Glad it all went well!! I'm sure things will settle down as soon as she gets used to you and the house rules.

Hi all,

Just an update... Roxie thus far, has been an ball of love and energy! She's slowly learning, as am I, basic rules and boundaries. I've had her out on walks twice a day, eats twice a day, and we play twice a day. She has responded to my home very well, and is pretty respectful for an 8 month old girl with little prior training.

We had a first doggie day with a friend who knows his two dogs and how to handle them and it went really well. Once they greeted each other in a friendly manner they went off leash and had a blast! I've never seen her run like she did today, but I know she was having a blast and made good buddies with another rotti/lab mix. The other dog, which was somewhat dominant pitbull, played pretty well but was held in check by his owner, which I was really happy to see because I wouldn't have known how to handle his dog.

Overall it was a great experience for both of us and I still owe you all many thanks for what little experience I have at this point.

Here is a picture of my not so little girl--Atleast an attempt to post a picture, haha

<img src="http://gallery.me.com/vanbochoven/100019/IMAG0004/web.jpg?ver=12983282810001">

My parents recently wanted to adopt a dog from our local, government run kill-shelter. They just recently got taken over by a rescue group.
The extent of rules and tests you have to go through to be considered is ridiculous!
You have to have owned a dog before, you must have a fenced yard, you must have vet records and a note from your vet stating you can properly care for another dog, you must spay/neuter (makes sense I suppose...) and... this is the greatest one: if you're away from home more than 4 hours a day you MUST provide a dog sitter for your dog on a daily basis.
And how do they check all this? I have no idea!
They also had dogs listed on the website that were no longer there, and didn't let my parents know this until they went to the shelter to look for the dog...
Needless to say, they bought from a (more responsible) backyard breeder of Olde English Bulldogges. They will never be able to properly control him when he is full grown.
The shelter should have been less idiotic about adoption policies and they would probably just have a low key Lab mix of some sort instead.

Karissa,

Yes, this is my first dog, and I'm far from a perfect "parent" at this point, but I think those rules are in place to keep dogs from heading back to the shelter. I'm grateful I got Roxie before she headed that route and she is an awesome pup! Well 8 months old now, but I still treat her like a pup in most ways.

I understand where you are coming from. I've never had my own dog before, but from your local shelter's rules, they would probably not ever let me have one of their dogs. It's kinda sad, but if I even made it to the local shelter here, they may have told me about the same rules depending on the rescue/shelter. I never did make it that far and I think I brought Roxie to a great home where she will be entertained and cared for in a special way. I've got some really awesome friends and nieghbors who will also help me along the way, which really goes along way to the happiness of a dog and myself.

Concerning the rescue in question, in all honesty, if I were running my own rescue/shelter, I would give benefit of the doubt to the acquiring owners and let the rest set it's course. With careful consideration and conversation I think you can kind of tell who really wants to include a dog to their pack and who will be responsible owners....

~Kevin

What a sweet puppy! And, yes, we went through that adoption process. It was really intimidating and we ended up going to a municipal no kill shelter. Couldn't be happier.

And I forgot to mention we had a major breakthrough today (atleast for me, haha). She has learned that the doggie bed is pretty comfy, and that doggie bed in the crate is not so bad : )

In a week, she went from not liking it to being a pretty decent place to rest : ) Just a couple of pictures here. One where she liked the bed, and then I moved it into the crate! Eureka!

http://gallery.me.com/vanbochoven#100019

Thanks again everyone!

There really is nothing quite so sweet as having two pooped out pups sprawled out around me on their various sleeping mats on the floor. Congrats!

Eight months is such a great age!

Its a tough age, but I think its the most fun. You have all the silly weirdness and curiosity of a puppy, but if you do things right you can start to see the beginnings of the dog she will grow to be.

Just remember that she wants to please you, and that she still doesn't know anything. She's like a friendly little alein.

Congrats on your pup!

Kevin, your Roxie is adorable. Congratulations.

One of the nicest dogs I know is a lab/rottie mix. He's known for picking up logs (no mere sticks for this guy) on walks and carrying them for miles.