More About Scout's Family

I was reading over some of the puppy applications and just loved seeing so much about each of the families that will be new homes to Scout's pups.  And, I was thinking that it might be nice if we answered the same questions so that you all could get to know us a bit better too.

Here goes...

1.  List any children in the home...

• Zane, age 9 loves soccer, legos and running
• Ian, twin to Zane, age 9, loves soccer, running, swimming, and riding his skateboard
• Wyatt, age 6, loves science, animals, riding his bike and swimming and climbing trees
• Sergio, age 40, loves running, biking, playing soccer, surfing, and eating good food

2.  A detailed description of where you live...

• We live in a great, dog friendly neighborhood in Virginia Beach.  We own our own home - 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, nice sized fenced-in back yard with a large park within walking distance.  The beach with-in biking distance.  

3.  Sergio is active duty military so is often away, but I am blessed to be able to stay at home with my boys (and Scout and the puppies).  

4.  Crate training...

• Scout was crate trained and we are strong proponents of crate training.  We feel crate training is best for both the dog and the owner.  We will begin crate training the puppies around 8 weeks before they go home.  We will start putting a crate in the puppies play area for them to explore, then increase the amount of time they spend in the crate.  If you already have a crate you would like us to use for your puppy, we will be happy to use it to make transition to your home even easier.

5.  Other pets in our home - in addition to Scout, we have...

• Two cats - Reggie, 5 year old solid black tom cat and resident mouser and Mittens, a 1 year old who gets into lots of trouble and doesn't like to get her feet wet.
• Two guinnea pigs - Ace and Bugsy who live in Ian and Wyatt's bedroom. They love coming outside at times and hiding in the oregano patch
• Six chickens - 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Dominiques that live in a coop in the backyard.  They give us 5-6 eggs a day and good fertilizer for our organic garden.
• And several fish in a tank in the playroom

6.  Describe your family's current lifestyle

• We are a very active family who love to go to the beach, ride bikes and be outdoors.  The boys all play soccer, swim and boogie-board.  Sergio is teaching them to surf.  We enjoy camping, hiking and biking whenever Sergio's schedule allows.

7.  What made you pick the GSP breed?

• I have had dogs all my life, pointers, mixed breeds, even a wolf hybrid over the years.  Before Scout I had a lab mix named Mazzy who died of bone cancer in 2003.  After Mazzy we fostered labs until they found a new home.  When we finally decided it was time to add another dog to our family permanently, we did a lot of research and found the german shorthaired pointer a perfect match to our family and our active lifestyle.  I don't think we will ever have another breed.  We are huge fans of GSPs now.