What was your first dog like.

• 06-24-2008 1:07 PM

  AussiesRock Joined on 06-24-2008 Posts 53 Points 50	What was your first dog like. Reply Contact We have had dogs that have been part of our family, but this is the first dog that is all mine. I would like to hear the stories of your first dog. NOLAN AND NOEL
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• 06-24-2008 1:12 PM

  In reply to AussiesRock

  janetmichel3009 Joined on 11-28-2006 Beijing, China Posts 2,820 Points 370

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact well, moca is my first dog. i got her only a few weeks before jason, but, yeah... she's one of the most mellow dogs i iknow. she is seriously ok with anything... jason being a brat to her-usually she just ignores him. people wrestling with her or flinging her into the air-that's ok too! attention is attention! fetch-of course! long walks-awesome!! days without walks-just another opportunity to eat... seriously... she is just great! now if i can only find something that works with her ear infections,... lol Janet

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• 06-24-2008 2:01 PM

  In reply to janetmichel3009

  calliecritturs Joined on 09-10-2007 Central Florida Posts 8,045 Points 2,180

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact thirty years down the road -- yep, that "first dog" (particularly the first one YOU are responsible for in MY case) can be pretty darned special. I got a dog when I was a senior in high school -- He was actually FOR my mother (who always liked that breed) but somehow he was called "mine" but when I went away to school he stayed with my folks and when I came home HIS CHOICE was to stay with them. But soon after my graduation I moved into a trailer behind the motel I managed.  My folks' neighbors thot it was AWFUL I was living alone (they were kind of "old country" European and a respectable girl just did NOT live away from home but with my parents living at home was *not* an option). This little black pom/peke mix just happened to get kicked out of a moving car in front of the two houses (my folks and theirs) and they told my mom she was "perfect" for me.  Technically I wasn't supposed to have a dog ANYWAY but I'd had a couple of close calls with someone trying to break in, so they let me keep her.  Prissy was pretty independant -- SHE decided to stay because the food was good, I think. http://www.critturs.com/prissy.html is her story. She was about 6 months old when I took her -- but she had already HAD a litter (hence getting kicked out of that car -- she was still full of milk & swollen) but the vet said she didn't have ANY permanent teeth yet -- a baby had babies! It was Pris who taught me to take care of 'sick dogs' (she had pancreatitis and nearly died at the age of 3), she was convinced she "invented" pet therapy.  I was a teacher of handicapped kids and she went to school with me several days a week.  Monday she might snuggle up to Jimmy during naptime, and Tuesday it would perhaps be Bobbie Jo or Charlie -- but never the same kid twice!  She'd look at the 'greedy' one like "HECK NO -- it's not your turn **again** YET!!" and she'd trot over to whomever would receive her attention today! I was 19 when I got her and pretty clueless -- she kept me safe, made sure I came HOME at night rather than going out drinking! (she'd obviously been owned by an alcoholic before me -- she HATED when someone was drinking - she'd get mad and **ignore** me for a whole day!) I had a reason to come home at night and not stay out late.  She went everywhere with me I've told on here stories of how she used to go in my purse to the movies and all kinds of places.  We didn't do it because she was an accessory -- we did it because she wanted to GO!!!  Prissy lived to be nearly 21.  Yep -- truly.  I barely knew how to function after I lost her.  Despite the fact that I had other dogs by then -- she was unique.  I will never again have a dog just like her -- in fact, that was likely the best thing she taught me. Each dog is one of a kind.  They are SO different.  Get to know your dog -- how they think, what's important to that particular dog.  Appreciate them for what they are.  Let them "be" all they can be.  She waits for me Beyond Rainbow Bridge.  With Mike, Pip, Muffin, Foxy, Socks, Pollyanna, and others.  but you know what?  it's Pris I still dream about.  None of the others would be jealous of that because they know SHE made me a better guardian for them.   Others may run faster to 'meet' me (her legs were short) ... but it will be Pris with whom I sit down with for the first real long talk and cuddle.

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• 06-24-2008 2:18 PM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  the_gopher Joined on 08-02-2006 New Hampshire Posts 1,217 Points 0

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact  Well Ari is my first all to myself dog (well with my SO of course!), but before her there was Rocky.  Rocky was the family dog (aka got bounced around between family members).  I do not recall my childhood too clearly but I think I was around 7 or so when he came to my dad.  Rocky was my confident, my buddy, he was maybe around 5 when we got him and DID NOT like my dad (he was pretty mean to him) or my brother (my brother was too young and rough with him).  I taught him sit, stay, "walk nicely" and we were working on roll over I think it was but never finished (coming to that part).  He was a mutt of indeterminate origins, definately some shepard, most likely some chow chow, and probably some lab thrown in for good measure.  He was there for me to cry to (my parents were divorced but always fighting), laugh with, scratch his belly and he would lean up to kiss my face.  We curled up together at night to sleep. He followed me around to make sure I was never alone.  Long story short, I hugged him goodbye one day before going to school telling him we'd work more on the latest trick when I got back.  I came home and he was gone.  My father put him down without telling anyone.  There was nothing wrong with Rocky, except he did at the time have a urinary tract infection that "got on my dad's nerves".  I did not speak a word to my father for almost 2 months.  I still cannot talk to him about what he did.  I miss Rocky to this day and know he waits for me.    ~Sharon

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• 06-24-2008 2:19 PM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  Liesje Joined on 03-02-2007 Grand Rapids, Michigan Posts 7,822 Points 905

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact Kenya is my first dog, lol.  The first dog I remember was my uncle's Rottweiler, Ajax.  He was gentle, but grossly overweight, had seizures, and he always laid in front of the picture window which was opaque with slobber.  There was also my aunt's lab, Candy and my cousin's cocker, Buddy.  Those are my first memories of the dogs I grew up with.  vankelderdogs.dutchbingo.net U-CH Alta-Tollhaus-Krieger Lamb Chop RA CL1-F CL1-R TT HIC TDI CGC ("Kenya", GSD) VPC's Coca-Cola CGC ("Coke", All American) Alta-Tollhaus' Bono STAR ("Nikon", GSD)

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• 06-24-2008 2:24 PM

  In reply to Liesje

  marynh Joined on 09-10-2007 Gateway to NH White Mtns. Posts 1,379 Points 15

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact my first dog was a husky/shepherd mix named Ginger. I was 13 years old when we got her after MONTHS of begging our father to let us have a dog. My mother never wanted one. Now we're talking early 70's here and my mother worked weekends at a college cafeteria. My father would sit around all day having a few beers. So we timed it just right and started our begging in. We went to the shelter that afternoon (and yes nowadays my father would probably be arrested for a DUI with minors in the car but again we're talking a whole different mindset - and he doesn't drink anymore...no more minors in the house to drive around with ). So we brought home a 12 week old puppy and my mother WAS LIVID. Ginger became her dog rather quickly and grew to be a very spoiled somewhat aggression dog. But we adored her and she passed in her sleep at the age of 14 when I was 27 years old.

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• 06-24-2008 2:25 PM

  In reply to calliecritturs

  sandra_slayton Joined on 09-10-2007 Ingleside, Texas Posts 3,245 Points 0

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact MY FIRST DOG!  I DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR VET BILLS--SUCH AS THEY WER BACK THEN SINCE ONLY VAX WAS RABIES AND A NEW DISTEMPER VAX--NOR BUY FOOD, MY 11TH BIRTHDAY, JUNE 1956.  I HAD ONLY BEEN OUT OF BED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER SPENDING 6 WEEKS IN THERE FOR RHEUMATIC FEVER.  I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO REALLY PLAY FOR ANOTHER FUL YEAR--NOTHING THAT TOOK ANY EXERCISE TO SPEAK OF.   NO BKE RIDING, RUNNG, PLAYING PHYSICAL GAMES, ETC. MOM AN DAD WERE GOING TO GET ME A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PRESENT, A WATCH.  WE WERE POOR, BUT I HAD WANTED A WATCH AND THE DECIDED TO GET ME ONE.  BUT THEN THE GUY UP THE LANE HAD AN ENGLISH SETTER WHO HAD HAD PUPPIES.  I WAS WLKING TO MY COUSINS ONE DAY AND SAW THEM AND STOPPED TO PLAY WITH THEM.  MR. D. WAS SELLING THEM FOR $10.  NOW DADDY HAD HUNTING DOGS AND THEY WRE FAMILY PETS AS WELL AS GREAT QUAIL DOGS.  BUT THEY WERE NOT MINE. I TOLD MOM AND DADDY I WANTED ONE OF THOSE PUPPIES.  THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT AFFORD BOTH THE DOG AND A WATCH ANDI ELECTED TO GET THE PUPPY. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL THING, SOWHITE WITH GOLD EARS AND GOLD AROUND ONE EYE AND A FEW SCATTERED GOLD SPOTS.  AND SHE WAS SMART AS A WHIP.  IN ONE AFTERNOON I TAUGHT HER TO SIT, LAY DOWN AND PLAY DEAD.  OH, I HAD NAMED HER BEAUTY. IN NOV. SHE GOT SICK AND IT WAS DISTEMPER, DESPITE HAVING HAD A DISTEMER VAX.  AND THE VET COULDN'T SAVE HER.  SHE WAS ONLY 8 MONTHS OLD AND MY HEART WAS RIPPED APART.  I NW KNOW THAT BACK THEN, MANY TIMES THE VAX DIDN'T WORK AND SOMETIMES EVEN BROUGHT THE DISEASE ON.  I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT LITTLE GIRL.  I HAD HER TO PLAY WITH WHEN ALL THE OTHER KIDS WERE PLAYING PHYSICAL GAMES I COULDN'T PLAY. SHE WAS SUCH A JOY TO ME AND I LOVED HER SO MUCH. SINCE THEN I HAVE OWNED MANY, MANY DOGS--MORE ENGLISH SETTERS, 2 IRISH SETTERS, 5 GOLDEN RETRIEVER.  BUT I NEVER FORGET MY FIRST DOG FROM 52 YEARS AGO.

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• 06-24-2008 2:45 PM

  In reply to sandra_slayton

  Kyda Joined on 09-15-2007 Arkansas Posts 707 Points 390

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact My first dog I got when I was 10. My parents bought Old Roy food and paid for her rabies vacc but toher wise they left me to deal with her. She had been bought for free from a guy who bred Basset Hounds to Labrador retreivers and sold them as hunting dogs....?...But I got her for free becasue she had the long legs of a Labrador instead of teh short legs of a Basset. My dad never thought to ask how big Labs get because she was huge. She had a brother with short legs that sold for 100 dollars but we never knew what happened to him. She was a stubborn, untrained, arragont, high prey drive, bratty, dog agressive, dog. But she loved kids and would sit for hours while strange kids came up and petted her and let her lick thier face. Her name was Mercy. We never got her spayed becasue it ws considered to much money so any time we met other dogs on walks the males would get alittle to close and that would start a fight with her. Other female dogs would always try to start fights as well so that I began never letting her ever greet any dogs while on walks. But hey thats what happens when you let a 10 year old raise a dog. I had trained her from watching saturday morning animal planet shows. She knew sit, shake, down, stand on top of upside down tub, and come. Mercy died a couple of years ago due to a heartwrom infestation we to stupid to prevent. She was 8 years old and she was my first 'Teacher' in canine ways. RIP Charlie and Frankie

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• 06-24-2008 2:49 PM

  In reply to Kyda

  Laurelin_429 Joined on 11-06-2006 Texas/OK Posts 1,127 Points 100	Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact My first family dog was Shack, a big old boy.    I always thought he was gorgeous.   MY first dog is Nikki, though.  She's 12 now and grey faced and arthritic, but I love her.    ]
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• 06-24-2008 2:51 PM

  In reply to Laurelin_429

  BCMixs Joined on 01-10-2008 Virginia Posts 1,741 Points 30	Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact I can't tell her whole story, it's too painful.  I'll just say she was a black lab named Jarva, she was perfect and she eased my pain.  She deserved better and I hope she landed in a better place.
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• 06-24-2008 3:26 PM

  In reply to AussiesRock

  scrubsfiend Joined on 09-10-2007 DFW area Posts 757 Points 180

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact The first dog I remember us having was a beagle mix named Pumpkin.  I was very young when we got her and I very clearly recall her puking in the car on the way home.  Mom got her from a litter someone at her work had.  My dad wasn't fond of 'inside' dogs so Pumpkin stayed outside in the backyard.  Can't say I remember much beyond that except that she did like standing on top of her dog house. The first dog I would consider mine was Gretchen, my toy poodle.  My dad got her for me (!) when a family member's bitch had two puppies.  My grandma got the other and named her Misty.  Gretchen and I grew up together as I got her when I was 11.  We were buds and spent lots of time together.  When I moved out of my parents' house during college, she came with me.  Gretch rarely got table scraps (she ate Purina Dog Chow) but when I moved in with roommates, she discovered Cheetos.  And when my mom would dogsit, she got all kinds of goodies, including one particular time when I went to pick her up and found a chunk of gummy orange slice stuck to her chin.  It was at this time that I told mom about Frosty Paws.  Gretch HATED the big UPS or FedEx trucks, and since we didn't have a fenced yard for our corner lot, she often chased them - shame on me for not being more conscious of her safety!!  She also liked telling the big dogs who were on walks around the neighborhood what for.  But above any and everything else, she was my baby, which meant being carried around and having a permanent spot on my lap.  When I had her PTS at 15 from complications of a kidney and heart failure, I was a wreck.  Those shiny black eyes pleaded with me to put her out of her misery and I had no choice but to obey.  I owed her that. Amy "A man's soul can be judged by the way he treats his dog" - Charles Doran Democracy is... the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people. - Harry Emerson Fosdick

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• 06-24-2008 3:51 PM

  In reply to AussiesRock

  Krissim Klaw Joined on 08-26-2007 Posts 383 Points 100

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact  Kirby is my first dog, and there really is no way to describe him but as the doggy version of a dork.  He is a neurotic boy with so many odd quirks yet is somehow a blissfully ignorant and happy little guy.  He is velcro, a compulsive licker, timid, lacking common sense, and plays the game of life with a few cards short of a full deck.  In short, he is the complete opposite of what I wanted in a dog.  And yet, I doubt I'll ever find a dog that fits me so perfectly.  Strange how things workout sometimes.

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• 06-24-2008 4:30 PM

  In reply to AussiesRock

  BlackLabbie Joined on 01-28-2008 South of Boston Posts 1,674 Points 205

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact My first dog was a female english black lab, named Pepper. My parents went to numerous dog shows in Boston, talked with numerous good breeders, before settling on one. My parents and Peppers breeder became very good friends (still friends today 17 years later). From the weekend Pepper was born until she was 8 weeks old we visited the breeder, Linda, and the litter. Pepper ended up being the most perfect dog anybody could ask for. She was very gentle with me and my friends (I was 5 when we got her), she loved to play, she was friendly to everyone and everything, never barked, she was just always happy-go-lucky. But, she hated the water, lol!! She loved just being around people. She loved to learn, my Dad taught her obedience and she picked it up very quickly. She loved coming to my softball and field hockey games (my Mom always brought her). Everyone knew her, and everyone loved her. She was with me from kindergarten until the begining of my second year in college, she passed away from cancer at the age of 13 years. I still miss her very much and it's been 4 years.

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• 06-24-2008 5:05 PM

  In reply to BlackLabbie

  AuroraLove Joined on 11-26-2007 Posts 1,196 Points 330

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact I grew up in a family with lots of hounds, pit bulls and catahoulas for hunting. Bruno was the first one that touched my heart. He was a big headed, stubborn pit bull who was the main holder in hog hunting....a real savage. I was NEVER to go near any of them. One fall I started getting very intersted in the pack, I used to watch as my Dad got ready for a hunt and what amazed me was that the dogs knew. They'd start howling in their kennels and would get very excited. One night they pulled in from a hunt, unloaded the dogs, gave them their food and then turned their attention to cleaning the boars. After Bruno was done eating I snuck in his kennel and proceeded to wash the blood off of him. I'd seen it done a million times and knew to wait until they were done eating. I thought nothing of standing there in my rainbow bright nightgown hosing off a 85 lbs hog dog. I couldnt have been older then 6 or so. Needless to say my father went through the roof. I was so scared by the fear in his eyes that I got scared for a minute. He was mad at himself for not keeping a closer eye but who woulda thought I'd be up at 4 a.m. waiting for them. I dont really remember this to well but my Dad said "He's a hunting dog, not for loving", I shot back at him "your a hunting dad but you love me right"? After that I snuck Bruno in my room for the rest of his years. He was the first hog dog to get to retire as a house dog. A big brindle mess he was, scared up but gentle as could be.   Rory was MY first real dog. I paid a pretty penny for her and my Dad was p'oed that I spent money on some purple ribbon UKC dog, LOL. He called her a prissy dog.....much different then how the general public views pit bulls, LOL! She ahs seen me through some tough times, I lived in a motel for a couple of months when we got evicted because of her breed. That made my Dad all the more mad! She saw me through my marriage, kept a coyote at bay in my yard and now she'll see me through my first baby. She may not be a hog dog but she is my heart and soul. This is in Vegas when we had to stay in a motel....she hated the heat and was miserbale, LOL Sometimes times are tough......but thankfully we are tougher! I love all dogs but the love from a dog that is labeled a beast or monster by so many means a lot more to me because so many people say it shouldnt be.

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• 06-24-2008 5:20 PM

  In reply to AuroraLove

  fuzzy_dogs_mom Joined on 09-10-2007 Davis, CA Posts 7,139 Points 200

  Re: What was your first dog like. Reply Contact The first dog that was totally mine was a little doxie that I bought for $10 (newspaper ad) shortly after I got out of high school. He was supposedly purebred and the papers would come in the mail.  Riiight.  Anyway, he had many mental issues and was never quite right in the head.  The vet said he  thought he was a purebred but the mother had been bred back to her own litters so often that basically she was producing doggie idiots. Even neutering didn't help him much.  His name was Pretzel and I loved him in spite of his many issues.  I had to leave him with my mom when I got married and moved out and he was the bane of her existence until he died at about 13 years old.  RIP Pretzel. Joyce

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