email went around work, the daughter showed up at lunch time with the 2 puppies and we went home that day with Riley. Another woman at work took his sister. The woman no longer works at our company but I keep in touch with her, and send an email/photos every year of Riley to let her and her daughter know how he's doing.

Kimma because looks were deceiving.


Pen because it was fate.

Bubbles because I wanted her for forever then finally got her.

Jari because LOOK AT THAT FACE:

Bahaha sorry, every time I read the thread title this comes to mind.



Seamus: I was fifteen and told that I could get a small dog. So I went to the shelter and he was the first dog that I saw and I fell in love. I asked to meet him so the staff member brought him out and we played in the yard for a little bit. Then he chased after a bee and got stung in the face and I knew that I had to have him.

Paris: There was a lot more thought involved this time around. I had been researching Border Collies since before I got Seamus and kind of went back and forth for a while between getting a BC or getting another Rough Collie. I ultimately decided that I really wanted a BC. So I researched and went to agility trials and talked to lots of people and met lots of dogs and ultimately decided on Paris' breeder. We spoke for probably close to a year when Paris was born. I knew I was getting a puppy from her litter but I didn't know which girl I was getting (there were four) until she was like seven weeks old.

I still remember the day I found out which puppy was mine. I was ecstatic because secretly she was my favourite from the litter.

I didn't choose Dyno, my boyfriend did, and even though i do ALL of the care/training it is technically his dog...

I was young when i got Scruffy, and i liked her because she was unique looking with a nice personality, she was just leaning on the cage against me when i was petting her at the shelter, she was high energy but filled with SOOO much love, how could i say no to her scruffy hobo face??

I wasn't suppose to keep Loki, i found him and his old owner no longer wanted him.

Merlin was chosen for me I found his breeder in a search for a breeder that put temperament/health first, and a breed that would suit me SD potential wise...and it just felt right. I don't love all aussies, but I love her aussies lol if that makes sense.

Most of chaz was part of the litter process and watching them all grow up, and it wasn't until he was 13 weeks old or so that Merlin (then Duke) was mine!

All of the puppies were cute, that much is fact, but Merlin's pictures tugged at my heart. He looks exactly the same lol

Frag - Jon's mom told him he could get a dog... We were deciding between Weimaraner, GSP, Bernese Mountain Dog, GSD and Husky I think? Somehow settled on the GSD because he liked the military. When we saw the litter, we didn't want the giant one named "brutus" or the runt, so we got the medium one with no personality! lol

Recon - Roommate got a border collie, I started training her and talking to disc people. Wanted to get involved. Emailed a local breeder. Didn't hear back for many months, stopped searching. Heard from her with a litter on the ground and she picked out two for me. I chose the more confident and higher energy dog.

Patton - Friend had some puppies, asked if anyone could puppy raise one for a little while to separate them. I'M A SUCKER, COMPLETELY UNPLANNED.

Because she looked very pissy in her 4 week old photo, wouldn't leave me alone at the breeder's, and it seemed like a good idea at the time?

Got a wee bit tipsy on Mint Mojitos, woke up with an email telling me that I had been approved to adopt 'Jonathon' I hate kids, so I was pretty sure that this was a dog thing. Drove 5 hours each way to pick him up on the last day of the year, knew the shelter had screwed me before I even left, and brought home my precious coyboy that very day. It's been...yeah.

Gimmick was the hand of fate. He came from a BYB in South Carolina (seriously, why is it that I can't find a decent breeder of Long Haired Whippets now that I'm looking again, but a BYB is popping them out?) and came into the clinic for his puppy shots. The entire staff told me to bide my time on him, because the owner is a loon, and he would be rehomed soon. Got a phone call that he had mauled the cat and she had wanted him euthanized. The techs convinced her to save him for me, and I got him that Monday. By the way? The cat he 'mauled' was 3 week old kitten that he stepped on and sprained it's leg.

Quid....well, Quid was my foster dog last year, and was adopted into a wonderful home. Unfortunatly, his owners had to give him up, and I couldn't let him go back to the shelter to live in a cage, so he came back to me. The current plan is for him to go to his permenant home in December.

Harlow was impulse. I babysat for a guy who had a Boxer who I liked a lot. His dog's "breeder" had another litter about 6 months later and I jumped on it (even though I'd been set on a BC or ACD).

When we got out west, I had found an ACD breeder that I LOVED. However, I was still in the battle of ACD vs BC. Most forums recommended I get a "softer" ACD by going with a mix. Found a rescue through that breeder and saw Rider's picture and never looked back.

Tulsa was kind of a half planned, half not puppy. I had met her breeder at a dog event close to a year before and had been handling her dad at a show or two. I told her if there was a puppy that fit what I wanted I may be interested. We know where that went.

I chose Cohen's breeder, and my dad chose Cohen. He liked her markings and didn't really take into account that she was the busiest pup of the litter. She was pretty cute.



There wasn't much choosing when it came to Mega. She was a re-home to my husband's family, she bonded with him and moved in when he did.

I choose Welshies because I wanted a medium sized, active but with an off-switch, versatile, cuddly, and friendly dog. DH and I wanted a brittany, because he had one growing up and I knew one well, but a friend of a friend had Welshies and turned me on to the breed. I never looked back! They were cute, happy, velcro dogs - just what I wanted. I was between herders and sporting dogs, and I think I felt that sporting dogs would be a safer choice for the first dog as adults. Labs and goldens were just too big, and I'm not really into smooth coated dogs, so the spaniels and Brittanies stood out. I've always loved the feathered look. Britts seemed like a good choice since we had personal experience with them, though I got a little scared hearing about how off the wall hyper they were. I also found primarily hunting breeders, many who kept dogs in kennels, and I wasn't sure I would get a dog with a good off switch that way, especially in a breed not known for their off switches. When Welshies were suggested, they just seemed to fill in all of the holes that I found in Brittanies

I found his breeder mostly by chance. I had poked around online and set my heart on a breeder in CT who had nice looking dogs. She had a litter, but there wasn't a puppy for me. She pointed me towards two more women who were having litters from bitches she had bred. We went to meet the first and planned to get a puppy from her, but the pregnancy didn't take. The third breeder happened to have a litter on the ground with unclaimed boys, so we said we would take one. When I look back at the litters we could have had puppies from (since I know all of these breeders and dogs much better now), I think we got a really good one. I love the temperaments that Watson's dad throws, though puppies from any of those other litters would have been a fine match too.

The breeder gave me Watson because he was a show prospect, and her show buyer fell through. I said I was interested in obedience and agility, so I was the most likely to actually show him in conformation. His personality seemed to be a good fit as well - he was middle of the road in his litter (though I think he grew into one of the more wild dogs) and probably the most handler oriented/responsive. When we met him at 5.5 weeks, all four boys in the litter seemed pretty similar. I honestly didn't have a preference for which one we got, so I trusted her to pick.

I've always been interested in herding breeds and I'm still very interested in a herder in the future, but a Welshie was a great choice for us. My husband asked the other day if we can skip having kids and just have a herd of Welshies. Haha

I just felt like Shar Pei were right for me at the time. I don't really know why, although I think it had something to do with the fact that I had just gotten into clicker training "unusual" animals (cats, etc.) and I loved the challenge of working with something that doesn't have much natural biddability. Also, to be brutally honest, I love their looks. I love stocky, meaty-faced breeds and I really wanted something giant (Dogue de Bordeux, St. Bernard) but I'm also a renter.

I was actually in the process of adopting a different dog when I found Astro. Shar Pei/Boxer mix. She turned out to have a laundry list of issues, mainly related to dog reactivity. And I got the feeling the rescue was treating the reactivity and budding aggression with escalating corrections, so I was wary that she would have baggage...it just didn't feel right. I was heartbroken because I'd already bought a crate and named her.

Then I found another Pei-face. I chose him because he was said to have good toy drive (and he does - the dude lives for tug), sleep quietly through the night and even in a crate already (yep, didn't wake me up once through the first night), and most importantly, he was a baby - I felt ready to raise a pup on my own.

I told myself when I drove to get him that I would not take him if he was shy/withdrawn, because A) our last family dog was chronically shy and it made everything difficult, for everyone, B) Pei are already aloof, no need to add potential fear biting to that mixture. That was it, my one condition that could make me walk away, because he was so dang cute. Fortunately he was very confident with people so I paid my 150 or so in cash to the rescue and brought him home!

Oh, and he did have one available sister. I really don't know why I didn't take her...she was undeniably pretty, a light lilac color, very unusual looking dog, and I tend to be drawn to that. I think it's that she was lighter in the face, and I really wanted as meaty-mouthed a dog as I could get in a mix. And Astro was just so floppy and goofy, she was very friendly but a little more delicate about it.

Morrison- At the time I had my lovely yellow lab Sawyer (R.I.P my sweet boy) and he had totally sold on the breed. I then would troll petfinder and craigslist looking for another lab or lab mix of some sort. I randomly came across an ad on craigslist titled "Free mixed breed puppy" I clicked on it and to my surprise there sat a 1 year old Morrison and I just fell in love. I wasn't really looking for a black lab let alone a lab/hound mix but there was just something about him...I knew he was for me.

I chose him because I had experience with both labs and hounds and I liked his slightly smaller size. It was the best decision I ever made.

Fae- I didn't really "choose" her per say. I was actively looking into getting a Chihuahua puppy after fostering a couple of adult females, and deciding I liked the breed. I had made mention of "puppy hunting" on facebook and not long after I got a fb message from a friends 16 year old sister asking if I would be interested in her 6 month old "chorkie". She had bought her from Chihuahua breeder because the "chorkie" puppies were cheaper than the purebred pups.

The girl didn't know much about the actual work it takes to train a puppy. And long story short her parents told her that the puppy needed "to go".

I wasn't 100% sure what I was getting into with Fae. I had known some pretty crazy Yorkies in the past. She also would be my first terrier or terrier mix...And I had heard lots of crazy terrier stories. But I decided to take a chance on her (with out even seeing a picture of her). I figured if it didn't work out I would be able to place her in a great home through the small dog rescue I fostered for.


It's a decision I am thankful I made every day. I don't know what I would do without my little "wookie". I THOUGHT I knew what "heart dog" meant and then this quirky little girl came into my life and I just fell in love. She just makes me so happy.

Leia- like Fae I didn't really "choose" her in the sense that I didn't go looking for another chihuahua/terrier mix. And like Fae I did not find her from an ad. I had a void in my home at the time. My two foster chi's had each finally found great forever homes and I was happy about that. But Fae was missing her playmates. Not long after that my moms elderly (12 year old) Pomeranian "Honey" passed away. She too was close with Fae. I knew Fae was missing having other dogs "her size" in the house. So I decided to start keeping my eye out for another small breed puppy.

I then heard that a friend was desperately looking to rehome her 5 small breed dogs. She had found out she was pregnant with twins and she was going on bed rest. She didn't want to but she knew that she could not care her dogs the way they deserved once the babies came. She had an adult female purebred chihuahua, two male purebred toy fox terriers, an elderly pug (who she ended up keeping), and a 13 week old puppy the offspring of her chi and one of her male tft. She had made a post on fb asking if anyone would be interested in any of the adults.

I texted her and filled her in on my situation and asked if she would be interested in parting with one of her males. I asked that because they were the youngest of the group (she originally did not post about the puppy because she had a home lined up for her). But she said if I took one I would have to take both because they were extremely attached and had horrible seperation anxiety when apart. I told her I understood and explained that I had only asked because I was looking for a younger companion that would play with Fae who was mourning Honey.

Hours later I got a random text from her asking if I would be interested in a free 13 week old chi/terrier puppy. I didn't hesitate I made the split decision and said yes that I was absolutely interested. The original "future home" had fallen through. And I just felt like it was fate (much like it was with Fae). I didn't have any experience with toy fox terriers but I knew a lot about the breed as they are on my "wish list" of breeds to own one day.

Just like Fae I went to pick up my new puppy having no idea how big she would be or what she would even look like. I mean it was a total impulsive decision. But I knew if I hesitated I could be missing out on something great...I am SO glad I didn't hesitate. Leia fits in PERFECTLY in our family and I still thank my friend on a regular basis for giving me the chance to have this dog in my life. It truly was fate/meant to be.

I just wanted a dog to be an active buddy that liked to learn stuff. So I didn't choose Lily's mix on purpose. She was actually supposed to be one of five dogs I looked at at that shelter (and I had already visited others at three other shelters). Yeah it was over the second I walked in the door and saw her. Just knew she was it. I didn't realize until later that she was just like the particular blend type of sled dog mutts I loved reading stories and watching movies about as a kid. Go figure!


I didn't choose Scout, she chose me. No seriously. From the second we met she chose to literally follow me whenever I was there. She climbed in bed with me one night I stayed out there and this from a dog who wouldn't let anyone touch her without darting away. Even when I finally officially took her it was just to foster I told myself... hah, little did I know.

Jasper:

I was 19 and decided that I wanted to get my own dog, having had lots of different breeds growing up. I pretty randomly decided that I wanted either a GSD or Rough Collie, though I hadn't particularly spent much time with either breed. I browsed Kijiji (basically Canadian craigslist) and saw Jasper, he was the last male in his litter (again, randomly I wanted a male - we always had female dogs growing up) and I really liked his markings, so I drove 5 hours to see him and well, the rest is history.

Yarrow:

Somewhere along the line I got completely fascinated by wolfdogs. I met one in particular who had a really lasting impression on me. I researched them for years, obsessively. I found out about ANCDs somewhere along the line, though at that point the breeder wasn't advertising them at ALL, and it was very hard to even find her email address. It took ages to hear back from her, but we finally started a correspondence. I decided to go with an ANCD because she seemed to place a lot of importance on titling her dogs, and they were all extensively health tested. I put a deposit down about a year in advance. There were two black males in the litter and I much preferred Yarrow's look, so was very happy when he was chosen for me!

Onyx:

I knew even before I got Yarrow that he wasn't likely going to fit my want for a super high drive, really trainable, biddable dog (I had hoped, but had my doubts!), so I was already looking into potential other dogs. I toyed around with the idea of a working line GSD, Dutch Shepherd, or Malinois. I met a few Malinois and just loved them, and after having less than pleasant experiences with some GSDs that I boarded a lot for a few years, I decided to go with a Malinois (even with all the warnings about the breed). I had a deposit down on another litter from another breeder, but the pregnancy didn't take, and then Onyx just kind of appeared in my radar and she was mine a few weeks later.

Jack: As a fifth dog to the house, my dad would only agree to a black lab. Found a "black lab" puppy at an adoption event shortly after and snagged him. He turned out to be a stocky labrahound who loves tricks but never really enjoyed being a sport dog.

Crossbone: After showing husband 3000 petfinder photos, Crossbone was the only one he showed interest in. He told me not to send in an application because our colleague was getting a puppy at the same time and he didn't want to steal her thunder. I sent the application in anyway.

The breed came because we had a collie when I was a kid. We always wanted another dog after he died but my dad said no. When my sister moved out and got her first apartment, her fiance bought her a sheltie puppy because a collie wouldn't have really fit in the apartment. Shortly after Happy my sister ended up getting Kota from a sheltie rescue. Then she moved back in with us with both dogs. After she moved back out, I wanted a sheltie. I've never really looked back at collies although I do still really love the idea of them - shelties are just perfect for me.

We looked at one breeder and I called her and talked to her, and she was not a very good breeder. Even told me "I'm in a hurry to get rid of these puppies, they're costing me a lot to feed." Uh. We asked a vet for a referral and I left multiple voicemails for that breeder but she never called me back. Finally my dad asked a friend of his if his girlfriend knew a breeder (his girlfriend shows whippets) and that's how we met Auggie's breeder.

Why Auggie? I don't know. There were two boys I got to pick from. I can't tell you what drew me to Auggie over the other one. Just something about him said "pick me." The other boy might have turned out to be a better agility dog, I don't know, but I know I picked the right one. Just something in my heart that said he was the one I wanted. At that point in time I was primarily looking for a nice pet, I didn't have a lot of intentions for agility, so I wasn't really being super picky about this that or the other thing, I just wanted the best possible little dog. And I got him.


Pepper I met, along with her sister, when she was a little puppy, and I liked her, but I didn't want one of those puppies because I didn't want a girl. There was another male dog I wanted but my dad had said no to him. I saw her several times as she was growing up - I still remember sitting on the ground at a show and being tackled from behind by little Pepper after she had just gotten her eyes CERF'd. I liked her, but she was a girl and I didn't really want a girl. But Auggie's breeder brought Pepper to me and was like "just keep her for a weekend... see what you think." She was horrified of everything and she wouldn't play with Auggie and she was emotionally and mentally exhausting. I took her back after that weekend and was ready to move on. Several months later, I was hoping for a breeding and it didn't take... so we kicked the idea around a little bit more and she came back again. This time I was giving her a two week trial period, and if after two weeks I wasn't sold, she was going back. After two weeks, my mom said "just give her one more week." After three weeks, she said "just give her one more week." My heart was torn because I loved her but she wasn't at all the kind of dog I was looking for. I wanted a nice agility dog and I had serious doubts she would ever be able to do it. But in the end I loved her and there was nothing more to it. So here she is... everything I didn't want, but she is my little girly.


As for Payton... the first time I heard about Payton was a text message. Auggie's breeder had been to see her co-owned bitch's litter and sent me a text saying she had just seen the litter and there was a nice little male who looked just like Auggie's dad when he was a puppy. I was immediately like "Um... I want that puppy." But she had a breeding cooking and I was waiting for that breeding, so I didn't say anything. Time went on and the breeding was small and I was worried there wouldn't be any boys. I kept thinking about that other puppy and wondering if she hadn't told me about that puppy just in case this litter didn't give me what I wanted. Well, the puppies showed up and there were only two little girls. I was devastated, especially because my heart was still broken after Happy had died and I was looking for something to help heal that wound. I mulled on it for a few days and then I went looking to see if I could find anything online about that male dog. I found him. And I saw him and **** if he did not look just like Auggie's dad. I still mulled it over a few days because his mom was Pepper's mom and I was worried about potentially getting another Pepper. Finally I bit the bullet and asked Auggie's breeder about him. Actually it was sort of "Did Echo's litter have any puppies that had a good working attitude?" "Yeah, there were two." "Were any of them boys?" We sent a bunch of text messages back and forth, talked about it at a trial, then e-mails were exchanged, then we got in the car and drove to see him. I had a money order with me but I promised myself I was just going to look. "You do not have to take the puppy" was the mantra. We pulled up and he was out in an ex-pen, and I still remember he jumped up on the ex-pen and peered excitedly at the car, and I took a deep breath and reminded myself "You do NOT have to take the puppy." I was determined NOT to take him if he was anything less than what I was looking for.
We spent a long time going over him structurally. I walked him around a bit on a leash to see his movement. We pushed him around a little to see what his attitude was like, how his recovery was and things like that. Then I took a toy, and I slapped it on the ground in front of him, and he launched himself at it with so much enthusiasm, and I was so relieved because I GOT TO TAKE THE PUPPY.
So I handed over the money order and I got in the car with a little puppy in my arms and I stared at him going "I can't believe I just did this." And I still can't believe I did it, hahaha. Oh boy.


The only one I would do anything differently on is maybe Pepper. I wish if I were going to end up with her, I would have just gotten her when she was a little puppy. But I suppose everything happens for a reason and this is how things were supposed to play out.


The next dog is either going to be from a breeding I have my eye on, which is from the same sire I've been waiting on a puppy from since pre-Pepper, or it will be from a Payton breeding which will involve a lot of work and research to find a nice match and agree on doing a breeding.