Quote: charlie snyder

Working dogs tend to become a lifestyle rather than a pet choice.

DING DING DING!!
BEST REPLY OF THE YEAR!!!

Somebody make that a "sticky" and send Charlie a thank you card!

 Quote: randy allen

In the present tense,
It's hard to describe to a newbie what it takes to get a GSD through an injury even as minor as a pulled muscle.
4 and 1/2 days and still counting.
Takes a lot of time out of the day just to keep her sane and keeping her from making the injury worse.
Shrug, it comes with the territory.

I can sympathise, and it is honestly very hard to describe what this was like even to "seasoned" parents...

I had to keep a toddler occupied in a sterile hospital room for 8 months, while wearing a sterile mask and gloves and with every toy/item/diaper having to be autoclaved prior to being allowed in the room. No play grounds, no sand boxes, no hot wheels racing up and down the sidewalk. It took an enormous amount of time to keep him sane, let alone his dad and I (well, the jury might still be out on us) . And when he finally came home, he couldn't be around other children for two more years. That took a bit more time and energy to maintain our sanity. We got through it, so did our boy. Shrug. It too came with the territory.

Surely if I rose to that challenge, I can learn to raise an energetic, intelligent dog.

 Quote: randy allen

In the present tense,
It's hard to describe to a newbie what it takes to get a GSD through an injury even as minor as a pulled muscle.
4 and 1/2 days and still counting.
Takes a lot of time out of the day just to keep her sane and keeping her from making the injury worse.
Shrug, it comes with the territory.

I also had to deal with a high energy puppy who had to spend 3 months in an 8 foot wide 22 foot long indoor/outdoor kennel with not much contact with anyone except me. I had to deal with bonding, exercise, mental stimulation, everything. (let alone the worry that I may have a monster on my hands when she came home) While she is not from a working line GSD, she is nonetheless in my charge since I committed to taking her into our pack. It was a lot of hours after work everyday. And it still is now with training.

Anyone who takes on a dog, regardless of drive and ambition, needs to realize that it is about the dog. People who are new to dog training can learn and grow with the challenge. There are people who also just put animals in the yard thinking that they can take care of themselves, or in their homes thinking that the dog will love the kids everyone will just play...

So I would say dogs become a lifestyle and not just a pet choice.

And yes, Barbara, if you can take care of child under such extreme circumstance, YOU can do anything!!

 Quote: Marcia Blum

And yes, Barbara, if you can take care of child under such extreme circumstance, YOU can do anything!!

Thank you Marcia, but I honestly am not looking for support or sympathy, I just felt the need to put things in perspective. I understand that working dogs are not the casual, lap puppy and absolutely require a dedicated, committed individual who is willing to give them the attention and work they need. However, I think any dedicated, committed dog owner will do what is needed to get their dog through an injury and even non-working line dogs need extra attention during a recovery.

And I think any dog who owns Randy is one lucky dog.

One other thing I wanted to add there are lots of non-dog experiences in a person's life which can transfer into becoming an approprite working dog owner... At some point, EVERYONE who owns a wl dog got their first dog. Some of these folks either already had dog training experience and trained the dog or they were newbies with the right attitude whose dog helped train them. I think Charlie was right when he said "working lines are more a lifestyle than a pet choice". And I can't help but wonder how far Betty W. would have come had not Will R. taken her under his wing.

 Quote:

And I can't help but wonder how far Betty W. would have come had not Will R. taken her under his wing.

I would of been out of dogs if not for Will.

It's all his fault.....

 Quote: betty waldron

 Quote:

And I can't help but wonder how far Betty W. would have come had not Will R. taken her under his wing.

I would of been out of dogs if not for Will.

It's all his fault.....

Betty, you and your dogs taught me as much as I ever taught you. You've been a great student, but more importantly, a great friend, all these years.


Minus of course those "moments" that you did stuff so dumb that I literally lost my power of speech for a min. or two....

I really liked this responce because I think it really honestly reflects just what it takes to own WL dogs responcibly.

I have two GSD's but actually have no idea what their lineage is. They both were rescued puppies that came from BYB situations. The drive that they have is perfect for me and my lifestyle. I am a pretty laid back person and in all truthfulness would be viewed as way too lazy to own a WL dog. My energy level after working and etc just would not meet the needs of a WL dog I dont think. My two seem to mirror me. They are cool to hang out around the house, play fetch in the backyard, take walks with me and basically be good companions.When we come inside they also know how to go and relax and be lazy as well. I have found them both to be smart and eagar to please and relatively easy to train in common house manners.
They match my personality perfectly.

Now my boyfriend on the other hand has had DS and his dogs are a perfect fit FOR HIM. He is up at 5 am, springs out of bed and is ready for the day. His dog goes with him everywhere and he is like the tazmanian devil, here there and everywhere all day till about 11pm at night! His dog can keep up with no problem and STILL be ready for more. His dog matches his personality perfectly.

So anyway, I think its just important to know and be willing to admit honestly what your personality type is, what your energy level is ( or what you foresee it to be in the future) and then choose a dog breed or type accordingly.

 Quote: will rambeau

 Quote: betty waldron

 Quote:

And I can't help but wonder how far Betty W. would have come had not Will R. taken her under his wing.

I would of been out of dogs if not for Will.

It's all his fault.....

Betty, you and your dogs taught me as much as I ever taught you. You've been a great student, but more importantly, a great friend, all these years.


Minus of course those "moments" that you did stuff so dumb that I literally lost my power of speech for a min. or two....

I like to think that is because I try and get my quota of "dumb" all over in one blazing act. Then I'm good to go for a while.

My personal best is when you lost the ability to speak for a full 1/2 an hour. That was probably a good thing.

betty, if you struck WILL speechless for 1/2 an hour---WOW!!!!! i am impressed