well, now that i actually have managed to upload two pictures i thought i'd do an official introduction of teagan.

i got teagan b/c i really enjoy working w/dogs, as i've discovered w/luc, and i think luc will do well with another dog. i guess i'm always used to having two of a species.

anyways, i saw toronto animal services had a female GSD, and last sunday luc and i went out with a friend to meet teagan. the dogs did well together (wagged their tails at each other or ignored each other entirely) and so i adopted teagan. i owe my friend jason a nice dinner, as since they don't take the dogs out to go to the washroom regularly there, teagan smelt strongly of poop (something we only discovered once we had her in the back of the cab of his truck). i did bring a sheet though.

teagan is a long coat, i don't know how to tell if she has a stock coat underneath but i hope so as it will make winter backpacking much more enjoyable for her. she's black and tan from the side, but has what i think is a bitch stripe running the length of her back. her muzzle is fairly dark.

we went to the vet last night, and teagan is healthy, heart is good, she is spayed and she weighs 70lbs! i'm in shock! 2lbs more than luc when i got him but she's 2X as strong, and luc - well, if i do say so myself, he's in pretty good shape.

photo uploading is terribly slow at the moment w/my crappy internet, but i have a couple of pics up - one that shows she's a little chunky, one of her being a beautiful girl: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/Teagan/

so we went yesterday to my dog vet, and we saw a different vet than normal (our normal vet has been wonderful w/luc, very thoughtful to his nervousness and determined to make his visits positive).

this vet look horrified when teagan entered the room, and actually moved back slightly. we put her up on the table, and she wasn't examing teagan yet when she said 'she GROWLED at me!' i said, 'really?! i didn't hear her!' (taking it seriously, though curious b/c i was on the other side of teagan and didn't hear a thing).

....there was a long pause, and then the vet said 'well..............she curled her lip!'

ummm....okay. if you're scared of my dog, just say so.

when we shaved her to check for the spay scar, she got a tech in, told her to be careful b/c teagan had curled her lip, and then asked me to hold her at the head (i gotta admit, i chuckled to myself. if she was actually behaving aggressively, they would've muzzled her....anyways, she was quiet and totally cooperative, she really has a nice temperament that i see).

at the end of the visit, the vet warned me that she was 'part german shepherd' (i don't think she's mixed, she's just got a long coat) and as such was unpredictable so i should be careful around her.

....i guess i could've taken exception to such a stupid comment but it was so silly i just said 'my other dog is a german shepherd, i'm fine with them' and she said 'okay, so you know what they're like!'

yup, i do! apparently more than that vet....eesh.

watching teagan's reign of unpredictable german shepherd terror is pretty frightening! i can't even hug her without her rolling over onto her back for big belly rubs.....scary!!!!

i was late this morning, so i took both dogs for a walk together, and they did well. my favourite part was when we encountered the black lab that always has a barking fit when it sees another dog, and the owner never takes it away from the stimulus but stands still on the other side of the sidewalk watching us pass and screaming at her dog 'SIT! SIT!!!! SIT!' while it freaks out barking. at the first bark from the lab, teagan swivelled her head and moved forward slightly in an alert position. luc was going to ignore the dog as per his regular approach, but he saw teagan looking investigative and so he turned his head as well, and watched the dog calmly and curiously as we went past. he was far more engaged than he is normally, he's gotten over his nervousness of strange dogs by ignoring them, it was really cool to watch him not ignore one and stay calm. go luc and teagan!

She's a cutie! It's always exciting to bring home a new dog. A friend of mine just adopted a GSD.

Which vet was it that you went to? I'm having a REALLY difficult time finding a decent vet in Toronto.

i will PM you. the dogs, cats, rabbits+guinea pigs all have different vets (why keep it simple? i'm thinking of consolidating the dogs and cats though).

....the one thing i did like about this vet, was TAS gave her the rabies shots as well as three other shots (bordatella, distemper, and another one), but said she need boosters on the three shots. the vet said 'she's spayed, she probably had the shots b/f, i wouldn't give the boosters'. that i was happy with.

Jennifer, Teagan is beautiful! How odd that the new vet had such a bad reaction to her - she must have had a bad experience with a Shepherd at some point... good for Teagan for being so good and setting a better example!

And it's so wonderful that it sounds like Luc may actually gain even MORE confidence with her around! You're doing a really great job with both of them and I wish you lots of enjoyment in all things dog related!

~Natalya

She is beautiful! I have loved following your experiences with your dogs. You have inspired me! Keep up the good work.

thanks natalya!

i'm really hoping teagan will continue to set a good example for luc, confidence-wise. it was a motivation in adopting her, and if she'd been shy i wouldn't have.

i was so nervous about walking them together this morning but they were fine. essentially they ignored each other though luc sniffed teagan while she was going to the washroom, but both seemed very happy. a good sign i think, but i'm going to keep things slow.

edit: and thanks shody! that's a really nice thing for you to say they're so much fun, and so interesting. i love how opposite luc and teagan are.

She is very pretty Good luck with her.

Hey Jennifer,

She does a appear to be a pretty girl indeed. How nice of you to find room in your home for another shelter dog. I know you are dedicated and it sounds as if you have two dogs with nice temperments to deal with. Teagan and Luc are very lucky indeed to have found you!

Sorry I was unable to meet up with you in T.O. I was looking forward to it but ended up too sick (just a virus) to visit. Maybe next year!

Cheers,

 Quote: jennifer mullen

(wagged their tails at each other or ignored each other entirely)

Teagan is a cutie and I commend you for giving her a home.


Please know that wagging tails is not necassarily an "Ohhhh I like you thing" and as both of them get more comfortable you will need to watch them.
Wagging of tails can mean many things such as, "You make me nervous", dominant displays and more. It may have looked as though they were ignoring each other but in all actuality they were probably "sizing each other up".
There are so many subtle things that dogs display to each other that a human can miss easily if they do not understand body language.

As with all dogs, coming into a new home needs to be monitored carefully and you, as pack leader, need to be vigilant in making sure the transition goes well and that both dogs know where they stand. This is especially vital since Luc has some issues already and those need to be taken into consideration.

I am not trying to put a damper on anything, and I know that it is exciting to bring home a new dog and be able to give it the proper care and attention dogs need and I am glad that you did it.

Just make sure to watch them over the next couple weeks.

thanks patty, jennifer, and carol.

jennifer, i hope you're feeling better now!

carol - for sure! teagan seems to see all dogs under 30lbs as snacks (though she is getting better about this) and i've had a couple of owners say 'her tail is wagging, she wants to play' and i've been having to say 'no, she wants to get your dog'.

there has been a variety of tail wagging types (not that i'm a conniseur) - luc today on the walk had his standard, calm, happy wag that he normally does when we're out, which was what made me so happy.

but they're definitely still sizing each other up. that's not settled by a longshot, so i'm being very careful when they're near each other and trying to do short periods together (even like a minute or two of teagan sitting in the living room b/f she goes back to her crate). i figure start small and build from there. that's what i've done when bonding rabbits (who are also pack animals/alpha-oriented). i feel a little silly with such short periods of time, but that way things stay positive and they can get comfortable with each other without feeling stressed.

we were supposed to be going backpacking (leaving next thursday) for 5 days, but it would've been fairly long days (a few 25k days) over rough trail and i'm not sure teagan is fit enough, despite being so strong. i could've done an easier backpack, but decided to car camp and do day hiking - that way, we're off doing something fun, on neutral territory. also, i'm not sure that the dogs will be ready to sleep together in the tent, so one can stay in the car at night - it gives me more options.