I made the decision when I was a child myself that I didnt want children of my own. People used to say "you'll change your mind when you grow up" but at 33, i'm still 110% positive having children will never feature in my life so my dogs are no replacement for a child. I'm also not that big on getting married because I dont see much point nowadays. I'm not an overly sociable person due to being a shy introvert and my relationships never work out so my dogs are my company. They give me a reason to get out in the countryside and get off my bum basically. They also give me a reason to mingle with and meet people when I otherwise wouldnt (at training classes etc). I find socialising with people is hard, stressful work and when topics of conversation are about celebs, booze, sport and who said what, I switch off. I just find dogs are better company, and now i'm sounding like a freak!

Due to the restrictions on my dogs with regards to access in the house, they spend much of their time alone in the kitchen but I try very hard to make sure they live a full life and i'm pretty sure they do better than alot of other dogs. My Mum is home all day and then my Dad and I are in at night so they are never truly alone, just alone when nobody is in the kitchen!

My dogs have jobs, I make sure of that. The way I see it is I work full time and a large portion of my wage goes on the dogs and their insurance, food, training classes and all the little things here and there. If my dogs think i'm spending that on them for lying on their backsides all day they are wrong! I work to earn my keep and so must they in one way or another. Flynn competes in scurries and other gundog events so his job is to win us something and he very often does. The collies get off lighter as they dont compete but they get put to work in other ways.

I do not believe however that they are being truly fulfilled and i'm not getting their full potential. I take responsibility for that because I started ownership of these dogs without having a clear plan for them.

As far as having working dogs purely as pets goes...I think i'm somewhere inbetween. Taking the example of a working springer - it doesnt have to be out in the field on a shoot to be happy but i'm a strong believer that it should do something. If a dog has got a strong desire to perform a task and has lots of drive then I think owners who just mooch around on the local park with their dog are doing that dog an injustice as well as themselves. That dog has so much more to offer and yet nobody will ever find out what it's capable of. To me, thats a shame. It could be anything from tracking to agility to HTM, it doesnt matter. I'm in not saying it's wrong to have a working breed as a pet, i'm just saying its a shame if it never does any sport/work and never has the opportunity to show off it's skills. But then again, i've just explained I expect my dogs to do a job so i'm kind of bias. People may say their dog is happy and it perhaps is because it knows no better but are we making it as happy as we could be? Of course, we all lead busy lives with work, kids, chores etc so it's not practical for many people to explore what their dog has to offer. It can never miss what it's never had, unless it's instinct is crying out for more.

Certainly with regards to what my dogs were originally bred to do then my lifestyle has definately changed their lifestyle.

Think very much from reading about dog ownership/dogs n lifestyle that the relationship folk have with dogs past and present is different in lot of folks lives. Would like to think n hope very much that the dog here with me now has a much better life than had before. I would hope that my dog would adapt to whatever changes we may go through in the future n think would so long as is secure and happy . A man asked me whilst walking one day'is it a good ratter?' I said 'no' because knew him to be of unsavoury character. If a dog has love,security and all the exercise, mental stimulation to keep them and owner happy in this changing world is better than many alternatives. Sorry just thoughts n if not very well explained.