Eagle v Eichenluft video - Page 1

My wonderful Eagle is getting older now - he's working on 12 - still doing quite well for his age and the fact that he is 25X Schh3 titled, and competed at Schh3 Nationals the last time at age 9. Never injured which is amazing in itself for such a big (and not so graceful) dog, he did come away from the sport with some "wear and tear" that is slowing him down a bit now - arthritis stemming from tendonitis in some of his toes; and two areas of arthritis which reduces the flexibility of his spine and affects his movement, though I don't think there is any pain involved with that. No health problems except age.

I thought I'd take the camera along for a couple of his daily walk/exercise "sessions" and make a video. Eagle had a lot of fans while he was involved in the sport of Schutzhund with me - and even those who didn't know him personally seemed to know who he was. So this video is for you, so you can see how Eagle is doing in his retired older quieter years.

Still pretty active, he plays with his daughter Nova in the yard, comes in to sleep during the day, has some exercise in the afternoons (chasing ball once or twice, long walks, swimming in my pool in season, and in a nearby indoor dog/horse "spa" in the winter) - and of course he lives in the house as he always has - the couch, multiple dog beds, or the cool tile floor his domain depending on his mood.

Once in a while I let him in with the sheep, which he truly loves. He has no herding training, but shows a natural "instinct" for tending - you can see this in the video. I regret I didn't realize this before he was too old to pursue herding/tending seriously with him. But instead his son Brix (HGH titled) took up that torch -

His side-kick is a tiny little chihuahua named Tigger - have you ever seen a herding chihuahua? You are about to LOL -

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoy sharing it and my best friend Eagle with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxH2fECHrwg

Molly

Eichenluft Working German Shepherds
http://workinggermanshepherd.com  

He is an awesome dog Molly! You have done a wonderful job with him. Its obvious he is still young at heart. And still such a beautiful boy!   I love how you did the video, with the old pictures in between shots. Its just a reminder of his awesome work, and MANY accomplishments.

He is beautiful.  I remember seeing pics of him when I was just researching the breed and have drooled over him since.

Awesome Old Man! Good to see him still loving life! And the little herder? Hilarious! The Tiny Terror! Thanks for sharing! jackie harris

Great film Molly, Eagle is still hanging in there, the dwarf dutch shepherd was doing a great job with the herding also :))).
Always,
Cee

Wonderful video Molly, a great insight to a glorious old dog and his heyday.   Brought tears to my eyes, they just don't live long enough and that is a great injustice when there are some people who live a sight too long!

Margaret N-J

A grand old Dog who has done you proud, lets us hope he lives on for many pain free filled years to come and i guess with the company of the little one he will enjoy the rest of his life
A very enjoyable video we can do with more of these nice stories
Steve1

I only hope I can be so lucky to see my dogs grow old that well. 
I love that big guy and his little sidekick too