Its been a very long time since I've had a dog really of my own. Its something I was mulling over and was leaning towards a King Charles Spaniel.

This week accelerated the process, A friend near me suffered the loss of their gran very suddenly, First thought they had was a rehome SSPCA said more or less they'll just destroy her and The Dogs Trust said we're really struggling to rehome older dogs.

I'm disabled and get around on wheels after an accident at work and not worked since.

Had a fairly long discussion with friends and their family about taking her myself, there are days I struggle moving and the severe pain it results in, so what do I do on those days, an agreement was reached handle the days I can, and they'll help when its required.

She was brought down yesterday, she's got some issues of her own, her orginal owner struggled a bit, , she's not really had proper walks for around a year.

Starting off very well I thought I'd bonded fairly quickly, I beat myself quite a lot last night cos by night time, she looked so sad. I was reminded she's been through a lot with watching her owner die and was found lying next to her .

This morning wow, got a great massive welcome, we've really bonded today I think. Its dam hard when the paw comes up asking for a treat

She's vastly overweight, I think she's double the size she should be, little exercise, her diet was cold meat and treats by the box load (geezo) she's got a bit of artistes sp? not helped by weight. She's an 11 year old German Sheppard, I'm working on gently getting her weight down, very gentle but frequent walks, she pants and rests a lot when we're out not too bad on the lead a bit pully and steering her is tricky, I'd forgotten whilst trying to reverse her by pulling her back gently makes them sit, I'm sure today She's been thinking what the heck are you doing!

She appears to be worried if she's doesn't understand what she's being asked to do, We're both learning I suppose. She's been mistreated in the past.

Her personality is beginning to come out, she just wants to be loved, very very sweet, unbelievably smart, she appears to know I struggle with some things, Like today, I've found it tricky clipping her lead on the collar, she's figured this out and tries to help.

She doesn't appear to know yet what to do when the lead is released, soon as I unclip it she lies down, For some fun I thought, I'd try and get her into a run, released the lead, I turned the scooter up to full power and I took off across a field thinking she'd run after me I quickly figured out I was on my own, I turned round to see her sitting where I'd left her with the ears up, as if to say no, I don't do that.

I love my wee furry daughter already

Aww bless. I always think dogs are more adaptable than we give them credit for. It will be a great adventure for the two of you as you find out about each other. Well done for giving her a home.

If she is very over weight I wouldn't be trying to run her until she is nearer normal weight, with arthritis this will hurt her and I don't blame her not wanting to do it.

Having said that OP well done and hope you have many happy years with your new friend.

It appears to be a big change for the wee lass, she was a bit mew this morning barely got acknowledged she fell back asleep whilst I sorted myself out, to take her out, I was sitting on scooter parked behind her for nearly a hour, didn't really want to wake her.

She woke up eventually, seemed quite pleased to see lead and off we went, she's got a bit of diarrhoea today, she's not had that much to drink, and not touched her food this morning, infact didn't eat much yesterday either, barely a tin. Just now I'm putting it down to strange place and change of diet. She seems happy enough when she's out, took her up to Tesco its only a few yards from her normal walk, spent ages trying to tie a knot in her lead, Thank you Tesco staff for helping

I got greeted like a long lost chum when I came back out awwww

Please please be do not tie her up outside a shop. Two reasons. She's at a huge danger of being taken. It is much much safer to leave her at home and know she's there for you than come out of the store to find no dog. But also you've presumably not updated the chip (and do get her chipped if not). 5,400 dogs a day are stolen from outside shops. Do not let her be one of them.

It's great you have a dog and I do not think that overweight precludes her from being trained positively with a clicker and treats. But make sure it's ham, chicken or cold meat. And deduct it from her main meals. You can also integrate new ways to feed her including Kong Wobblers which she'll have to push around to get the food so that's more exercise, buster balls are good for this too.

I just realised I've spelt the thread title wrong

To be honest Shadow that risk hadn't even occurred to me, I just thought I give her something else to do, but its a very valid point. My thinking at the time was I didn't want to leave her alone in the house, she's quite insecure at the moment.

She's had a fair bit of training already, she responds very well to positive reinforcement, not that I would ever do any other type, its not something I believe in, She does "Recall" but it can be hard work, since she's not been exposed to that much quality outside time, I'm competing against perhaps more exciting stuff she always gets a huge fuss and highly praised when she does what's she's asked, its fantastic to see her come alive when she goes out, and the facial expression when the lead comes out is just wonderful

The kong suggestion is a great one. Thank you

https://instagram.com/p/1Ez0n1vsJS/

There's a photo if anyone interested

Oh, she's beautiful, station31. Really beautiful.

Well done for taking her on - you'll both need time to adjust, really, and I wish you luck. x

Lovely pic!
I've only ever tied my girl up briefly outside the village shop and even then I'm anxiously trying to keep her in my sights while I rush round. Don't like leaving her in the car either. It's not so much that she might be stolen but that someone might be cruel to her etc.
That said a colleague's dog was dog-napped and she had to pay a ransom to get her back.

Lovely dog.

The only time I had tied my dogs near a shop (never near the door), was where I lived before and it was after having walked them and I just wanted to pop into the little Tesco on my way home. I tied them a bit further away, but I could see them all the time in the shop. Was only in for a few min. Where I live now, I never take them to the shop unless hubby is with me and stays outside with them.
I think it can be stressful for the dog.

Our local waitrose is only place I see dogs tied up and I cringe when I see them as the kids make fun of them and chuck things to them, none of them look very happy and are often in the way of the trollies man bring back lines of trollies so they have to be nimble and quick to get out of his way.

Aw Thank you everybody, she was in the bedroom this morning when I woke up. I was in serve pain this morning but I didn't want to invoke my get help clause so soon. Glad I did it myself this morning just for reaction of just being outside.

I had tied her out the way of hazards but your right though.

I do have a problem of the kids round here smashing their ball off my windows which freaks her. They've been warned firmly, happens once more I'll rip a knife through the ball, I tried gently didn't work

Just wondering if a gentle approach showing them your beautiful dog and explain how she needs to not be scared might be better than damage their ball, I know you said you tried gently but meeting you dog might make their hearts melt a bit

I was thinking the same, let them meet the dog, who knows they might get friendly.

An over reaction perhaps, its been a long standing problem. Plus slightly protective of the wee lass since I know her history. Its been a bit of a crappy 11 years, from a pervious owner tried to drown her to pretty much being stuck in a house, OK not through cruelty, It just annoys me slightly

Sadly I think some of our society are beyond hearts melting. Personally I wouldn't want to draw attention to the dog and my vulnerability in that area. My tack would be to seem impervious to it.all. If they fail to get a rise out of the OP they might stop.

What a gorgeous dog, a wonderful smile It sounds like you're made for each other.

I wondered if scent work might be something to explore? I do this with my dog as I have dyspraxia and some days I am very tired and my balance isn't great. We have been to a few workshops and it's a great way to tired a dog out without the pressure of going for a walk.

I am sorry you're having problems with the children. I presume you have tried talking to their parents? You might find planting something like a pyracantha under the window with might thorns might stop them! Noise drives me nuts, I was close to you I'd bring a football up and kick it against their houses and see how they like it!

Here is a scent work link
http://talkingdogsscentwork.co.uk/Ta...k/Welcome.html

This book is good for separation anxiety
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189...QMX3RS00WHZ3JD

She's gorgeous! I can see she needs to loose weight but I'm sure with careful diet and gradually increasing her exercise she will. One of my girls doesn't drink enough so the vet told me to pour a cup of water over her food immediately before I give her it - don't soak it.
Dogs are great, they give you a reason to get up and get you moving which is good for us but glad you have support for the days when you need it.
Well done for saving her!

I'm taking her out three times a day, she loved yesterday, didn't overdo the walking but she was outside lying in the sun, she's understandably perhaps a tad lazy although she'll follow the scooter round if I keep moving. I struggle a bit to figure out when she's resting or had enough and wants home.

I noticed she's started to increase her water intake, but she likes it changed often,

I feel I've got my life back, the early mornings are hard we both slept quite heavily this afternoon

Just in case anyone is interested I thought I'd give an update including pictures on Tanna, its been two months or so since.

It might sound a tag harsh at first when she first came into my life, I appreciated her of course I did but I couldn't have imagined how much she'd transform me and worm her wee paws into me. Now I adore her so much I cant describe.

I'm so proud of her, she's progressed so much, the biggest change is the weight loss she's lost 8kg in the time I've had her, her system is now more stable greatly reduced upset stomachs now, She's been extensively socialised I've worked quite hard on this, she loves meeting other dogs and now has quite few pals now and sometimes imitates play herself which is brilliant and was quite a surprise when first did it, she's equally friendly with their owners, you'll see one of her furry chums in the pictures, but she's equally happy with smaller too, she's got a couple of Caviller King Charles chums too, the only problem we had was when two staffies got aggressive her with and started to circle her, only time I've had to intervene and muscle them out the way.

Progress with the kids round here also, equal admiration from kids and her, there great with each other, the smaller kids were having a picnic on the grass, Tanna decides to park herself right In the middle, kids loved it. The cutest ones was last week though, even I went awwwwww, tiny kid, out with grandpa see us both runs towards Tanna, shouting "DOGGIE" Grandpa and myself follow just in case, he asked if she's alright, I says yeah she's fine, Tanna's taller than the kid, she reaches out, tanna's tails wagging and ears are up she then licks the top of the wee lassies head, cue baby giggles.

Lots of praise from me.

The bad news came this week when I took her to the vets, just for a progress check. She has a tumour and needs surgery fairly quickly, Afterwards I got very upset by the news but I'm doing what I can to the raise the money to help her I'm not worried that much about the money as such, but what surgery could find

https://instagram.com/clarkg39/

See photos, the april photo is how she used to look

She's gorgeous, station, and you sound so proud of her. She's done really well, and is so happy!

I hope the news isn't too bad for you both, and good luck. x

I'm so glad you two found each other, you did a wonderful thing. Please keep us updated and I hope the news is good

Beautiful and of course we are waiting to hear the latest. Really hope the news is not too bad as you clearly love each other. Good luck with the vet and keep us updated.

I'm so proud of her, she's progressed so much, the biggest change is the weight loss she's lost 8kg

Can you take me on OP?
Unfortunately both dogs and people tend to acquire health conditions as we age. If the prognosis is bad - while we don't want our pets to suffer - I'm on a forum for dogs with liver problems and lots of us were told our dogs would be dead in weeks or months and some are beating the odds years down the line. The vet calls my happy bouncy dog 'a walking miracle'.
There are yahoo groups for various canine conditions and there is health and dietary advice here http://dogaware.com/health/cancer.html
I take it the tumour is not just a benign 'fatty lump'? Many dogs get these as they age.
Good luck and well done to you

I'm not sure how'd you feel being towed around on a lead but sure why not

Thanks for the link, one of my mums cats likely falls into that category 16 years old got multiple issues vets wrote her long ago but she still going and appears quite happy to be so.

Its not a fat lump this time round, she's had them removed in the past

In other news I discovered they've closed our local park,, major issue as it was scooter friendly, so the family that helps when required helps me with Tanna, took their dog a wee Jack Russel Pug cross 3 months old , gorgeous if very excitable little lad, we've bonded already we all went for a wander to see where I could use poor wee fella was knackered by the time we found somewhere else, he really started flagging on the way back he lay down and stopped, cuteness thing ever he hops on the scooter floor between my legs and lies down and gets a lift home

Tanna doesn't share my appreciation of the Jug she tolerates you could say, Cant say I blame her really he likes to swing off her nose.

Ofcourse I'll keep the updates coming, she'll probably get surgery in July.. yeah I'm anxious. She's a lass that's been through so much already, but they tend to cope better than we do

Its been awhile since the last update, its been eventful sometimes.

She's turned into a ballsay wee lass, sometimes her minds ambition doesn't match her bodies abilities, I trust her off the lead for the most part, I'd taken her for a change of routine to a park with a pond, You know where this is heading already ?. She's out the car and sticks to pottering about around the wooded area, this lulls me into a false of security and I'm thinking "good girl".

She finally eyes the water and starts running, I'm on full power running after her cursing slightly "I should have kept you fat least I could keep up then"!, she leaps splash ! she's in, paddles about for a while I then realise she's a bit stuck getting back out , I'm viewed as the typical parent at this point spoiling the kids fun.

She's a bit vocal these days she shouts at anyone coming to the door even if its someone she knows, that seems to have started after I fell unfortunately impacts are always hard, she stood over the top of me after the last one until help arrived, I guess its perhaps un-nerved her a bit, usually placing my hand on her and telling her its ok settles her down.

Coming back from a walk a couple of weeks ago she got attacked both dogs were on the lead, totally unprovoked, I'd never heard my lass scream before, there was a split second of I'm ashamed to say blind panic before I did anything, I got us free and bolted, I saw Tanna was injured I battered through a neighbours door, we tried first aid neighbour was covered In blood, I was covered in blood, Soon figured we needed emergency vets, we were loading Tanna in to car when the dog who'd attacked us owner appeared just a young girl with her 3 year old kid, with tears streaming down her face "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry how is she" I need to take her to the vet......I'll let you know.

The adrenaline had kicked in by this point, the vet said "Your shaking. You alright ? I'll take Tanna you follow ", There's a cut just above her eye, did it catch her eye did you see, I'm worried there may be damage to her eyes, Vet give her a full physical examination, she eventually looks at me and says a millimetre further down she'd have lost that eye, she's incredibly lucky. The guilt kicks in I point to her and says you call that lucky, I didn't act quickly enough to prevent her being hurt, I get told off.

I arrive back here, the girls waiting for me I had to soften I appreciate the fact she gave a dam and waited, I got to bed at 4.30am from 10pm. I got a serve amount of grieve for not throwing the vet bill at her from people round here, what made me not do it was the way she acted, if she'd not given a hoot and not have cared less then yeah, it was the fact she was genuine and the fact she was standing waiting for us coming back, plus the fact she's young with a 3 year old, It didn't feel right.

She's healed beautifully, I'd rather not go through that again.

As far as her other medical stuff goes, she's on Rimndyl ?? now for her arthritis, I got diagnosed with that too, it hurts, with the strict instruction she gets checked every 3 months, her last check was a week ago, they've dropped the doze a bit, they looked at her varies wee bumps, talked about the surgery and she said she didn't see the need and felt it may be far too risky to put her through such invasive surgery, the risks in my mind don't weight out the benefit, the surgery itself could kill her, I don't really want to do that to you or her, there's no change in how they look, its something we'll keep checking and discuss it again if need be but there's no need to worry.

She then got weighted 30.2 kg down from 50kg when I first got her, I can not express how chuffed I was, The vet said "you've done an amazing job with her, if I'm honest, you've actually saved her life losing that amount of weight, she's moving a lot more freely too" got told she could loose another 5kg though.

I've hired a dog walker in the past week or so just as backup, as its getting colder both of us are starting to struggle, I opened the door to take her out one morning she went outside for around 5 seconds turned down and went back to bed.

I quite like the sometimes "Awk Look I cant be arsed" and she plops down with such indifference like its my fault its cold.

I struggle with the fact I'm in worse shape than even I thought and help quite a lot, I still manage with my wee lass, she makes the crappy days worthwhile