Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi...
my family and i has had a german shepard for over 12 years, and in the last few years, he has gone steadily downward. This was a particularly bad winter for us, and it was just too much on him, so sadly, we have to let him go Thursday.

I feel absoutely terrible for asking since he is still with us, and I don't want to think of it as 'replacing' him...but my parents would like to find a puppy soonish...so I have to ask...does anyone know of any respectable breeders in the Southern Ontario area? Or know of anywhere I might begin to look? Youe help would be greatly appreciated.

Christina

If you give me a little bit of time I should be able to get you the name of the breeder that my boyfriend's dad gets his from.. We're also in southwestern ON..

The breeder that bred my bf's dad's dogs no longer sells his dogs, but there are a few other good breeders in Ontario.. I don't know any of these breeders, they're just web pages I found in a search..

Good luck with a new pup, it's always so hard to lose one that you've grown close to..

http://www.roslinridge.com/ (Roslin, ON)
http://www.geocities.com/amaleengsd/ (Oshawa, ON)
http://www.precisionshepherds.com/
http://www.vonbellus.com/ (Mississauga, ON)
http://www.stylistickennels.com/ (White Lake, ON)
http://www.germanshepherdkennel.com/ (Erin, ON)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bwfarms/ghk.htm (Ancaster, ON)
http://www.geocities.com/patmargermanshepherds/ (Oakville, ON)
http://www.hellwiggshepherds.com/ (Centreville, ON)

Hi Christina. I know today will be a terribly sad day for you and your family. Think of it as a new beginning for your friend and companion who is now happily playing at the Bridge with all of his other little friends and patiently awaiting the next reunion. Good Luck in your quest for another puppy. Don't think of it as a replacement because you will carry many fond memories of your sweet boy to ever forget.
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Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
PHMax
HMax@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">Email PHMax

>>Hi Christina. I know today will be a terribly sad day for you and your family. Think of it as a new beginning for your friend and companion who is now happily playing at the Bridge with all of his other little friends and patiently awaiting the next reunion. Good Luck in your quest for another puppy. Don't think of it as a replacement because you will carry many fond memories of your sweet boy to ever forget.
>>-----
>>Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
>>PHMax
>>Email PHMax

>>>>>>>>>>>>.

I have two dogs who will be headed for heaven in the next few years, both being over 11. I'm thinking about what dog to get next, because I need to make these plans before the grief of the loss. That's not a good time for me to be making decisions--I need to think them through over a longer period of time in a calmer frame of mind.

Some people need to wait awhile after they lose a dog--two months or more is typical--but I'm one who needs another dog soon. I just do better when it can be done that way. I do not think of another dog as a "replacement," but rather as a "successor." I believe it honors the memory of the dog who is gone to get another dog.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

That's such a great way to look at it, a lot of people could learn from that..

I totally agree with Kathy. My husband says no more dogs after our 2 eleven year olds are gone, but I've been thinking already. We know the day will come, and the idea of NOT having a dog in my house is something I'm not sure I could bare.
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Melody/PHFasDog
Email me at PHFasDog

My furkids:
Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
Kira waiting at the bridge.

Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

When my childhood shihtzu had to be put to sleep my dad said no more dogs. My dad had his dog, Mya, and that was enough for him. My mother and I were heartbroken and I had a friend who lives 12 hours away call me and tell me she had just adopted a shihtzu out of a shelter she worked at. Ivy was just about to be put down. After much fighting with my dad and telling him that he only said no more dogs because he still had *his* dog, my mother and I drove the 12 hours to Missouri, stayed in a hotel, picked her up the next morning and drove home.

Now my dad says he doesn't know how he could have said no in the first place. He loves Ivy and even though I don't live there anymore he says he can't imagine the hole in my mom's life without a shihtzu.. They're both saying that after these two are gone, there will be no more. Yeah, right.

Thursday was a though day...LOTS of pictures that morning...many tears (and still a few more), but the memories are more happy now than sad.

My mom began looking into breeders in our area and contacted a Shepard Rescue type-place and there are two litters of puppies right now and another one any day now, so we are all going on sunday to have a look.My dad also said "no more dogs" but I KNOW he has a major soft spot for them, and the second he sees those pups hes going to turn into a kid.

Thanks for the sites Leah...I'll take a look and make a few phone calls.

Thanks again everyone!

PS...we were thinking of possibly getting two dogs...probably not at the same time, but maybe...any advice on whether this is good/bad for the dog...we've only ever had one before, and we thought two dogs could keep eachother busy.

If you do get two, if you want them both to be GSDs I would do it at the same time. Training would be very difficult, you would have to work with each one at separate times but you're running much less risk of incompatible dogs (especially if there's one male, one female) and I've been told that if you already have an established dog the other should be of a different size, age, and personality..

Actually come to think of it a puppy would be a different shape size and personality, I don't know if they mean when both dogs are matured or not.. someone else with more experience with that should be able to clarify though..

>>If you do get two, if you want them both to be GSDs I would do it at the same time. Training would be very difficult, you would have to work with each one at separate times but you're running much less risk of incompatible dogs (especially if there's one male, one female) and I've been told that if you already have an established dog the other should be of a different size, age, and personality..
>>
>>Actually come to think of it a puppy would be a different shape size and personality, I don't know if they mean when both dogs are matured or not.. someone else with more experience with that should be able to clarify though..

>>>>>>>>>>>

You don't want any size difference to be too extreme, because that makes it unsafe to let them play freely together. If one is to be larger than the other, it's safer if that is the male. Even then, you want to be careful about too large a difference in size. Opposite sex and similar size is usually good.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

>>Thursday was a though day...LOTS of pictures that morning...many tears (and still a few more), but the memories are more happy now than sad.
>>
>>My mom began looking into breeders in our area and contacted a Shepard Rescue type-place and there are two litters of puppies right now and another one any day now, so we are all going on sunday to have a look.My dad also said "no more dogs" but I KNOW he has a major soft spot for them, and the second he sees those pups hes going to turn into a kid.
>>
>>Thanks for the sites Leah...I'll take a look and make a few phone calls.
>>
>>Thanks again everyone!
>>
>>PS...we were thinking of possibly getting two dogs...probably not at the same time, but maybe...any advice on whether this is good/bad for the dog...we've only ever had one before, and we thought two dogs could keep eachother busy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>.

If you want two dogs, the ideal is to get a male first, raise and train him for a couple of years so he is thoroughly bonded to the family and has great manners. By this time through training you will have observed if he likes other dogs. Usually adding a female to a home with a male already there goes pretty smoothly. Then he can help you train her.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I had to make that same trip twice last summer. The first time with my 15 year old Brittney Spaniel that I rescued as an abused 11 month old. And the second with my beloved 13 year old collie, shep, huskey mix. I adopted the mix from a local shelter to help me draw the Brittney out of her shell and become a dog again. As you can see from their ages it worked and I had 2 of the most loving well behaved dogs. I knew their time was near and bought my GSD puppy in March, she learned a lot from my 2 beloved girls before their time came. Now I have Biff Tala and can see traits of my other girls in her. They are still missed and tears are still shed but Biff is the joy of my life now.