Have Strength, it willall be worth it in the end

[Lobo do Mar]

Salty is now 3 and a bit and has calmed down (a bit, when he feels like it )
He is the most gorgeous dog I have ever had the pleasure to have met, so loving and fun and cuddly and naughty
We were so close to re-homing him at a few months old (see my Salty Cockerdile thread on here)
It wasnt easy and I didnt know what I was doing, but with the great help of the wonderful people on this forum - it passed pretty quickly (in retrospect  )
Just a pep-talk post for those who need it
Now, where's my afternoon nap furry whiffy woofer companion  ?

[MIN]

we have all gone through the tears, can not cope, rehome,  stage. 
with our first dog theakston, a staffie we even contemplated having him put to sleep ( we thought if we couldn't cope with his ways no one else could)   A couple of hours, being talked out of it by our vet , we persevered and had him for his whole lifetime. and now 30 years after his death i can still easily  shed a tear but boy don't we smile  at the list of damage, stress  but most of all his character. Loved him and he broke my heart when he died. 
I believe theakston was a test from God, because our 4 dogs since have been good as gold (   well sort of in the case of gemma spaniel )

[bizzylizzy]

What a lovely post! Yes indeed, I think we‘ve all gone through that at some time or other, my last dog before Humphrey was a rescue who was obviously a lot younger than they‘d told us he was at the dog home and I was completely out of my depth, we too were at the point of giving him up but sat it out and finally he calmed down and was a wonderful dog. We had him for 14 years and we lost him the same week as my youngest flew the nest to study in UK. I was absolutely gutted and swore I could never go through the pain of losing a dog again, it took me six years to finally find room in my heart for another dog and then along came Humphrey!!  and as they say „Love knows no bounds“ .
 
Lets face it, a perfect dog would be SO boring  (I think! ) its the cheeky naughty ones that cheer us up and make us laugh and bury their way into our hearts.
  to Salty!

[ejp]

I remember your posts regarding Salty, he definitely tested your patience and tolerance! I am so happy for you that he has settled and you are happy with each other. 

[sophie.ivy]

That's lovely to hear, and reassuring!

What's kept me going is I always said I wanted a dog with personality and you can call cockers many things, but boring is not one!!

[cazza]

Great to hear all is going well and you have come out the other side 

It feels like a lifetime when you are going through the puppy biting stage and teenage stage but as you say looking back it doesn’t now feel it was that long

Think Ash is a late developer or going through a second teenage stage (more like it  )

[Lobo do Mar]

Thanks all
Dog with personality 
2nd teenage stage 
Perfect dogs So boring 
etc etc

THAT's what its all about 

Actually my wife says similar things about me