Do you do things differently with this Puppy you didn't do in your younger years?

[Adrianne Matzkin]

[fergie11]

Fergie is so much a part of us than our first dog(Betsy- 18 yrs.) was. Fergie rides in the car all over. She goes places with us I would never have thought of taking Betsy. Actually though, I'm stricter with Fergie than I was with Betsy. She does sleep in bed with us and Betsy didn't. She does not get any people food unless its cut up and added to her food or we're doing training and i need it for treats. Do not want any begging going on in this house. Betsy had a lot of bad habits that I didn't want this dog to have. Fergie knows what is expected of her and she does it and she's happy and we're happy and all is great. She's such a smart dog and so easy to train. Let's hope her sister is the same.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Baby talk. We never used baby talk with our daugthers or previous dogs, but with Harlow we sound like silly first time parents saying things like 'Mommy loves her snookum-wookums'. Also tossing Frisbee. We never had a dog before that loved to play with a Frsibee. Harlow loves it so much she has even enticed our 2 old beagles to give it a try.

[Lynne B]

oh yeah..we do things differently. He's our baby and he gets the best of everything, the best food, toys, treats..He goes to doggie day care once a week just because he loves it, and we take him to dog parks twice a week. He sleeps on our bed and during the day he has the run of the house but he's such a velcro dog that he seldom leaves our side. I've had dogs all my life, but I have never done for a dog what I do for Beck, I guess it's because I have the time and the money now and he is such a very special boy.

[Kathy Janes]

It is funny. My dogs were my kids before I had kids, and now Mater is once again our baby! I showed my cocker spaniel and Old English Sheepdog in conformation and obedience then, but now we are definitely more relaxed. Mater does train in obedience and has since he was 10 weeks old. He also does agility. But this time it was because we learned with the dogs in those "in between" years with kids around and busy schedules that an untrained dog quickly becomes the beloved family monster! Now we don't train to compete, but to have fun and have the joy of a well trained companion that can go with us nearly everywhere we go. Our adult kids do get a bit jealous at times, but having this guy in our lives has brought us new friends, new experiences, and tons of fun. Yes, it is different this time around, and so much better!