Hello. My name is Steven, and I've had Leo for nearly 3 years now; he's about 3 or 3.5 years old. I got him when he was about six months old from a breeder in northern MN. He was "on sale" because the family had a lot of things come up and his entire litter had no training or socializing, just fed and watered by a relative. Holy cow. It's been an adventure.
I got him so that my other dog, August (a yellow lab, border collie, rottweiler mix) could have a buddy. They've been best friends since and act just like brothers.
I've learned a lot of things the hard way with Leo. Like not letting them off the leash. For the first year they did wonderful. At the time I was living on my parents' 7 acre farm and they had a blast and never ran off. That changed when they ran to the junk yard and cleared out all their stray cats... which thankfully the owners didn't mind. But after the fun was gone there, they made it into town and even strolled into the local Mexican grocery store. They have since kept their front door closed at all times. I've spent hundreds of dollars on bailing them out of jail, buying wireless electric fences, heavy duty chains and cables, even putting up a new fence around my new 1 acre home. Well, they aren't called the Houdinis for nothing.
Leo is an absolute joy to have around. I hate the idea of looking for another place for him, but at times I feel like he needs some place better. It's tough. I'm hoping though that I can find answers and advice here so that Leo, August, the three cats, and soon the chickens and my wife can all get along. That's a stretch, but I'm just hoping for no more blood, haha.
