View Full Version : Always the same breed of dog?
I had an incredible huge golden retriever, Levi. Even 10 years after his passing (his back basically exploded) I still miss that guy.
We've gone thru a couple other dogs that have come to us but I keep thinking about getting another golden.
I just wonder how many people always get the same breed of dog. I know Irislily fosters bulldogs. I'm interested in knowing how often you call out the name of previous dogs. Will I constantly be calling 'Levi-no-Tex-no-Sam-no-oh whateveryourname is!"
I noticed a big, male golden that needs a new home on Craigslist the other night. Not sure that I want two dogs at the same time (we've got a little mutt named Tom - kind of looks like a cross between Benji and an Ewok from starwars) but I keep thinking about how much I miss my Levi-dog.
Anyone have any regrets about getting the same breed as a departed all-time favorite dog?
I suspect that I would love just about any dog that came into my home, but given the choice we always adopt herding dogs. This is a bit of a challenge as we also have cats and herding dogs don't always do well with cats. Right now we have two Australian shepherds and an Australian cattle dog. I had both breeds growing up, my partner had a cattle dog when we met, but that was his first experience with the breed. We know what we are getting into with these two breeds: high energy, strong prey drive, intelligence (generally speaking!), and lots and lots of shedding. We aren't interested in paying a lot of money to a breeder for a puppy so we work with rescue groups to help us find the best dog when we are looking to adopt.
We've had no regrets about adopting the same breed as a departed pet. They are all special in their own way and we try to not think about them as a replacement but rather an addition to the family. More opportunities to share love and special moments!!!
I think if you like Goldens you should get another. I think sometimes people get different breeds for variety or because the first breed wasn't a good fit for them so they try another breed. But if you're onto something you like there's no reason not to get another. About the name thing, you could just call them all the same name like some of our clients do! Drives me crazy, but to each their own. One time we had a lady with 3 cats at the same time with the same name. Just makes vet records hard. I don't think it's a big deal mixing up names once in a while. I was still mixing up my sister's names on occasion not too long ago.
goldensmom
1-22-12, 11:03am
Well just look at my name. Between dogs and litters we've had a total of 25 Golden Retrievers. We lost 2 Goldens, one to cancer and one to a stroke but no other breed makes my heart melt. Even though the personality is the pretty much the same throughout the breed, every Golden we've had is a little different and I love it. I will always have at least 2 dogs (so much work but so much more pleasure) until I am in a home somewhere and cannot. Absolutely no regrets.
goldensmom
1-22-12, 11:07am
The name thing.....I get my dogs names (3 at the moment) mixed up all the time but somehow when I do get it right they somehow know who they are.
iris lily
1-22-12, 11:08am
Oh, you should go for that golden boy!
I've had a motley assortment of dogs in my life, but at heart I'm a terrier girl. My DH, despite his claims of being a big dog guy, is a weenie dog guy. So we've had successive terriers and dachshunds and the only problem we've had with calling them the wrong name is when we accidentally used similar names (like the cats, Lucy and Lily).
Follow your instincts. Best advice ever. If your heart is telling you to bring that dog home, please go make its acquaintance.
We are Lab people. I met my DH during my divorce from DH#1 and one of the first things that made me interested in him was that he had a Lab. I had one, too. I probably had some idea that a lab person might be MY kind of person. Neither of our dogs made it into our life together (one died and one lost in a custody dispute) but when we decided we were ready for a dog, it was a Lab. There is something about them that keeps me coming back.
Yeah, FloatOn, go get 'em! He won't be Levi but he'll be himself and he probably needs you.
IshbelRobertson
1-22-12, 2:29pm
When I was a child, we had Aberdeen Terriers (now known as Scotties, ie the black Scottish terriers) and Cairns. They are the only breed we keep - presently just one cairn.
Let's see I had springer spaniels, collie cross and dalmations in my growing up years, we took over a dachshund from a landlord which lived with us for 10 years, a ****er spaniel as a puppy for 10 years, a black lab/airedale cross for 12 years and now a foxhound. If it is a dog with a nice personality, we will love it for years until it needs to be humanely put to sleep due to old age induced infirmity.
We do try to get dogs that have short coats if possible to prevent the burrs sticking when we walk in the woods.
If the dog calls to your heart strings, go for it.
I often end up with a string of similar dogs. I've had Basset Hounds now for 25+ years, usually at least one, often several. They make great house dogs if you are a hound person and know how to deal with them. They are excellent hunting dogs for my general sorts of hunting. You can do tracking with them, though you can't *really* do search and rescue work with them because they have issues getting into truck beds and helicopters and boats.
I recently have had several Portuguese Water Dogs, which have turned out great.
My current two dogs are a Basset and a PWD, both ~10 years old. I suspect I'll get another puppy of some sort soon, so there's some overlap, I get too sad when all of my dogs are elderly and die close to one another.
I'll probably get a hound dog of some sort, as I suspect the PWD will live noticeable longer than the Basset. Ive been mulling over the Otterhound, which last time the breeders talked me out of, which is how I ended up with the PWDs. Sort of a seagoing cross between a Basset, a PWD, and a Mastiff :-)
http://www.keepcott-otterhounds.co.uk/photographs/keepcott%20conconnoisseur_edited.jpg
We are mutt people. Currently co-housing with a mostly Husky and a suspected Miniature Pinscher.
We call them Moose & Squirrel.
http://lefttoright.net/images/Moose&Squirrel.jpg
Wildflower
1-23-12, 5:14am
We've had mutts, Shelties, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Pug, and a Chihuahua. Loved all of these breeds! And yes, we still often call one of our newbies by a dearly departed pet's name, even though they are a different breed or even a cat! ;) Mess up my own kid's and grandkid's names sometimes too. :|(
We have decided since we're getting older that we will stick with having a Chihuahua in our latter years. We have been surprised how easy this breed is to train, and they are just little lovebugs. Easy for an elderly person to take care of, easy to bathe, easy to pick up, and they are hardy little dogs that eat very little and most live long lives. Our Chihuahua has been the easiest of any dog we've ever had and easy on our budget too. :)
FloatOn, I say go for the Golden. I'm sure he will bring you lots of joy! And good on you for giving him a forever home. :D
goldensmom
1-23-12, 7:30am
We call them Moose & Squirrel.
Just curious, Alan, a "Rocky and Bullwinkle" fan perhaps?
Just curious, Alan, a "Rocky and Bullwinkle" fan perhaps?
Although both our dogs have proper names, as I observe them play and interact I can't help but envision Boris Badenov lamenting their exploits.
DH had 2 Shih-Tzus when we met, and his parents at one point had 4! When one of ours died in an accident, I convinced DH that we needed a dog that could keep up with us on a trail and we wound up with a miniature Australian Shepherd. What a great dog for our lifestyle! He's gone up a few 14,000 ft peaks in CO, done a 20 mile+ hike in AZ and lots more in-between. He does need a walk every single day no matter what the weather but I'm happy to get out in the neighborhood. The Shih-Tzu, now about 14, goes on a walk maybe once a week. I'm hoping when we are in the market for a new dog I can convince DH to go for another mini-Aussie or something like a border collie.
Pound puppy people here. We very seriously considered a Bernese Mountain Dog several years ago. A friend had one that was an incredible dog and they are quite beautiful. At about the same time our current black lab, part Chow, part heaven knows what dog came to us. We've had incredible luck with pound puppies. They seem to have a sense that you came to their rescue and so, for us, have been the most loyal companions. DD#2 has 2.5 years of high school left. Lucky, the lab/Chow/? is 11. Its sad to think about, but pretty likely that DD leaving for college and Lucky's final act will come close to each other. When that happens we intend to be dog free for at least a few years to facilitate some travel. I'm going to have to figure out how to cope without a large, warm, black lump of a dog sleeping under my desk as I work.
treehugger
1-23-12, 12:56pm
I was a devoted pound puppy/mutt lover for many years, and thought I always would be. DH and I adopted a mutt named Maggie and we had her for 14 wonderful years. We adored her so much (and, basically, grew up with her), that it took us a whole year after she died to be ready for our next dog. And even then, we needed a completely different experience because we knew we weren't going to get another "Maggie."
So, that led us to rescuing racing greyhounds. And now that we have 2, we simply can't imagine getting a dog another way ever again. We are totally and completely crazy greyhound people. Sometimes it still seems strange to me to be so breedist, though. :) But, hey, I have greyhound socks and T-shirts, and I never had that with a mutt.
However we acquire dogs in the future though, rescuing/adopting (as opposed to buying from a breeder) has always been and will always be of paramount importance to us. Too many homeless pets!
Kara
P.S., Moose and Squirrel are so cute!
"At about the same time our current black lab, part Chow, part heaven knows what dog came to us. "
I have friends who were so interested in their rescue's "heaven knows what" that they DNA-tested him and found out that he was Catahoula, Spanish Water Dog, Welsh Cardigan Corgi (!), Rottweiler, some kind of terrier (I'm guessing Bull), and Australian shepherd. The poor thing must be mighty conflicted not knowing whether to retrieve the chickens or herd them. So far, he's herding.
I know someone who always has a golden named Jasper.
I love mutts. Although I'm attracted to sighthounds, my late dog, to me, was just gorgeous. She looked like a small black german shepherd. I think black is a gorgeous color, and dogs with erect ears and long noses (wolf-like) are beautiful. I found a Schipperke mix on Petfinder, being fostered just a few miles away, that looks a lot like my Gemma. The description of her temperment even matches hers. However, I'm not in the position for another dog but check on her all the time.
Mutts are one in a million. Saved me a fortune on breed-related statues, stickers, t-shirts, etc.
Go for it. This dog popped up at this time for a reason. If it works out, it's meant to be.
Well, I missed out on that golden. But my heart is opening up to having another one someday.
iris lily
1-24-12, 10:49am
Well, I missed out on that golden. But my heart is opening up to having another one someday.
There's been a rash of single, middle aged women in my neighborhood getting Golden Retriever puppies. Two have already given them up. The third one seems to be sticking.
This is not my breed. Everything I hear is just so--not my breed!
But Floaton, there are plenty of Goldens out there who need homes. My freinds adopted an senior Golden and she is lovely, they love her.
jennipurrr
1-24-12, 12:11pm
Growing up I always had labs. In college future DH had a lab mix and I was fostering a lab, and that is how we met. We have a lab mix, a lab and a chihuahua (who found us). We got the most recent lab when she was over a year old. We thought, mostly done with the puppy stuff. She is a wonderful dog, but ohhhhh still has so much puppy in her even though she is 3 now. I have to say, I might be done with labs. I want a bit smaller dog next time around, but one that trains easily and doesn't have such a long puppy stage. My sister has a great little jack russell mix. Something like that would be what I envision.
But, there are so many things I love about my lab...she runs with me, we took her tubing and she had the endurance to swim for over two hours, she loves to camp, she walks well on a leash and always comes when called...ehhhhh, its just that most of this stuff also translates to her being destructive when she is bored and she also has a super high prey drive so she has torn up our back yard after chipmunks. I don't know...she's only 3 so the jury is still out on my future with labs.
My FIL had a golden for 12 years and is now looking at a goldendoodle...I don't know about these designer breeds. He thinks there will be less shedding. I am not sure its going to work out as well as he expects.
I sometimes call my new lab "Polar Bear" which was an affectionate term for my old lab who was nearly white in color. She is chocolate! So, then I have to quickly change it to Chocolate Bear, which doesn't work nearly as well...but she loves me anyway.
goldensmom
1-24-12, 12:20pm
Float on....if you are still interested in a Golden, check with your local Golden Rescue. Someone dropped off a really nice young Golden boy at our house one time -- wonder why?. We looked for a family to take the dog but we were unsuccessful and we couldn't keep him (already had 4) so we gave him to Golden Rescue who eventually found him a good home. I felt so bad because he was a beautiful dog but we just didn't have room or energy for 5 dogs. I support Golden Rescue and peruse their website regularly.
And speaking of names, after our last girl died I wanted to name our next puppy the same name but after seeing her decided to give new puppy her very own name. New puppy's registered name, however, includes the name of the deceased dog.
crunchycon
1-24-12, 1:16pm
I'm the daughter of a former Labrador breeder/owner/shower, so I can't think of a time in my life that I haven't had a Lab, and I'm 53. To me, they're the perfect dog. Having said that, as well as a Lab, I'm on my second and third Jack Russell terrier and have fallen in love with Boxers after our next-door neighbors moved in with two. The Universe must have been listening because I'm now the parent of a sweet, beautiful and silly Boxer that someone dropped by the side of the road>:(. My mom has her own Lab, a Lab-Chow mix (The Rock Star, we call him), a half-Chihuahua, and a Maltese. With the exception of one of the Jack Russells, we obtained this menagerie entirely "free." Tennessee is rife with abandoned dogs>:(>:(
There's a special place in Hell for people who discard or mistreat animals.
On the other hand, someone else's cruelty brought the two of you together, so maybe there is some balance in the universe after all.
(Checking porch for stray cats...)
Weiner dogs and siamese cats only...though this will be our last dog, period.
Finally figured out we are cat people at heart.
I have a particular fondness for Siamese cats. As an adult, I've had a white, blue-eyed shorthair whose mother was Siamese, a Birman/Ragdoll mix, a big apple head male, and a tailed manx (a little character!) with a Siamese-y litter mate. I loved them all, and though I can't justify going out and looking for another cat right now, I probably wouldn't hesitate to take one in.
The closest golden rescue is St Louis so I'll just have to keep watching for what comes up locally. The right dog will come at the right time.
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