Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How Did You Come By Your Dog?

If you have a dog that is. I'd like another Shetland Sheep dog, they are harder to find than they used to be.

Our 6th Sheltie is now 11, she'll probably be our last Sheltie. Our newest addition is an 11 year old Chihuahua, simply because my 84 year old cousin passed, and no way in hell was she going to a shelter. My daughter had always loved her, and after all, how much trouble can 7 pounds of dog be? She's a hoot, wouldn't go out to find one, but glad we took her.

We seem to mostly get pound dogs

Used to have 8 to 12 pointers, I'm dogged out.

http://www.norcalsheltierescue.org/ and similar organizations

also try

https://www.petfinder.com/

thanks
P.

My boss had a stray show up, boxer mix, and she turned out to be a great dog. She had 6 pups with a Pyrenees and we got the runt of the litter. Great looking dog, very smart, very protective.


Remi @ 7 weeks:




Remi @ 6 months:

I grew up with dogs and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. My wife on the other hand didn't grow up with dogs and was concerned.

We spent 6 months researching different breeds, meeting breeders, talking to owners and finally decided on the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Absolutely NO regrets!







For us, best breed ever!

current dogs were saved from a dick head neighbor that abused them. made him a offer he couldn't refuse you might say. first year and a half you couldn't touch Rosie's head. if you had a fork in your hand she would cringe on the floor. if you moved your foot close to her she went belly down on the floor. i started kissing her between the eyes very slow and now she is a happy dog free from those habits.
the other dog had to have thousands in medical on a shattered back leg he ignored. she barked all night when we got her until my wife was ready to send her down the road. one night i left my laptop with the charged light shining on her bed. not a peep. just was scared of the dark. had been boxed day and night outside with bears, wolves, yotes etc trying to get at her .
all it took was some care and they are great pets. wanted working dogs but these have wormed into our hearts.

I got my Annie for 24 campfire member luv2safari. She was 6 weeks old when Jean & I drove to Falon NV.

Good on you deerstalker. Looks like you're getting as much as you give!

My wife had two Shetland Sheep dogs for a few years before we married. They were around the first 8 or 9 years of our marriage. She got both of them from a local breeder. They were both sweethearts but once they were gone she decided she didn't want any more shelties because she says she gets "too attached" to them. When our son got to be about 11 he talked her into adopting a lab/retriever mix from a local shelter and we had her for 12.5 yrs. Now the wife doesn't want ANY more dogs because she gets "too attached".

I was at an Agility Trial and noticed a woman with a Honest-to-God GSD so I stopped her and asked her about the dog. One thing led to another and she turned me on to a breeder in Mich.They checked me out ( you gotta know what a Working GSD means to get one of their dogs..) I was on a waiting list for a couple years, then waited a bit longer for a pup that would test out to the qualities I was looking for, then I drove back east to pick up and start life wth " Rommel"

You do realize the only reason we like you is because of Rommel ................

And me Rosie.

Pound dog.

Some asswhole had her but she enjoy's life to the fullest now.

Three of our four are rescues. We love them just as much as our problem child (Catahoula) that we actually bought. If you ever find yourself bored in life, just get yourself a Catahoula. They will add lots of color, and a bit of aggravation to your life.

Two friends at my gun club have Labrador Retrievers and field trial. My interest was for an upland hunting dog and they separately came up with the same breeder who had a small female that was maybe available. My phone conversation with the breeder didn't convince me I had a chance but things changed and she was available provided I passed muster. He warned me I better not show up with a pick-up truck and kennel in the back if I wanted her. Instead I left my F250 home and took my father along in his hatchback and we took the ride to pick her up. We get there and during the meet and greet the dog was skittish toward me. I was told to get low in the kitchen floor I guess to look less menacing. Problem was they had 5 or 6 dogs in that house and the kitchen floor looked like it. I did as instructed and Amber as she was called then came over and sniffed me. Took her home and and renamed her Ellie and I have a new best friend/hunting partner. That was 4 years ago and she is the best dog I have ever had. I was worried about getting a neurotic field trial robot at first but her temperament is perfect in the house and her drive to hunt off the charts.

From a breeder at a swap meet in Houston. Now going on 15 years.

Those Tollers are beautiful dogs! I was set on getting one for awhile but the four breeders I spoke with were some of the nuttiest, most elitist people I've ever talked dogs with. Ended up with an English Lab and he's been a great dog.

I was on the way home from work one day when I saw a Black and Tan Coon hound trotting along the road. I stopped, but she wouldn't get close to me. A couple of days later my wife opened the front door and there she was sitting on the front porch. We still have her 11 years later. I figure she got my scent off the sandwich I threw her.

Every dog we have had for the last 20-25 yrs has been a stray that stuck around. We have been living in rural areas during that time and and as you well know if you live rural, they just show up. Some have been bad news and we ran them off. Have never had to shoot one. Some we make friends with and invite them to stay, so they become our dogs. Over the years, there have been a few that just seemed to want/need to keep moving, we tried to keep them and take care of them but after a few days we woke up and they were gone. The current crop is two Lab males and a little feist female, they have each been with us for several years.

what he said, kudos to you sir.

Mickey Coleman is smiling down benevolently at ya.

oh and wife and kids are how I came by current set of dogs. They drug em home.

last dog I brought home, well I still miss that gal, she was a good'un, god rest her soul. (and yep she had one ime&o)

Pixie the Wonderbeagle came to us as a rescue. She had been attacked and routinely bullied by one of those loving, gentle pit bulls we hear so much about. The poor dog was scared of her own shadow. Lots of love, and even more trust led her to decide we met her needs. She was a great house dog, and the star celebrity of my wife's preschool. She never missed a morning meeting, and was the center of attention. She was best buddies with our two cats. She would wait for Squeek to inspect her food before eating. If Squeek didn't immediately come to her dish, she'd bark for her just once, then growl once, and if Squeek still didn't come, she'd go find her and carry her to the food dish and wait for the cat to inspect her dish. That dog would have starved to death if the cat had died first. Sadly, she left us to cross the Rainbow Bridge early last winter. Our house hasn't been the same every since. Damned dogs just work their way into your heart and never let go. We miss her very much.

My son rescued (his) dog right before he was to move into his new house....well, he,s gone and the dog is still here. That was 3 years now.... She is a good one tho. Very independent, likes her own space.... A lot like me...

I decided many years ago that any time I was at my house I wanted to have a dog follow my every step. I wanted to give up bathroom privacy, wanted to run the risk of having a dog bail in the shower with me too. I decided that if I had a companion who wanted to be either running, eating, or sleeping I might have to try and keep up. So I got a Blue Heeler. Lost my first male to an a$$hole who "sure thought he looked like a coyote" standing in my yard.... Wife came as a package deal with a female Heeler. After 3 years of mourning my first Heeler, I got a new male who is 15 months old now and starting to have a couple hours each day of not being a puppy and is starting to act like a dog.... Female and my old male
With the Pup when he was about 6 months
Most recent I have of the Pup

Eleven years ago, some friends called us up and said that there was a dog hanging around their house and could we keep it in our kennel while they put an ad in the paper. I went and picked up the skinniest and footsore German Wire Hair Pointer that you would ever see.
A month went by with no response to the ads.
As it was the middle of summer, I took him out to a standing green wheat field with a shotgun figuring that if I shot, he would be gunshy or something. He casted out in front of me never getting more than about fourty yards away. Finally he went into a point and I kicked up a hen quail which I overshot. He marked it like a pro.

Then he turned around and looked at me like I was some kind of idiot or something and went back to hunting.

I think someone was really bummed that they lost him.

I got a treeing feist from My uncle in N.C. 12 years ago. She was almost 4 when I got her. Well trained in doors and never barks unless completely stirred up by my wife. I got her because my aunt and uncle are older and are not leash people. First time Suzy wandered off sdhe visited a neighbor who fed her . So every time she was loose she headed to get fed. My uncle did not like the people and at the time I had him looking for a dog for me, so I ended up with her. Now at almost 16 she does not wander and acts a bit senile, but I still love her. I am not looking forward to the day I have to replace her........

Tbone here on the Fire was advertising a litter of GSPs. I picked one out and 9 years later it's pretty clear she's probably the best dog I'll ever have.....

yeah Mickey and i talked at some length about dogs and the people that don't deserve them.

2 from the local shelter and the 3rd showed up pregnant on July 4th week, 3 years ago. She had 10 puppies about a week after she showed up and we kept them for 8 weeks, found homes for a few and a rescue took the rest.

this is /was Kita. Kita was .next to my wife, the best friend i ever had and ever expect to have.
i made a trip to Palmer AK. one year and my sister had this big gangley pup that was all feet . it was love at first sight for both of us. as my sister had bought him as protection for a friend who was living alone in Anchorage and the gal had moved into no pets allowed apartments, he was up for grabs.
brought him down here to Idaho when he was 6 months old and he just kept on growing. at his prime he tipped 145 lbs and no fat. saw him back down sow griz more then once. only thing he back peddled for was moose. he just figured anything that ugly had to be out of his league.
he had a sense of humor like no other dog i ever had.
he would step into the brush and that coat of his would make him invisible. he would wait for me to come walking down the two track and jump out noisily and give me a heart attack, or he would jump out and clip me with his shoulder and knock me ass over tea kettle, then stand and laugh at me.
i pray that dogs go to heaven cause i want to see that one again. had him for 16 years and cancer got him. how i hate cancer.

I snuck up on him

He was a stray that showed up about 11 years back. By a long ways, he's the best dog I've ever had.

He's the one in the middle, 'tween dad and my bride.


Corn fed.


He loves soybeans but they give him horrific gas.

Rocky Mountain Lab rescue..We wanted another heeler but guys are crazy asking $1000 for them now.Even the humane society asks $300-$400.

$200 for a lab that is greatful to have a good loving home and shows it every day

Kinda funny story about my latest dog.
We had lost our Aussie "Pal", and it was a hard deal, but after a coupla years the wife came home and said there were some pup's on facebook. Showed me the pictures, and I looked at them, and commented that the one was a female for sure what with the fine features. Cute looking little thing.
Well they were up on a ranch on the Gros Ventre, but we took the drive to check them out. Thought we had missed our chance, because the people were not home, but they had just been down the road feeding their horses. Lady asked if we had seen the pup's but no we had not. She said that they were under the porch with the bitch, and took us over to the house to see them.
She called them out and one ran out and sat down right by my boot. Well I saw immediately that it was the little female I had seen on the Facebook post, and god as my witness, she sat there like she belonged right there. I reached down and picked her up and just stood there. Wife says"Don't you want to look at the other pup's?" I said"Nope! This is the one!"
I've had her now for almost two years(Or she has had me?) She is Aussie x Catahoula and the best dog I have ever had the honor to provide a home for. Wants nothing more than to be by my side. I named her "Frannie"

[quote=Nebraska]Tbone here on the Fire was advertising a litter of GSPs. I picked one out and 9 years later it's pretty clear she's probably the best dog I'll ever have.....












/quote]

You lyin Bastid!! That is a Chocolate Lab and you docked his tail!!!! Fer Christ's sake, tell the truth.

I love dog threads so much more than people threads.






Here's "the little monkey head", 22lbs. and going on 10 weeks old.

Shifty looking little bastid and eats leaves.
He'd fit right in around here.

Sally and Sophie.



Sophie.....she's 13 and about done hunting now.
I got her from a friend of a friend that lives up in Spokane because of the Grief bloodlines. I wasn't disappointed.



Sally (Mtn Cur with a tich of Plott)...I got her from a friend over in eastern ID.
Probably the smartest dog I've ever owned.

Reminds me of my old Pete dog that died at 14 a couple of years ago.
Best bird dog I ever owned and I've owned a few. I miss him every day.

Lily, the love hound, was the neighbor's dog. However, they were abusing and neglecting their dozen or so dogs that she moved up the road and lived on the front porch of our hunting cabin. She lived off our table scraps 2 days a week. On Halloween weekend she gave birth to her second litter of pups in the weeds out behind one of our sheds. It was then we decided to adopt her. My neighbor agreed, but demanded the pups for himself. I set up a bed for her in one of our barns. Whenever I let her in that barn she goes to that spot and cries.

Lily came home with us after deer season ended. We got her spayed and she's been grateful to us ever since. You can still see evidence of the hard times she had. For one thing, she spends a good deal of time by the truck and would live in the back seat if she could. She's deathly afraid we're going to leave her behind. Also, on the 10th anniversary of her birthing her last litter, she became very fussy. It was cold and drizzling, just as it had been in 2004. She made me follow her into the yard, and she stopped at the exact place where she'd had her pups and cried pitifully. She was grieving all her puppies that were now dead.

Jay is a collie that we got from the Collie Rescue in 2006. They told us he would never be fit for anything but a pen. He and his mother had been picked up on a back road in Virgina. We got him from a volunteer north of Columbus, Ohio. I tamed Jay by holding him every night like a baby and scratching his belly. He's mad about KYHillChick and he and Lily are best buddies. He was always skittish around me. He was scared of my size, my beard, etc. He does not like men with hats. However, over the years, he's calmed down and now comes and lays over my lap.

Smiling here!

That Pete was a handsome devil!

I got my Lab from a breeder. They had the pups, still just little fur balls at the time, out in the utility room floor.

They were all walking around oblivious to me and wrestling with each other.

One little dark yellow one broke free from the pack, walked over, looked up at me for a second, and then started wrestling with the cuff of my jeans.

I said, "I guess this one's mine".

I told my grown son we need not need another dog. So he brought home a mixed PB pup cute dog. Next thing the dickhead gets arrested for the tenth time and now we have the dog..................Crap..

I wanted a dog for my boys to grow up with. I wanted a pointing breed with a beard. My wife wanted one that didn't shed too much. I got it narrowed down to wirehaired griffon, drathaar, and pudelpointer. A quick look at puppy pics and my wife settled on pudelpointer. We had our minds made up that we wanted a female, but after being on 3 waiting lists for nearly a year a litter of all males happened and we ended up with Hank!

My wife found Heidi through an ad in the Thrifty Nickle. She was 6 months old living in a chicken pen on a ranch in Penrose, CO.


Peyton was named after the small town east of Colorado Springs where we found him. A single blue heeler gets bored so we were looking for a companion and found him.


Heidi and Peyton reached age 14 or 15 and their health began to decline. We couldn't bear the idea of a quiet house so we got Leotie from a breeder in Oklahoma. For a while we had 3 heelers.


After the older dogs passed Leotiie found herself alone. Last summer we drove to Tulsa to get Cassidy from a breeder there.

Ours is a rescue. She was used in a puppy mill and the authorities took her and about a hundred others away from the guy. They took his children away, too. She was one of ten or so sent to the state and she was so unsocialized and thought to be unsocializable that she wasn't even allowed to be put up for adoption. Our daughter who worked at the Humane Society took her and had her for several years then when daughter moved out of state we took her. She's gone from slinking away and hiding whenever a person went in the room to greeting everybody and being a normal loved pooch. But it has taken years.

My current companion "Sasha" is a Chocolate Lab that came to me from South Florida Lab Rescue when I lived down in Sunrise back in 2010. She was 18 months old when she came home with me (not sure who rescued who) and had been kept crated for 20 hours or more each day, she was a mess but has rebounded.
Sasha is my first rescue and I couldn't be more pleased, in the past my labs had come from breeders and were hunters; Sasha is the family pet and her hunting activities consist of chasing the squirrels and rabbits in the yard.

StarchedCover

My Marlee is a five yr old Chessie. Got her from Spinnaker in Kansas. The most beautiful Chessies in the world, but, they are very, very driven, and don't tolerate much downtime. Scary smart/perceptive, and i'm quite convinced this dog can read my mind

[img]https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...a00bc6c73acb7702ba33c6b2&oe=59B991CE[/img]

Found a breeder in Nebraska that had a future litter with pedigree full of National Field Trial Champions. I had him paid for before the breeding took place. She sent him on the airlines and I picked him up at SFO.

This is my first dog when I was 3 years old, his name was Tippy



Fast forward almost 20 years my next dog was Lucky



Then I went to Beagles because I liked to rabbit hunt, this is Trump my first beagle



The problem with dogs is their life span is too short, I've buried some good dogs over the years. Dolly liked to ride with me on the scooter

This one had us drive 200 miles so he could 'get us'

This one is the result of a guys champion bloodline Chessie getting in the same kennel with the champion bloodline Lab who was in heat.
She's no champion anything but she's great with the kids.No one messes with them if she's around.


[img][IMG]http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj554/veneman78/IMG_20170304_101803_zpsyei54w4r.jpg[/img][/img]

My goodness your little girl has an infectious smile!

I had Labs most of my life until about 12 years ago working for a trainer I decided to try English Setters and they are special but Sure do like all dogs though

Thanks,
She's a hand full. I expect she will do great things one day.

I'd say that there dog was a two time Champion!

Every other dog I get is always from a shelter, and every other is from a breeder. I alternate.

This is Dolly, As soon as I brought her home we started the bonding process



She was a great hunter and a great pal

Got a couple English Sheppard pups from a fellow we sold some hay to.



His dad started raising them in the 40's.

Gave him a friend discount on the hay so dogs were free.

i am a golden retreiver person mostly. but have had other dogs in the mix. bought two of the 12or 15 retrievers that have lived with us.
most came from several rescue groups dealing with goldies'. Some just found us. like deer hunting in the middle of nowehre and a little border collie emily found me.
I have three goldies now, ciera i bought, the others were castaways, plus a ankle biter cockapoo, the woman died who had her and we had made a promise.
The last goldie came from facbook, a lifelong friend saw me on there and sent me a picture. I told her to bring the goldie over.
dog was way underweight infested with ticks, teeth showed evidence of high fever, had been found running loose. I had to carry her from the car to our back yard, where she stayed in the same spot for three or four hours. Was i think a little over a year old and had already had a litter.
She was afraid of the grass. I think somebody had her in a cage. Terribly afraid of a flyswatter.
After about a 1000 dollars of vet bills she is happy and hearty now, and turned into something of a guard dog. Very deep bloodcurdling growl at noises at night. She sleep between and i until she thinks we are asleep then to the couch or hallway leading to the bedroom.
Most of the goldies were senior rescues no body wanted. We didn't have them long due to age or illness but all very special.
I am not saying it to make me special as i am not. But well over 30k in vet bills i think taking care of these dogs. money well spent.
i have had people ask why would i do that, answer is dogs always treated me better. Our life wife and i were talking about this morning revolves around our dog pack. Wouldn't have it any other way. I find myself withdrawing more and more from society, and the state we live in. And in semiretirement years am pretty content around the house/yard with our pals.

I can definitely relate to this part.

My other yellow lab had died the weekend of a Ducks Unlimited event I was doing. Made for a LONG WEEKEND, having to put him down. He had cancer. We went for a year because we just didn't think we could replace Luke. I saw an add in craigslist, a gal had yellow lab pups, I got the last one. He was a little spooky over noises and stuff but he turned into a good dog. Really took up with the wife too. She's never really taken this dog. We've had him for over 5 years now. He's a good one. He's had a tough live, some of you remember the folks that gave him a bath but burned his skin and he lived through that. Then he was going down some slick stairs at my sisters and slid down and injured a back knee which required surgery. I don't believe for a minute he was full blood lab, but he looks like one he's just a very big dog. He's also got a great bark when someone comes in the yard. I like that.

Yep, great dogs! My avatar is my first one Maggie, my signature is of Abby my current little spitfire!

Abby


Maggie

[img]http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n289/txtoller/maggie/Maggieinsnow082.jpg[/img]

Toller breeders are pretty selective, trying to keep the breed from becoming the dog-du-jour!

I inherited mine.

Good on you!

I bought my setter from a well known local field trial judge and breeder.

its obvious from these threads that i am not the only one that knows dogs are much more than people give credit for, they have memory, they have emotions, feelings, and with humans that can understand the bond that can develop, nothing quite like it. I have had several dogs choose me as described. One of my rescue's yogi bear, came in on a shipment from oklahoma. About 30 dogs. he was older, didn't want to play with the others, content to sit with me where watching. I moved he moved. I came to get another, max, who we still have. Max was very shy of males, for many years, abuse along the road when he was young. The people that were suppose to get yogi didn't show up, he went to a foster home. I had made the comment if something happened, i would take him too. So about a week later i rang the doorbell. Woman answered, yogi took one look at me, went an got his tennis ball, and sat by the door waiting for me. I really loved that dog. He had no effective rear hib sockets, no body had treated him for that, so very bad arthritis. He also had buckshot in him where he had been shot. He was on pretty strong medication for the sockets, caused a hole in his intestines and perodonitis set in. About a week in a hi tech vet center on a ventilator, but i couldn't save him. Max, the other one, had a sister, it took her about a year to be ready for adoption, terrified of people. I saw a breeder goldie rescued, that cried touching grass in a park for the first time. Rescues never forget people that show kindness, most loyal loving wonderul creatures there are. I posted your story on facebook. I am constantly wondering if molly is grieving for her puppies. Ciera one of the other goldens was the runt of the litter. I had the choice of the females, she was the one that kept coming to us, she picked us not the other way around. Even with all the medical reports on the litter, about six months old she was going lame, found out she had cracks in both front elbows, and a now life long allergy situation. I could have taken her back, and they would have killed her, we bit the bullet pulled out a credit card, and did what we had to do. She is my shadow too. They know who is good to them.

Ron and Shaman, God Bless you both! I really enjoy this thread and the wonderful stories remind me why I love the Campfire so much.

Good on you guys!

We'd be better, if we were dogs.

I'm once again reminded of the old Mark Twain quote, "If you pick up a staving dog,and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog, and man".

Could you send me his contact info Jim? I have been considering an English Shepherd for a while and you don't just find them around every corner.

Sure. My wife has it on her phone, I will send you a PM after bit.

Which one?

We have 6.

Boxer we purchased from a local breeder after I had to put by heeler/collie cross down. I wanted a bigger dog for our kids to grow up around.

Purchased a Boston Terrier from a breeder in KC while there visiting the in-laws. She is a cool dog but is a structural wreck. She will not walk on hardwood floors so she has to be carried into the family room where we hang out in the evening.

We bought our daughter her own mini aussie last year for her birthday. PITA dog. She is so attached to my daughter that she cries and whines when she can't be with my daughter.

Rescued another Boston that was from a puppy mill. He was 7 or 8. Only ever out of his crate to breed, then right back in. Didn't know how to interact with people. No social skills. We could not break him of marking, so he is outside nearly 100% of the time. He's old and pretty decrepit. Blind and nearly deaf. I keep wondering if it's time to put him down, then I see him when the other dogs are out there with him. He still loves that and enjoys himself, so he is here for now.

Rescue organization we got the breeder from called me c ouple years ago. They had another rescue BT in state. Had a foster family lines up, but the dog needed a temporary babysitter because the foster famliy was out of town for Thanksgiving. They needed someone to keep him over the weekend. I said alright. Knew the wife would not be happy because the last rescue we had, the organization wasn't completely honest about and she suspected another mess. After he was here for 2 days, the rescue called to arrange for us to get the dog to the foster famil. My wife told me to inform the rescue that Oskar was home already, he wasn't going anywhere. Very loving and committed dog some couple gave up because of a divorce. Blows my mind how people discard dogs like that.

And #6 I posted on here about. Rescued him, so to speak, from a shelter 300 miles away. Friend's daughter was traveling across SD with her soon to be ex-husband and the daughter's doberman. Guy approached the daughter too quickly and the dobie nipped him. A-hole soon-to-be-ex forced her to abandon the dog at the local animal shelter. My friend who was involved in rescuing the dobie for her daughter was pretty distraught and asked for my help in getting him back and shipping him back to her in Ohio. Finally I drove down to Rapid, picked up the dog and brought him home. Didn't know if he truly was aggressive, controllable or what. After multiple attempts at getting him shipped back to Ohio failed, my friend asked if maybe he would do better here as he had pretty well bonded with us by then. Great dog. 95 pounds of devotion and affection towards everyone in our family, including the dogs. A very protective instinct in this dog. You do not want to get near the truck with him in it. He backed a guy up pretty good the other day and nipped him when the fellow pulled in and drove back to our shop, right by where the dog hangs out under a tree during the day. Guy was there a half hour early, otherwise I would've had the dog put up. Kids have a rule when they are home alone, that dog is in the house with them. I feel pretty safe when they're here and he's with them.

Thanks, as you can see from my earlier post, we won't be needing a new dog for a while, but it would be good to know how to reach that breeder.