As winter looms in the not too distant future, we have been thinking about a yard for Goldie where she would have protection from the elements when we have to go away. We also had started thinking about another shed at the end of the driveway and near the house. We came up with the idea of making the yard extend from the end of the deck and attaching to the shed where Goldie would have a sheltered area and a warm dog house.
Here’s a pic showing Goldie heading out to her yard that extends off the left end of the deck to the shed:
She can run free from the yard onto the deck and around the house to the other end of the deck on the east side. She really gets her exercise and can watch over everything on all sides of the house. We placed her doggie house at the end of the shed, under the overhang.
Here Goldie is using her vantage point from the deck to watch while I’m out feeding the horses:
She’s a great watchdog, alerting us to killer bunnies, man-eating deer, etc.
Goldie’s DNA results are in! She is……..drumroll………… 50% German Shepherd (to Tim’s delight) 25% Boxer 12.5% American Staffordshire Terrier 12.5% American Bulldog (but “iffy” on this one, may be a mix) Now that we know, we can see the German Shepherd in her, and also the Boxer (her face and ears). Tim is delighted about the GSD, as he has always loved his German Shepherds. She sure is a cutie!
She has been a delight to have around. She has very few discipline problems and it has been fun to begin training her. She is amazingly calm for a puppy of 8 months, and overall is a pretty good girl. She sits nicely, “shakes” and is learning “down”. She “stays” for short periods of time and at short distances. She has never had an “accident” in the house. We are working on teaching her to heal, but that is a challenge. We’ve been searching out different training methods, and trying to pick the right one (or combination) for us and for Goldie. Every dog and every situation is different, and I don’t think there is a “one method fits all” approach.
In the evenings she has begun to entertain and exercise herself. Tim has put a gate across the open end of the deck so she can enjoy being outdoors and watch us when we are around the house. She entertains herself quite nicely with a couple of toys out there. She occasionally runs back and forth, back and forth, sometimes carrying a toy, sometimes not. It’s quite entertaining for us as well. This evening she appeared to be trying to catch snowflakes as they came down.
We’ve been calling her the “wonder dog”. Prior to receiving the DNA results, it was “I wonder what you are?” And of course, there’s “I wonder where you’ve been all your life. I wonder why you were in the shelter. I wonder why no one else took you before we showed up.” Whatever the answers, she certainly is a “wonder dog” for us and we’re glad to have found her.
For a while, we’ve been wanting to fill out our menagerie with a dog. I (Tim) have always had dogs around, while Laurie’s family was a cat family. We’ve been watching “Craigslist” as well as checking out animal shelters. Laurie spotted a 7-month old puppy at the Humane Society that peaked our interest. We went to see her and it was a perfect match! “Chantilly” had just come into the shelter and they don’t let them out until they are spayed. So, we had to go back the next evening after her surgery to pick her up. That worked out well, as we had to make some preparations at home before we were ready for her. Of course, one of the vital preparations was to pick out a name. We decided on “Goldie”.
I made a crate for her to stay in the house to aid in housebreaking (if necessary). As you can see, the crate didn’t phase her. She was too “pooped out” from the surgery.
When we picked her up, she was still under the influence of the anesthesia. She tried her best to look around while driving home, but most of the way she just laid down and snoozed. She has to wear a cone most of the time for about a week, to keep her from licking on her stitches. When Goldie got more alert, we let her roam the house and get used to her new home.
It turns out we didn’t need the crate at all, as Goldie is very good at “holding it” and hasn’t had a single accident in the house (yet).
We got a nice, soft pad for her to lay on. Of course, we also got her a few “chew toy” selections. She really likes the rope (a whopping $2 investment). Here, she took her rope to bed with her.
We’re taking her on walks, introducing her to the horses and ducks, etc. She has been a great addition to the family and we look forward to many years of companionship.
We were told that she is a German Shepherd/Lab mix. However, we’re not convinced of that. We’re splurging ($70) for a DNA test to see what she really is. We’ll let you know when the results are in.
