Anyway, we both retired in December 2021 and at that time our thoughts were very much on our daughter who had a serious stroke, so naturally our energies were headed in that direction. Thankfully, our daughter has made a 90% recovery and returned to her role as a teacher in September last year, no mean feat although still not has full use of her right hand, hopefully time and patience that will improve. After September, some normality returned for us and finally began our retirement. Although we never ruled out getting another dog, we were constantly questioning whether we could go through getting another dog with the fear of 'cancer' raising its head again. As time went on over that last few months, wife and I had various discussions about may be getting another dog, along with making general enquiries elsewhere, we concluded we needed to fill a void in our lives, sort of a purpose again!
That 'void' happen to be a dog we concluded but neither of us wanted to go through puppy training again, just too much for us as we are not getting any younger. We find trying to keep up with our 4 year old grand daughter is enough of a lovely challenge!
As part of the 'general enquiries' some one suggested an older dog, may be a two / three year GS bitch who has one or two litters and now looking for a fireside home? This seem a sensible solution and we know we certainly could offer a good welcoming home. Over the last two / three weeks, we made the decision to go the latter option and by good fortune, a three year old GS bitch became available after having one litter (three pups) and now has been spayed too which is ideal. Anyway, we went to see her last Saturday, her name is 'Nina' and she was very calm, lovely and friendly, just seemed ideal. The breeders had said she been living with them indoors and is a little lonely but already 'trained' in some aspects, re toilet training, sleeping habits and some commands too although this needs expanding a little. So we have now made the commitment to take 'Nina' and hopefully collect her in a couple of weeks once we 'clear' our existing home / family commitments to allow us to fully focus on 'Nina'. We do realise for 'Nina' this will be a bit of an upheaval for her but plenty with time, patience and consideration, I am sure we will get there.
So there you have it but we will update again when we collect 'Nina' and post some images too. This does not mean we think any less of 'Hugo' or our emotions have changed, they have not as he was a special dog. 'Nina' we know is different not just for the obvious reason but it means there is no chance of making comparisons, like 'male' with 'male etc. We cannot wait now but it has taken a lot to get to this stage.
Looking forward to hearing about her progress.
'Command' wise is getting better, certainly 'sit' is the easiest one for sure. Nina for sure lets us know if someone is around or nearby our home with the 'bark'. I doubt any one will come near the house hearing that 'bark' which is a good thing as Hugo was more the opposite. Strangely not knowing what to expect, there are some small differences between male and female GS's with respect to behaviour especially not being boisterous, certainly more quiet /reserved but there remains definitive Giant Schnauzer straits for sure regardless of sex! 
