Well, here goes with my first ever blog!
I am a German Shepherd addict! There, I've said it. I am hopelessly addicted to the breed and I think they are the most stunning dogs on the planet although I think all other dogs are beautiful too (just in case I upset any of my readers!)
I already own a gorgeous shepherd called Wolfie and he is now two years and two months old. He came from a breeder and despite being a large GSD he is the softest and most laid back boy you could ever meet.
We have spoken for a while about getting him a friend and the obvious answer (or so we thought) was to get another puppy however, Wolfie is scared of puppies!!! He barks, he shakes, he lunges at them, he tries to run away and so we decided that perhaps that wasn't the best way to go. This was when we started to think about rescuing a dog. I have never owned a rescue dog before but I have known many people who have and have had great success. It makes sense! There are so many unwanted dogs out there looking for their forever home and so instead of encouraging people to breed more and more puppies, is it not be better to give a loving home to an adult dog? So, I started looking on the website of German Shepherd Rescue Scotland. At first we were just looking, then somehow an adoption form got filled out, a homecheck took place and before we knew it we had arranged a time to meet our potential new dog. The whole process took two weeks and on Thursday we took our boy to meet Storm, a beautiful four year old female GSD. The meeting was a great success and we ended up taking her home there and then. We had taken two cars with us in anticipation of this happening as travelling two strange dogs together after one meeting is probably not a good thing to do.
She has now been with us for forty eight hours and already I can't imagine not having her around. She is a real livewire! She is bossy, loving, affectionate, funny, playful, demanding, beautiful and a million other things too - all good. Her first night was a bit stressful - naturally- but she has settled in incredibly quickly. Wolfie clearly adores her despite her being a bossy madam but luckily, he is happy to do exactly as he's told. She has a huge zest for life and everything is exciting for her. She came from a loving home where sadly her previous owner found herself unable to cope with a large dog due to changes in family circumstances. She is an absolute credit to her previous owner as she is very well behaved, has been well trained and her condition is proof that she has been well cared for. She found herself up for adoption through no fault of her own and this proves that not all dogs are in rescue centres because they have behavioural problems. GSRS are very particular about matching the right dog with the right family and as a busy vocal coach and singing teacher I have people in and out the house all day and it is imperative that any dog I took on had to be good with strangers and children. GSRS took all of this into account. She has already met several new people and has taken it all in her stride despite being in new surroundings with complete strangers. All in all Storm is a very welcome addition to our family.
So, before I finish I would like anyone out there who is thinking about getting themselves a dog to please consider adopting a dog over taking on a puppy. There are many, many rescue organisations out there who deal with specific breeds and many more who take in all and sundry. The choice is yours. All my past dogs have come to me as puppies and I never saw myself rescuing a dog, now I think it's the best way. Puppies are wonderful and I'm not saying I'll never take on a puppy again but the thought of taking on a dog that has passed the puppy stage but still has years and years of fun and doggy love to give is very appealing. If more people took on one of the hundreds of thousands of dogs out there looking for their forever home it might help to stop indiscriminate and unscrupulous breeding and that can only be good.
In the meantime I am off to play a few games with my two beautiful dogs. This has always been Wolfie's forever home and it's now Storm's forever home too. I'll keep you updated on their antics in future posts.
Stay safe,
Denise x
I am a German Shepherd addict! There, I've said it. I am hopelessly addicted to the breed and I think they are the most stunning dogs on the planet although I think all other dogs are beautiful too (just in case I upset any of my readers!)
I already own a gorgeous shepherd called Wolfie and he is now two years and two months old. He came from a breeder and despite being a large GSD he is the softest and most laid back boy you could ever meet.
We have spoken for a while about getting him a friend and the obvious answer (or so we thought) was to get another puppy however, Wolfie is scared of puppies!!! He barks, he shakes, he lunges at them, he tries to run away and so we decided that perhaps that wasn't the best way to go. This was when we started to think about rescuing a dog. I have never owned a rescue dog before but I have known many people who have and have had great success. It makes sense! There are so many unwanted dogs out there looking for their forever home and so instead of encouraging people to breed more and more puppies, is it not be better to give a loving home to an adult dog? So, I started looking on the website of German Shepherd Rescue Scotland. At first we were just looking, then somehow an adoption form got filled out, a homecheck took place and before we knew it we had arranged a time to meet our potential new dog. The whole process took two weeks and on Thursday we took our boy to meet Storm, a beautiful four year old female GSD. The meeting was a great success and we ended up taking her home there and then. We had taken two cars with us in anticipation of this happening as travelling two strange dogs together after one meeting is probably not a good thing to do.
She has now been with us for forty eight hours and already I can't imagine not having her around. She is a real livewire! She is bossy, loving, affectionate, funny, playful, demanding, beautiful and a million other things too - all good. Her first night was a bit stressful - naturally- but she has settled in incredibly quickly. Wolfie clearly adores her despite her being a bossy madam but luckily, he is happy to do exactly as he's told. She has a huge zest for life and everything is exciting for her. She came from a loving home where sadly her previous owner found herself unable to cope with a large dog due to changes in family circumstances. She is an absolute credit to her previous owner as she is very well behaved, has been well trained and her condition is proof that she has been well cared for. She found herself up for adoption through no fault of her own and this proves that not all dogs are in rescue centres because they have behavioural problems. GSRS are very particular about matching the right dog with the right family and as a busy vocal coach and singing teacher I have people in and out the house all day and it is imperative that any dog I took on had to be good with strangers and children. GSRS took all of this into account. She has already met several new people and has taken it all in her stride despite being in new surroundings with complete strangers. All in all Storm is a very welcome addition to our family.
So, before I finish I would like anyone out there who is thinking about getting themselves a dog to please consider adopting a dog over taking on a puppy. There are many, many rescue organisations out there who deal with specific breeds and many more who take in all and sundry. The choice is yours. All my past dogs have come to me as puppies and I never saw myself rescuing a dog, now I think it's the best way. Puppies are wonderful and I'm not saying I'll never take on a puppy again but the thought of taking on a dog that has passed the puppy stage but still has years and years of fun and doggy love to give is very appealing. If more people took on one of the hundreds of thousands of dogs out there looking for their forever home it might help to stop indiscriminate and unscrupulous breeding and that can only be good.
In the meantime I am off to play a few games with my two beautiful dogs. This has always been Wolfie's forever home and it's now Storm's forever home too. I'll keep you updated on their antics in future posts.
Stay safe,
Denise x
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