Comments on: Questions to Ask Before Adopting a Dog or Puppy http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/ Information on Dog, Cat, and Bird Behavior from Companion Animal Solutions Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:20:14 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Marsha http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/comment-page-1/#comment-2986 Marsha Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:41:13 +0000 http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/?p=193#comment-2986 HELP; submissive wetting behavior is new to me! I Adopted a 99% Golden Retriever (2 weeks ago) from Olympia/Lacey Animal Shelter and am so happy to have Paisley in my life. Good News: She does well in the car, sleeps in kennel all night, craves social situations and has no fear of unfamiliar, loud, noises. Quickly learning 'sit/stay', and I am reading alot of behavioral books, in addition to signing her up for PetSmart Obedience class. Bad News: Whenever a person greets Paisley in w/ normal emotion in voice she rolls over and wets herself. High pitched voices, baby talk tones or head pets bring the same results so I kindly ask approaching people to let her come to them, minimal verbal greeting and pet her under the chin. Everyone has been so great - 3 tellers at the bank even had her come inside so they could take her picture on their cell phones!? If you know of a trainer/consultant in my area or specialized reference books regarding submissive behavior, I would really, really, really appreciate your input - even your personal experience would be helpful. Thanks, fellow dog lovers! HELP; submissive wetting behavior is new to me!
I Adopted a 99% Golden Retriever (2 weeks ago) from Olympia/Lacey Animal Shelter and am so happy to have Paisley in my life.
Good News: She does well in the car, sleeps in kennel all night, craves social situations and has no fear of unfamiliar, loud, noises. Quickly learning ’sit/stay’, and I am reading alot of behavioral books, in addition to signing her up for PetSmart Obedience class.

Bad News: Whenever a person greets Paisley in w/ normal emotion in voice she rolls over and wets herself. High pitched voices, baby talk tones or head pets bring the same results so I kindly ask approaching people to let her come to them, minimal verbal greeting and pet her under the chin.
Everyone has been so great – 3 tellers at the bank even had her come inside so they could take her picture on their cell phones!?

If you know of a trainer/consultant in my area or specialized reference books regarding submissive behavior, I would really, really, really appreciate your input – even your personal experience would be helpful.

Thanks, fellow dog lovers!

]]> By: tayor mize http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/comment-page-1/#comment-2810 tayor mize Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:11:11 +0000 http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/?p=193#comment-2810 There are many people who have a new dog, and are at a loss as to what to do about training. Not training your dog can lead to a variety of problems, and to make life miserable for both of you. Clearly, there is a need for training -- There are many people who have a new dog, and are at a loss as to what to do about training. Not training your dog can lead to a variety of problems, and to make life miserable for both of you. Clearly, there is a need for training –

]]> By: Arwen http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/comment-page-1/#comment-2789 Arwen Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:26:56 +0000 http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/?p=193#comment-2789 Thanks for this, a really interesting list. Could you give some breed/type suggestions for each question and either answer? Some of them are fairly obvious in which sort of dog would be suitable depending on the answer (time/energy and grooming), but for instance I don't really know what types and breeds would be cuddlebugs and which wouldn't. On breed sites and such everybody always says that their dogs are wonderful and give them love, I've not really seen much (breed specific) mention of affectionateness or lack thereof. For example I thought that polar breeds like Huskies, Malamutes were independent kind of dogs, but every Mal owner I've spoken to says theirs is a giant teddybear! Thanks for this, a really interesting list. Could you give some breed/type suggestions for each question and either answer? Some of them are fairly obvious in which sort of dog would be suitable depending on the answer (time/energy and grooming), but for instance I don’t really know what types and breeds would be cuddlebugs and which wouldn’t.
On breed sites and such everybody always says that their dogs are wonderful and give them love, I’ve not really seen much (breed specific) mention of affectionateness or lack thereof. For example I thought that polar breeds like Huskies, Malamutes were independent kind of dogs, but every Mal owner I’ve spoken to says theirs is a giant teddybear!

]]> By: Diana http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/comment-page-1/#comment-2606 Diana Mon, 25 May 2009 16:52:57 +0000 http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/?p=193#comment-2606 When I first thought about getting a dog, I researched and thought and asked people for breed recommendations. Then, one day, on my birthday, I made the commitment and went to the pound and brought home a year old GSD/Aussie mix. He's been great! Because of him, I've gotten into flyball, agility, frisbee. I've changed jobs, moved to a different state, lived in apartments, with my parents and later in a house, had jobs where he could come with me to work and ones where he couldn't. He's been a joy throughout it all. A few years later, I adopted a border collie puppy from the pound as a companion for him and they have done wonderfully together. She did have one of my intolerable issues (excitement/submissive urination due to early spay) but I have learned to deal with it and it has mitigated as she's gotten more mature. She is a wonder at our chosen sports and has again enriched my life to a profound degree. Both of my pound puppy specials are beautiful, wonderful dogs that are a joy to be around. The pound puppy bc outcompetes registered bc's on a regular basis in our chosen sport. When I first thought about getting a dog, I researched and thought and asked people for breed recommendations. Then, one day, on my birthday, I made the commitment and went to the pound and brought home a year old GSD/Aussie mix. He’s been great! Because of him, I’ve gotten into flyball, agility, frisbee. I’ve changed jobs, moved to a different state, lived in apartments, with my parents and later in a house, had jobs where he could come with me to work and ones where he couldn’t. He’s been a joy throughout it all. A few years later, I adopted a border collie puppy from the pound as a companion for him and they have done wonderfully together. She did have one of my intolerable issues (excitement/submissive urination due to early spay) but I have learned to deal with it and it has mitigated as she’s gotten more mature. She is a wonder at our chosen sports and has again enriched my life to a profound degree. Both of my pound puppy specials are beautiful, wonderful dogs that are a joy to be around. The pound puppy bc outcompetes registered bc’s on a regular basis in our chosen sport.

]]> By: Augustina http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/questions-to-ask-before-adopting-a-dog-or-puppy/comment-page-1/#comment-2532 Augustina Tue, 19 May 2009 15:03:30 +0000 http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/?p=193#comment-2532 My boyfriend and I spent about 5 months researching breeds and reading "new puppy" literature before we adopted our dog. Once we decided that we wanted a purebred puppy from a breeder, we joined meetup groups in order to learn more about our chosen breed. Because the breed we selected is prone to genetic health issues it was really important we adopted from a good breeder. Because we also live in an apartment building and we're both so low energy, temperament was really important. We got really lucky in that we found our perfect match in the first group of puppies we looked at. I'm really glad that we took our time to do our homework before making the huge commitment to bring a new member into our home. My boyfriend and I spent about 5 months researching breeds and reading “new puppy” literature before we adopted our dog. Once we decided that we wanted a purebred puppy from a breeder, we joined meetup groups in order to learn more about our chosen breed. Because the breed we selected is prone to genetic health issues it was really important we adopted from a good breeder. Because we also live in an apartment building and we’re both so low energy, temperament was really important. We got really lucky in that we found our perfect match in the first group of puppies we looked at. I’m really glad that we took our time to do our homework before making the huge commitment to bring a new member into our home.

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