I was living in the basement suite of my father's house attending graduate school. I hadn't had a dog for 10 years. I started haunting petfinder, craigslist and kijiji listings. Also BCSPCA, and all the local animal shelters. I knew I wanted a rescue dog, and I knew I wanted a big dog. I really didn't know anything about working dogs. I just felt drawn to the size and demeanor, especially of the mastiff breed. This went on for about 3 years.

In the meantime, I got married, and the day my husband and I closed on buying my father's house (there was no way Dad was going to allow me to bring a dog onto the property) my search stepped up. My dear husband (DH) had always said he didn't understand my search for a dog, but he wouldn't stand in my way. He was a cat person at that point.

Suddenly, Dot, his cat of 12 years, passed away from cancer. We decided the only way we were going to find a dog was to visit shelters. It was just too difficult to decide what dog to adopt from online pictures and short descriptions. The first Sunday we planned on visiting two shelters, located near each other. Both had puppies up, one was a mastiff/shepherd cross, the other a border collie/lab cross. The mastiff/shepherd was 4 months, the border collie/lab was 10 weeks.

We applied for the first one we looked at, the border collie/lab, but still went to visit the mastiff/shepherd. OMG. He was soooo beautiful, and floppy, and friendly, and he just kind of leaned up against us for pets. We were smitten. We withdrew our adoption application for the border collie/lab and confirmed our application for the mastiff/shepherd.

The shelter worker knew that the mastiff/shepherd (AKA Jethro) was going to be a handful. They had noticed that Jethro had made friends with a 10 year old fox terrier that had been in the shelter for a month. The fox terrier wasn't even listed, no one was interested in him because he was so old and a little (ahem) ball obsessed. By this time my DH had joined the search for a dog, and became interested in adopting an older dog, one that wouldn't be chosen because it wasn't a cute puppy. The shelter worker introduced him to the fox terrier (AKA Skipper) and it was love at first sight. We went home with two dogs. The shelter worker's theory was that Skipper would help us teach Jethro bite inhibition, and to tone down his dominance.

Jethro is a handful, and worth every ounce! We don't think he is a mastiff/shepherd anymore. We are leaning toward Anatolian Shepherd/lab cross? The amazing thing about Skipper is that we have since learned that he doesn't make friends with ANY dogs. His relationship with Jethro is utterly unique. And yet they get along, they play, they miss each other if one goes out without the other, they sleep in the same room. It is really very precious to have them both.

Note - neither my DH nor I had owned a dog in many a year, much less a dominant, growing puppy with a ferocious bark. We have done our puppy classes, and basic obedience (Jethro was second in his class). We are signed up for intermediate obedience, and have worked, as needed, with a trainer to help get us up to Jethro's speed.

Jethro: now 10 months and 75 lb.
Skipper: 10 years and 20 lb.

... and Skipper gets the bones he chooses...

My last year in the dorms I was browsing craigslist not looking for a dog just browsing (I was going to celebrate moving into a pet friendly apartment by getting something that wasn't a millipede or cockroaches). I was thinking a snake maybe.

Saw a craiglist ad that looked sketchy and since I was going to be passing through the area I wanted to check it out. I found a skinny wild 5 month old puppy who was apparently very aggressive and attacked children...he greeted me by ripping open my pants leg and stealing part of my shoe (yes..he took a part of my shoe off in a matter of seconds, he was kind enough to bring it back though...) the father of the family made it clear he was "leaving the home", whether I took him or not, the family was done with him.

I originally planned on fostering him, getting him to a vet to figure out the weight issues, and rehoming him since I wanted a Malinois or Doberman from a good breeder if I was going to get a dog in the first place. He spent his first week with me in the dorm (I snuck him in every night under a blanket and housebroke him in the dorm bathroom on newspaper). At night in the dorms, during the day on campus where he was actually allowed in to two of my finals (he curled up and slept) and was handed off to a friend during the duration of the other ones. The biting turned out to simply be a lack of bite inhibition training (oh man though he would latch onto skin like a little leach and hang there, pants legs too...it's still really obvious which of my pants were bought post-puppy, they're all a few inches shorter at the bottom). He figured it out in about two days what do do with human skin and how not to puncture it. He's never ONCE been a problem with children either (the way it was described I fully expected him to try and eat one on sight)

I specifically wanted a JRT named Turbo that would go get crap that I threw, non-stop, for hours.

Looked in the newspaper, went to a breeder, picked the litter with the craziest parents, chose the most active puppy.

Not the way I would recommend looking for a dog.:wink: I got lucky.:smile:

Had wanted a dog of my own since I could talk, begged for years until finally when I was ten years old my mom gave in. We were attending a wedding on Hornby Island, a little island off Vancouver Island. A man was selling a litter of springer spaniel border collie x. $50 out of the back of a pick up, Buddy was the only brown/blk/white one, rest were blk&wht. We grew up together and he is my best friend and the best dog ever! He is 14yr now and not gunna make it much longer and my heart is breaking....

Aurora was a dog I needed to buy in order to go to a dog training school I attented called Canada West Canine Centre in B.C. We got her from rescue as a 6mon shep x but everyone who sees her thinks shes a dutch shepherd or malinois.

Zoey, my bf had wanted a cane corso for a couple years and was researching breeders when a litter of mastiff pups popped up on petfinder. I begged him to just go look...well as we walked down the aisle at the shelter i was in front and saw her first, I turned to him and said, sweetie, we're not just looking! Tons of people wanted the two cane corso puppies and the competition was high, we waited anxiously for days, finally the call came and she was ours!

So we have 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2bunnies and 2 chinchillas in a 2 bed bsmt suite! Just dont tell our landlord! They all get along great, are tons of work and money but worth it!

Told 3 vendors what I needed. Tested prospects. Picked what I needed. Wrote the check.

DFrost

Having grown up with german shepherds, I finally talked my fiancee into getting me my first one as an adult. I did some research and found "Chopper!" When I ended the relationship; he took my dog

After licking my wounds and picking myself back up, I started my research again. I found a breeder in Ohio and made the trip to check the place out. When Bruno bit the breeder's toe and knocked over a push broom that came crashing down on my head; I knew he was for me. A little while into it I knew I needed some help with this wild thing and luckily I found this site. Bruno passed away back in March but I truly believe that what I learned on this site and from all of you enabled us to have the relationship of a lifetime.

On to Vashti A friend of mine had a funeral for her dog that passed away and while I was there I met a wonderful lady and her GSD Apollo. He was so regal looking and the pics of him I checked out later on her website were very impressive. There were times I had considered getting a female so I tucked her name in my back pocket for the future. However I eventually decided against it knowing I had my hands full with Bruno. When he passed the void was so instantaneous that I sent her an email to see if she had some available pups. She did and we welcomed Vashti into our lives.

She is benefiting from what I learned with/from Bruno and what I continue to learn to this day.

Had been in a bad place, lots of guilt. Job over. Had been crazy sad, few years.
Maybe a pup? Dogs were everything when I was a girl.
Visited shelters 1-2 times a week for over a year. Never brought one home, don't know why. Guessed I'd done enough of that.
Surfing the net, saw my pup. Ran down a vet that had been to my dogs kennel. Vet said the place was shakey, but the dog they got from there was the best dog ever.
Sent a check.

My first dog was the biggest dog in the shelter, got him when I was 19, and he was 2. Huge tall white dog, with black mask and underfur spots. Amazing dog, smart as they come, I still miss him.

I found Tessa in the Illinois woods. She was so skinny, all ribs and this narrow little waist. She looked like she'd recently nursed pups. I wasn't going to keep her, I had knocked on doors near where I found her and one neighbor had contacted a breeder in the area who had lost a dog, who initially thought Tess was that dog, then called me back saying the dog had come home. Whether that was true or not, I don't know. She's been a joy from day one. My shadow.

I got Tikko after my first dog died. I knew a musher whose dogs and lines I liked, and Tikko was the big, people friendly, leader prospect male I wanted. I bought him at ten weeks old. He spent his first summer doing field work with me and living in a tent. Now he's really coming into his own as a skijor dog leader. Smart dog, with an independent streak. Just how I like them.

Boz male german shepherds thru owner surrender and because my hubby is a cop (got him for free),,Storm female mal/german shepherd was dumped with her littermaters on I90 in Rockford,IL(rescue),, and Rayne female black Czech was on ebay pet classifieds.

Present three dogs
I hunted with both parents and all four grandparents of my JRT so I knew exactly what I wanted when Pete's mom had a litter.
First GSD Thunder
I spent a few yrs reading here on LB and did a lot of traveling looking and testing litters. I found Thunder 20 miles from my house based on info I gathered at one of the local Schutzhund clubs in the area.
At the time I was training an Aussie for SAR and was looking for a correct GSD. Got him in spades!!!
Second GSD Trooper
Wasn't looking but someone at Schutzhund club had a litter out of really nice lines. I had seen both parents on the field. I liked both pedigrees and liked what I saw so had to have one.
Nice dog but a little on the goofy side. The mom had produced a number of serious police dogs but this particular breeding wasn't all it should have been aka the pedigrees.
My wife says watching an ADD trainer work with an ADD dog is definitely worth spending time in a lawn chair with a bag of popcorn and a cold soda.