Hello everyone ,what do you do when you are seriously looking for a very special friend to join your family ? ,you come to champdogs ,I did   that a few years ago when my Mother in Laws Rhodesian Ridgeback passed away ,A lady called Gwen contacted me & we eventually had one of her beautiful little boys with us his name was Max ,an amazing little dog ,Well now I have  to ask for your help again ,My youngest daughter married her childhood sweetheart just before Christmas last year ,He is A Royal Marine Commando & is now in Afghanistan ,They live in  the Somerset  countryside , dog walking heaven ,My son in law has just returned to Afghanistan after two weeks R& R & they  have decided that now is the time to find the perfect companion to join them  ,we have a little diva dog here at home who misses my daughter terribly ,almost as much as my daughter misses her ,so we need to find the perfect little friend who is going to be very loved ,will have to love lot's of walks & be prepared to give & recieve lot's of love & hug's ,so as yet they are  open to ideas ,medium sized is all they ask ...anyone have any ideas ,? hope this does not sound too vague just  feel this was the best place to start ,my son in law is due back home in October & would like for my daughter to have found a new doggy friend to  join them to start their family by then  ! many thanks for reading this, in anticipation Susie xxx

> we have a little diva dog

I have to admitt that I'm not good at abbreviations but what is a 'little diva dog', if little it can't be a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

if your daughter and the dog miss each other so much why dont you let your daughter take her?

Unfortunately just saying medium sized is too vague!
How much time every day is she prepared to groom?  Do they have preference to long or short coats?  Does she work?  Is it her first dog to train from a pup?  Any other activities they plan to do with the dog other than lovely pet activities, agility/obedience?  Do they want an active little dynamite of a dog, or a dog that will enjoy a good walk and then will happily snooze for the rest of the day?
We need some more details!

Hi Lucy ,Diva as in " bit of a madam ",& no she is not a Rhodesian Ridgeback ( That was my mother in laws dog before Max ) she is  a Westie x lhasa Apso ,we rescued her with the help of the people on this board ,we were  lucky to have so much help through everyone here ,my previous dog had to be put to sleep  &  I came here for advice & will forever be grateful for the help I recieved here ,it was though some years ago ,it seems a different place now,Regards x

Because she is my dog ! doesn't stop them missing each other though .

I know just saying med sized was vague sorry ,but they really dont have any preconceived ideas as to what dog they would like ,They feel as though they want to keep an open mind ,As I mentioned they live in the country ,both my daughter & her  husband love to walk ,run ,cycle etc ,so the dog will have lots of exercise ,my daughter is used to grooming  our dog who has a thick long coat if not kept short ( which it is ) so that's not a problem ,Adams family dog was a springer spaniel ,so he has been used to a very energetic dog ,So you see they really dont have one type of dog that they want ,just know they don't want a small dog ,or one too large, we thought that with this open attitude to finding a dog would be an advantage , many thanks for your post though  it is much appreciated ,we shall keep looking ,regards 

I can't believe that having experienced a Ridgeback, they don't want another one :) :)

Are they looking for a breed or do they want a crossbred/mongrel?

Hi Hola Lola

I can understand your daughter wanting her own dog after years of living with one she loved.
As your other was a rescue have you thought of doing that again?
I don't know where you are in the country but most rescues always have medium sized dogs looking for a loving home so your daughter's nearest shelter may be a good place to start.

There is also Many Tears rescue based in Wales who are always desperate for good homes for many ex breeding dogs and always have Westies, Cavaliers,Spaniels etc looking for homes. Here is a link- I will warn you its sad.

http://www.freewebs.com/manytearsrescue/

I now breed and show pedigree dogs but grew up mainly with mixed breed rescues and have so many happy memories of them.

Good luck in your search- I would love to hear what you find

AM

Hi Hola Lola

I too would recommend many tears animal rescue. Sylvia who runs it has a heart of gold and all she wants is for a dog especially an ex breeding dog to have the chance to experience a proper life. The area your daughter lives sounds lovely . If it were me and I wasn't wanting a dog to show I would have a look at rescue dogs. You get to take your other dog with you to see if the are compatible.
Good luck finding the right one , let us know the outcome.

Hi Hola Lola, looking at rescue dogs sometimes requires a hardened heart and always needs clear focus.  Don't go until you've had a think about what you don't want, as well as what you do want, but saying that there are a few rescue places in and around Somerset that might fit the bill.

I occasionally look at local ones (I'm in Somerset too) for a friend of mine.  However, my friend doesn't want a collie type or a greyhound type or a bull breed, she also doesn't want a terrier or a huge dog.   So, on her behalf, one that I find myself returning to is Black Retriever Cross Rescue.  As their name suggests they concentrate mostly on black retriever crosses but I've often seen others in the mix.  They are based in Marlborough so not too far away and they appear to conduct quite thorough assessments on each dog in order to find the best home.  They use foster homes and they seem to be quite choosy about the forever homes they pick.  All good stuff I think, particularly as my friend has grandchildren she'd need to consider.

One thing you might need to be a bit cautious about is finding a dog that bonds with your daughter but is less comfortable letting her husband back in when he gets home.  With that in mind you might want to suggest they adjust their timing a bit to ensure they both choose the dog in October.  Whatever they decide do make sure the rescue home knows the set up so that they can help them choose the right dog.  Good luck

Black retriever x as suggested by dogsababe (I have currently fallen in love with Ridley hope he gets a nice home soon) What about a flat coat (sorry I know I have suggested them before) good family dog, energetic and trainable I think medium sized , also with your sil away should adapt well to his comings and goings. I am talking form experience of my flattie who was so biddable and happy to see everyone and would stay for a while due to family circumstances with a relative adapted fine and happily

I think that Black retriever X rescue is Jemima Harrisons isn't it??? Who did PDE? please correct me if I'm wrong.
ETA....Just had look on the site, it is JH's and oh how cute is Jasper! he sound's lovely! I really shouldn't look on rescue websites!!!

I often help out with Many Tear's,have done lots of volunteering for them. They are such a great rescue. Like somebody else said your daughter will need to be able to make the right choices before she goes to a rescue centre. It's so heart breaking seeing all the dogs there, makes me just want to take them all home!
I'm going to be doing fostering for Many Tears when I've cut down my hours in work next year.

Hello Ridgielover, I know what you mean about The Ridgebacks ,She was my in laws dog ,taken on after a pilot with far more money than sense or brains decided it was all too much & she was too large !!!!!! ,she was quite traumatised when my in laws   took her on ,I had my doubts at first as my two daughters were quite young &"Lucky" was not what you would call friendly or trusting ,but it did not take  long for her to realise she was safe &  loved ,she was a beautiful soul ,been this way before I believe, she passed away some years ago now ,but still very  much missed ,I still get a lump in my throat when I see one wherever I might be ,I envy you if you are lucky enough to have one of these beautiful creatures in your life ,Take Care x

Hi Annm,thankyou very much for your help ,I have looked at the link for " Many Tears ",we  are going to call them  tomorrow ,she has to fill in a questionaire by phone it seems ,I think it would be good to arrange a visit too ,the website looks very informative ,so once again thankyou & watch this space Take Care x  

Oh I shouldn't look at these rescue sites either, they have me in tears.  I'm smitten with Flynn - he is gorgeous, hope he gets a forever home soon.

Hello Dogs a Babe,( great user name  !)I know what you mean about being able to deal with visiting the rescue homes ,when we rescued Lola it took quite a while before we found her & i cried each time I left , I am hoping to find someone here who can help ,This little dog is going to be a very much loved & wanted addition to their lives ,So they have to make sure they are a good match ,They also have talked about the timing of looking for a dog ,she has only lived where she is for 9 months & although the people in her village are wonderful ,she is lonely & has a lot of time on her own ,so feels the time is right  to have a dog as she will be able to spend a lot of time helping him/her to settle in, training etc ,we will look at the link you posted too sounds really promising ,Once again many thanks for taking time to help,Everyone here has really helped ,Take Care x

Hi Cani1, thanks for your help ,an ex breeding dog sounds like a good idea ,hopefully we will be able to get more info from Sylvia when we meet  & take it from there ,Once again thankyou for taking time out to help,Take Care x

Good luck - Let us know x

Hi Everyone ,well you have helped more than you will know ,I spoke to my daughter last night ,told her about you all & all of your experiences & suggestions ,as I mentioned before she has got married ,moved home & counties ,started a new job & had her husband go to Afghanistan all in eight months ,so a lot for anyone to have to adjust to , I know she get's lonely & misses home ,family & friends a lot ,that's  why they thought this would be a good time to look for a dog ,well after a very in depth chat she has almost certainly decided to wait until Adam comes home in October ,The thing that made me really take notice was when ( can't remember who said it now ...sorry )  that it may be difficult for the dog to accept sharing her with Adam if they had started life together just the two of them ( or words to that effect ) I know that Adam will want to be a large part of the dogs life too so you are right ,maybe now is not the right time ,but on the good side it is only three months or so away until Adam comes home  ,it gives us a good time to contact people (like Sylvia) & get her expertise on finding the right dog ,until then we all visit her as often as we can ,taking Lola too ,we tell her how lucky she is having a summer  residence  lol ( she also gets spoilt rotten ,one treat being my daughter let's her sleep on her bed with her ,which she is not alllowed to do at home ... (lol) anyway I waffle on as usual ,but I just wanted to say thankyou all so very much for all of your help ,we will be watching these pages regularly & hope when the time comes you can help them both find just the right dog ,so until  then ,once again it has been a pleasure chatting to you all ,hope  to chat again soon ,we will keep you all  up to date ,take care all x