Thor was rehomed...

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

that's very sad about Thor. My personal experiences with Rotties is that they are amazing dogs with even a shred of kindness and training given to them, which has obviously not been your situation. I'd relate it mostly to the crappy breeders he came from, sometimes that kind of aggression (which was probably purposely bred in) is hard to train out.

Thor wasn't from a breeder, he was from a friend. Thors mom jumped a fence, according to her owner, and mated with another dog. The puppies were not allowed in the house, they were kept in the backyard. I just found out that Thors mom, Pumpkin, died of bone marrow cancer. I am happy she is in a safe place. Thors brother and sister found a lovely home on a farm. They were adopted from a local vet, where my fiance brought them.

I personally can't say I agree with your getting a puppy now. It's VERRRY hard to raise a puppy without any kids, muchless with a young baby girl to care for. ACD's are probably the mouthiest of all herding breeds, I've been nipped several times by my friends ACD by just WALKING away from him. He did not hurt me, but I'm sure he'd easily break the skin of any small child. Then again, there are plenty of ACD's who are great with kids... it just depends on how much training, time, and consistency is put into the dog AND the child.

Personally, your opinion on me getting a puppy is not going to change MY opinion. I know we are ready for this, I am going to put alot of my time into training the puppy. I wouldn't have made the decision if I didn't feel I was ready. What makes everyone else a better dog owner than me? I know plently of people that have small kids with *non kid friendly" dogs. My cousin has an 8 month old daughter and a super hyper American Bulldog. The dog is excellent with his daughter - she was raised with her. Is that not the point? I know that if you properly socialize a dog with other dogs, people, cats etc. They will learn to live with them comfortably. Remember, the puppy is NOT a full blooded ACD like everyone is assuming.

A purebred ACD is 100 times different than one that is crossed with many different breeds, the puppies are more mutt than ACD. I know this from experience, when I voluntereed at the SPCA. There were purebred ACD's and mixes. Totally different dogs in all aspects.

You really cannot judge your puppies behavior completely on the parents - with mixed breed puppies, you can't predict temperament.

Just like you say I can't judge the puppies personality from the parents, you can't judge that this puppy is the wrong choice for me because she has a little bit of heeler in her. While I may not be able to judge what her temperment will be, I certainly know that I can train her properly so she won't have behaviour problems. Yes, that is possible with just knowing the important phases of a puppies behaviour development - The neonatal period, transitional period, socialization period and juvenile period. Knowing the fear imprint period is the most important since anything you do that scares the puppy will scar her for life.

Expect to be spending hours seperately caring for your dog and your baby until your child is older or your dog has been properly trained. It's just a TON of work. Good luck

What do you mean seperately? Why can't my daughter be with me? That is absolutely WRONG. I am fully capable of doing both.

.......