Have you sat down with your dog trainer and asked her to find you a dog? Something she thinks might be a good fit? It might be a breed you never would have picked out for yourself.
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My trainer is fully involved and keeping an eye open for a suitable dog.
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You either are or are not a poodle person.
If you are, a medium sized poodle may work, they are wonderful dogs all around, smart, loyal, energetic but also chill nicely and generally more of a temperament as a bouvier as far as companions that many other breeds mentioned.
The standards are more dog, may still fit you, toys temperament is less general, some can be barkers and neurotic, the steady ones are wonderful.
Miniatures seem the most sensible and versatile, will do any you want happily.
For an experienced dog owner like you are, they are so easy to train, they seem to train themselves, make you look good.
BUT, they are poodles and not everyone likes poodles.
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Just curious if OP has written out a list of attributes she wants
In a new dog.
Guard dog?
Lap dog?
Companion dog?
Trainable dog?
Hairy or slick coat?
Size ideal, weight
Sometimes an organized list helps.
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Bluey my very first dog was a Toy Poodle, actually too large for showing but perfect for me. He traveled with me for five years while I was in the band. He lived in hotels, traveling by van all over Canada and the us. Flew from Seattle to Anchorage and back, another time return flying from Akron Ohio to Toronto. He lived to be 17. Never went to doggie school but was really smart and well behaved.
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Marla I would like a medium sized companion/guard dog/ trainable who enjoys long walks in the back forty. Coat and sex don’t matter.
In case I have not provided this information before I grew up with labs. On my own I have owned Poodle, Bearded Collie, Golden and 6 Bouviers. They were all great dogs. The Beardie and one Bouv had to be watched with strangers.The Beardie was a female rescued from a large city. She had a tendency to bite men. My Bouv Winston did not like strangers and did bite a jogger. Police were involved but I managed to keep him contained.
The Bouvs were a great deterrent and made me feel very safe alone on the farm. The Golden was dumped here as a puppy. Where as my Bouvs all had formal trainig the Golden, Odin was home schooled. Very smart, could have been a movie actor.
Miss all those dogs.
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I am not sure I agree with the “too old for a puppy” sentiment for someone like you. You are home a lot and can dedicate a lot of time to a puppy, you are physically active, you have raised/owned multiple dogs, you are experienced with dog training. You aren’t a newb - you can give a puppy adequate interaction and socialization and exercise. And you understand how to set guidelines and help a dog develop into a good citizen.
The main advice I would have regarding your age is to make sure you have a solid backup plan in case something happens to you - an accident, serious illness, or worse. You don’t want your new friend to end up at a rescue if you can no longer care for it. (And that is certainly good advice for anyone - no matter their age!)
I can’t remember - do you have a rescue or humane society near you? Can you volunteer there and get to know some dogs there? It is very possible you will take a fancy to one that seems suitable for your lifestyle.
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Sounds like a scam to me, then.
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Along this note - I don’t think a dog that’s got a tendency to be wary or suspicious of strangers is a good choice at this point in your life. It’s easy enough to teach “watch” to even a super friendly dog, that would make a stranger stop in their tracks.
I’d stack the deck in your favor on that personality trait and stick to breeds/crosses that are known to be amenable to new people. It can still turn out that they aren’t, but better to start with trying to avoid that personality trait.
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The rescue I have been dealing with has now asked if I would be interested in fostering. I would have first choice if I wanted to adopt the dog. I had been afraid to foster in case I became attached to the dog and would then have to give him up.
I will have to give this some serious consideration.
As usual I will appreciate any comments.
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Fostering is how I found my sweet Oreo, I say go for it!
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I think that sounds like a very reasonable route for you to take. Foster something that is appropriate for your lifestyle and if you fall in love with it, adopt it. Win-Win-Win for everyone.
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So, they are going to import the dog to be fostered, but previously stated that they don’t import the dog until they have an adopter?
I don’t know. I’m losing faith that they are reputable. If they had the potential to import for foster to begin with - why wouldn’t they just be doing that.
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I think fostering is a great idea! Even if you give the dog up because it’s not a good fit, you can be assured it will get a good home through the rescue.
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No advice on fostering as I’ve never done it.
However when I was dogless, I volunteered at 2 different shelters/rescues.
I got to train, walk, groom and cuddle all types and sizes, mixed
And purebreds.
It was very, very rewarding to me
As the dogs were soooo grateful
For the loving attention.
I highly recommend volunteering for now.
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Volunteering is great, but so is fostering. I have fostered several boxers and an LGD. Only one of the fosters would have been a good fit for me, so I had no problem giving up the others. I adored the LGD, but she was huge and a puppy and she needed a JOB.
I 2nd the fostering.
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I think fostering is a great idea! But…A couple of questions:
Is this the same group with the dog you were interested in that’s in Mexico? If so, that would give me pause.
What happens if you agree to foster and then the dog isn’t appropriate for your situation? Will the rescue quickly take the dog back or will you be stuck with it for an indeterminate amount of time?
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I don’t think they want me to foster the dog I applied for as he is in Mexico. I think they have others that need fostering. Haven’t made up my mind just yet.
There is a Senior Bouv looking for a home but had decided against adopting her as she wouldn’t be with me very long. Did some serious reflecting and felt maybe it was time to honor my past dogs and give some poor senior a soft landing.
Have sent and interest to the Foster before sending a formal application
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Have given lots of thought to many suggestions made above. I am a bit leery about this particular rescue and would have to do some investigating before getting involved.
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Have you used Petfinder? That’s one of the largest databases of dogs of which I’m aware, and you can put search filters on location/breed/size and so forth. Then, you can always Google the reviews of the rescue of which the dog is located with, to see how legit it is. (I was casually looking for dogs and Googled the name of one rescue and found it was the subject of a NY Post article, lol).
I have to say, as a runner, I am not in favor of the breed of dog that bit one, I must confess!
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