Hey Bob ... meet Princess!

[Ed_L]

Here's the newest addition to our family. She's a German Shephard who belonged to my son and his wife. We all talked about breeding our dogs, but the deal was that we would have to keep her just before she was to give birth until the pups were weaned. We wanted a pup out of our dog because he is the smartest dog we've *ever* had, and we've always had dogs. He is almost seven years old. She was a perfect match because she was a Shephard, and very gentle with people. We kept her for a week, but she evidently doesn't have good heats, and they never bred. During that week, my wife fell in love with her, and told my son if they ever wanted to get rid of her, we would be glad to take her. They were in a situation where it was hard for them to keep her, and now she's ours.

Ed

[Ed_L]

I knew I'd do that! Here she is.

Ed

[Jakaleena]

She is just beautiful, Ed.

Do you have pictures of your other dog?

I love dogs. Heck, I just love animals period. I miss having a dog. My old dog passed away a few years ago. I had him 17 years - I first met him when he was 3 days old and fit in the palm of my hand.

[DJ Dubovsky]

She's really a beautiful dog Ed. A word of warning though. If they don't breed there is usually a good reason. Don't do what we did. We decided to breed our husky because she was such a good dog. She loved the male dog we chose but just wouldn't let him mate with her. So we decided to have a vet intervene artificially. Turned out our dog knew more than we did. She was diabetic and we never knew it so she died about a month or two later. I think Mother Nature has it's way of making sure the weak don't breed. We just didn't listen.
I do know how you feel though. Good luck with your newest member of the family. I think she will be very happy.
DJ

[Ed_L]

That's sad Deb. I guess they know more than we do. They were both interested in breeding, it just couldn't happen.

Jak,

Here's a pic of Hooch. He's a mix of German Shephard and Yellow Lab. You probably wouldn't want to shake his hand if I weren't around!

Ed

[Jakaleena]

What a handsome boy

Hooch, huh? I just watched Turner & Hooch again the other day. He looks nothing like Hooch from the movie. I still wouldn't want to try to get by him with just a muffin for protection, though...

[DJ Dubovsky]

I think having 2 or more dogs keeps them younger and healthier. I wish we could afford another one. They sure look like a salt and pepper pair. How old are they?
DJ

[Ed_L]

Hooch will be 7 years old in Sep't. This is the best guess from the vet when he was about 4 months old. Princess, I think is about 4 years old. She is a lover.

Ed

[Bob Walden]

Ed, she is really a pretty girl. You are so lucky to have two dogs. If we had the room I'd adopt half a dozen.

Princess has the same black spot on the side of her face as Helga. I wonder if all Shepards have that? How do the 2 get along? Now you will be able to make a complete winter outfit from the loose hair.

Last week I took our van to be cleaned at a local car wash and they asked me not to come back because of the tough time they had getting all the hair out of the interior. Guess I do it at home from now on.

How about a picture of them together?

Bob

[Ed_L]

Hi Bob,

It's funny you should ask how the two of them get along. A couple of years ago, another stray showed up at our house. As always, we took him in. He looked to be a full blooded Golden Retriever, and he was a beauty. The minute he walked in our house, he went after Hooch. The two of them fought fiercely any time they could get to each other. After breaking up several bad fights, I tried to stop another one, and I was bitten by both dogs (unintentionally). I finally got them broke up, but I wound up in the emergency room myself. Needless to say, we could not keep him, but we found a good home for him. Hooch has always ruled the house, and he's had to prove it more than once. We call him the alpha dog. Now to answer your question...We heard before we took her in that Princess didn't get along well with other dogs, but she's a sweetheart around people. When her heat was over, she would push Hooch around, but he didn't really retaliate. Well, she made a mistake when she picked up his ball, then growled at him. In about 5 seconds, he had her pinned to the floor. Since then, it seems as though she knows just how far she can go, and she doesn't cause problems. He's the boss, and it's his ball.

Yes they both shed, and most of the time there's plenty. I take them in the back yard to comb them, and I leave piles of hair in the yard for the birds. They love it as nest making material, and it's really funny to see a sparrow fly away with a bunch of hair almost as big as it is. We've given them the name "Santa birds" because it looks like a big white beard when they grab it.

A picture of them together? It would be really tough to get a decent one because at this time I can't get her to sit still long enough to walk away from her. She still acts a lot like a puppy, and I've got my work cut out trying to train her at least a little bit. She will sit, usually the first time I tell her to, but she won't stay. Ah, the joys of parenthood!

Ed

[CJ Swartz]

"Santa birds" -- Ed, I love that!

Glad that Hootch and Princess get along -- they make a great looking pair.

[Bob Walden]

Its kind of funny how much puppies can be like kids. Always pushing the limits until they meet a roadblock. Glad Hooch set the limit.

Sounds like you have some designer sparrows. Nice soft hair sure beats the neighbor birds sticks and straw.

Bob