Nervous about my possibly adding to the family

[rissababynta]

And no, I don't mean another kid!

I recently learned about a beautiful, sweet great dane puppy that was rescued from a breeder who was going to shoot her because she was blind. I've seen videos of her, and if it wasn't for the fact that I knew about her before hand, I would never have guessed she has a hard time seeing with how playful she was with the other dogs haha.

My husband and I really want to adopt her. I wrote to the rescue and they immediately sent me the paperwork. I plan to fax it back to them Monday morning since that is the next time I can get to a fax. But, it seems that not many people have asked about her and they said nothing of anyone else asking about her like other rescues do to give you a perspective of what's going on with the animal you would like to have. So, considering that I know that I have a nice home, fenced in yard, good references, and a friendly dog where the likelihood of them fighting is very small, chances are we will be getting approved for this dog.

The only problem is, as much as I want her and I have my heart set on her, I'm very nervous! I have very small children, and she's blind. I don't want them to get plowed over by her because she WILL get big quick, but at the same time I know that the dog and the kids will all adjust. That's the biggie. There are some other small concerns I have that are making me a little nervous. But I keep telling myself I was nervous when we took in the dog we have now and he's the best dog we could have ever asked for. That's another thing...my dog...he's used to being the only one. I feel like in a way I'm betraying him lmao. I know that's silly but, I don't know I'm just nervous.

Has anyone else ever adopted a dog that they were nervous about then ended up with a success story? I'd love to hear it.

[bicurcple]

We commend you for your bravery........not because the dog is blind but great dane's get BIG!!!!LOL.....we had two very spoiled dogs about 70lbs each and we added another in October of last year. We were a little nervous but he turned out to be a great dog.....he was only 10 months old and the lady who rescued him from the pound said they were going to put him down, that is why we were nervous but after meeting him and knowing our other two were female we were pretty sure he would be ok. We have three kids and they love him, he is a boxer/beagle mix and cute as could be. We make sure that the two girls know we still love them and they are all happy. As long as you make sure your current dog does not feel replaced you should be fine. Good luck...and god bless you, many people would not have that same compassion.

[FalconAngel]

How fortuitous that you posted this thread today, because it is national puppy day.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/adorable-overload-which-puppy-is-cutest.html

Great Danes are great dogs; wonderful with kids and affectionate.
http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_dane/index.cfm

We had one last year at the shelter and when my wife went into his cage, he popped up, put his paws on her shoulders and spent his entire pet therapy time licking her face. If we had the room, we would have happily taken him home.

There are only a handful of breeds that are better family dogs, but most of them are uber-size dogs as well.

Get him, take lots of pics and put him on Doggyspace.com as soon as you get him. We wanna see!

As far as concern for an adoption dog; our friends adopted a French Mastiff from our shelter. The dog had been a double return for eating furniture, but they fell in love with him right away and after a short period where he ate some parts of the furniture, he no longer does that and is a few friendly, kissy couch potato.

There is a few dog chew products out there that would be good for him. Drop us a line and we can give you the info that we have on those, if you want it.

[Realist]

Not totally related, but...............

I had friends who had a grown Dachshund. Then, someone gave them a baby Great Dane. (They named him Pee Wee!) The dachshund took over the chore of raising Pee Wee, who was big as the Dachshund when he arrived. The Dane grew up and was afraid of nothing, man, or beast, but that dachshund could cower him down like nothing else!

Don't let Pee Wee get close to her chow dish, or there'd be hell to pay!

[Long Duck Dong]

I am a cat person, tho I like dogs.... but in the cat world, the house is known as a halfway house for cats, and they often turn up out in the middle of the night....

I am a wiccan person and a animal lover, and strongly believe that the right animals find us, and i base that on the fact that I never have a healthy, well looked after cat, come in in the middle of the night, its always strays, the injured and ill, the starving, flea ridden, full of worms etc..... and they leave as quietly as they come, but well feed, wormed, no fleas, and in the best possible health.....

currently we have 5 cats, 3 actually live here, the other two ...one is a stray that turned up starving, with a bad eye infection and the other... is a cat that belongs to a family with two kids, and the poor cat is too scared to go inside the house.... so he comes here for a feed, a pat, and sleep.....

[TwylaTwobits]

Rissa, I can understand your nervousness. But in dogs, just like in people, when they lose a sense they have others that get sharper to make up for it. The dog has for some reason come into your life and I think you will find it will be an excellent decision. Just a gut feeling :cool:

[rissababynta]

I am a cat person, tho I like dogs.... but in the cat world, the house is known as a halfway house for cats, and they often turn up out in the middle of the night....

I am a wiccan person and a animal lover, and strongly believe that the right animals find us, and i base that on the fact that I never have a healthy, well looked after cat, come in in the middle of the night, its always strays, the injured and ill, the starving, flea ridden, full of worms etc..... and they leave as quietly as they come, but well feed, wormed, no fleas, and in the best possible health.....

currently we have 5 cats, 3 actually live here, the other two ...one is a stray that turned up starving, with a bad eye infection and the other... is a cat that belongs to a family with two kids, and the poor cat is too scared to go inside the house.... so he comes here for a feed, a pat, and sleep.....

I know what you mean. When we were looking for our dog, none popped out at me until him. At first, I bypassed him because my husband saw his picture and thought (for some reason he thought he was a small dog and he hasn't had good experiences with small dogs) but I felt that I had to go back to his picture and I felt in my gut that I wanted him. I convinced my husband to at least go meet him. The second we walked through the door of the house we were going to pick him up from, he greeted us warmly and he immediately treated the kids like they were his best friends...not to mention we found out real quick my husband was wrong about the size. We both fell in love and after a few minutes my husband said we were taking him home. Now...he's as close to a perfect dog as I could possilbly get. He's so sweet, excellent with the kids, interacts with us as though he's a person half the time, at almost the age of three he's still very easy to train, and he's an EXCELLENT protector which I got to see tonight when someone tried to break into my house...I'm pagan, and I believe in following signs that the universe gives me and I think that the reaction I had towards him when I initially bypassed him happened for a reason. He was meant for us, and even though he didn't technically "find" us, he has helped us rehabilitate other animals who have found their way to our home every once and a while. There is no doubt that he was meant to be here.

In a way, I feel the same about this Great Dane too. We've been thinking about adding another dog to the family for a while, and there are dogs that I find interesting but I keep moving along the list. For some reason I can't get past this beautiful girl and I think about her often. I think the universe is telling me something yet again...

[rissababynta]

Rissa, I can understand your nervousness. But in dogs, just like in people, when they lose a sense they have others that get sharper to make up for it. The dog has for some reason come into your life and I think you will find it will be an excellent decision. Just a gut feeling :cool:

Yes, this is true. My dip of a husband told me that he didn't like the name she was given and he wanted to change it. I had to explain to him that being blind, she has probably already grown attatched to hearing her name since that is what she is used to and relies upon and he had to take a step back and think about that for a second haha.

She apparently does well with her blindness. The foster family told me that she does fairly well with not bumping into things and as long as you walk around the house and yard with her a few times so she figures out where things are, she's usually fine. They did say that she's good with kids but be careful with the toddlers because she can't see them...and toddlers are what I have so...game on I guess...

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

This is going to be a tremendous responsibility, babygirl, but if you feel this is something that called to you, then so be it. :} The kids will adapt and so will she. And the puppy will more'n likely bond with the kids right away. After all, they are all babies in a sense. :}
Good luck and have fun, but remember to tell the kids to not touch her while she's eating..she'll be big enough to eat one of Them in a year or so...lol
Silly Cat

[citystyleguy]

...growing up, my mom got us kids animals, as well as having her own cats, birds, dogs. my brother had reptiles of all sorts, snakes, hamsters, mice, and to big green/yellow dragon things; raised them in the bathroom he shared with my sister. she hated them, but adored her cats, butt and hole. adored my sister. but she sure could be strange; i had a cat named smog and german shepard called simba, the best dog on the planet, but made me insane with how jealous he was of my gf. all this and two horses. my best friend and his brothers were in 4h, their parents made them raise and care for the dairy cows, a couple of steers, some sheep, pheasents, a dozen chickens, and big, scary, HUGE bull. they left me early every summer to care for them when they went to their ranch in utah; that bull scared the shit out of me and i had to clean his corral and feed him twice a day! so here i go off on a tagent, all to say, dogs adapt, kids adapt, change is always a good cause for nerves; soon you will be telling us of all the adventures! that breed of dog is huge and you can charge the neighbors to ride the dog. :bigrin: you'll have the time of your life!

[FalconAngel]

I am a cat person, tho I like dogs....

Dogs have owners......cats have service staff.:doggie:

I will take a dog over a cat any day of the week.:)

[TwylaTwobits]

LOL Falcon, I currently have a dog, but I'd rather have a cat. Yes, cats are more independent than dogs, but they are also capable of extreme loyalty as long as you are alive....of course the second you die, you are not owner, you are dinner while a dog would starve first.

below some pics of kittens mom and dad had at their house. They are half wild/half domesticated.

[darkeyes]

Dogs have owners......cats have service staff.:doggie:

I will take a dog over a cat any day of the week.:)

Aaaahhh.. ya believe in slavery then Falcie.. tee hee:bigrin:.. but don approve a domestic service..:tong:

[darkeyes]

Me dusn hav a doggie Ris but if we didn work an wern out all day thats 1st thing we wud get..the kids want a doggie an its been diff sayin no but its not fair 2 ne dog 2 b left in house on its own all day.. but if we got a doggie it wud prob b a rescue dog.. the rite 1.. an ifya go ahead an get this 1.. then hope ya hav sum way a payin for the amount a nosh its gonna eat... Gt Danes not the littlest eaters.. bloody things tower ova me .. but they r luffly..

Kids want a cat an all.. an wud get a cat or mayb cats.. but poor lil me is allergic 2 cats an so its safest not 2.. me likes them but they don seem 2 like me 2 much..

[rissababynta]

LOL Falcon, I currently have a dog, but I'd rather have a cat. Yes, cats are more independent than dogs, but they are also capable of extreme loyalty as long as you are alive....of course the second you die, you are not owner, you are dinner while a dog would starve first.

below some pics of kittens mom and dad had at their house. They are half wild/half domesticated.

Agreed. The majority of cats I've owned were very sweet and loyal, looking at me as the mother figure. A kitten we had a couple of years ago that we had to rehome about 6 months after getting him was my baby. He was EXTREMELY loyal to me and acted like a dog half the time. Unfortunately the person we got him from seperated him from his mother too early and he had a weaning problem and would constantly suck on my neck. It got to the point where anytime I was around, he would suck on any piece of my skin that was visible and he would fight to get to me to do so. I would have had no problem working with him on that, but my daughter was an infant at the time and the only way I could even give her her bottle in the morning was to shut him away in the bathroom so he wasn't attacking me the whole time...so as much as it hurt, it was better for him to find a new home.

[Realist]

I think that animals are an excellent way to teach children responsibilities. Where some parents go wrong is, they'll tell the kids they must take care of their pets, then end up doing it themselves.

Since I was about 5, I've had dogs and then at about 8, I had a steer to raise. The trouble was, I made a pet out of it and then when it was time to butcher him, I had a hard time letting go. I did better with a Jersey milk cow. Had to milk her every morning and at night. I'd squirt milk for the dog, who became addicted to it! She'd have milk all over her face afterwards! I got the little Jersey when I was about 10 and she was still doing her job when I joined the Army at 19. She lived over 22 years.

In the winter, the cow would lay out in the pasture and the dog would curl up close to her, to stay warm. That cow would not move until after the dog got up! I guess she didn't have the heart to disturb her little buddy!

[FalconAngel]

Aaaahhh.. ya believe in slavery then Falcie.. tee hee:bigrin:.. but don approve a domestic service..:tong:

Our little Boudica is as much our child as my own son and daughter.

[FalconAngel]

LOL Falcon, I currently have a dog, but I'd rather have a cat. Yes, cats are more independent than dogs, but they are also capable of extreme loyalty as long as you are alive....of course the second you die, you are not owner, you are dinner while a dog would starve first.

below some pics of kittens mom and dad had at their house. They are half wild/half domesticated.

Cats can be adorable, but as pets, I prefer dogs. They are more social.
But my sister had this one cat that hated everyone but me and my Dad. I woke up one night with the cat laying over the crown of my head and she preferred to sleep in my room at night rather than my sister's room.

When I would be sitting around, watching TV, she would sit by me or Dad on the couch or in Dad's chair. She was a very chatty, part Siamese named Cassiopeia.

[FalconAngel]

Me dusn hav a doggie Ris but if we didn work an wern out all day thats 1st thing we wud get..the kids want a doggie an its been diff sayin no but its not fair 2 ne dog 2 b left in house on its own all day.. but if we got a doggie it wud prob b a rescue dog.. the rite 1.. an ifya go ahead an get this 1.. then hope ya hav sum way a payin for the amount a nosh its gonna eat... Gt Danes not the littlest eaters.. bloody things tower ova me .. but they r luffly..

Kids want a cat an all.. an wud get a cat or mayb cats.. but poor lil me is allergic 2 cats an so its safest not 2.. me likes them but they don seem 2 like me 2 much..

Mastiffs are great dogs for people that are out at work all day.

They are big old couch potatoes and love to just lounge about all day. And they are affectionate as well as good protectors of the family.

But they do eat a lot and need heavy duty chew toys.

[gfofbiguy]

We had a Great Dane when I was growing up. My parents adopted him as a puppy right after my younger brother was born. Max was very very loyal to my brother and me - as well as my parents, of course, but very protective of his two "littermates" LOL

I know now (- many years down the road) that my mom thinks she herself was crazy for adopting a puppy when my brother was an infant, having the "two babies" in the house, as it was a lot of work. But very worth it. Max would never hurt my brother or me intentionally, but as we grew we did have to watch out for his tail because when he was happy or excited, he'd wag it and it could be like a whip straight across our eyes :-)

I think it will be fine if you adopt that Great Dane, Rissa - even though it is blind, it will adapt. I'd love to see pics of it when you get it! Good luck!!

[Karasel]

And no, I don't mean another kid!

I recently learned about a beautiful, sweet great dane puppy that was rescued from a breeder who was going to shoot her because she was blind. I've seen videos of her, and if it wasn't for the fact that I knew about her before hand, I would never have guessed she has a hard time seeing with how playful she was with the other dogs haha.

My husband and I really want to adopt her. I wrote to the rescue and they immediately sent me the paperwork. I plan to fax it back to them Monday morning since that is the next time I can get to a fax. But, it seems that not many people have asked about her and they said nothing of anyone else asking about her like other rescues do to give you a perspective of what's going on with the animal you would like to have. So, considering that I know that I have a nice home, fenced in yard, good references, and a friendly dog where the likelihood of them fighting is very small, chances are we will be getting approved for this dog.

The only problem is, as much as I want her and I have my heart set on her, I'm very nervous! I have very small children, and she's blind. I don't want them to get plowed over by her because she WILL get big quick, but at the same time I know that the dog and the kids will all adjust. That's the biggie. There are some other small concerns I have that are making me a little nervous. But I keep telling myself I was nervous when we took in the dog we have now and he's the best dog we could have ever asked for. That's another thing...my dog...he's used to being the only one. I feel like in a way I'm betraying him lmao. I know that's silly but, I don't know I'm just nervous.

Has anyone else ever adopted a dog that they were nervous about then ended up with a success story? I'd love to hear it.

Well, Great Danes tend to be less hyper than normal dogs, because they are so big and have a slow metabolism. It will be hard since she is blind, but they do have a good sense of smell and hearing, so she should be able to know the general area of where the kids are.

.. You know I was looking at rescued dogs on the petfider earlier and ran across a blind great dane puppy in NC that was going to be shot because of her blindness... It would be funny if it was the same one (small world). .. I have two cats, one is terrified of dogs. It's sad, I want a dog sooo bad.

[rissababynta]

Well, Great Danes tend to be less hyper than normal dogs, because they are so big and have a slow metabolism. It will be hard since she is blind, but they do have a good sense of smell and hearing, so she should be able to know the general area of where the kids are.

.. You know I was looking at rescued dogs on the petfider earlier and ran across a blind great dane puppy in NC that was going to be shot because of her blindness... It would be funny if it was the same one (small world). .. I have two cats, one is terrified of dogs. It's sad, I want a dog sooo bad.

It probably is her, that's where I found her ad.

[Karasel]

I guess it is the same one, she was really cute. I knew she was blind when first looked at her. Because, with great danes if their fur is white around their eyes or ears, that is a sign that they are blind/deaf. Weird how that is, but it is true. A bit of a fun fact if you didn't already know it.

[rissababynta]

Ok...so now I don't know how I'm gonna get this dog...

I just found out that military bases have a rule that if a dog is over 50 pounds it must be cgc certified before living on base, which means that I need to get the dog I already have certified before we get in trouble and have him taken away. Unfortunately, I looked at what the dog has to do to pass and if my dog went to be tested today...he would so not pass haha. He's sweet, well behaved, great with people, dogs, and kids, is trained and trains easily still, but he loves people too much and some of the tests require him to basically have next to no reaction if he comes in contact with a new dog or person...yeah...right.

SOOOOO I have to train my dog in a few weeks to be ready for this test so there is no question that we can keep him. This on top of everything else going on in my life including the process to get this dog and then train her for a test as well???? Yeah...this is nuts. I'm going to continue to rack my brain and try to make this happen, but now it isn't seeming quite as sure of a thing as it did a few days ago...

[TwylaTwobits]

Rissa, just take it one day at a time and that's all you can do. If it's meant to be it will work out.

[rissababynta]

nevermind, I just called the housing office to find out where I'm supposed to go for the test and she said they JUST did away with the regulation because it was hard to find centers for training and testing so as long as any dog I have is registered with them, it's fine.

*breathes*

[TwylaTwobits]

grins and says "told ya so"