[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Just a Dog
- From: diwri@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:42:48 +0000
As I told someone, when we added the second GSD, my mom gave me lots of grief
because most of her experience with GSDs were many of the crazy dogs at shows
(wild-eyed kennel dogs or dogs that were so
frantic for their doublers). I told her that should wasn't allowed to make a
judgement call like that until she got to know Pepper and Simmie.. She adores
Simmie and Pepper because they are "dogs". Now she understands why I like the
breed.
So ponder this... Genetics or rearing.. Which is it in most cases?
In my opinion, it's genetics.
My exhibit, is Jack. (Or HCh Windy Acres' Quintessential HX, if you prefer.)
Jack has a wonderful temperament. I can take him anywhere and ask him to do
anything without a worry of how he'll react. He'll always react the same. He's
confident & at ease in his skin. He is friendly to all people, but not in a
Golden way. It's clear that he's not going to go home with you but he'll humor
you, laugh at your jokes & be your buddy. Jack likes kids. He's great with
people with mental &/or physical disabilities. He seems to know they need more
than the average person. Jack sits in his car & watches people walk past...
quietly. Jack doesn't have to scare people away who mean no harm. Jack is not
dog aggressive.
Actually, there was one pre-teen boy with some developmental issues that gave
Jack the creeps. When that boy came into the office, Jack would come to my
office & lie down. I figured since Jack only reacted to the boy this way, there
was something about him that wasn't quite right. The boy... not Jack ;-)
At a recent herding event, I was standing along the fence-line watching a run.
I was talking with 2 other ladies & Jack was lying beside/behind me, not on
command or anything. A man arrives in his car, gets out & comes up to Jack in a
stalking sort of posture making 'ooooga-boooooga' noises. Like he was tempting
Jack to lunge at him snarling & barking. (What a NUT-JOB! I mean who in their
right mind would act like that to a GSD they'd never met??) Jack didn't move
and looked at him with pity... figuring he was one of the 'special' people.
A couple years ago Jack was attacked by the neighbor's pit mix dogs. (Jack
cleverly decided to stick his head thru the fence to see what was going on in
their yard, and the 2 dogs grabbed him.) One tugged his scalp & one his ear.
The ear was ripped in 3 pieces. The ER vet sewed it together, but the tip died
& needed to be re-removed. I was concerned that Jack would become dog
aggressive. He did growl at the next couple pit-type dogs he saw, but he
quickly returned to his easy-going self. No lasting damage. (Other than the
missing ear.)
When Jack was a puppy I didn't do anything extraordinary with him. In fact, I
probably didn't even do the 'ordinary'. He was a mellow, wise soul as a puppy.
He was never exposed to disabled people & never spent any real time with
children. (I don't have any & rarely ever borrow them.) I've said many times
that I didn't do anything to Jack, this is just the way he came from the
factory. ;-)
If the good ones come from the factory good... then it stands to reason that
the ones with "issues" come with the "issues" installed. Lack of confidence is
installed at the factory. Crazy is installed at the factory. You can work with
dogs with issues and give them the tools they need to deal with their issues
better, but you can't make a nut-job sane. I'm not really sure you can make a
sound dog into a nut-job without a lot of effort.
Diane
& the great HCh Jack
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