In the meantime, there's been some developments in the search for a second dog (aside from several moments of overthinking and even a little bit of stepping back to think).
I had thought that, maybe, I had found the dog I was looking for in Binghamton (about an hour away). She was definitely a German Shepherd Dog-mix (quite possibly a bit of Australian Cattle Dog as well), approximately a year old, an active dog looking for an active owner. Potentially perfect, right? Well, wasn't meant to be. She was adopted Monday morning: I didn't see her soon enough.
There's been an Australian Cattle Dog-mix in Danville I've been keeping my eye on, but haven't e-mailed about since I haven't been sure how to approach the possibility of convincing my ma on an ACD-mix. I've brought it up with her, but now I don't know if he's still at Danville or not. His Petfinder page is still up, but not his Petango page.
I have a few other dogs bookmarked, but half the time I don't know what to think or how to feel...I think I'm hooked by and caught up on, even subconsciously, ACDs too much. I know they're likely to be exactly what I'm looking for, and I absolutely adore the breed, I really do. So...I guess I'm having a harder time letting go of the idea than I thought.
Recently, on Craigslist, I found an almost 6-month-old Australian Shepherd pup (well, two actually): black tris, which, I'll admit, along with a black bi is my favorite color in a lot of the herding breeds. They don't come from the greatest breeder (Thompson's Australian Shepherds in Kentucky), but I've followed links for dogs from previous litters and I've read their comments page and it sounds like they're producing dogs with some good drive, some even work livestock. They're house-trained, crate-trained, have been raised around children, dogs, cats, and horses, but...it doesn't sound like they've been socialized a great deal outside of the home, with people or places.
That's my biggest concern. I really am not looking for a second behavior project: I want a training partner. I don't want to socialize a dog beyond what is normal for the age and breed, not to mention I like bringing my dogs with me, and with the plans I have it's not just that I want a confident, well-adjusted dog, but I need one. I can't settle for less than what I'm looking for, because that's the dog I need, and I don't plan on it either.
I can't see them until next week (today was the only day this week I could have, but I wasn't able to). The more I'm thinking of it, however, the more I'm thinking of taking up an offer to foster-to-adopt dogs. That way there's not the pressure to get it right the first time and I can try a dog before making a decision and see if it really is what I'm looking for: if not, I just pass that info on and we look for the right home for that dog, and look for the next possibility. That way the overthinking is eliminated, and my vested interests are no longer a detriment to the figuring process.
I think I might go and see the Aussie pups, just to be sure (and in the meantime try and see if I can come up with a way to see how they are in new situations), but if they prove to not be what I'm looking for, then I suppose I'll have to decide whether to foster-to-adopt or keep looking and e-mailing.
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