Here are our first photographs of our new boy. So far we've had no problems with him. No pulling, sits on command, doesn't beg when we eat, gives paws etc. It's early days yet though and there's bound to be a few kinks that will need ironed out but so far so good. As you can see he's not a youngster (he's 6) which is fine considering out ages (early 60's) and I think we'll rub along OK together.
Ahhh but I've found one thing about the flooring - black dog hair shows up really well on it and covers it in no time. Guess who's going to get a good grooming tomorrow?
Bless you for taking in an older doggy. He is indeed a good looking addition to your family. We used to have a black cat named Merlin, he was quite the mouser.
He is actually very pretty. Bless you for taking an older pet into your home. I also love your floor. LOL
Eileen, Congrats on your new family member. He is a handsome boy. I too think it is so good to give older pets a home. He will love you forever. My friend just adopted a great doggy that needed a new home. After she visited the foster shelter where she got him, she told me about the stories of dogs there waiting to be adopted/rescued. We are not quite ready for a new dog, but hope we will be soon. (I asked if we could, and then we agreed that it isn't yet the time for us...) Good for you!!
Our first day together. So far we've not had any major problem with Merlin. He likes to keep an eye on us to make sure we're not about to leave him. I'm sure he'll settle in time and it won't be an issue though. He's answering to his name already - probably because it sounds similar to his previous name of Tyson. He seems to have more good points than bad as he doesn't pull on the leash, sits to cross a road and waits until he's told to take his meals. He doesn't drool when we eat or try to snatch food from us. He's housetrained and gives paws too. He loves to play football with you and have him bum scratched. If he's unsure of anything he comes over to me and buries his head in my lap. We've yet to find out how he is with other dogs but even if there's an issue we've dealt with problems like that before. We've yet to let him off leash but once he fully trusts us we'll attach him to a 10 meter training lead until he learns to come when called. We found out from the Dogs' Trust that his previous owner was a woman who had developed back problems. Her daughter, who was living with her, took over his care but resented having to do it and took it out on the dog. His owner thought it was best for all concerned if he was given the chance of finding a new home. Poor soul has been in the kennels since December though as, so we were told, many folks don't like big, black dogs. As to his age - our last dog was a couple of years older than Merlin when we adopted him and he lived until he was nearly 15. Hopefully, we three will all grow old together and be great company for each other. I think we'll rub along nicely together once he realises that he's here to stay.
Merlin….nice looking dog. Big bonus being well trained. He wouldn't happen to know King Arthur would he? Jerry
I think he's a beautiful dog. I miss having a dog but at 73 and 74 we decided it wouldn't be fair to another dog if we got sick or couldn't keep it. I'm glad you were able to find one so beautiful and well behaved. dooley
Dooley it took us a while to make up our minds to have another dog. If we hadn't got Merlin now then I doubt we would have picked out a dog in the future. As we're both in our sixties we're hoping that when his time comes we'll be into our seventies and be content just having each other and taking life at an easier pace. Merlin will be our last animal companion.
