What makes your dog special to you? - Page 4

4-pack, I thought you were female!    Did you have a sex-change by any chance?? 

Ha ha just my impression of a cave man, mans man. We all know the type.

You know, the ones that don't buy roses and chocolates!

I have several dogs, and they are all special.  I'll mention my main Schutzhund prospect, Arwin. 

When Arwin was three weeks old, she showed an interest in me that was beyond usual puppy interest. crawling towards me rather than her other four legged mother.  When she was four weeks on, she would leave everyone and everything else to try to follow me.  I was HER pick of the litter, LOL!  She is very high drive, and is so talented, she makes a Schutzhund novice with two left feet like me look good in training.  She is can also put a stop on all that drive, and lay on the couch with her head on my lap while I watch TV.  We've twice had bears in the yard, and twice she was the first to alert me.  Concerning the first bear in the front yard, she started to trot briskly over there to kick a 600 pound brown bear off of her property.  A good recall saved her!  (She had no idea she was being "saved", she would have called it "thwarted".)  The second time we saw the bear in the back yard, I heard her unusually deep bark and looked at her out in the kennel.  "What are you barking at?"  She stood up straight and pointed her chest towards the back yard and gave deep barks with special emphasis "There's-a-bear-Mom!"  Sure enough, there was a big black bear wrinkling his nose and doing some chest pointing of his own towards the house.  He was not more than 35 feet from the house.  (It's been an unusual "bear summer" in Anchorage.  There was also a black bear out on our trialing field in Kincaid Park Tuesday evening.  It was probably that bear who ended up having to be shot for his brash behavior towards humans, chasing after one woman, in the area of the park).

I wish she wasn't short legged and plain, but you can't have everything.  Here's a picture taken this summer in training, doing the long bite:

The constant show of love to me and the intelligence they possess...no matter how late i feed them or what i feed them, and no matter where I am on my property one of them has their nose right at my hip pocket. 

The alertness they show me, never lax in watching out for me, never lazy,  never talk back...always in trouble, though, they can be so happy to get to play tug or work a short time each day...They each one fight to get to go with me to town, and they wait at the patio gate, instead of going to the woods to play, for mommy to come back out...

They never mind the heat or cold, nor the wind or the rain,, I worry about all four....They are right there to guard my property, me or work and play when I want them too, and they never complain,,,,

One thing, when they hurt or are not feeling good,,, they just go right on being a german shepherd and you can hardly even know there is anything wrong...endurance beyond belief...

\And then there is PUPPY BREATHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i love watching my dog angus when he thinks no one is watching. he'll play outside with stuffed animals, snatching them up, racing around w/them, throwing them up in the air and scooping them up and starting over again. he won't do it if we're out their w/him and he won't play that way w/our bel mal mix. when they play, it's clash of the titans and the sheer exuberance is such a blast to watch. i love it when he gets to play w/small dogs or puppies, even teeny chihuahuas. he is the only dog my best friends boxer will play with (my friend almost cried - her dog had a friend finally) and i've seen him even calm a small dog aggressive whippet who was afraid at first, then when angus just sat and watched her, she ran up to him, butt up in the air, tail wagging, wanting to play. her owner ( a little old chinese woman) did cry and said she had never ever done that to another dog before. he's friends w/boxers, maltese, golden ret, pit bull, just about any dog he's come across. i've had people track me down w/their puppies at petsmart so they can all meet him. he loves kids esp my great niece brittany. he's very gentle and loves to have people say hi, esp kids. he parks himself in our front yard so he can watch over us and the neighborhood (we're at the top of a cul de sac). i can even laugh at the length of time it takes for him to find the "right" potty spot (sometimes 15 min). i can laugh when he comes in wet and muddy and our bel mal is perfectly dry. he loves to go for rides and walks and runs (even tho i'm not the fastest runner out there). he is getting more protective as he gets older and our bel mal lets him do the patrolling alot now. he loves the sound of the coffee grinder and vacuum and always comes running to sit next to them. he guards me while i take a shower or go potty. and he's so great to hug and snuggle whether i'm happy or sad. plus, i think he's gorgeous. and he still has his first stuffed toy that he got when he was 2 months old. even the bel mal won't tear it up. he'll lay down w/it in his mouth sometimes and fall asleep. i really do miss the puppy breath! but i love his big old nose sniffing me before a big wet kiss. everyday i am grateful for this dog. 

they are all so special in their own right. 

my first dog as an adult was a pistol with tons and tons of personality.  this dog found me, was dumped where i was working at the time as a pup.  this dog could make everyone laugh with his sense of humor.  a shepherd mix which led me to wanting to get german shepherds.

then there was my sheltie when i was a child.  i used to do agility with this dog when people didn't know what agility was!  he had his funny quirks, used to hate a harmonica, the oven, the thermostat because it beeped, but the microwave was fine :), now that i look back i think that this dog really had a screw loose! 

which leads me to my present gang. 

the really old dobie mix who i married into. :)  so she was really his first girl.  :)

then my older bitch who is my first shepherd.  she's the sweetest thing, however when push comes to shove she probably has the most defense in her out of the bunch.  if she barks at something i'm concerned.  loves to cuddle and keep the other dogs in the house in line.  though at 10 1/2 she's not as adament about it.  :) 

then my ike, who's a big pushover ulitimately.  he's my watch dog, perhaps too much!  but living in the city i don't mind it, people can know that i have a big dog!  he can be such the goofball too.  he's psycho over a laser pointer!  cracks me up and didn't discover it until recently.  will bark at my husband in the morning to get him to bust out the thing.  such clear communication there, barks at him, then looks to where the laser pointer lives. 

then there's the "baby girl"  who's just the cutest thing EVER!   well except when she's eating hoses!  lol  she likes to spar with the vacuum cleaner or lawn mower (not a good habit) too.  she loves her big brother ike, but is constantly beating up on the poor guy.  hense, pushover!  she's got springs in her feet and is like greased lightning running.

4-pack- big he man have big long willie until big mean dog bite willie silly! LOL jo

What a great thread. I've had a GSD for the last 38 yrs. There all diifferent, all have different personalities. They have always made me feel safe & secure.

My present 3 yr old male is a kissing machine. Yet there is no doubt about his protection qualities.

The one thing that stands out about this breed to me is their intelligence. Pango has now observed that when we go through the drive thru that I take out money and we get food in return. So anytime he sees me pull out money he starts to go nuts in anticipation.

Also they love all the family members and constantly make sure everyone gets some attention.

My daughter has repeated told me that when she gets a call on her cellphone he does nothing, yet when it is me calling he gets all excited and is constanly looking out the window. So somehow he knows when I call, maybe he can hear my voice, I don't know how he knows, but he definetly reacts to my calls.

They are special, and if you have never owned one, you will never be able to understand just how special they are.     

***Thanks for a great thread!***         

4pack,

This is an extremely nice looking dog u r right how could u not like this dog.

jo.....not just he-man with lil willy....many mean women too...maybe jealous they don't have willies???