I’ve been waiting over 10 years to get a dog. I always thought I would wait until we could buy land out in the country before I got a dog. But as time went on, and the years kept going by, I wanted my dog more and more! Dogs have always been country living animals in my mind, so it was hard for me to wrap my mind around the concept of owning a dog in the city. As I thought it through very carefully, I concluded that I still wanted a dog and knew I had time to give the dog a happy life in town. And so the shopping began.

I was sure I wanted to raise my new dog as a very young puppy. I was hunting for a puppy less than 12 weeks old. But I was very, and I mean VERY, particular! It had to be cute, I thought I wanted a male, and I thought I wanted a mix rather than purebred. The more I shopped, the reality of raising a little itty bitty puppy set in. NIGHTMARE. Way too much time commitment. Crying all night. I don’t have to explain! Everyone knows the challenges of raising a puppy right from the start. I started to consider skipping several months of that headache by buying a teenage puppy instead. Young enough to train, but old enough to be mature sooner rather than later. Of course this comes with new challenges…possibilities of bad habits from the previous owner, etc. But after weighing out my options, I decided this was best for my situation.

First morning walk in the desert with my new dog

We had talked many times about getting a German Shepherd Dog. I also considered a Red Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) or a mix of the two breeds. The German Shepherd is everything I want in a dog: loyal, very smart, easy to train, protective, and a great hiking buddy. I read and read article after article about the breed, the challenges that come with these dogs, and things to know before bringing one home. I was still convinced the German Shepherd was what I wanted in a dog.

I finally found a 10 month old German Shepherd that was looking for a new home. Jonathan and I went to meet the dog that evening. I asked my friends who owned dogs what kinds of questions I should ask and what I should be looking for. This black and red male German Shepherd was gorgeous, very calm, and you could see the intelligence in his face. After asking all the questions I could think of, looking over his pedigree, and falling in love with his fuzzy teddy bear ears, I told the owner I needed to think about it over night and I would let him know my answer in the morning.

Bringing home my German Shepherd

Long story short, I decided to bring my German Shepherd home the next morning. After a few very stressful days, and sleepless nights, we got through the transition of bringing a new pet home and I began a serious training routine for my new pal.

I don’t like to name my animals too fast. I like to get to know their personality before I pick out a name. I felt a little rushed naming my dog because training is very difficult without a name. After about a week with my German Shepherd, I decided to name him Timber. He’s been living with us for nearly two months now. We celebrated his birthday by making the decision that his trail period is over and it’s time to officially welcome him into our lifestyle! He’s already come a long ways with his training, changed a lot of things about our lifestyle, and shown us there will be many more challenges to stretch and shape each of us in the days ahead. We are welcoming all of it and will do our best to give Timber a very happy life filled with good dog manners and lots of adventures!

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Pam Cox - December 27, 2020 Reply

Did you run this all by Macchiato first? I can’t imagine she gave it a paws up.

    Suzanne Cox - December 28, 2020 Reply

    She doesn’t mind dogs much, just ignores them really. I made it very clear to Timber that Macchi is a very special member of the pack and he hasn’t barked at her since. Only had to tell him once.

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