Got the no sheepie blues
I haven't been on the board much recently... I've been having a major case of no-dog blues. Hubby remains firm that we need to have the fence up before we bring a dog home, which is of course a very reasonable request. That will definitely be spring, and he wants to get the garage up before we get the fence in. Obviously building a garage costs lots of $$$, even if we do the majority of the work ourselves. So I keeep waiting- I've been waiting a very long time for my sheepie... a couple of years now (although I've been dogless sfor the last 10 years, after Eve passed away)there are so many individuals on petfinder right now, it just breaks my heart not to be allowed to bring someone home! We've been working so hard to get where we are- I've got the nice sized house, the big yard, I've even got my sheepie ready dog shower in the basement! Sigh... still no doggie under the tree for me! I WANT MY SHEEPIE!!!! Sob 
Does anyone have a personal working relationship with Santa? I could use a christmas miracle- just a small one! Thanks for letting me vent... you guys are great 
Karen |
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| Good things come to those that wait!
I hope Santa brings some wonderful goodies in the form of a $$$ tree! |
| Hey! I'm going away for New Year's, and would appreciate a doggy sitter for 4 days. Can I fly my Bosley out to you? Might take the edge off for you? (Might cause you to change your mind, too!) |
Maybe Santa will bring you a garage and a fence, there is still time to write him a letter  |
| I know how hard it is to want something sooooo bad you can taste it!!! I'm not going to give you any pithy platitude about waiting, waiting sucks!! Try to keep busy.... take up a hobby or craft to keep your mind busy. Remember when you needed to have a house first!!! Well you have gotten over that hurdle!!! A fence is easy compared to a house! |
| Not to be a trouble maker... but why wait for a fence?
If you are taking the dog out with you to do it's business, which most people do especially when their pups are little, you'll be with it at all times anyway. When you're not home it won't be left outside right? |
Willowsprite wrote: Not to be a trouble maker... but why wait for a fence?
If you are taking the dog out with you to do it's business, which most people do especially when their pups are little, you'll be with it at all times anyway. When you're not home it won't be left outside right? I agree. We made it through year one with a 6 ft leash and 20 foot horse lead. It wasn't fun going outside in the Blizzard  ,
but when nature calls..... We have a fenced in area now  , but since I'm so well trained-I still go
outside with him
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus, an OES puppy looks terrific in your Christmas stocking   |
| Well I lived in a third floor apartment with two dogs. Up and down all day...lol
My first house was a town home. We were not allowed to put up a fence... So we had a tie out attached to the house and one end. It was 60 feet long. I had three dogs there. If you keep waiting it will always be something... I'll put in a good word with Santa for you! I think I might have some pull with him |
| Hi,
I can sympathize with you and the waiting is very hard. You've been such a faithful member to this site, even with no sheepie in your household at the moment. I hope it comes a reality soon. Marianne and the boys |
AWWWWW! 
We just got our fence...we used snow fencing to make a little run for The Gooch when we got him?!
Maybe Santa could bring that...and a puppy!? |
| We don't have a fence and we have 3 sheepdogs.
We could probably easily name 20 people on this site alone who have dogs and no fence. No fence just means more vigilance and cold feet. Ask for a pair of warm boots and a really long lead! Maybe you could just leace this thread open on the computer for when the hubby comes in. You've waited a long time and been extremely patient about it! |
Maxmm wrote: We could probably easily name 20 people on this site alone who have dogs and no fence. Including the webmaster
The webcanine goes for 2 long (20 to 30 min, longer in nicer weather) walks a day plus a couple of quickies to the mailbox and a final pee bfore bed. All are on leash. And a "Sheepie 500" twice a week through the house (up the stairs, down the hall, up on the bed, down the hall, down the stairs, down the hall, into the livingroom, down the hall, back to the stairs, repeat usually about 5 or 6 times), though he seems to be ripping a pad on his front paw when he does this lately, so we're trying to keep him more calm for a couple of weeks to give it a chance to heal. |
| I have a very tall fence (over 6 ft) and you know while it makes it easier for the boys to go outside unsupervised, they just do their business and race back in the house. Unless I'm out there, then they might romp around a bit. Seems there is a reason they are called Velcro dogs. . Then again, I can leave my backdoor open from dawn to dusk in the summer as they go in and out at their leisure.
I think you're biggest worry would be to ask yourself" Do I have shy kidneys?" , as from the moment a sheepie enters your household...going to the bathroom by yourself will be a thing of the past.
Marianne and the boys |
| We're in a townhouse now so no fence here either. Louie gets a 30 min walk in the morning and another (varies in length)walk at night. Also, all the bathroom breaks during the day his little bladder desires (Thanks to my mom). Luckily, where we live there is this big park-like area in the middle of the community. So, I bought a long rope so we can still play a version of ball/catch. Good news is I've lost 5 pounds since I moved here... |
| I had Lucy for years with no fence. It's very doable but now that I have a fence, I don't know how I got along without it! The only thing I'd say is that if you're doing a lot of work on the house right now (and I can't believe I'd ever be the one to say this) having the fence in place might make things easier and safer. If you're moving things in and out of the house, having that barrier in place will keep your pup safe in case of a bolt out the door and give you peace of mind.
But, as others have said, the first few months you're out there on a lead anyway but, having gone through that in the winter once, I'd say spring is a much better time for potty training! |
| Thanks for the sympathy everyone! You make me feel much better. ythe main concern with our yard is not keeping my dogs in so much (you all know I'm not a big fan of leaving my furry family members outside by themselves) but rather keeping the "wandering mistrels" out. We have a couple of dogs (one is the next door neighbor's Akita) that roam the neighborhood at will, they seem to enjoy using my backyard as a toilet, and everytime I try to say "Hi" they growl at me
Particularly with a puppy, I'm worried that my dog could get hurt if one of the minstrels deicdes they don't like the puppy in "their" territory. I want to be able to take my dog out with me when I'm gardening or enjoying my (planned) pond, without having to worry about some strange dog wandering into my yard. That is the biggest worry I think as far as the fence. I'm perfectly happy to take my sheepie out on a lead, or to do a tie-out on a sunny summer afternoon while I'm gardening, but I'd be heartbroken if my dog got hurt by one of the minstrels.... Am I being too much of a worry wart on that? In related news, my sister-in-law received a German Shepherd puppy for christmas, so Mike spent the entire Christmas Eve dinner playing with her puppy. All your good thoughts must have worked, because he's relented into letting me talk to a breeder for a pup in spring!!!!!!!!!!! I'm really excited, because that means I can finally start planning for a puppy or dog to come home by my birthday in May.  I'd still like to get a fence in that backyard though...
Now the GREAT OES SEARCH may resume and enter it's final stages! Karen |
| I'd just tell your neighbors to keep their dog in their own yard. It is their responsibility. Akitas are often dog aggressive so I would certainly not leave them unattended for even a second, but if you have the pup on lead with you I wouldn't let it hold you back.
If you really are concerned about it, and can't fence your whole yard just yet, you could fence a small dog run sized area for now. A bag of cement mix and a roll of chain link fencing might run you 50 dollars, and then a few posts at about 7 or 8 dollars each. |
Marianne wrote: I think you're biggest worry would be to ask yourself" Do I have shy kidneys?" , as from the moment a sheepie enters your household...going to the bathroom by yourself will be a thing of the past. Marianne and the boys Isn't that the truth! Last night I was taking a bath and Barkley practically got in the tub with me. I hope he's that curious when it comes time for me to give him a bath! |
Iriskmj wrote: Am I being too much of a worry wart on that?
No, you are right to be worried about other dogs coming into the yard. I'm amazed at how many people are careless with their dogs and let them run around into other people's yards. Amazingly enough, I think there is one person in our community that walks their dog on a log lead and let's him pee on our bushes. They did it right in front of me once and the other day, I saw yellow snow in my front bush. The nerve of some people! One of the primary reasons for putting up our backyard fence so soon after we moved into our house was to keep other creatues (two or four legged out of the yard. I knew Annie would be fine on a long leash outside by herself, but I didn't want others in our yard without permission. I nearly had a heart attack one night before the fence when I turned on the porch light to let Annie out and there looking right back at me on our porch was an opposum. Ooh, they are so UGLY! So happy you are starting to look for a pup! It'll keep you busy and your spirits up. |
| I say "Go for it" if you find a dog that you gravitate towards. We have a nice fenced in backyard, but Jules can jump over the fence with ease (5 foot). I have 3 kids that bring me great joy, but my sheepdog brings me great joy as well. I don't know what I would do without her. As a matter of fact we are on vacation in Colorado and I have been without her for 3 days now...going crazy. I love this site. Good luck with your sheepdog hunt and don't wait too long!! |
| In related news, my sister-in-law received a German Shepherd puppy for christmas, so Mike spent the entire Christmas Eve dinner playing with her puppy. All your good thoughts must have worked, because he's relented into letting me talk to a breeder for a pup in spring!!!!!!!!!!! I'm really excited, because that means I can finally start planning for a puppy or dog to come home by my birthday in May. I'd still like to get a fence in that backyard though...
Now the GREAT OES SEARCH may resume and enter it's final stages! Karen Quote: yeah  |
| Poor Kar....You'll get your puppy!!! Be patient. You have a great house, a wonderful husband and 2 cats. But when you do get that fluff ball of sharp teeth, we want pictures and stories right away!!!!!! |
| I'm a little behind on threads (no time anymore to read!!!) ...but I had to read this one since I'm always bugging you about "when" your OES will come home to you!!! I think you have a lot of patience considering how long you've already waited. I couldn't do it!!! You guys saw how fast everything went for me. I want .......so I got
I thought a fence was a MUST especially since I saw how much NOT having a fence affected her in Oklahoma. Well... I am amazed how much we've adapted here without a fence. ...realized it was a bigger house (which we now have) ...not the fence that was a must. I never thought I'd be comfortable w/o a fence since there are moose all around here and Yuki has a mommy who refuses to be out in the cold weather. Somehow things worked out!! (though we will still be building a fence this spring) Anyway, but I STILL understand where your husband ..and you are coming from. Now I just hope time moves by super fast for you!! Everyone here will be thrilled when the day finally arrives. Sigh. You have a good digital camera right? The last thing we need to hear is you get an OES and no camera. |
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