When I was born my parents already owned a handsome long haired miniature Dachshund, Sam, a lovely dog and who was both my protector and best friend, he was fiercely loyal and TBH I wouldn't have wanted to get on the wrong side of him. Sadly he got disc problems, that dog Dachies and he had to be put to sleep
In our area there were three English setters, and Dad took a shine to them and decided to get one, after many a phone call, we went to Danbury, Essex one Saturday and there was a beautiful 15wk tri coloured girl and as long as we didn't show or breed her we could buy her, so Tess came home . That was it, smitten!!
Years passed but just short of her 9th birthday, she collapsed and we were told it was arthritis, a few weeks later she collapsed again, this time we were told it was bone cancer and her hip had been eaten away and there was nothing we could do, our girl was PTS, oh the pain
Years passed dogless and though I ached for another dog, I just wasn't on a position to have one
Then last year, I could finally get a dog, I thought about what dog to get, as I also have a soft spot for Ridgebacks and Cockers...among many!! But I kept coming back to English setters and after getting in contact with many breeders, I found one locally and it was all set that in Oct/Nov I would get my puppy!
Alas the litter died, and I was quite upset, but thats when I heard about a litter in Devon... after help from a great breeder here in Essex, in November 2006, I finally got my puppy! Jamie! A handsome Orange Belton dog, who whilst driving me nuts with his nortiness and headstrong tendencies, also enriches my life and is my best mate and confidante!
I know the setter infection is incurable, thats why I am hoping to add to my setter family in the next few months and also hope next year to add some 'Red' to my family too!!

this is a really interesting thread

well the reason I have a staffy is just because my mum and dad have a staffy and so the stafy pups and my kids grew up together, also my two brothers also have staffys, and my kids are in love with all of these dogs so for when my children who were the ones picking the breed of dog there was really no other choice in their minds

German Shepherds were my first love. Fell for their looks and loyalty, wonderful animals who just want to please you. After my last one had to be PTS with CDRM, we decided no more GSDs, we already had one Rotty (Brandy) and had fallen in love with the breed.

I love their stunning good looks, HUGE personality, intelligence and loyalty. I also love the fact they challenge you, you have to get them to use their brains otherwise they are bored rigid! I also think they have a brilliant sense of humour, some dogs take themselves too seriously - none of my Rotts have been like that.

When I was a child the family pet was a GDS called Alma, later on a miniature poodle followed by a crossbreed.
As I got older I wanted a dog of my own but had to wait until I got married (at 40) before I was able to.
My husbands ex wife had kept their Great Dane when the marriage ended, but she decided she did not want to have to care for Tara anymore & passed her to the Son who was not able to look after a dog so we said we would take her on. She settled in happily with us & we loved having her as part of our life.
When she eventually passed on we were devastated & couldn't face having another dog because of the pain when you lose them.
However a almost a year on my Brother told us about a litter of English Bull Terriers that had just been born, we went to have a look as you do:smt002
They were only a day old & so small, the mother was white with a big brown patch on each eye & the father was a brindle, both lovely dogs. I had always wanted an EBT so of course I was completely smitten & we ended up with Max he was white with brown patches on one eye.
He was such a character & made us laugh many a time [apart from when he ran into my thumb & dislocated it when he was having a mad half hour whilst only months old} But I never held it against him & of course it did make us laugh subsequently.
We had 14 & a half years of joy with Max & were sorely sorry to lose him in May {it still makes me cry as I type this}
But we still have Dolly, our rescue EBT who we got 7 years ago to keep Max company & she too is our joy & we would not part with her for anything in the world.

Here they are together Max is on the left

When I was younger we always had two or three dogs in the house, cavaliers, cockers, yorkies and my mum ran a boarding kennels for some time. I have had a dalmation, belgian shepherd and bearded collie, however, my partner and I were desperate to have a doggy again after a few years without one. We had to have a good family dog as my partner's 10 year old son lived with us and I didn't think it was fair to have a "one man dog". A friend of ours had a Basset Hound and I fell in love with him. We got Millie, a lemon and white Basset who was absolutely bullet proof, nothing phased her, she loved everyone, loved her walks, more like a goat than a Basset, she climbed everywhere. We decided to get her a friend, and bought Harvey, a very handsome tri colour Basset from a wonderful breeder in Lincolnshire. I love these dogs, great with people, nothing phases them, and contrary to belief they are trainable - admittedly not to agility standard! Harvey is a true water baby, swimming regularly in the local river and he can walk for miles, of course stopping for a sniff along the way. I like the fact that they just want to be with you and their sad expressions and floppy ears really hide a great personality and a fun dog. Unfortunately Millie died at 3 which left Harvey very lonely. I knew he needed a companion but couldn't bring myself to get another female Basset, I will get another some day. However, my partner and his son were keen to get another dog and as I couldn't decide on another breed - they chose. We now have Harvey and Tess, a Golden Retriever puppy - she is 18 weeks old and great fun. I never even thought of a Retriever before but she makes a great addition to the family and we all love her.

Piper is a schipperke/dachsund/bull terrier mix. I have her because she is a shelter rescue and I'm ALL about shelter rescues!! I originally went there to get a corgi mix that I saw online and thought was really cute. When I got there, THAT dog was really sweet and I was planning on adopting her. While I was filling out the paperwork, the girl asked me if I would be willing to consider a "special" adoption. I didn't really know what she meant but curiosity caused me to press on. Knowing that, at the time, I had alot of time on my hands, (wish I still did!!!) and the fact that I had a lot of experience with dogs, she wanted to know if I would be willing to take on a dog that needed ALOT of TLC and patience. She introduced me to Piper (whos name at the time was Skipper) and it was almost automatic. When we opened the door to the play room that piper was in with another dog, she immediately dropped to the floor in that "please dont hit me" pose. She had the saddest expression on her face and that's all it took!!! I adopted her and took her home that day. It took about 3 months before she learned to trust me. After she started feeling comfortable, I started taking her to the park on a daily basis where she made TONS of friends. After a few visits to the park, a gentleman approached me and asked me where I got my dog. I told him, and he told me that his sister and brother-in-law had taken a dog to the shelter about a month before I adopted Piper that looked just like her. Long story short, they ended up being her previous owners. I had the pleasure, or displeasure rather, of meeting them a few weeks later. It only took a few minutes for me to realize just why she had been so terrified of people those first few months. The meeting ended when she jumped up on the bench next to me and her tail, which is notorious for wagging, brushed the ladys arm and the gentleman jumped up quickly with his fist balled like he was about to beat the crap out of my dog. That's when I stood up and simply walked away, my dog in tow. No "goodbyes" no "nice to meet you"....but there was a "stay the heck away from my dog!" Anyways, since I'm a new member, my introduction is pretty new...so you can read more about her there.

I also have two boston terrier puppies. My family raised bostons growing up, so I was pretty familiar with the breed and have always LOVED them. It takes a special person to love a boston hehe...they are each one of a kind, they have their own personalities, and even though my two are still babies...they are both so different from each other. I don't really have a long story for them as I havent had them that long but, I love them nonetheless!!!

A wonderful story, thank you for sharing it and welcome

before i was born we got todd - (well my folks did) he was a bc - then when he passed away - we got nick - another bc

then when nick was onish we got sam - yes a bc lol!!! - then last year i was on about getting another dog as sam n nick had retired from agility (i competed sam - although she was good she wasnt good enough to win everything lol)

so i started researhing the breeds, i fell in love with mini aussie shephers - but they wernt in this country yet - i was still in love with the bc but i didnt know whether t have another or a different breed

then i found astra sheepdogs - fab dogs - but mum wasnt quite ready for one - few weeks down the line, got aphonecall off my mum saying our old neighbour had moved back into the road - along with her dog and 6 pups..............


all i said was "thanks mum"

i went to see them that night, picked 2 and said whichever if the bitch i will have (i prefer bitches to dogs - tbh) - so 6 weeks later my little unplanned springer x collie (yeah i sorta got my collie but mostly springer!) came home

i still dont know that much about springers now - other than they need a lota exercise! woudlnt change her for the world

I grew up on a farm with 6 working BCs, and whilst I've had other breeds over the years, I have always gone back to them, for me there is just something about them that no other dog has, I guess that's true of anyone who loves a certain breed, we didn't intend to get Jack, when I lost my old boy I said, that's it no more, I can't go through this anymore, it seems to get harder to say goodbye each time, then we heard about Jack, and I couldn't resist

WHY I have Malamutes........Why oh Why ???


We lived in Australia (with NO intentions of getting a dog) and hadn't owned a dog since our last rescue had died a few years previous.

Husband spotted an advert in the Freeads paper for an 'Alaskan Malamute' for $600 (about £400 then).

I REPEAT we had NO intention of getting it, but we had never heard of the name of the breed and thought it was a crossbreed, and were intrigued. We called the guy, got address and went to 'Have a Look' to see if it was a purebred that actually existed.

I'll make it brief :

We arrived and heard a dog howling behind the house, and when we looked down the side of the house, we could see a large, skinny dog, chained on about 1/2 foot of chain to a brick wall. We knocked the door, the scary looking man greeted us, pushed his 2 Staffys behind him and went to get the dog from the garden.

he brought her out and my god I could have punched him there and then, and WHY I didn't I'll never know !

The dogs ribs were poking out, she had barely any fur left on her body, she was emaciated, she was covered in bites, gashes, wounds and plenty of scars, was scared stiff and could barely walk. It was clear what she was being used for !!!

I asked to walk her, to which the man clenched his fist to the dogs face and told me to do the same if she pulled. I cringed.

I snatched the dog from the man's hands, Nodded to my husband, heart pumping, and strode toward the car and got in, my husband following.

The man stood and watched us drive away without paying for her !!! (Before anyone asks, I don't condone stealing dogs, but this dog deserved to be stolen !!)

We took her straight to the vets.

We STILL had no idea what this dog should look like, and it took us just under a year for her to recover from her ordeal (physically and mentally) and grow the glorious coat of a Malamute, so that we could see her in her full splendour.

Strangely, it was during the time she had no coat that we fell in love with her, as a breed, when we started doing research on the breed temperament and traits, looks didn't come into it and was just a bonus afterwards.

Unfortunately because of her age and a heart murmer, we couldn't bring her back with us, but she is now living a happy retirement with my parents in law in Australia.

(I do miss her )

And SHE is the reason we fell in love with Malamutes.