In Search of Black - Page 14

His head didn't strike me as being out of proportion.   At least I didn't notice that about him.

May I ask who bred him and if you got what you asked for in Caleb? I mean, I know your happy as a clam with him today but is he exactly what you ordered 5 years ago? I'm not familiar with the Czech dogs as much so the ped didn't tell me much. LOL Oh well, he's s stunning representation of the breed, oversized or not. I hope you do breed him and get that litter you want. I'll go take another look at his ped and look farther back.

Look farther back. His Czech lines are really more DDR-bred dogs registered in CZ...as many are, but his are up close. He is mostly DDR. I know that gets into splitting hairs w/the whole Czech/DDR thing, but I was once told by someone who knows far more than I do that He's really closer to 75-90% DDR, and not the 1/2 and 1/2 that one sees at first glance on his ped. That's all up for debate though, depending on how you define bloodlines. I really don't care; I like the dog.

I actually "ordered" a dog for my bf at the time. Ah, men; they come and go, don't they? LOL. He wanted a GSD, and I wanted a Pit. I had never seen a decent GSD in person; there are literally none around here, and I thought they were all nervebags. I started researching dogs about 2 years before I got him; I'm picky, lol. I liked what I heard about Dargo alot. That was really what I was after. I had heard that Dargo wasn't used much over here, but was used extensively in Ger. and produced more police dogs than sport dogs. I have more faith in Ger breeding decisions than Am., sadly. I don't think the Germans breed a dog 35 times w/out good reason; he's producing something they like. Yes, he was multiple Sch3, LGA, FH2...blah blah blah, but things were revealed about him that made me think he was more than that.

A US owner didn't like him b/c he was "aloof." I like aloof. GSDs are not supposed to form instant, indiscriminate friendships w/strangers. Check the standard, for those who doubt me. Christ, he was an older adult getting passed around; why should he feel all cuddly? Also, he supposedly had outing problems; he would fight the decoy when pissed, and didn't always want to quit. Training issue for sure, but still....made me think he was more than just a sport dog; he had fight. I gambled that he would be like his Dad, and also gambled that he'd be black (the ex wanted black or primarily black, and neither Dargo nor Elba is black) and I got lucky. Caleb also inherited the outing problems. Oh, wait, how would I know? I have never done bitework. He is difficult sometimes, and I wonder if he'd been raised as a sport dog in the typical prey,prey,prey mentality, if he'd be harder to control than he is today. He was disciplined from puppyhood, and I think it's a good thing in retrospect. He still tends to push the envelope; I can't imagine what a jackass he'd be if I raised him differently. It seems like often times, puppies are treated to think they're God, then they start really testing, and now they're pissed the first time they get a good correction around 18mos, and you have handler aggression issues. This is part of why I don't think I'll breed him for the public- not that he's a really difficult dog, b/c he truly isn't at all, but b/c I respect the way he is, but know enough to know that he could have been a problem if allowed to develop into one. I also don't want the public trying to breed out traits in the lines that I like and think we need more of. I am the first to admit that many people do not like him. He's been called aloof, dull, dominant, too defensive, too stable (I don't quite understand that one yet), mean, aggressive, vicious (by my ex, LMAO), creepy (b/c he's too smart), lacking prey drive...............the list goes on. I love him.

I will admit, he is too dominant; it's annoying and it causes problems. He does not give me a hard time, but I would be kidding myself if I said it was because I'm such a strong handler; he knows full well that he is 5x as strong as I am and he doesn't BOTHER giving me a hard time. It's like he sees everything as his, including me. He is highly territorial and extremely possessive. It leads to big problems w/other dogs, though he's not dog aggressive, per se. He id protective, but I think the fact that he believes he possesses me is a huge factor in it. Hey-however he wants to think of it is fine by

OMG great post Jenni. I just had someone tell me, my dog thinks I'm his biatch and that's why he is the way he is with me. The more you talk about Caleb the more he sounds like Baden or visa versa. He's been called dull/lazy, too stable, not reactive enough. He's just starting to be more aggressive and kinda mean to others, he's still a baby and not quite mature or anywhere near done pushing people around. Also not dog aggro at all. Baden's also not huggy enough for me but I'm getting over it.

OMG. If I hug Caleb, he stands still for about .2 second, then squirms, then breaks loose, shakes himself off, and goes to get something to play with. He's like "UGH. PLEEEEEEEEEAAAZZZZZEEEEEE, Mom. Stop embarrassing me!" Reminds me of a teenage boy. I have other dogs I can hug. He allows drive by petting, but will never sit for affection. Caleb wasn't DA at all until he was around 18mos-2...and it's really only dominance, not true DA. If others respect him, he's fine. But don't get too close to me, his stuff (everything) or anything else he thinks is his b/c he looked at it once.

I didn't believe my ex's roomate's gf when she said he growled at her b/c she tried to give him a bath when he was little. My ex and I came back to his house after being out, and for whatever reason, the pushy bitch decided she'd give him a bath. She tried to pick him up, and he growled at her. I told her she was full of shit. He was only 16 weeks old. I believe her now. He is just not into strangers and sees no use for them. He's completely neutral...occasionally pleasant, but never interested until they do something he DOESN'T like.

I'm sorry; I forgot where Baden is from. And where'd you get that name?

He is the same as my first GSD. Not a big licker, which I like! I have since been searching for another one like him but no luck. That temperment makes the best dog IMHO.

I totally agree, Red Sable. But that kind of temperament is quickly becoming harder and harder to find. My little DDR female is similar-not a big licker, very calm and stable, has some suspicion, is sweet to me but indifferent to strangers. But she's the first I've found in 5 years who was like that. This is why I decided to breed the kind of dogs I like, for me, and to hell with everyone else.

 

Zor was the same way with strangers, and other dogs, totally neutral but always alert for any funny stuff. He was dominant but fine unless I didn't handle him fairly, than he would balk or sometimes argue.

Such an easy dog to live with, and he didn't need personal protection training, I know there are those on this board that wouldn't believe me if I said that, but I'm sure he'd be there if needed, and he had courage and fight drive, and he wouldn't back down. This dog had an amazingly low pain threshold, he just didn't give up. And yes Jenn he was very calm and level headed but nothing got by him, he was extremely alert..   IMHO this is the kind of dog Max had envisioned. 

Wow, I miss him.


You are lucky to have Caleb, if you decide to breed and have an extra male lying around, consider him sold.

How is he at the vets when they need to take his temp, hold him down for shots and all that? That's who says my dog is mean and ill tempered. Just don't hold his ass down, lean over him or try to restrict him from doing anything unless your me and he's all good. I can't take him for baths anymore at the groomers and he grew up going. They could bath him but only once got his nails clipped, I forbode it after that and can only do that too myself. Last 2 times I took him for baths he shit in the cage when they dried him, had to rebathe him and then he does nothing but try to kill the blow drier. He has a hardon for anything with a motor, it must die. So we don't do pet shop baths anymore but it was fun while it lasted. He's very slow maturing, so the puppy stuff lasted a long time.

Drive by petting...LMAO I know exactly what you mean though. I'm lucky to catch ass if I'm aiming for head. I have to force him to come lay/sit right next to me and as soon as possible, he splits again to lay about 12-15 feet off and just watch my every move. If I get up, he gets up. Some would like to call it needy, but this dog doesn't "need" anything in his own mind. His daily ritual of affection is to put his muzzle almost in my mouth when I lay his food dish down, he doesn't go right for the food but licks me a time or 2 and actually wants affection, when I walk off he eats. Not interested in touch rewards for work, he wants his ball and/or a Gooood Boy!

Super Goofy dog, loyal as all hell, just all business about it. A real character in the house or in the backyard, when he plays with his toys and actually acts like a dog instead of a sentry, he's very cute and funny. My cats are still alive so he really isn't mean. He forever harasses my housecat but she does the same to him. If one quits playing, the other one starts it all over again. Can't have him insde long if I want anything done.

I got the name Baden from a baby name book, it is German for bather. If you see him in his water trough, you'd know he was named appropriatly. I just liked the sound of it and told the breeder that was what I wanted, when he was 4 weeks old. He's momma's little Babydoo.