I'm not sure if this has been posted here before, but I still think that our first dog ever makes quite a big difference when it comes to our life relationship with dogs in general, and most of the times the first ever dog experience is a really good one.
The first dog that I had was called Curly, he was a french poodle and I was around 6 when we first get him, but unfortunately, my little brother was allergic to his hair, and we needed to give him away to my grandma. But I can hands down say that it was a really good experience, he was a sweetheart and he definitely contributed when it comes to my love for animals in general.
So... what about you? who was your first dog?
Well, I still remember my first dog, he was a white and grey Husky, my parents gave him to me when I was around 4 years old, I really loved him a lot, his name was Chibi, I do not clearly remember why we gave him that name but I guess it was because I used to say that word a lot back then when I was a baby. After two years, I do not really know what happened to him, my parents say that a guy from our neighborhood poisoned his food and killed him while we were not at home, it's really painful for me to remember that since he was my first dog, basically the one that taught me that true friends really exist.
Our very first dog is a mixed of unknown breed. We call her Jedi in reference to the Star Wars movie. She taught us to many things particularly on how to care for a dog. I learned to love a dog from her because she showed me her affection.
We have a blog about Jedi. Here is her full story - http://petizone.blogspot.com/2009/01/return-of-jedi.html
My first dog ever was a Jack Russell x Maltese that we got from our local animal rescue center. They had named him Turbo, and we kept that name because I felt like it fit him perfectly - he was SO full of energy. I felt like the only time he wasn't going at 100 miles an hour was when he was asleep!
I still miss him to this day!
My first dog was a mixed breed and we called her Jinky. You're right about the first dog setting our relationship with succeeding dogs. I trusted Jinky so much that I played with her in abandoned joy. Too bad that she didn't take it well when I went on summer vacation for two months. She died and I got depressed for a time. It took me more than five years before deciding on taking another dog. Although my next dog had a different temperament, he nevertheless loved me back. Because I enjoyed nurturing dogs, I passed this on to my only child who now has a pet of his own, a pug. We call him Chilee.