Relationship Changes With Your Dog

[ari.g]

She had me at "hello" :D

With Nelsson it has taken a while. He was my mums dog originally so I never really felt like he was mine, still don't I guess

[dandybrush]

OK razzle I fell in love with him from day 1 he is my heart dog I enjoy training him he supports me wen hubby and I argue. I feel like we just get each other.

Willow I struggled to bond with she did bond with hubby first I struggled to let her into my razz and me circle. She is so different to train at 1yr 6 months I'm still trying to figure her out. But its been in the last couple of months I have caught myself just staring at her and loving her. She is super snuggly I love to cuddle up with her.

Edited September 21, 2012 by dandybrush

[benshiva]

WIth my darling Dude it was a gradual thing. It was in his older years that I realised just how much he meant to me. I've never had a bond like his and mine in the show ring since. We just "fit" together as a team and we adored each other. His mum Shiva was just everything you could want in a dog. It wasn't just me that was under her spell, she reeled everyone in. Even the general public at Pet Expos and Royals etc etc. She was a very special Border xxx

The Wicked Whippet has been my everything from the first day I set eyes on her. She is MINE and I'm HERS and every other person on the planet is just an inconvenience to her. I couldn't love anything more Poor neglected hubby even has to share our bed with my little brown and white devil.

In saying that I adore all my dogs, but these three are just something very very special

[Chris the Rebel Wolf]

I think I really fell for Maya my first visit to her breeder. Right near the end of a big play session with her and all her siblings ( Is there really anything better than sitting down with a litter and playing ) when Lilli was getting their dinner ready I went to fetch Maya and one of her brothers into the pen, they were playing outside, I called to them and turned to walk back inside, and Maya trotted happily inside right behind me :) Of course it was probably all about the tasty dinner but it was still a nice moment!

She knows exactly how to melt my heart at any point in time... when she wants attention she will come over, sit by me, then nose-nudge my hand, arm or knee. I think I fall in love all over again any time she does this. :)

[Guest Clover]

Clover took time, it was a good few years before we were bonded. After that she was my dog and nothing will ever change that. Miss her like crazy.

Elvie was from day dot, he was 4 weeks old when we met him and his sister. He is my boy, always has been from his first day at home. The dog can do no wrong in my eyes even though he is a horror.

Tinny came home when she was 2 years old. It took about a week and I knew she was not going anywhere. She is anyone's dog though, and I have no problems with other people borrowing her for walks and training :laugh:.

Harri will be 6 in November. I have always been crazy about him, but the last year he has become a mummies boy. We recently started tricks class on a Thursday night and in that short time our bond has grown so much. Amazing what consistent fun training can do to build a relationship. He is such a happy little dog and would do almost anything I ask of him.

Luna came home at the beginning of the year. She was much like Tinny and was going to find another home. Yeah right it never happend. The love for her formed pretty quickly, I'm not sure if it was because of my loss of clover and feeling sorry for this poor pup that had not been given a great start to life. She has just had her first birthday and is a great dog. She is a mummies girl but loves other people as well. I can see us having a long happy life together .

[Alyosha]

It's funny, my girl who is now four years old, was always bonded super closely with my OH. But after she had her big litter last year, and I spent those first few weeks constantly with her and the pups, even sleeping together, we bonded more closely than ever. She's now very close to me, probably the only one of mine that is protective. We went through that very close time together and I think she depended on me like she hadn't done before.

[Loving my Oldies]

Gosh, I've had so many dogs over the years because of my involvement with rescue and dog walking at a pound; I have to be truthful and say that some I have loved more than others and some, because of their age and neglect, have not been with me for long

My first dogs, Nammu and Calypso, were Maltese puppies from different breeders and the day I brought them home I discovered that Calypso had a heart problem, would remain tiny tiny and probably wouldn't see her first birthday. I remember crying and saying that I didn't want a tiny little dog ...... not long after that, I also remember saying that I could live with Calypso in my arms I loved her so much. She died at three and a half.

Considering I now have 10 urns on my bookshelf, there are many stories of love and heart ache, but just one more. Nammu died of cancer on 1 January 2002 and I was at the time volunteering as a walker at a small Sydney pound. About 5 weeks after Nammu died, there was a little red dog who'd come into the pound the previous day. We walkers had a busy time and little red dog had not had a walk. I felt guilty, all the other walkers had left and so I said to little red dog that I'd take him for a walk around the block. As we walked, I started singing to myself "Danny Boy", so I said to him, "I'll call you Danny, whoever adopts you will change your name anyway."

Next week when I went for the dog walking he was there right at the back of his kennel, shaking like a leaf and I felt that funny feeling in my tummy. "Oh no," I thought. "It is too soon after Nammu, I am grieving too much." I took him home to foster and, to be very very original, the rest is history.

Danny is still with me, but a very elderly gentleman now, white of face, and red coat flecked with white. He is what I have learned from DOL my "Velcro Dog" - wherever I am there is Danny.

[Staffyluv]

I've had a couple of dogs that the bond was instant, others it's taken a while and for a couple it never happened and I rehomed them.

My Whippet Sessy was love and first sight and I adore her. I have a new Whippet pup that I've become very attached to, she's a bitch of a thing that barks, bite's, wrecks things and generally causes a trail of destruction wherever she goes but I'd not swap her for anything.

I recently rehomed a dog that I had a terffic bond with, he was very attached to me, obendient etc but a friend came along and they bonded instantly. Such was their love affair that I rehomed him a few weeks back.

I bet you mis the little chunka spunk though...

I bonded with Ollie dog straight away. We were very attached to each other. He was a huge part of my life for fourteen and a half years.

When I gave him his wings last year, I didn't think I could ever have another dog of my own so decided to foster...

The day we picked up our first foster, we also met a a 6 month old staffy... He came home a couple of days later..

It took a few weeks but I realise he has wormed his way into my heart and I can't imagine a life without my little tennis ball freak...

Ziggy was such good medicine for all of us at a time when our whole world was falling apart..

He is such fun and a real clown.. Not to mention he is very vocal and chats all the time...

He is a challenge to train but we are getting there with persistence, some great advice from DOLers and our wonderful trainer (who has the patience of a saint)..

[grizabella]

Bella and I bonded pretty much straight away, she slept on my bed on her first night home and has been 'my dog' ever since. Whenever we come home to her she always makes sure I get the first cuddle. :) I was a little worried at first that she'd take a long time to bond with me because I didn't get her as a small puppy, she was more than five months old- my worries were unfounded!

Edited September 28, 2012 by salukibel

[HazyWal]

My ridgyX was my best mate from the day I picked him up as a pup until I gave him his wings at age 16. We went through a lot together and I was so heartbroken when he left I vowed I would never own another dog. Almost a year later a friend started fostering greyhounds. She bought one around (enter Stanley) and after 24 hours of fostering I fell totally in love with these beautiful dogs. I knew Stan wasn't going anywhere :) Seven foster greys later Maddie stole a peice of my heart (and Stan's) and my little family was complete.

[dogbesotted]

I always feel the twang of heartstrings on the day I first see them- be they baby puppy, newborn, or adult .

Me too. I can love any dog. Wish I could be that way with people :laugh:

me three!

when Jake first arrived.. after i had sworn i would never have another companion dog only working dogs.. i struggled so hard not to love him but jake in true pitbull fashion refused to take my no for an answer and persisted in wriggling and loving his way into my heart. When he died six years later i was as if someone had punched a hole in my chest and slashed my heart. for 6 months i could not sleep in my bedroom...

but jake taught me that i am a dog person and that the true dog heart expands to make enough room filled with love for the dogs who arrive in my life

i miss all mine who have gone ahead to The Bridge. Each has taken a piece of my heart with them and each has left me the gift of a piece of theirs ..

h

[rusty&biscuit]

I just love reading through this thread, it truly is heartwarming!

With Cherry I was so young I don't really remember...but I see her as a bit of a "Red Dog"...she is just like the dog in the movie, would be anyones dog, but when it comes down to it, she is really dads dog. She has been fantastic for me, she was our first ever dog as a family, I have grown up with her and she was always there for me, and was always a shoulder to cry on during tough times. She got mum over her intense fear of dogs, and now has mum a dog lover...hek, she even likes her previous most feared breed, staffies!

Rusty it has taken a very long time, and although I love him deeply and we are bonded, he is not a "heart dog" as such. From his age 18 months - 3 and a bit years, I hated him...in all honesty, we had a severe personality clash and I couldn't stand him. But now that both he and I have matured, I love him to pieces, and wouldn't even consider giving him up for all the money in the world. I think it was only just earlier this year that I started looking at him and really thinking "god, I love this dog", and when he started showing it back. I still, however, haven't figured out wether he is more bonded to me or my dad. At the moment it seems pretty equal, but when it comes time to move out of home I will let Rusty decide where he wants to be, I love him too much to seperate him from dad if that's what he really wants. But I am so glad I persevered with my boy, he is just an absolute delight to have around.

With Biscuit it was almost instant. I saw him in his crate after coming off the plane, and I just fell in love. He snuggled up to me the hole way home in the car, and seemed to rely on me when introducing him to Rusty. To this day I feel our bond grows stronger as each year goes by...he is just the most wonderful, happy little dog around and really makes me smile and feel warm and fuzzy in side, he makes me feel like I am really worth something, and I hope I've made him feel the same way.