Tell Me About Your Dog(s)
- Thread starter Ivy
- Start date
Auggie. Auggie is the first dog that has ever been mine. I call him my heart dog, but I admit I was worried when I brought Payton home that I would find out Auggie wasn't really my heart dog - just my first dog. Well, I was right, Auggie is my heart dog. I love him more than I can put into words, in a way I just can't describe. I can't even explain to you why. How lucky am I to have the first dog who is actually mine also be a heart dog? He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me. He is a little snot, stubborn sometimes (we often have times where I remind him that I am remarkably stubborn too and am in fact more stubborn than he is, though sometimes I question that...), he is too clever for is own good. Nothing makes Auggie happier than running and playing though he is okay with lazing around... but I know he is his happiest when he gets to play hard. He is hilarious and makes everybody laugh. He's a ham for sure. He is brave and a great big brother. Things haven't exactly shaken down the way I dreamed for us but I don't know that I would really change much of anything. He has taught me so much about who I am and who I can be. We have both had a lot of stumbles along the way together, but in the end we are together. People have said some not pleasant things about Auggie but it doesn't matter, because when the day is done, I get the greatest gift. I get to go home with my Auggie.
There will never be another Auggie in my life. I may have other heart dogs but there will just never be another Auggie, no matter what. He is everything. And it gives me great pleasure to know without a doubt that he does indeed mean what I thought he meant to me, even in the face of other trouble making, funny, cute little dogs.
Payton. I'm so glad I named him after Walter Payton because Sweetness he definitely is. He doesn't really stop moving - ever - and he doesn't know how to walk from point a to point b, he's always on one speed, GO. But that is exactly what I wanted. He is not quite as quick as Auggie as far as training goes but Auggie and I have been at it for so long that Auggie and I understand each other. I think Payton's quickness will come with time, because he IS an incredibly fast learner and very smart. He loves everybody in the world, loves to play with me, loves to play with Auggie. He isn't a ball hound the way Auggie is but he LOVES to tug. He was my "impulse buy" so to speak... a breeder I knew of had puppies and Auggie's breeder told me she had seen them and one looked just like Auggie's dad. I was waiting on a puppy out of Auggie's brother but when the puppies were born there were only girls. We ended up asking the other breeder about this boy, we drove up to see him, and I brought him home. Normally I am the type of person to overthink and talk myself out of things but this time I decided "to hell with it" and brought home a new puppy. And I'm so glad I did. He is also the best brother imaginable for Auggie. They are just delighted with each other.
And finally...
I met Pepper when she was a puppy. And I liked her, oh I liked her. And as things happened, after a few years, Auggie's breeder offered for me to bring her home and play with her. She HATED Auggie and she HATED my dad and it was a disaster the first weekend she came to visit. She was jealous of Auggie and Auggie became slowly depressed because she was wedging herself in whenever he would come near me. I took her back (she was only there for the weekend anyway) but I couldn't really stop thinking about her. A while later Auggie's breeder offered me to bring her home again. I told myself "Two weeks. She has two weeks to learn to play with Auggie." The first few days were HORRIBLE... she was a ball of nerves, she still hated my dad, she wanted nothing to do with Auggie, she was exhausting in a really bad way. At the end of two weeks I asked my mom what to do. "I said two weeks," I told her. She told me that Pepper had been making SOME progress, even though she still wasn't playing with Auggie, so we should keep her one more week. Then we kept her another week. Then another, then another. She was still exhausting, she still hated my dad, but she did finally play with me and with Auggie. I spent a lot of time crying and trying to decide what to do because she is not the kind of dog I like at all. She is almost Auggie's exact opposite and she kind of drives me crazy. But I loved her. I loved her so much that one afternoon I took her to work with me to try and socialize her with my co-workers, and one co-worker came around the corner with a trash bag inflated full of air. She startled a little bit and he thought it was funny so he started shaking the bag at her. I almost flew across the room and punched him in the face for daring to torment my poor little dog. But I just kept putting off making a decision. She was here to play and we would just make our best of the time we had together.
Until one weekend, at our local trial, I brought Pepper with me so she could be around the noises and smells of an agility trial. I got her out of her crate to walk her around. Auggie's breeder said to me, "She looks really happy."
"**** it," I thought. It was that exact moment that I knew Pepper wasn't going anywhere. There was no longer a time limit on how long Pepper would be living with me. We were stuck together.
That is, until my dad had enough of her being terrified of him. So for now she is back with Auggie's breeder and I drive out there to see her and work her when I can. When I am standing in the yard and the door opens and she comes out into the yard, I just call her name once and she barrels across the yard to me at top speed with a look of sheer joy on her face, and I catch her when she runs to me. And I know that she is my dog. I don't exactly know how or why it happened but she just is. And I may never get to run her in an agility ring or put her on sheep or put any kind of title on her, not even the mock title of CGC, but she is forever part of my family one way or another. I just have to get my own place and she will come back and be a physical part of it.
Ace is my heart dog. There will never ever be another like him. We are so connected, he has my heart and my soul. He is amazing, he can go into any situation with ease and adapt, he never meets a kid, dog ,cat, horse ect he does not love
Dutchess is my son's best friend. She is amazing with children, she is playful and so loving, but she is a bit skittish at times, she was abused before she came to live with us and you still see signs of her past somedays. She is a loving calm girl, and she loves to swim!
Lilly is a sweet loving little girl. She is my baby. She is so attached to me, I can not even go on vacation without her moping about waiting for me to come back home. She's agile, super smart and listens so amazing!
I do not have enough good things to say about Roxy. She is an absolute wonderful girl
Amazing with kids, wonderful with other dogs and any cats she meets, she is a gentle giant that loves everyone she meets. She is protective of our home. The only bad thing about Roxy is her hair..some days i feel like all I do is brush her lol.
Gunner is like no other dog i've ever met. He's a clown, silly and funny and he can play all day long
He's one of the happiest dog's i've ever met. He's obsessed with water and loves soccer balls! 
Sierra is one of the gentlest dogs i know. She is so sweet and loving, I do not think she has a mean bone in her body. Everyone is her friend
She is silly and such a happy happy girl! She absolutely loves children and is so amazing with them. But she barks like there is no tomorrow lol!
my little Kiley..she is a handful lol! she is my little princess. She is shy and skittish
but she is one of the best family dogs i've ever known. She loves my kids and other dogs like crazy and she is attached to my hip. I have bonded so deeply with this little girl. She is perfect in my eyes, even though most people will never get to know her the way I do. She is smart, will do anything I ask of her and loves to play ball 
Courtney stole my heart from the moment I met her. She is a sweet loving girl that came with baggage
She had a rough life before us and is loving every moment of being a family dog. She was the perfect final addition to our family, even though she still has many many things to work through, but we are getting there! She is very smart and loves to work obedience with me, she loves kids and is getting better meeting dogs each time we go out She is not small dog/animal safe that is her only bad trait, but it is managed and everyone now lives in harmony 
Elsie is my best friend. She's sassy, and silly, and she's the happiest dog I've ever met. She feels every emotion 100%. She gets outraged, and throws tantrums (fewer now that she's older and learned that no one cares). She tries so hard to do what I'm asking, and doesn't try when other people ask. I'll admit, I think it's funny when she blows other people off; my boyfriend's little brother had seen me ask her to do various things, and so he walked up to her with a piece of chicken. "Sit," she laid down. "No, SIT!" She stood up. "Fine, Paw?" she sat. "Down!" She gave him her paw, "Be pretty [which means 'stand up on your hind legs and hold that position]?" She laid down. He gave her the chicken, and I laughed.
She plays pranks on people. She likes to get ice cubes from the fridge and leave them in the other dog's bed. Then she waits for him to go lay down, and when he gets all disgusted, she dances around the house. She waits until my boyfriend is deeply involved in Team Fortress 2, and then gets a mouthful of water and drops it on his feet. She unzips the sofa cushions and takes them apart. She takes my roommates' things. She'll bark softly in the middle of the night on my boyfriend's side of the bed until he wakes up and goes to the window, and then she takes his spot.
She likes to be on stuff.
She loves being told to do stuff. 'Get in my new crate? BEST GAME EVER!'
She love swimming. She can't be out in my parent's backyard unless we want her in the pool.
She's so smart. She applies concepts to new situations. She learned that she could jump over the baby gate. So she was hopping back and forth over it for a while, mocking the other dog. Then she walked over to the screen door, poked it with her nose, and then backed up to consider it. She looked at the gate, then at the door, then at the gate, and then took a running leap to try to make it over the sliding screen door... which of course didn't work. She shook it off, and hasn't tried it again, although she looked honestly confused.
She has moments where I honestly want to kill her. I have never allowed pulling on the leash. From day one, I've used the tree-method, and also clicked for walking in the heel position. Until very recently, none of that mattered because she wants. to. go. faster! After six months of pulling FOR NO REASON, something clicked, and she doesn't pull anymore. I didn't change anything I was doing--I guess she's just six months stubborn.
As she's matured she's gotten more reactive with other dogs, but only while she and/or they are on leash. We're working on that, and she's getting better about ignoring other dogs really quickly. If another dog barks at her, though, I suddenly have a bristling 38lb (scary, right?) monster making a weird gremlin warble sound, and it looks like she's having a fit. (To be fair to Elsie, on Sunday, she was barked at and she did ignore the other dog. <3Elsie!)
I have to get ready for class, so I'll come back and add more later.
This is Cohen. She's 2.
She is the reason why I'm here on this forum, and the reason I work where I work and know the people I know, and the motivation behind so many of my future plans. She is an integral part of my life.
I don't think she's an easy dog. She's mildly reactive, flighty and nervy in some situations (and oddly focused in others) and high energy. Though it's not uncommon for people to tell me she's "perfect" (I try not to let it go to my head!) but I think it's directly related to how much energy I've put into her. It's paid off so well, and is immensely rewarding.
She is incredibly easy to train, picking up on new tricks with ease and seems only limited to what I can think to teach her. She has an understanding of 70+ words and counting.
Out and about she's intense and energetic, but at home I get to see her goofy side. She's incredibly vocal, and will yodel, moan, whine and gurgle when we play. She wakes me up every morning by laying horizontally across my body, but only after she's sure I'm not going back to sleep. She's barky when excited, and prances when I ask her to work with me.
She is a wonderful match for me and I think I'm a pretty good match for her. We're both crazy about each other.
She is the reason why I'm here on this forum, and the reason I work where I work and know the people I know, and the motivation behind so many of my future plans. She is an integral part of my life.
I don't think she's an easy dog. She's mildly reactive, flighty and nervy in some situations (and oddly focused in others) and high energy. Though it's not uncommon for people to tell me she's "perfect" (I try not to let it go to my head!) but I think it's directly related to how much energy I've put into her. It's paid off so well, and is immensely rewarding.
She is incredibly easy to train, picking up on new tricks with ease and seems only limited to what I can think to teach her. She has an understanding of 70+ words and counting.
Out and about she's intense and energetic, but at home I get to see her goofy side. She's incredibly vocal, and will yodel, moan, whine and gurgle when we play. She wakes me up every morning by laying horizontally across my body, but only after she's sure I'm not going back to sleep. She's barky when excited, and prances when I ask her to work with me.
She is a wonderful match for me and I think I'm a pretty good match for her. We're both crazy about each other.
Karma is an American Bulldog x Pit, and she is EXACTLY that, lol. She is the hardiest dog I have ever handled. She is NOT sensitive at all to touch, you could hold her in the air by the ear and she would just wag her tail and not make a sound. But she is very sensitive to being yelled at, only when it comes to her owners though. She could care less about anyone else although I do think if the house was getting robbed and she was throwing a fit and the person yelled NO she'd stop and roll on her back. If she is acting like she has NO manners or acting DA a prong collar, choke chain, any kind of device is NOT going to stop her or sway her at all, but being yelled at hurts her feelings I guess lol. She's a very built dog with a lot of muscle that basically tumbles and throws itself into and onto, under and over anything and everything including humans. This morning (she NEEDS love in the morning or she will probably die) she ran full force into my door, breaking the latch, charged towards me despite my yelling, knocked over my coffee, and rolled face first into my lap. I think this morning explains Karma perfectly. She is the perfect dog in my eyes.
Kenai is a Boxer. I have had both Boxers and bully breeds my whole entire life. Kenai is a one person dog. And my mother is a one dog woman. Kenai has never been my dog or anyone else's dog in this household. Sure he will wag his tailess butt and sniff you when you walk through the door. He will play fetch for you. But when that woman gets home he is by her side doing that Boxer snot everywhere sound and wiggling his butt. And until she gets home he is laying somewhere with a perfect view of the door. He also makes sure he has access to windows to see who is walking in. He is a very sweet, friendly dog and he's all around versatile and happy. I would not say he is as biddable as Karma when it comes to people though, though. Karma will put up with WAY more than Kenai ever would with kids. All of my Boxers have been that way compared to my bullies, besides Georgia.
Darla is a Border Collie x German Shepherd. She is the LOUDEST, most energetic, talkative, and sensitive dog I have ever had in my household. But she is also VERY smart. She learned sit, lie down, shake, long sit and long down in 10 minutes MAX, probably more like 5. She learned not to bark when I am getting her food ready after only a few times of saying no and decided to direct her energy to running to her crate and hopping from the sit position to the down position over and over again. Yes, she is annoying, and destructive when left alone and bored, but when she has something to do with her energy she is AMAZING.
Kenai is a Boxer. I have had both Boxers and bully breeds my whole entire life. Kenai is a one person dog. And my mother is a one dog woman. Kenai has never been my dog or anyone else's dog in this household. Sure he will wag his tailess butt and sniff you when you walk through the door. He will play fetch for you. But when that woman gets home he is by her side doing that Boxer snot everywhere sound and wiggling his butt. And until she gets home he is laying somewhere with a perfect view of the door. He also makes sure he has access to windows to see who is walking in. He is a very sweet, friendly dog and he's all around versatile and happy. I would not say he is as biddable as Karma when it comes to people though, though. Karma will put up with WAY more than Kenai ever would with kids. All of my Boxers have been that way compared to my bullies, besides Georgia.
Darla is a Border Collie x German Shepherd. She is the LOUDEST, most energetic, talkative, and sensitive dog I have ever had in my household. But she is also VERY smart. She learned sit, lie down, shake, long sit and long down in 10 minutes MAX, probably more like 5. She learned not to bark when I am getting her food ready after only a few times of saying no and decided to direct her energy to running to her crate and hopping from the sit position to the down position over and over again. Yes, she is annoying, and destructive when left alone and bored, but when she has something to do with her energy she is AMAZING.