A perfect dog for your home....

I thought a thread to tell us why, how, and how long your dog has been the perfect pet in your home would be nice

I'll start!

For us it has been Phoebe. She has been a perfect member of our family for 10 years now and I can't imagine a dog any better suited to our home.

She is the kind of girl who will let the kids practice first aid, let them dress her up, or simply lay by their side and watch tv. She will run with them until they collapse, then lick their face.

She is content to lay on the floor, but will happily join them in bed if they want.

She greets guests at the door with easy, quiet happiness. She never jumps, licks, or annoys a guest in anyway. Every guest to our home loves her and comments on how sweet and considerate she is.....everyone wants to dog nap her after meeting her, LOL

She never has an accident in the house unless she is sick....and even then it's a rarity.

She is laid back 99.9% of the time, but she has and DOES know when to be protective. She has WONDERFUL decision making skills.

So to the person who dumped her at the shelter 10 years ago I say THANK YOU with all my heart, and my family thanks you too

Ohh cool thread Idea.

Dekka is the. perfect. dog.

She is my constant companion. I actually get a little panicky if I turn around and she isn't right there. She just hangs out when I clean stalls or do things around the farm.

She is very laid back. Doesn't get into things, doesn't have accidents as long as I remember to let her out (she won't ask).

She is entertaining and engaged in 'family' life.

She will be 5 this Jan.. and has been my heart dog since she was 6 weeks old.

Awww...

I don't have my heart dog yet.

Fleur is pretty close to what I would want in a dog- she's very smart, drivey (but not too much) very athletic (yes, despite the hair) and just generally always smiley and fun to be around.

Besides...she's a great foot warmer.

She's my mom's heart dog, that's for sure.

I don't know if my dogs would be perfect for anyone.

Mary take a lot of care now. I spend time treating her eye, cleaning her ears, boosting her bottom into the car and up on the furniture. She can't hear anything so you have to make sure she is where she can see you at all times. SHe needs a daily pain pill and her joints need warmth when it is cold.

Pepper needs to run. IF she doesn't get to run daily I think she would go back to her door dodging ways. She's stubborn. SHe's independent. SHe is my ultimate challange dog. SHe made me get out and try when I didn't think I had anymore of that left in me.

Victor is like living with a dog on crack. He too needs to run, he needs to play, he needs to be engaged with people, and he needs to be kept warm. If you don't cover him up he will dig through trying to do it himself. Making the bed is hopeless. He had to be bathed this morning because he rolled yet again in something totally disgusting.

I can tell you though why it is good they are my dogs instead of belonging to someone else. Mary doesn't let me feel sorry for myself. Her good humour despite everything makes me very humble. I know she is worthy of all the extra care and that reminds me that I am worthy too despite my multitude of health issues.

Victor makes me get out and excercise. I would probably sit here until i stiffened up like a board but he pesters, and badgers until i give in and remember just how good being out under a blue sky really is. He keeps me going when i want to quit.

Pepper sighs...how can I give up with her here. Who will make sure she gets out each day. she would never be happy being a yard and house dog. Her finally gaining trust in me meant so much because she trusted no one. She and I need each other desperately. She gives me confidence in myself and i give her confidence in herself. At home she is always by my side. My baby girl and I love her so.

So I doubt anyone else would be happy with my dogs but I am. WE are good for each other in ways I cannot even put into words.

It only matters if YOUR dogs are perfect in YOUR home smkie

I look around at the wonderful Chaz dogs, they ARE fantastic, but most of them would NOT work in our home.........not close to perfect for me, but they ARE perfect in their homes for one reason or another

And you notice I didn't mention Orson in the perfect dog for our home post didn't you? hahaha! He is a pain in the rear, loud, demanding.....I love him still, but he's NOT EVEN CLOSE to the perfect dog for us, LOL

WEll then they are perfect for me. Which is a good thing because we pretty much make our world around each other. The house is a dog house, the car is a dog car. Jim use to call me "doooogggggyyyyy mama" when i came into the room. IT's just like that.

Rosey has been the perfect addition to our family for almost 11 years now.
She taught me the love that a dog can bring, and showed me how much I love animals. She brought me out of my shell, after we found her, I actually started wanting to be able to talk, and had the want to learn.
She's very content just laying on the couch all day, but if I want to go out, she'll get up and come out and go for a nice run.
She knows how to be gentle with children, and how to greet people coming into the house. Yet, she knows when to be protective, and when to not let anybody in.
She knows when to leave us alone, and is content being by herself, and knows when I need her with me, and will come into my room and just lay on the bed with me, with her head on my lap/legs/chest, wherever there is room.
She can always sense when something is wrong, and when it is immediate that she does something, what she does, she decides for herself.

I couldn't thank the person who left her on the road enough

Stella was right at home the minute she walked into our house almost 5 months ago. We had lost our much loved lab of 13 years, Sadie, in April and adopted Stella in June.

She filled the hole in our hearts with all of her puppy awesomeness!!!!

summer is just perfect because she is lol. She's my shadow. She's smart, sensitive, pretty. She loves everyone she's ever met. I just love her.

Now Rose... Rose is THE PERFECT DOG. I swear she would fit in anywhere. She is sweet, non demanding, even tempered, low key, low maintenence, smart.... She is really the perfect dog.

Mia is a good dog in training lol. It's gonna take her a while to settle in. Right now she's kind of a roller coaster but I can see the really amazing dog she's becoming and I'm quite pleased with her so far.

Auggie's a ****ing rock star. But if you asked me to tell you what it is about him that I love, and why he is perfect for me, I couldn't tell you. Because it's everything. It's Auggie. There will never be another Auggie as long as I live.

Ares is the perfect dog. I wouldn't really call him a pet, because he's a far cry from that. At 9 years old, with arthritis and hind end weakness, he still is a working dog at heart.

He is truly a team player when he works. Tuned in to both me and to the task at hand 100%, in sync with me to the point where it really seems as if he's reading my mind. All that while still maintaining the corgi clownishness.

The reason he's the perfect dog? His ability to forgive and forget just amazes me. All the BS he was put through as a puppy...I was taught to train him compulsively. He was wearing a prong collar at 4 months old, he was wearing an e-collar at 6 months old. He's been slammed to the ground for guarding, he's been corrected harshly, he's been pinned down, he's been alpha rolled. :yikes: (I knew nothing about dogs and dog training and blindly did everything my trainer told me). After shutting down for a few months, Ares came back 110%, went on to be an incredibly fun sport partner and trusts me completely. He even humors me and allows me to wrap an arm around him while I sleep. He's absolutely my heart dog.

Morgan could easily be anyone's perfect dog. She's so laid back - nothing in the world bothers her. She's a cuddler, petting her takes all my problems away. She's also a lot of fun ~ very playful and silly.

Tyr is the perfect protection dog. He's extremely sensible about friendly strangers and perceived threats, has a wonderful off switch, and likes to watch in stealth mode.

Nyx is far from the perfect dog right now, but she has potential. When she actually gets her head in the game, she is so much like Ares it blows my mind. She has somehow sneaked her way into my heart.

A-w-w-w....I love all of your descriptions of your dogs and how they fit into your home so well and into your heart. They have a way of doing that and I think, for the most part, we're pretty good at adapting to those who may not be quite the "perfect" dog.

For example, Toker is a dear, sweet, good natured, fun loving dog. She does tend to be a bit more intense than I would like. That kind of trait never bothered me before. Lyric was sort of an intense dog. I don't mean nervous, just that every trait in the dog is in high gear. The love hard, they play hard, they need lots of exercise. There is an over-abundance of energy. They react to things very strongly, good or bad. In a way, it's a neat trait to observe because they seem to be grabbing all of life by both paws. But it can be exhausting.

The Chihuahuas, Jose` and Chulita, on the other hand are really well suited for my present life style, which is a little less active than it use to be. They are like chameleons. I've said this before, but whatever I feel like doing, they feel like doing. They can be playful, silly and perform the most ridiculous antics, will join right into any game. And they can also immediately settle down, curl up near me and rest or sleep. They can entertain themselves well, are not demanding, don't suffer separation anxiety. Jose` gets a little depressed if I'm gone for days and days, like when he stays at my ex's. But not too badly. And he has a teensy, weensy bit of timidity, hardly at all, but a little bit, which makes him very endearing to me for some reason. And it's not about everything. Heck, he's the one who ran the black bear off my property. But in some contexts, he just has such a baby face and demureness about him. (not the masculine type) LOL.

They can go hiking for a long hike or not. They just show me how to get joy out of life and how to go with the flow....something I'm not naturally very good at..the going with the flow part. I am enjoying my laid back, non ankle biting Chihuahuas. They definitely have a way of wiggling into your heart....very, very affectionate, sociable and attentive and perky. They seem to often be expecting something exciting and wonderful to happen, but their excitement is held just beneath the surface.

All three are well socialized and really not afraid or nervous about much of anything. They are just precious to me....each one in a different way.

I love my two dogs, but they are not perfect for my home
neither was Chance the border collie.

I dont know what would be perfect for me... I really dont

Buster has been a perfect dog for me for almost 7 years.

He'd rather chew off his own leg than have an accident in the house, he even rushes outside if he needs to vomit.
He likes to get out for as long as possible everyday but if we miss a day or I'm stuck inside he's just as happy to lie at my feet.
He's so tolerant of everything I do. I can pin him on his back to wrestle, blow in his face, tickle him and push him around and he thinks its all a great game.

He just tries so **** hard to be a good dog. He hates feeling confused and just wants to know whats expected of him so he can do right.

I LOVE his attitude with people. He couldn't care less about them to the point where he barely notices them. He can tolerate people getting in his face even if it makes him uncomfortable. When peole talk to him out in public he just acts like they arn't even there, he doesn't even look at them.
I love how safe he makes me feel. Having him beside me knows I have him to help me out if I need.

And I can't believe how much he has taught me about dogs, his patience while I've been learning patience I can't fault, the fact that at almost 7 he is still happy to learn and try to work with me just makes me love him even more. Even the things that make him an extremly challenging dog I suppose just makes me appreciates the steps forward more.

I love that I'm the only one that really see's his silly side. The crazed look in his eyes when he wants to wrestle, his stupid happy run that makes him look like a rabbit/dog with rabies lol, and how he rolls on his back and scrubs himself against the ground and makes growly noises. Noone else really gets to see that.

I don't know what I'd do without him, he has absolutley changed my life in nearly every aspect.
I can't imagine my life without him, I worry I'm too dependant on him, he grounds me and can read my emotions better than any human on earth. He comes and finds me when I feel like crap and just sits by me and lets me hug him.

He is my heart dog, I just can't imagine having a bond this close to another dog. He wasn't always but as he gets older and I understand him more it just gets easier and easier to love him.

Meg is It. Honestly, I think she'd be a near perfect dog for a lot of people; in a lot of ways, she is what JQP seems to be looking for in a pet (minus the dog issues).

She had never been indoors until she came to Vermont. She couldn't walk up the single step into our house, and when I finally got her inside, she slunk around hugging the walls, clearly uncomfortable. Within about three days, she was settled. She had two accidents total in all the time I had her, both in the first few days. Once she understood that potty outside got the cookies, she was housebroken. The sum total of her in-house destructiveness is four small toothmarks in one of the window sills.

She can go on long, strenuous hikes and stay with us, go trail riding with the horses, run agility...or just chill in the house. After having such an active first couple of years with me where she came to work every day, I was really worried about how she would adapt to her new life with me working long days and her stuck at home. But she has handled it with all the grace and generosity that she shows in every situation. Much like mrose said about Buster, she is just a dog who tries so hard to be right in everything. She went from being a low-drive, timid, non-motivated dog who had zero interest in toys (my mother wanted to name her Fern, because she said she was just like having a plant when we first got her), to a charming, bold, active girl who will go swimming, play fetch or frisbee with me, go to agility trials, and everything else I could ever ask of her, just because I said "please can we do this now?". It's like she reads in my mind what I want to be able to do with my dog, and just says, "sure, I can make that happen".

She is bomb-proof with people and shows zero interest in protection, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I trust her with any person, in any situation.

As I tell her every day, she's the most perfectest puppy ever.

Traveler was my perfect family dog--she was everything she should have been for a family of young children. She was loyal, confident, playful, and patient. She was very obedient, and loved to please. An all around good dog--my kids have said they couldn't have asked for a better dog to grow up with.
Baxter and Wilson are works in progress--I love the doofs!

Oakley has been the most un-perfect dog for our home for the past 4.5 years. We brought home what we thought was the cutest playful puppy, but what we got was the hyper-est most anxiety-ridden, semi-psychotic, unpredictable dog.

But I would jump in front of a truck for him...I love him with all my heart & soul

A-w-w Bax. I know how much you miss him. He was such a dear heart. I'm so sorry you lost him. (((a refresher hug)))

Fozzy, the dog I had from age 10 to 23, was perfect for us. He was higher energy when we first got him, which was nice for my active mom and active youngster me! As he aged, he mellowed, which was good for when mom started getting sick. As she was falling apart and thusly, me too, Fozzy took it all in stride. Exceedingly calm, patient, and loving.

Finnegan came just at the right time to me. With all the madness with my health, my anxiety, and just life in general, he is my natural anti-depressant. Any time I need some time away from my frustrations, he and I can go outside and play, go for a looong walk, learn things together... he is my rock. He can do anything, and he teaches me that I can, too. Things are just going to get better with him as time goes on.

That's actually exactly how I feel about Mia. It's hard to stay depressed when you have an eternally happy, ready to go get 'em puppy next to you.