Jed's Blog: We Have New Member Of The Family!

We adopted a new baby!

Earlier in August, my wife and I adopted a brand new puppy. We have been looking for an Australian Shepherd and stumbled onto a really cute one! We named her Sydney.

We found her online with www.petfinder.com through DASH Dog Rescue in Dallas, Texas. If you are looking for a new puppy, I recommend you look for a rescue dog. It was a good experience for us.

I have heard that Aussies are very smart and it hasn't taken too long to realize that. Sharon, my wife, bought a bell and has trained Sydney to ring it when she is ready to go outside to go to the bathroom. I was taken aback the first time she rang that bell on her own then sat looking at the door! Very smart dog!

We still have our 5-year-old black Labrador-Retriever mix named Sammy. He has taken to Sydney, for the most part. They are mainly the best of friends, but can at times be the worst of enemies! Sammy seems to foster Sydney with gentleness and patience, but can also get rough with her when those sharp little teeth clamp down. For now, he is boss, but she is persistent, as it goes with puppies. She always wants to play! He is a great playmate.

If you have owned an Australian Shepherd before and have some advice or a new trick we can teach her, please share it with me by commenting below. Or contact me on Twitter (@jedcastles) or through my Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/jedcastles!