Did you buy or adopt your dog on impulse?

The last three dogs that I have added to our family I would say they where adopted on a whim.

Four years ago I had been feeding & watering a neighbors dog because she was tied up outside and neglected. They knew I had been feeding her and one day they said "Do you want her?" My reply was, "not really, I already have three dogs, but I hate seeing any animal go hungry". She is a mutt that weighs about 30lbs and I had three Dobermans at the time. As we stood there I finally told them, "I'll be off work this weekend so I'll come and get her Saturday so I'll be able to be home for a couple of days to introduce her to my dogs".

I told my husband what was going to take place that day and he said, "you're not getting another dog".

Well, Saturday morning I took a leash over and got her. She was a little scared because the Dobies were all around her and didn't know what to think. My dogs loves her and at times I swear she thinks she too is a Dobie.

The cutest thing is my husband also loves her & she him. Ginger is actually his pick out of all the dogs. I actually tease my husband at times when she is showering him with kisses by saying, "I don't know why you love him so much Ginger because he told me not to bring you into our home". He'll just smile.

For the Husky I rescued last year, a different neighbor abandoned her by moving away and leaving her in the back yard. She is approx. 14 years old and this idiot had her her entire life. Cody use to escape from her yard and would hang out on my porch for about a year prior to his moving. He'd come over & retrieve her and she'd be right back.

Strange how she adopted me long before I adopted her and some people don't think animals are smart.

Months before this family moved her owner asked me if I wanted her.

When I heard that it haunted me because I had heard those same words before!! I told him, "not really because I have 4 dogs".

Well I was feeding & watering her for about three months and they never came back for her. Cold weather was fast approaching, I was going through some surgeries and didn't feel well enough to go over there twice a day so once again I told my husband I was bringing her over here. She had lived her entire life in a backyard, sleeping under a deck, but she is now an inside dog.

Another neighbor of mine feels that the guy that asked me to take Cody knew if he abandoned her that I would take her in and she would be well cared for. I love her to pieces.

My most recent addition is a Dobie, Snoop. His dad, a dear friend of mine passed away this past June. The two of them would come to my house everyday so I figured if I took the dog it would be the best for him since he knew us all very well. My friend knew he was termanial and worried about what would happen to this dog that he has had since a pup.Snoop is 10 years old.

Taking the dog for him was my last act of love & kindness to a very dear friend of mine.

So you see Liz, 3 out of my 5 dogs I acquired when I wasn't even wanting another.

Sorry this answer was so long.

I bought Rocco from a Stafford breeder.

It took me 4 months to find him. I did do research and knew what I liked in a Stafford however the most learning was to follow after I got him. My breeder wanted to keep him, however her and her husband were going through a divorce and were deciding who got what dog. Lucky me!

I became even more obsessed with the breed and profiled nearly ALL the breeders around Australia and some overseas.

Its taken me over 2 years of research for my second stafford. Ive found a breeder in another state. She is breeding from very old lines that Im interested in.

She has a litter now, however she has another b*tch that is due in heat soon that Im even more keen on.

We will both co-own whichever pup I get and I will campaign her in the show ring.

So yes, even more serious thought went into into the second.

It is a constant learning process and I have no plans on giving up.

I will dedicate my life to this breed.

I was not "in the market" for a new dog when I found my Sasha, I just went along with a friend to the city shelter when she went to get new tags for her dog.

I was just wandering through the facility, killing time when I came upon this beautiful, calm white shepherd just quietly sitting in her pen. I reached through the gate and she put her head into my hand. Just out of curiosity I asked about her. They told me she was in the next batch to be "put down" due to over-population, she had 4 days to live!!!!

I said, "No Way, that dog is coming home with me."

I have been a dog owner and trainer for over 50 years and have been guardian to several white shepherds ( and white GSDs) over the years so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect.

In my many years of experience she is the calmest, most loving dog I have ever met. I truly believe it was not so much impulse but rather fate that brought us together that day.She has enriched my life more than I can express and I love her beyond measure.

I did buy one of my dogs on impulse. It was love at first sight. It was the best quick decision i ever made. He is the perfect dog. He never barks, is highly intelligent, and is show quality. I didn't need to research his breed because i already had 4 other dogs of the same breed. When i bought him i wasn't even in the market for another dog. It was purely an impulse purchase.

I guess mine are all impulse. We live on a farm and 3 were left here. I did purposely adopt our chocolate lab, he had been in the city and needed room to run so I adopted him from my friend. Our 2 beagles were left and we found them covered in ice, skin and bones, in our pasture. No one answered any of the ads we put out. Now they're couch beagles! My border collie was purposely tossed out of a car (my neighbor watched). Honestly, I don't think I could have bought dogs better than this group. They are happy, healthy, well adjusted, and most of all loving!

I researched the australian breed for at *least* six months before buying my girl. It was actually probably closer to a year.

Dogs should never be impulse buys, and in a perfect world, people would choose a breed that fits their lifestyle, instead of making a dog fit theirs.

Trust me, if you do you research, you *will* find the perfect breed for you.

I got both Skylar and Onyx on impulse. I went to see a friend of mine and her Husky had 7 puppies. They were 5 wks old at the time and I just couldn't resist. My mom called me 2 wks ago to say she got a new 10 wk old Black Lab puppy and the lady had 3 left. I had been wanting a new playmate for Skylar and know Labs are great dogs.

Pepper was bought on an impulse....it wasn't a good idea at the time, but we love him and wouldn't trade him for anything in the world, even if he wasn't the breed we thought he was and is a very sick puppy. He is our baby.

Bandit was rescued at 5mths old and there wasn't alot of time to think about that either. It was rescue him and save his life, or don't and he would die.

We don't regret either decision. We love both of our dogs.

Yes and no. With my oldest current dog I was looking for any dog and was prepared for any breed, and what breed I got was whatever one happened to be available at the time, a toller.

With my Belgian shepherd it was kind of an impulse because it was an "take her or she's getting put down" kinda thing. B

I guess when you've had as much dog experience as myself it'd be kinda hard for me not to know what I'm getting into.

My first dog (when I moved upstate) was a Siberian Husky. I researched the breed very thoroughly before I finally picked out a puppy.

With my second dog...I walked into the humane society...he was the only guy who wasn't barking. SOLD! he was an impulse rescue!