My Dogs Know I Had Surgery - Page 2

My Kali was not trained for service, but  twice alerted me to critically low blood sugars, probably saved my life, as I was at the stage where I was just going to pass out. She barked, pulled at my sleeve,  tugged at me until she had me out of bed & in the kitchen where my glucometer was. As a new diabetic I had never had a really low blood sugar before...when I checked it, it was too low to read on the meter. All the while Kali was nudging & prodding me & once I drank some OJ she sighed & plopped down.

And you've all heard about her daughter Ansgar alerting me to my cancer.,,,,

Nans, to you think certain lines are gifted this way? Or could any GSD learn this?

Neither had any real training besides Ansgars early tracking...

jackie harris

Really I do believe you can train these guys to do anything;  however, some are of course easier to train than others, some have the knack for wanting to learn services to please you and others could care less about feeling the need to please;  or wanting to please, some are not intelligent enough  to figure it out (not necessarily in this breed so much).  However, I don't necessarily feel that lineages have a lot to do with this, maybe a minisquale amount, but it is individual and can be tested for and watched for in  young puppyhood.  That has been my experience anyway;  in the GSD their nature is to serve and please in any job they are taught to do and I feel that they want to excell in any job they are trained to do.  That is who they are.

Great days everyone,  Nan

Feel better...

Hi Jackie:  hope you are feeling well also and I just reread your post and did not mean to be invasive with my above post but realized after I reread my post that I really did not answer your question about lineage being a factor in the ornate since of detection and smell.  BUT it has not been my past experience to be able to "produce" a dog from say a particular bitch with service qualities.  Have tried as one of my best ever service dogs (A Samoyed bitch, also a NATURAL protector) was bred to a male with a show background for a repeat breeding that I absolutely loved and could have sworn would produce another of herself;  well she did not but litter was a fabulous litter but not a service dog litter.  Go figure;  I attribute it to early training and of course excellent health which I had neither in the 2nd litter.  Was somewhat disappointing but still loved the puppies.  I have also been told that for GSD's the better choices can possibly come from dogs with natural herding instincts for service work amongst other things of course.  They are just so hard to come by these days since the rage and craze is Sch and other sports.  I sure hope we do not loose the natural service dog instincts in this incredible breed and hope people lean back towards what this breed was constructed for which is versitility as well as natural protectors  which if you think about it goes back to their herding instincts. 

Have a healthful day  Nan