Sorry for the delay Summer, but young Gertie has been poorly since Saturday, and so I have needed to do a lot for her.
Thankfully she seems better now, after having Bed & Breakfast at the vets Saturday night, home Sunday, then back again on Monday.
Yesterday she had a treatment with my Chiropractor and fingers crossed I do believe we've cracked it now.

I see Twink has answered your question Summer, and it is partly correct.
I had Shepherds for about 30 years or so, and twice I had a dog collapse on me.

Biff collapsed in my kitchen on the day he died, I was frantically trying to lift him, but couldn't.
Douglas collapsed once when we were across the fields miles away from where I'd left the car.
Doug (the big black one) was over 7st. and I couldn't get him up off the ground, then carry him all across the fields back to the car to get help. It made me feel so helpless and useless.
So those two instances made me think about the future as I got older.

The second reason I changed breed is more personal.
I won't go into it too deep, but I loved them too much (if that's possible), and it affected me deeply each time I lost one.
If I exlained properly, it would sound too emotional and mushy to anyone else, but all I will say is no matter how many I lost over the years, it never got any easier to accept a death, and I finally decided I could not do this any more. No more Shepherds, Beefy would be my last.

However, I knew I could never be alone and dog-less, so decided to change breeds instead, and find something smaller. I actually began making the transition to another breed while I still had Biff, but he was getting on a bit when Mups arrived.

As retirement was looming, and I would no longer have my monthly pay cheque, it seemed sensible to have a smaller dog, smaller food bills - even smaller vet bills - and one I could always carry in an emergency.

I was very aware of the many health problems in most breeds, so did lots of research, and finally decided upon my first ever Bedlington.
Biff adored her and treated her like she was made of fine, delicate porcelain! She used to sleep curled up in his long belly hair when he layed down.

As time went on, I found I liked the Beddies, very different to anything I'd ever had before, and I guess it just kinda progresssed from there.

Another heartache with the bigger breeds, is they are normally shorter lived than smaller dogs.
On average, the bigger the breed, the shorter the lifespan.
With these little rat-bags I have now, and a bit of luck, these will see me out!

I still love the GSD's, always will, but it would not be wise to have another now, and I wouldn't be able to give them the exercise and training that they need.

Sorry for such a long post.

You certainly have a great collection of loyal friends there, Mupsy.
I'm wondering now. We live in a rural area but are only allowed to have two dogs at a time. Should we want a third one we need to put in an application to the shire. Plus there are certain conditions to be met as well.
What are the regulations where you are?

Bedlington terriers I believe? I have a whippet which is a bedlington cross parsons Russell I think

You certainly have a great collection of loyal friends there, Mupsy.
I'm wondering now. We live in a rural area but are only allowed to have two dogs at a time. Should we want a third one we need to put in an application to the shire. Plus there are certain conditions to be met as well.
What are the regulations where you are?

Come on Ploppy, wouldn't you like to try and break the rules so you could be pampered by Mups?

Of course, I would. Who wouldn't?

Hiya Plopsy my friend

At the moment, there is no limit of the number of dogs we can keep here, though I wouldn't be surprised if it changed in the future.
I am actually not totally against two or perhaps three being the limit.
I was only having three once, but the other two kind of blew in on the wind when I wasn't looking.

I wonder if you have as many in rescue as we have?
If you have thousands in rescue, but households are only allowed two, there must be huge numbers of them put down, is there?

Depending on area councils, I believe dog walkers are limited as to how many dogs they can walk together, which is not a bad thing.

They have finally tightened up on breeding rules here too - not before time, yet many still get away with churning them out like sausages, litter after litter, until the poor bitch is either exhausted or cannot breed any more.

If you really want a third one Plops, row over to see me as I have a special offer on at the mo . . . buy one get one free.

Hiya Plopsy my friend

At the moment, there is no limit of the number of dogs we can keep here, though I wouldn't be surprised if it changed in the future.
I am actually not totally against two or perhaps three being the limit.
I was only having three once, but the other two kind of blew in on the wind when I wasn't looking.

I wonder if you have as many in rescue as we have?
If you have thousands in rescue, but households are only allowed two, there must be huge numbers of them put down, is there?

Depending on area councils, I believe dog walkers are limited as to how many dogs they can walk together, which is not a bad thing.

They have finally tightened up on breeding rules here too - not before time, yet many still get away with churning them out like sausages, litter after litter, until the poor bitch is either exhausted or cannot breed any more.

If you really want a third one Plops, row over to see me as I have a special offer on at the mo . . . buy one get one free.