
17-09-2011, 01:24 PM
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Pet Forums VIP Member
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 1,839
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Re: Please try and talk me out of this......
We got Bosley just over three months ago and I will give you an honest opinion, you are a responsible dog owner and like you say have been thinking about getting another for a while.....do not expect everything to be perfect, if you expect problems then anything less than that will be a bonus, as long as the dogs are friends and get on anything else can be over come.
Bosley is proving to be very trying. He recalls but has a huge pray drive and if he bolts Lexi who has always recalled perfectly follows, so we have done LOTS of work in an enclosed field on recall work lots and lots of very smelly treats and last week he was on the scent of something mid bolt I called and he came back....i nearly passes out however Lexis recall has gone backwards as she has now discovered the fun in chasing 'things' so we are working on that too.
Mine are fed seperately as they are raw fed and Bosley is possesive with his bones as he was a stray. This is totally manageable as we use a baby gate and the dogs are far enough away from eachother and so focused on their food that is causes no issues, over time as they become more comfortable then I am hoping to feed them in the same room but if not it is manageable.
Bosley has excitment issues and we are having to do a lot of intense work with him he becomes very over stimulated by things like toys so toys are rationed in this house, chews are given seperately or under heavy supervision.
However three months in and they adore eachother, they play in the garden they curl up and sleep together and they do communicate on a level which i think I understand....for example yesterday Bosley accidentally stood on her tail, she snapped as it made her jump and obviously hurt, he jumped back and she realised he wasn't picking a fight so went to lick his face, now to me that was all a conversation i could understand but could have never had with her myself.
There are a lot of pit falls and I think the issue arises if you assume in bringing another dog home it will be easy and straight forward and there will be no issues.
But despite all his little issues and sometimes feeling like banging my head against a brick wall.....it was the best decision we ever made he is going to be a wonderful dog with a bit of work and he is quite obviously Lexis best friend.
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.....and Bosley too!
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