Playing with the Big dogs

Playing with the Big dogs is a blog idea I have been wanting to start for a while. The idea of doing something new was a little daunting but I am looking forward to the challenge. Overall I hope this will be a great way to record the adventures of living with my dogs as well as using it as a tool to learn and grow.

I have a confession.

I never wanted a pit bull.

Not that I had anything against them. No one should believe the hype that they are ruthless killers, but they were just not what I was looking for in a dog. I wanted the fierce beauty of the northern breeds or the intelligence and creativity of the collies and shepherds. Growing up we always had Yorkshire Terriers and  one toy poodle mix. Great small dogs that I loved with my whole heart but not breeds that I chose, they were dictated by my sister's allergies and our inexperience with dogs. With how young my sister and I were, it lead my parents to look for little dogs. My father was also intimidated by larger dogs, which was another factor. The result was as I grew up, and for most of my life, I had little dogs. It wasn't until I was a little older that I had my first experiences with larger dogs.  I fell in love almost immediately with everything about them, from their goofy nature even down to the challenges unique to their size.

I was set on getting a medium to large dog when I could, but I was not in the place to commit to the responsibility of owning a dog.  I did not have stable housing and had just started my first full time job. I wanted  a dog but I had no way of getting one for a bit. On the plus side, I did not have to commit to the responsibilities that go along with that to get to know Sadie; I just had to meet the right guy.

Sadie's dad and I had just started working together in October of 2010 and it was easy to see why I liked him. Other than being cute, he mostly talked about his dog, and the first time we spent time together, I ended up meeting her. She was a little over a year old at the time. She was, and is a super loving dog but she was also more independent, stubborn and difficult than any dog I had directly worked with before. Not that I knew then that I would have anything to do with training or raising her. As her dad and I grew closer, I became more involved with Sadie. If we hung out, we would take her for a walk. If we had a movie night,  Sadie would come with and hang out. Friendly, loving, but a challenge,  she was nice, but did not have the best manners. She would jump up on you. Looking back, I see how I encouraged her bad behavior out of inexperience with large young dogs and out of wanting this beautiful goofy animal to like me as much as I liked her.  Other issues were that she could be a little over excited when playing by running into you, and she was a struggle to walk because her strength and enthusiasm led her to pull you to the next adventure.



Over time, we have worked hard to train her and to have the best life with her.  We continue to work to improve and learn.  Right now the three of us live together and it's a wonderful little family. Currently, we also have a foster dog, but it looks like she might be on her way to a new home.  I will introduce the dogs more and the other dogs we interact with in the next few posts. I look forward to writing about all the wonderful activities and adventures I will have with raising dogs.