Thinking of a new addition

The local AC recently confiscated 90 + dogs from a guy operating an informal
rescue group. All the dogs were in good health and after initially
relinquishing all claims to the dogs he changed his mind and was considering
a lawsuit to reclaim the dogs. They came to an agreement whereby he
continues to care for the dogs (food & veterinary care) but the AC retains
physical custody while he tries to obtain licensing as a rescue in another
county.

This past weekend they had an adoption fair for 30 of the dogs and I
thought I'd check it out. I've occasionally checked petfinder.com but
haven't felt ready to commit to another dog yet although I miss having a two
dog household. Since I've brought most of the animals into this household
(strays) I've kind of deferred to my DH on this one. His first choice would
be a beagle but we've had beagles in the past and they just are not my cup
of tea. So as a compromise a brittany or a german shorthair (both of which
we have had in the past) were agreed on.

There was a female GSP about 2-3 years old but she has a cough and is not
cleared for adoption yet. DH & youngest daughter and I stopped by today to
look at her again and DH would like her if she is cleared. They said
another couple are also interested.

If we do get her I'm a little concerned about integrating her into the
household. (They do have a two week return policy) Shadow is 9 years old
and dog aggressive . He also has some resource guarding issues. He and
Shelby originally came into the household within six months of each other
when he was just a puppy so I really didn't have a problem with them. Any
advice on what has worked for posters here would be appreciated!

Kathy

In article ,
kat wrote:
If we do get her I'm a little concerned about integrating her into the
household. (They do have a two week return policy) Shadow is 9 years old
and dog aggressive . He also has some resource guarding issues.

Do you feel you have the skills to deal with it? Having
dealt with fighting in the past I can assure you that
there's not much that makes you feel as sick at heart as
having one of your dogs injure another.

Another consideration is that GSPs require a lot of
exercise. A *lot*.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
kat wrote:
If we do get her I'm a little concerned about integrating her into the
household. (They do have a two week return policy) Shadow is 9 years old
and dog aggressive . He also has some resource guarding issues.

Do you feel you have the skills to deal with it?


At this point, probably not. I would like to develop them though. What
would you suggest would is the best way to do that? Any reference material
that is particularly helpful?


Having
dealt with fighting in the past I can assure you that
there's not much that makes you feel as sick at heart as
having one of your dogs injure another.

You are so right, 20+ years ago we had two female Brittany Spaniels that did
just that. We tried our best to keep them separated but eventually had to
let one of them go. I never want to be in the middle of a dog fight pulling
one off another again


Another consideration is that GSPs require a lot of
exercise. A *lot*.

I saw indications of that in just the brief time we spent at the AC with
her. She never stopped moving.

I see they are having another adoption fair on the 22nd. Maybe I'll visit
that one and see what they have although I fear my DH is enamored of her
already.

Kathy

--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community