Since we are on the topic of gifts to give....

Here is another couple of questions...

How do your spouses, significant others and kids feel about all the time spent with your dogs?

AND

What role, if any, do they play in the part of your dogs care and training?

Doug is a gun dog guy, loves to hunt and work with the Lab. However, my dogs are sometimes a "bone of contention" due to all the work, training and time I spend with them.

He sometimes feels left out, I am sure, and that is usually when the comments come into play.

Don't get me wrong, he is totally supportive of what I do, although the foot has been put down on "NO MORE DOGS".

I try and make sure that he is taken care of first, but sometimes I get SO into my training that I lapse (forget to start supper, run late from training, ect....) and if it happens too many times, he lets me know.

I am told by others that even though he may get upset with me when this happens, he has always talked about how proud of me he is when I am not present......so I know it is a frustration thing when he is feeling a little left out.....

toby and i actually shortly (2 days) broke up over this, b/c to him having 3 dogs and other animals is a bit much. we worked through it, but it's something i try to be very aware/considerate of.

hmm. toby likes all of my dogs, and doesn't mind spending time with them - he likes taking luc when we go out for walks, has taken him running when i was injured, but....

it's not that he's not a dog person, but he doesn't understand having more than one dog, or more than one pet for that matter (and i do have more pets than the average person).

for him, he loves the dogs, and they love him, but i think he finds the care/time/attention spent on them a bit much sometimes. whereas for me, i love spending time with them and working with them. i think too, teagan - who adores him beyond description - she can freak him out sometimes.

i think too he sees that we/i would be free-er to do stuff if i didn't have dogs to take care of and work with. he does wish sometimes i didn't have the responsibility.

he is supportive though, even though it's not his thing. BUT, he would not be cool with any more. he'll come out taking the dogs outside for potty or a walk, but i'm the only one who trains them and i primarily handle them.

we compromise - when we move into together, we'll have a place that will allow for animal-free space. in the meantime, we spend at least one night a week at his place, animal-free (i'm lucky that steve likes sitting the dogs), and we have gone away on animal-free vacations (that was hard). but, on the otherhand, when we go to alberta for my race next summer, luc will come, and he'll take care of luc while i'm racing.

As long as she gets time to do something too and we still do things all together, my wife is fine. We have an RV so we are able take dogs and kids together. Andy's been through the lines at Disneyland with us. I think they enjoy Friday nights without me going for Pizza or stuff and on the weekends I'm back home before anyone gets up. We did things together with dogs before we had kids but Andy ended up being mine. The next one we're going to put more into doing parts of the training together.

We're empty nesters now. Hans is like a child. With big teeth who sheds a lot and poops outside and is more interested in chasing balls and eating dental floss than our kids were.

He follows my wife all over the house and backyard and sits by the door and whines when she is working in the backyard.

She sits on the couch and he gets up there and cuddles with her.

It isn't an issue for us. If anything he helps keep us active. I've just ordered the Marker Training DVD and hope my wife and I will both get involved in learning and using that kind of training.

Rob is very supportive. Certainly not as into it as I am, but can appreciate it for all of the time, work, blood and tears that go into having a great dog. Besides, I don’t think that he would let me go to work on some of my assignment if I didn’t have Quinn.

With all of that being said, Rob and Quinn barely tolerate each other. Call it testosterone, or dominance, but those two don’t get along. Quinn is crated and, as I work from home, out with me much of the day and gets in training sessions between orders, they are both happy with the arrangement.

Rob does not agree with training a pet/house dog bite work. Police dogs, and PPD dogs, yes, but a pet that does sport work… We have agreed to disagree and as I am very responsible and safe, he is fine with my choices.

The kids LOVE all of the dog stuff. They like to watch me train, and the oldest (9) likes to take my older female out and work with her. The boys are both in awe with the bite work stuff and can’t wait until they are old enough to get their own dog and to do helper work.

As I am currently only actively working one dog, it does not really infringe on family time, and I do so much during the day while working, that with the exceptions of Sunday training (Tuesday they all go to Jiu Jitsu, so I am home around the same time they are), you would never know that I am dog obsessed… I can see that when I get my next pup it will be more time intrusive.

Great topic!

When my ex and I first met about 15 years ago he picked on me because of my dog obsession. I made him buy a VERY nice pup from a breeder I was working for, and then he was hooked. We ultimately got into the Dober-biz together, and he is as obsessed with them as I am. I'm actually quite impressed with his puppy-care skills as well. He's a natural mother .

Our relationship ended about six years ago, but we remain the best of friends because of our love for the dogs and our shared enthusiasm for beautiful and healthy Dobermans. We're still teeny and have nothing planned for awhile, but we have a waiting list a mile long so we must be doing something right. It's a collaborative effort that my ex didn't see coming, but doesn't regret.

So my strategy worked: Convert the nay-sayer; assimilate them My last boyfriend was afraid of my dog, so I got rid of him (the boyfriend, of course). Why am I single?

My daughter loses patience with my obsession but loves the dogs, and that I can live with .

If it was up to my wife, we would not have a dog. But since compromises must be made, she tolerates the dog.

I have to be reeled in occasionally.:smile:

Overall, I'd say that my wife is supportive of my dog interest. She enjoys the exercise of walks that we take. She has started taking Turbo for walks by herself since Koen has come along. We're getting him started on walks early.:smile:

The only time I think that I really frustrated her was when I started feeding them raw. She says I obsessed over it. I don't know what she is talking about, but oh well. Maybe I thought about it a little too much, and spent too much money on their food in the beginning.

She, or I for that matter, weren't ever around any "go-go-go!" dogs before Turbo. I think the time needed to put in to a dog like that might have caught her a little off guard. She's used to it now, though. God help her when I get a big dog.:smile:

My bf loves dogs... but he is kinda old school and isn't really "in to training"; he does a lot of the pack leader stuff naturally though (he's good at managing his employees, too, amazing how that works lol). He also thinks I spoil my two but somehow he's the one who's always sneaking them pieces of his dinner

His family has 2 gsd's and a mutt from the neighborhood basketball court (which looks a lot like a corgi). If he ever moves in with me I'm not entirely sure how that will work... he says the dogs will stay with his parents and brother, but I wonder if he will miss the one that is "his". Not sure if I'm ready for 3 dogs in the same house. We'll deal with that when we get there I guess

This is a very interesting post to read what everybody is saying.
My husband and I have two GSD, and both require lots of training right now as they are 1 yr and 15 weeks! I just got the marker training DVD and it is helping me sooo much. It has been so much fun to train using the marker method, and gets me so excited to see them learning so fast.
My husband loves the dogs, but it is me who is just crazy about them. They are our furkids, and he does enjoy the weekend walks or evening walks, but it is me that does all the training for now.
I want him to do more training, but he travels a lot for work so he hasn't been able to do so much.
As much as he loves them, I know he thinks that I obsess about them.
I am grateful that he really appreciates all that I am doing with and for them because he does enjoy how good they are and all the hard work I have been doing.
I am also grateful because he is fully supportive of our switch to all raw as well. I am a lucky, lucky girl to have these beautiful dogs and a husband that is really supportive.