Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Best Gift Ever...

Last Thursday my husband and I made the decision to adopt a dog! I still can't believe that this is for real! It is a beautiful, red, male Doberman Pinscher, approximately one year old. This is him:



Those of you, who are following my blog might remember that we were contemplating to get a dog for quite a while now. I posted about our visit to a dog show, to have a closer look at breeds we were potentially interested in, back in July. If you missed that post or are just simply enjoy seeing some beautiful photos of dogs, please click here. There were many steps involved until we finally found "our boy" and the fact that we got the dog around Christmas is pure co-incidence, but he is certainly the most precious gift we ever received.



To help us find a dog that fits our personalities, our life style and the things, we want to do with a dog, we enlisted a dog trainer, Alexandra Gant (resultswithbehave.com). She acted as a matchmaker, helping us to decide which is the appropriate breed for our wishes and needs and then finding the right specific dog that suits us.



After narrowing down the breeds, we ended up eyeing a Doberman Pinscher. We wanted to foster a Doberman first and see if we felt we could handle this powerful and intelligent breed and then maybe adopt the dog, if it was a good fit. But according to Alexandra Doberman Pinschers rarely show up in shelters and if so they are immediately snatched up, because it is a sought after breed. For that reason we just had started to look for a responsible Doberman breeder to get a puppy, when Alexandra became aware that this amazing boy, actually turned up in a local shelter.



Alexandra called me in the evening with the exciting news and first thing the next morning she and I went to have a look at the dog in the shelter. Alexandra evaluated the dog for human and dog aggression and any other severe neurotic behavior. Luckily she couldn't detect any signs that indicated aggression or other unwanted traits.



KORAL (Koalition of Rescuers & Animal Lovers, www.koralrescue.com), a local rescue organisation, made it possible that the dog got pulled out of the shelter and that we could foster him for two weeks to see if we all would get along. For my husband and I it was love at first sight and felt like it was meant to be.



There is hardly anything known about the past of this dog. He was found roaming the streets and he is micro chipped, but according to the shelter the phone number to his owners was disconnected. Somehow the rescue organisation was able to make contact to his previous owners and they said that they don't want him anymore. His former name was Zeus, though, I don't know if this name was given to him at the shelter or by his previous owners. We didn't like this name and initially called him just Puppy. Now we are trying to find a nice fitting name for him. Almost there!



He has a little bit more energy than we had bargained for, but as he ages, he naturally will become calmer. Other than that he is just amazing. He has a very nice and sweet personality, being anything but the Doberman stereotype of a vicious, aggressive dog. As a matter of fact, he is a little bit more on the nervous, skittish side and tends to be easily scared by noises and unknown things and wants to flight!



We enrolled him in an obedience class already and he is incredible quick to learn things and loves to please. He is just a very smart boy!



Even though we just have him for such a short time, today it is exactly three weeks, we love him to pieces and can't imagine being without him. Of course, not all is rosy at the moment: He whines and at times screams his head off when he rides in the car, sometimes he pulls like crazy on the leash, he is easily scared and becomes flighty and he just started to jump up on us, which is not as much fun for us than for him etc., but I think we can work with him on all those issues and he shows great potential to become the perfect dog for us.



We are deeply grateful to Alexandra, who went out of her way to find us the right dog and is continuing to support us to get this lovely dog settled and comfortable with us and his new environment. If you live in the area and you are in need of dog training or want to find your perfect pooch, just like we did, we would highly recommend her.



Of course, we are also very thankful to KORAL (Koaltion of Rescuers & Animal Lovers), and here especially to Kornelia, who was our helpful and reliable contact person, for letting us foster and finally adopt this wonderful boy!



Even though it is already a little late, but hey, here in California it is still Christmas Day, I am wishing everyone, who celebrates it, a very Merry Christmas! Hope you had wonderful day with lots of love and laughter!

Christina



24 comments:

  1. What a beautiful blog - thank you for posting this Christina! I am so happy he is in a forever home with you, and we were able to pull him from the shelter

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  2. Dearest Christina ~ He is a beautiful dog! He will be your best friend. He's in a good home filled with love, and in time he'll lose his nervousness and settle down. You both and he are blessed to have each other in your lives. It was no coincidence that he turned up at the shelter when he did.

    Love and hugs to you and may 2015 be a wonderful year.

    FlowerLady

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  3. He is a very handsome chap! I'm sure he will settle, it must be an uneasy time for him too.
    I hope you are having a good Christmas and very best wishes for the New Year.

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  4. He's a beautiful dog, Christina, and, despite the skittishness you described, it looks as though he's settling in quite happily. I'm sure he'll become the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. Best wishes!

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  5. Liebe Christina,

    Dein heutiger Post ist eine Überraschung, aber auch nicht! Dein neues Familienmitglied ist ein ganz toller schöner Hund. Ich dachte schon, dass bei Dir bald ein Hund einzieht, nachdem ich gelesen habe Du warst auf einer Hunde- Ausstellung!
    Es steht Euch bestimmt eine Menge Arbeit mit ihm an, weil einerseits hat er schon viel erlebt von dem ihr nichts wisst, andererseits ist er aber noch jung genug, um viel zu lernen und auch um positiv beeinflusst zu werden.
    Mit dem richtigen Training wird es sicher positiv für Euch alle! Es lohnt sich bestimmt - er ist ein ganz lieber Kerl " der Puppy" !

    Liebe Grüße und danke für Deinen freundlichen Kommentar zu meinen Weihnachtsessen!
    Ich wünsche Dir noch einen schönen 2. Weihnachtstag und viel Freude mit Deinem best gift ever,
    Ingrid

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  6. He's absolutely adorable and handsome! A wonderful blessing for Christmas :)

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  7. Wie lieb von euch - er wird ein treuer Freund sein. Hochbeinig ist er, ich hätte auch gerne einen Hund, aber wegen Rücken geht das nicht. So bleibt es bei Katzen, die gehen alleine Gassi.

    Sigrun

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  8. Good luck with te beauty (who is lucky to get to your home)!

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  9. C'est avec un grand plaisir que j'ai lu comme un joli conte de Noel, l'arrivée de ce charmant "garçon" dans votre maison. Son pelage est magnifique, son minois très doux et pour son âge, il est de bonne taille et bien musclé. Je suis heureuse pour vous si vous avez trouvé le bon compagnon à quatre pattes qui vous correspond.
    belle journée ma chère Christina.

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  10. Hallo Christina,
    was für ein toller Hund! Ich bin ja eigentlich eher eine Katzenmutter *lach*, aber so wie Euer Puppy eingerollt in seinem Bett liegt, hat er schon etwas sehr Katzenartiges an sich. ;-) Er sieht so stolz und edel aus, ein richtig schönes Tier. Ich freue mich mit Euch! Und weißt Du, was ich besonders toll finde, dass Ihr ihn von einer Tierschutzorganisation habt und nicht von einem Züchter...Ich wünsche Euch ganz viel Freude mit Puppy (bin gespannt, welchen Namen Ihr ihm letztendlich geben werdet).

    Ganz liebe Grüße, Bärbel

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  11. Christina, congratulations with this really beautiful dog! I can understand he still is a bit flighty and scary, he was not for nothing in a shelter, but I am sure he has found the perfect home now. And for you a wonderful gift for Christmas, wish you lots of happiness with him!

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  12. What a beautiful dog. A lovely Christmas arrival. : )

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  13. What a sweetheart! You and Puppy are fortunate to have each other! I hope to have a dog someday, too. We have two aging cats now, and the hubby thinks they would be too stressed by adding a doggy companion to the mix. We'll see ... Congratulations, and what a wonderful Christmas gift, whether is was intended, or not! :)

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  14. Liebe Christina,
    mitten ins Herz getroffen!!!! Ich als absoluter Hundemensch hab mich jetzt etwas länger auf deinem Blog aufgehalten, als sonst. Ein wundervolles Tier! Edel und soooo lustig. Die Schlafpositionen sind ein Hit! Streichle mal kräftig durch für mich.
    Da wünsche ich euch allen eine wundervolle Zeit miteinander und ein großartiges Jahr 2015!!!! Happy, happy happy New Year
    Elisabeth

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  15. Liebe Christina,
    was für ein Glücksfall....und Weihnachtsgeschenk für
    dich und deinen Mann!!! Gratulation!!
    Ich wünsche dir ein traumhaftes neues Jahr und ganz viel
    Glück !!! Ich freue mich auf viele schöne, wundervolle Posts von dir ;-))
    Ganz, ganz liebe Grüße
    Karin

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  16. What a lovely dog. We always had one and there is going to come another one. I wish you a wonderful 2015 together with your new dog.

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  17. I am very late in catching up with post Christina - we had not internet connection over Christmas time.
    Isn't he gorgeous! Handsome, even. Being an owner of a Doberman in the past, I can truly say you will not be disappointed with your choice. They are incredibly clever dogs, loyal and loving. We lost ours at the age of 9 1/2 years but they were very happy years.
    I look forward to seeing what name you choose for him.
    All the very best to you and yours (including puppy, obviously) for 2015 when it comes!

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  18. Oh, he is a lovely, handsome dog, I am sure he will bring you all a lot of joy and laughter – and dig a few holes in your flowerbeds - but hey, we forgive our pets that, right? :-)
    It’s so good there are charities around to take care of unwanted pets so people can contact them, I got my cat from a charity here in London and that’s now exactly 13 years ago.
    Congratulations – and happy New Year!

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  19. I'm so glad you adopted a shelter dog! Lucky him that his ears haven't been clipped. He looks like a sweetie with a very loving home.

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  20. He is so cute! I like that his ears and tail were both left natural. I think the clipped ears and docked tails is what makes some Dobermans more intimidating looking. I remember when I worked as a visiting nurse there was a house with a Doberman. It was so well trained it wouldn't cross the line of the kitchen to come out when I was there even though there was no gate or anything to keep him in.
    Sounds like you had great help in finding the right match. Have fun!
    I

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  21. What a sweetheart! How sad his former owners did not want him. I wonder if they just abandoned him; maybe they are responsible for his nervous behavior. My only interaction with a Doberman was on a vacation to the Cayman Islands once, where the condo owner had a Doberman named Rudolf who officially adopted us while we were there. He was adorable, friendly, and not at all aggressive. One day we were walking on the beach with him and another dog when a sudden, violent storm overtook us. The other dog immediately ran off, but Rudolf stayed right with us, despite rain so sharp and forceful it felt like needles. We could hardly walk against the wind. When we found a small beach hut to shelter in, Rudolf curled up next to us. After the storm, he walked with us back to our condo. Only then did he leave us to go to his own home.

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  22. Congratulations! He is a beautiful dog. The pictures of him wrapped up in a blanket are adorable.

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  23. What an absolutely beautiful boy! It's so great that you found him. We adopted one of our dogs over a year ago and like you, couldn't imagine life without him. All the best with the training!

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