We've been offered a dog

[rimturse]

It's a Belgian, Tervueren. Same breed as my first dog (great dog with an attitude). It's 2 1/2 years old. I've asked C to inquire further about it. However, I'm very hesitant taking in an older dog. I do like to get my pets young, so that I can shape them myself. Also, why does the dog need a new home? Tervuerens from bad breeders do have a tendency to be nervous and shy.

Comments

[pkhardy.livejournal.com]

We've gotten three of our four girls as older dogs, and we just love them to pieces. The oldest of them, Luna, is a greyhound who retired from the racetrack when she was five. You'd think she might have picked up all sorts of bad habits on the track, plus they're not trained in the traditional obedience-training sense, but she is just the sweetest thing ever, and doesn't need obedience training 'cause I swear she knows english. Despite never having been in a house before she came home, she housebroke herself, figured the dog door out by following the cat in and outside, and she gets all kinds of flustered and nervous if she thinks we're mad.

The other two are both beagles we adopted at random--one from a rescue organization and one literally showed up on our front porch--and so they're stubborn as the day is long. But they're both real sweeties, and aside from medical problems with the elder of them (we figure she's around nine years old, so I think she comes by them honestly) we've had no trouble to speak of.

I can understand being wary, but I'm also continually amazed by how many people will get rid of a dog because they're moving or they're about to have a baby, and the dog's become inconvenient.

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reassurance. :)

My husband has inquired a bit further about the dog. The current owners do not want it anymore because they lack the time. This is a common reason for giving these kind of dogs up. Many people get a Belgian Shepherd because it is pretty, but they require a very specific handling and aren't really beginner dogs. We are going to see her on Saturday.

I am good with animals and I know the breed, so I'm not really worried that I can't handle her. But if she's shy and nervous, we won't be taking her.

Oh, and I do believe stubbornness is a Beagle trade mark. That and suddenly going deaf when there's something they don't want to hear...lol