First Memory of Encounter with the GSD? - Page 3

Trac, I researched your dog's lines, and although there aren't a lot of pictures back there, THIS is what I remember GSDs looking like, and still represents to me what they SHOULD look like!

And I notice that none of these dogs have the extremes of the current English Alsatians (short legs, swan neck, tendency towards swaybacks.)

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=402912

I used to housesit for a couple that was friends with a guy I was kinda dating. Although I had been showing dogs for a few years, they were not shepherds. The couple had a huge male shepherd that I would care for along with the raccoon babies. One day after I had let out the coon babies thinking "how hard can it be to put them back" I had to call the dog to help me get them back in. He was a Godsin that day.
I liked his temperment and even to this day prefer dogs with a confident "dont care if you like me or not" attitude. When I dumped the boyfriend, I stopped going to the friends' house. But I still remember that dog. Awesome dog!

Then in 91' I met and married my now ex who was into shepherds and I never looked back!

I met my first GSD, the family dog, when I came home from the hospital as a newborn. I vaguely remember Heidi in her old age... we got into plenty of mischief together :)

My father told me about Rin Tin Tin and showed me pictures of gsds.  From then on, I wanted one, but my mom was afraid of them so I had to wait until I was grown and married to buy my first gsd.

  My first dog growing up was a GSD, Sasha. She was born the same month and year that i was, we had her since she was 8 weeks old. She passed away when we were 15. She was such a gentle and sweet dog, brave too.

back in the 50's, when i was just a youngster, there was a german shepherd that lived in the neighborhood.  he took it upon himself to keep all the kids away from the road.  if there were any children playing outdoors, the dog could be found between them and the road.  he became our best bud.  things were very different back then.  people didn't get freaked out over dogs running loose and they let their kids play outside without fear of kidnappings.  we knew everyone in our general vacinity and probably ate as many lunches at the neighbors' as we did at home.  that is my very first memory of a german shepherd --- beginning at about age 2.
pjp

My uncle (Mom's brother) was about 20 yrs old when I was about 7.  This was about 28 years ago in Alexandria, Egypt.  He had a great GSD named "Rocket" and he was almost like a cousin to me.  He would only be obedient to my uncle, so 1-on-1 time with Rocket without my uncle was a problem.  That dog was very loyal, but I distincly remember how my Grandmother would show off with Rocket by giving him instructions and he would obey her if my uncle was not around.  I remember when I was 6 or 7 how my grandmother would stick her hand in Rockets mouth to prove to us that he was a friendly dog.  I also remember his training sessions, where a sargeant from the Egyptian army K-9 unit would make Rocket do the craziest commands.  I remeber he promised to make Rocket bark 30 times when he asked him how much 5x6 was......haha what a memory, and what a useless command.  My fondest memory of Rocket was when one day I tried to take him out for a walk be myself.  I had him an a short leash and he was infront of me, pulling, of course (I was 7), and when he stood up on his rears, he hit me with top of his skull right on the nose and knocked me out.  I then woke up to find that Rocket had managed to "herd" about 6 tomcats up one single tree where I was laying next to, and these six or seven cats were pissssssed!!!  It was like a cat harvest on a cat tree, and Rocket was under the tree just barking at them while I came around and recovered.  It was also the first time I had ever received a blow like that to the face, so Rocket is permanentaly etched into my pschye!  We still talk about him and his freindship with Sweatie, our Yorkie at the time, and about that Trainers crazy training methods!

Rocket, you are missed, and remembered as part of my childhood that I will never forget.

The first GSD I met belonged to my friend, this was way back in the early 80's her name was Heidi and I was only maybe 5 or 6 years old and she was such a gentle wonderful dog. She would herd my friends little sister who was about 2 or so, to keep her in the room she was soposed to be in. Heidi was really a great dog to be introduced to German Shepherds by. She protected us when we were outside and kept anyone she didn't know away from us. She was a great dog.