On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 08:05:14 +0000 Derek Jewell    
   whittled these words:   
   > I wonder if anyone can help.  We are looking to adopt a medium sized dog,   
   > probably a Scottie, Collie or something similar of about 8 months old and   
   > up.  We are based in Yarnton (north of Oxford near Woodstock) and have a   
   > medium sized house and the garden is fully fenced off.  We¹ve not had a dog   
   > before but love them.  We¹ve been to our local Blue Cross shelter in Burford   
   > and they didn¹t really have anything that we wanted or fell in love with   
   > straight away.   
      
   > If you can help, or know of anyone that can, please do get in touch, though   
   > I¹m not sure that this is the right news group so apologies if it isn¹t!   
      
   A scottie and a collie are VERY different kinds of dogs.  If you haven't   
   had a dog before it will really pay off to get a good handle on how to   
   match what your needs and abilities are to that of the dog.  Be especially   
   careful of judging based appearance and "first impression".  The book I   
   like the best for helping people think through the qualities they want in   
   a dog is "The Right Dog for You" by Daniel Tortora.  Don't know if you can   
   get it easily your way but it is the questions and the charts that are   
   really helpful.  I'm not sure what other books have that kind of help.   
   There are several that do a better job of describing the dogs - but that   
   assumes that the person already knows what suits them.  Especially for the   
   person with little dog experience it helps to get a little more guidance   
   in figuring that part out first.   
      
   Once you are good at describing the qualities of the dog you are looking   
   for your chances of find the right chance from a shelter or rescue are   
   much improved. And be patient.  It doesn't matter whether you are looking   
   for a dog bred with love, knowledge and care, or the shelter dog - the   
   perfect match may require some waiting.  The exactly right dog is worth   
   waiting for. You will probably live with this dog 10 to 15 years so it is   
   worth taking your time, and picking by personality, not appearance.   
      
   --   
   Diane Blackman   
            There is no moral victory in proclaiming to abhor violence   
            while preaching with violent words.   
   http://dog-play.com/    http://dogplayshops.com/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)