Just Ginny

We (I) decided on a pup.

The big question was whether or not our older lifestyle could handle raising a pup.

The last dog we bought was from a breeder located in PA, we brought her after seeing the litter for about an hour,  and came home with probably the best dog we ever owned. Clearly we really lucked out on that one, because since that day, we know now, to really know what a dog is like it needs to be observed in many different situations, in many different days, so the right one get the right home fit. So to say we should have known better.. yeah,  I get it.

Then came Ginny.

She was an ad off a Facebook page known as The English Shepherd Society List off FB.

Not that this is a bad thing, but a lot of people put litter 'announcements ' on there to get rid of puppies, so there was quite a bit of caution, when i inquired. Most people who advertise litters at 7-8 weeks generally are just putting puppies on the ground without actually having any interest from puppy buyers beforehand, (before the litters are conceived, born etc ) and are generally looking to score puppy buyers, sadly I fell into that pit.

I had been searching for another pup on and off for the past year and a half. Some really were lovely, some not so  much.  I knew of the person selling Ginny, and have/known and followed the pedigrees of her ancestors for quite sometime now. However I never had inquired about this particular breeder before.

Ginny' s photo was the usual puppy picture, looking like a cute and beautiful puppy with those soft puppy eyes, and beautiful markings.  I inquired.  The conversation was usual and not out of the ordinary for any breeder. A lot of time spent chatting back and forth. Then we spent a Sunday drive and took the 3 hour trip to go see the litter, and the dogs behind her.

There was nothing there that made me feel this pup was out of the ordinary, I Loved the male, and hoped like he'll she took after him, rather than her very reserved mother. The rest of the crew was happy in their own environment and while standoffish at first, welcoming when we did not pose a threat.  Usual ES behavior.

As fate would have it, when we returned home this poor puppy was not very confident. She suffers from fear aggression and separation anxiety,  to the point I didn't know how to deal with it. Sadly her condition with extensive social interaction and countless attempts off property to teach her the world and it's inhabitants aren't out to get her, are not being very successful, at least not as successful as I would like it to be,  however she is getting better.

I've taken her to someone I trust and who is very good (amazing actually) about reading dogs and what is going on.  My trainer has helped me understand Ginny more each day, and keeps reminding me that baby steps are what is going to take to get her better.

As for breeding this dog, um, no.

I know she's not even a year old yet, but everything about her is not what I want to put forth into an a pool of dogs that already seem to be faced with an ever growing social  and health issues currently.  I don't think her upbringing was bad, but it certainly would not get a seal of approval from more than half the breeders I know ( some ES some non-ES). I have my reservations about what more could have been done to help her, and her litter mates be more than they are now. (apparently a litter brother is similar but not as bad as Ginny) Based on how we did things with our litters, I would say her upbringing was adequate ...I think there is a lot that could have been done differently. Starting with the parents.

Raising a litter takes time.  Raising a litter to be a useful members of society takes more time than most people will care to do. I can probably list those in the English Shepherd world on one hand who do this and probably should have put my name down on one of their long waiting lists....

...but I didn't, and I probably got exactly what I deserved.

That's okay, so far I'm up to the challenge to try and get Ginny to be the loving individual she shows in the comfort of her own home while outside of her realm. Its going to be a long road kids.

She's bright, happy , a clown sometimes, gets on well with her new extended pack, and really at this point that is all I ask of her right now.  Agility work with a small controlled environment has helped. Whether or not all the work will be for nothing is something time will tell.

Right now she us just Ginny..... a work in progress. A happy dog on her own land, stranger 'amoungst the English'. Untrusting and scared .

I know somehow there is a reason why we have her and not someone else.