NC, My DD20 has a sheltie. She has the sweetest disposition. She's about 20 pounds and looks like a minature collie. She is absolute gorgeous. She stays indoors most of the time and seems to do fine. She loves attention but is not needy.
I hope you are doing okay.
What's the latest on your brother and his wife?
I must admit, I haven't been keeping up with everyone lately on here like I should. Between DD17's prom, graduation, and my end of year conferences, I've been so busy. It doesn't mean I don't think of you all often though.
Hugs, Yoyo
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are. -- Bernice Johnson Reagon
Hmmmm not sure about Corgis, they are notorious "nippers" of ankles and not so good with young children. They also moult twice a year. Sturdy and extremely loyal though, have a tendency to herd similar to collies as well. Good training and firm handling can overcome these tendencies so I am told.
My aunt had a Sheltie. It was a sweet dog. Smart too. Lots of grooming, however, moreso than most other breeds.
My brother and his wife are still making their plans to formally separate this Summer, all the while trying to justify each of their reasons for doing so. SIL is the one who comes up with the most rationalizations. My brother just says he's not going to fight it. I find their getting along so well through all this to be quite unnerving, creepy even.
I love them both dearly, but they're p*ssing me off to no end as well. Bone-headed foolishness. I tell my mom that the primary trigger for their decisions is MLC. There's nothing else it could be at this point.
And while I sympathize with SIL on those points she raises about her disagreement with my brother on matters of religion (she wants to renew her faith while he has become increasingly strident in his agnosticism, oddly) she doesn't have much of a leg to stand on by blaming their disagreement on Christianity for ending their M when Christianity itself just does not support her in this. In other words, yes, they do have a parting of the ways on Christianity, but using that as a justification for splitting is just not scriptural -- it's hypocritical. Plus all her other arguments come from secular psychobabble at direct odds with Godly wisdom.
I have been lurking on your thread. I know you've had your own hands full. I think your H has just become too ingrained in his foolishness; he's all too accustomed to having his way. I am proud of you for not allowing him to get away with it anymore.
I hear that about all herding dogs. Just as I hear that terriers are prone to biting and are not usually good with children, but that's obviously a blanket statement.
The particular "bad" traits of any breed usually manifest whenever they are not brought up with the right discipline. A Corgi or other such dog who nips at any human's heels has a problem with dominance and doesn't know their place in the family "pack". I do try to take great care to help socialize my dogs so they understand their place in the hierarchy of our household (people, including children, always take precedence), as that makes for a much happier pet.
I suspect that there's also a lot of "small dog syndrome" in many of these smaller breeds too.
Hi NC, all valid points, I guess its what you are attracted to you that counts plus suitability for your lifestyle, which sad to say not all pet owners realise.
My G/parents kept corgis so maybe my ankle scarring days just came to the fore.
If it's got 4 legs I usually love it, throw in big brown eyes and I am putty! what can I say.
No, not yet. I seem to be taking the long approach to this. I've spoken to a couple of breeders with one of the local kennel clubs. The line of questions one of them in particular asked me has me looking even more introspectively. I am not surprised and even expect to be grilled by any good, conscientious breeder, so it was all good.
The one breeder (of Westies in this case) was concerned about my living in an apartment, my unfortunate necessity of keeping a dog penned up for several hours during the day, and not having a fenced yard for allowing a Westie or other such breed the freedom to vent their considerable energy. It has me thinking that I really need to consider finding either another apartment or a house to rent that offers a fenced area to let a dog go off-lead. And though I know this would be a long range goal of mine anyway, I am now thinking that perhaps I should get that part of my life settled sooner rather than later if I want to adopt a new four-legged family member.
Either way, I have decided to take my time and be patient.
The positive thing is that the one breeder with the most questions and concerns was pleased to hear of my care and concern in making this move to adopt a new dog, and she was encouraged enough to still want to meet me and my sons this summer some time prior to her next litter (she has very limited breedings and chooses carefully from potential homes for placement of her pups.) I am pleased she would still keep us in mind, even given my less than ideal living arrangements at present.
I seem to be settling on a West Highland White more than any other breed. But my S8 has suddenly gotten fixated on Corgis -- he saw one and was smitten. But I think any puppy of any breed would steal his heart, so he may not be so set on one breed or another as much as he thinks.
My boss at work has also given me a referral for the breeder of her two Westies. I'm gathering all this info and making inquiries, and biding my time till I find the best-fit puppy at the most opportune moment.
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S8 had his bridging ceremony today for cub scouts -- he graduated from a Wolf cub to a Bear cub. He does seem to be thrilled about that.
S4 got all emotional and temperamental however. He has already been trying his best to be difficult all day long, and then he started making a huge fuss at his brother's ceremony this afternoon. Made a big scene. He said he was upset with his brother for becoming a bear because he doesn't like bears, he likes wolves so much more. Uuugh -- crazy kid. I determined he was really trying to garner attention from the crowd, and he certainly got it.
Oh, I forgot to mention the big thing about xW that has cropped up in the last week. She's changing jobs. After some 14 - 15 years with her current employer she is finally jumping ship to take up with another home health firm.
Why, I ask. Why now? I have been asking her to do this for years and years. Every time she would complain about her hours or her schedule, every time she would complain about the assignments, and every time she would complain about the management or express the anguish of dealing with certain personalities, I would recommend that she leave the current home health firm and go to any of the many others. I had even met several different folks working for one of the other competing firms and they were each telling me how much in demand new hires were for their companies.
Each time she wouldn't listen.
I told her about one guy I met in '07 (right before the bomb) who told me to tell her to send them her resume. And after the bomb I begged her to leave her company so our M could have a fighting chance, but apparently she would never leave that company, even with all its ills, as long as OM was working there.
And so I can guess what finally spurred xW to finally make the jump is that the OM has already made the move to the same new employer already himself... otherwise I am certain she never would have done so herself.
She is so pathetic...
She starts her new position on Monday. I am wondering how much in payment she is really going to be making now.
The other dynamic is that she has also changed her cell phone provider, in conjunction with the new employer. If any of you may recall, she took our joint wireless plan and put it in her name alone when I confronted her, soon after the bomb, about the $900+ phone charges to her OM. She kept my phone on the plan she had commandeered, under the family plan -- meaning my additional phone was just another $10 per month which I would pay her for. Her mother is on that same plan for an additional $10/month. (And to my never-ending consternation she had the OM on yet another phone for $10/month on our same "family" plan. )
So this means that the phone number I have used for many years now as my main contact number, including for emergencies, is slated to be ended. I would like to keep this number and port it to a new service. Fortunately xW seems to be willing to wait on killing the old account and let me make other arrangements when I can muster it, but I have a feeling she won't let it be for long. If she gets a wild, hostile whim, for example -- which could happen at any moment without warning -- she might screw me over. I hope not, but I can no longer count on anything where she is concerned. And for some reason she seems to honestly think it is her privilege and right to punish me for any and every perceived wrong she dreams up. That is the MIL's mode of thinking.
Yeah, you should get your own phone plan asap I think. It's ridiculous how they treat you when you're just the $10 addon. I wanted to buy a replacement a couple months ago, and they wouldn't let me b/c H was 2 weeks late on his payment, and then called to get his permission for the replacement, and then said I'd have to come in with him to get the phone when he eventually did pay his bill. Even I realized time to get my own phone plan! Plus, you know your W can check online on your calls and stuff; I didn't have to worry about that, but eventually I will start dating and creepy to have him looking at that.
I do think dogs like to have either a fenced yard or if you're willing to walk them a few times a day, near a park or something. When I was looking for a place, there were lots of town homes that had fenced yards, kind of in between a house and an apt. I think. Nice. If I hadn't found this place in the country, I was going to rent a townhouse with fenced yard. It was in a better location too, closer to work and all. But I do really like the new house!
Oh, another thought I had was wonder if your W's switching jobs so she can keep an eye on the OM, prob. knows he's likely to cheat. Karen
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Karen