For anyone with a dog or pets, please read

[Mtn.man]

Nice pics. She accepted you as the Alpha it looks like.

[Jer]

Nice pics. She accepted you as the Alpha it looks like.

Thanks. I don't know if I would go that far, it was a constant battle but that was half the fun now looking back. In fact, when she was a pup she would actually back sass me when I scolded her. My friends would all laugh their asses off when I would tell her to stay away from the coffee table or stop barking and she would stop what she was doing, stare at me and then start barking at me and sassing me. It was SO funny.

[Guylee]

That sucks man. A friend of mine from work recently had to put his dog down. It was weird to see this mean, grizzled old Marine choke up like a little kid. What's worse is that our old retriever is getting old, and frankly he's made it longer than we though he would. I dread the day that we have to make that choice...seems like it's way more common than the dog living a full, happy life and then just passing quietly in the night.

That being said, a forum member was looking for a good euthanasia service. I can't remember who it was, but I hope he sees this thread because I know the decision was tearing him up.

[sniper7]

Sorry for your loss Jer. We are huge dog lovers as well and would be devastated if anything happened to ours. sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully another pup will come along and give you the same kind of love Gixxer did

[sniper7]

Thanks. I don't know if I would go that far, it was a constant battle but that was half the fun now looking back. In fact, when she was a pup she would actually back sass me when I scolded her. My friends would all laugh their asses off when I would tell her to stay away from the coffee table or stop barking and she would stop what she was doing, stare at me and then start barking at me and sassing me. It was SO funny.

lol, sounds like my little Lucy. Gixxer had you wrapped around her little paw!

[Jer]

Sorry for your loss Jer. We are huge dog lovers as well and would be devastated if anything happened to ours. sorry you had to go through that. Hopefully another pup will come along and give you the same kind of love Gixxer did

Thanks buddy. We talked very briefly about the possibility of getting another pup mainly for Koby to not be alone when one of our friends brought it up and neither of us is ready for that. While I know there will never be another Gixxer I just am not ready to have another dog in the house because it would feel like we're trying to replace her right now. I know physically we are replacing her but psychologically I don't want to feel like that.

lol, sounds like my little Lucy. Gixxer had you wrapped around her little paw!

Yeah, she sure did man. It was a sight to see how some people looked at a nearly 300lb adult male walking a 15lb dog with a pink collar & pink leash and the funny part was I didn't even care.

[Mtn.man]

Koby however may not feel the same as you. The loss to him maybe more as in Where is she. a new pup would reasure him that he will not disappear too. Just a thought.
I didn't want a dog after the vet killed my Georgia. But the wife came home 3 weeks later with that little bug, and now,, well it's all cool, and we got a big brother for her to beat up.

[Jer]

Koby however may not feel the same as you. The loss to him maybe more as in Where is she. a new pup would reasure him that he will not disappear too. Just a thought.
I didn't want a dog after the vet killed my Georgia. But the wife came home 3 weeks later with that little bug, and now,, well it's all cool, and we got a big brother for her to beat up.

I know it would probably be a good thing long-term but I'm just not ready. It's still just too painful for me and Koby has been doing very good with it. He's getting (read: having to endure) 2x the love and affection and we go on walks all the time and he's been doing real well. He didn't eat for a few days (none of us did) and he got his appetite back and appears to be doing quite well with the whole thing. When we did it he was by her side and when she went he got up on his own, gave her a little sniff/kiss on her nose and then got out of bed. It was like he knew right away. She used to be a grump whenever she was under the blankets & he would walk around her. She would growl and before he learned to keep his distance even snap at him when he made contact with her. That afternoon after she was gone he hopped up into bed with my wife and I and was carefully tip-toeing around her blanket which was still between us and we lost it as soon as we realized what he was doing. Sometimes he gets it and sometimes he doesn't but it doesn't seem to be affecting his health or anything above the normal grief IMO. Then again, sometimes we realize it and sometimes we don't and we're humans so I think it's just part of the process. I just know neither of us is at that point of considering another dog yet.

[Lex_Luthor]

Dogs have a remarkable sense to be keen on people's energy. It's on a level that we don't usually even notice. If you're nervous around someone, they will be too, and become protective. If you give off sad energy, your dog's behavior will almost EXACTLY mirror yours. Your other dog is going through the exact same roller coaster of emotions as you and your wife are. Dogs will experience emotions differently than humans, but it's amazing to see how they respond to it.

Whenever my fiance and I argue, Brutus (our pitbull) gets very sad/scared and goes across the room, or down the hall and carefully watches us with his tail down and head low. He makes us make up SO quickly because when we argue, we HAVE to get our point (usually useless) across to the other. Well, we see him reacting that way and then we both have to call him over and tell him it's ok and that we're not mad at him, and we're not mad at each other. It's really interesting.

[Jer]

Dogs have a remarkable sense to be keen on people's energy. It's on a level that we don't usually even notice. If you're nervous around someone, they will be too, and become protective. If you give off sad energy, your dog's behavior will almost EXACTLY mirror yours. Your other dog is going through the exact same roller coaster of emotions as you and your wife are. Dogs will experience emotions differently than humans, but it's amazing to see how they respond to it.

Whenever my fiance and I argue, Brutus (our pitbull) gets very sad/scared and goes across the room, or down the hall and carefully watches us with his tail down and head low. He makes us make up SO quickly because when we argue, we HAVE to get our point (usually useless) across to the other. Well, we see him reacting that way and then we both have to call him over and tell him it's ok and that we're not mad at him, and we're not mad at each other. It's really interesting.

Yeah, Koby especially is sensitive to our emotions.