Personal Introductions

[Josie]

Hello everyone! 

I would like to introduce myself personally to everyone on DogforumUk and hope that you will introduce yourself and your dog/s to me  

I have very recently left my full time employment at Bristol University to pursue my love for dogs with Dogforumuk. I have always owned Labradors and currently have a lovely black lab called Dennis who is 10 years old. We love to take him with us to as many places as possible and know that other owners feel the same way about their dog/s to. 

Its a great feeling to know there is an online community that cares about each other and is there to offer support and advice. Thank you to all of you so far who have made Dogforumuk what it is today. I know that I will certainly need advice and help with things along the way! 

I would love to hear bit about you and your dog/s? 

best wishes,

Josie

 

[arealhuman]

Hi Josie,

I'm a first time dog owner - we've had our little lad Jimmy for just over a year now, he's a mixed breed rescue dog and is about 7 - 8 years old.  We love him to bits. You can see him here.  He likes his daily walks - three in total with a short one before bed - he likes food a lot, and loves curling up with us in front of the TV.  Wouldn't be without him now!

Cheers,

ARH (makes me sound like a pirate).

 

[Josie]

Thanks for your reply and introductions! 

what a gorgeous boy Jimmy is! What led you to take on your first dog? and a rescue also? such a lovely thing to do. he sounds like he has a great life! 

 

[Biker John]

Hi Josie, my parents had dogs, (Lancashire Heelers), when I was born, so their have always been dogs in my life. Apart from three months after we got married until we got our own dog, a Sheltie. During our life together we had many dogs, mostly Shelties and Collies, I am now retired and a widower but I have a wonderful 7 year old Whippet who is perfect for me.

 

[Josie]

Hi John,

Thank you for your introduction! 

So you have had experience with a few different breeds! Would love to know your Whippets name? Did you have him/her from a puppy?

 

[Biker John]

Josie, yes quite a few different ones, smallest was a mini dachshund who used her brains to get what she wanted from the boarder collies we had. And as you will guess for a dog to out think a boarder collie takes some doing. My Whippet is called Folly, mind I tend to wonder if she thinks her name is either 'LittleLove' or 'Goodgirl' as she must hear them a lot more often. We tried showing and to be fair didn't do bad but she never really enjoyed it then I tried letting her have a go at racing and she very quickly decided that was what she wanted to do so she does even though she normally comes last in a race. She has also got the KCGC Gold.

 

[Josie]

Out smarting a collie does take some doing! 

What a lovely name Folly is. ah yes I believe my lab may have the same problem in thinking he's called my Darling! If she's happy racing then that's what counts. Oh wow what an achievement - you must be very proud of her  

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for your reply and introductions! 

what a gorgeous boy Jimmy is! What led you to take on your first dog? and a rescue also? such a lovely thing to do. he sounds like he has a great life! 

Thank you - you haven't seen him put his "cute face" on, especially when there's food around    Well, I've never been into dogs really - had a cat as child - but where I work most people have dogs and they're all friendly and loving, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I wasn't really sure where to go to get a dog, and did a fair amount of research on this and different types of dogs, but in the end thought that giving a rescue dog a stable and loving home seemed the right thing to do.  I also read many stories of unscrupulous breeders/farmers/dealers and being new to this I knew there was a reasonable risk of me falling foul of these.  We first saw Jimmy in his shelter with about 4 or 5 other dogs and he was acting as a father-figure to a severely abused puppy (that was bigger him!) by showing her where to go and how to act, and it was lovely to see.  The shelter was about a four hour drive from home, and although this was our second visit but the first time we saw Jimmy, I think by the time we got home my wife and I decided we'd go for it!  We had him on a trial adoption first for a month, that seemed to go well, so then we took the plunge and made it permanent.  Had him for just over a year now and it's been brilliant!  He's a very loving dog, loves cuddles in front of the telly, and the fur on his head and behind his ears is so luxuriously soft you wouldn't believe it!  It's not all perfect though as you might've seen from some of my early posts here - he does tend to bark at other dogs, and whilst this has improved through training, it still causes us some embarrassment when out and about.  Also, being a rescue dog, he has no recall so we dare not let him off the lead in public - we take him to an enclosed field for a run around every six weeks or so (it's some distance from us), but he gets plenty of walks each day.

War and Peace - I'll shut up now!

 

[Josie]

Thank you - you haven't seen him put his "cute face" on, especially when there's food around    Well, I've never been into dogs really - had a cat as child - but where I work most people have dogs and they're all friendly and loving, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I wasn't really sure where to go to get a dog, and did a fair amount of research on this and different types of dogs, but in the end thought that giving a rescue dog a stable and loving home seemed the right thing to do.  I also read many stories of unscrupulous breeders/farmers/dealers and being new to this I knew there was a reasonable risk of me falling foul of these.  We first saw Jimmy in his shelter with about 4 or 5 other dogs and he was acting as a father-figure to a severely abused puppy (that was bigger him!) by showing her where to go and how to act, and it was lovely to see.  The shelter was about a four hour drive from home, and although this was our second visit but the first time we saw Jimmy, I think by the time we got home my wife and I decided we'd go for it!  We had him on a trial adoption first for a month, that seemed to go well, so then we took the plunge and made it permanent.  Had him for just over a year now and it's been brilliant!  He's a very loving dog, loves cuddles in front of the telly, and the fur on his head and behind his ears is so luxuriously soft you wouldn't believe it!  It's not all perfect though as you might've seen from some of my early posts here - he does tend to bark at other dogs, and whilst this has improved through training, it still causes us some embarrassment when out and about.  Also, being a rescue dog, he has no recall so we dare not let him off the lead in public - we take him to an enclosed field for a run around every six weeks or so (it's some distance from us), but he gets plenty of walks each day.

War and Peace - I'll shut up now!

Oh no need to shut up! I'm only to happy to read about other peoples experiences and how their companion came to be in their lives! There's always going to be challenges along the way, the main thing is that you gave him a new chance in life.