WHAT'S SEX GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING ANYWAY?

Quick, if someone asked you to name the all time greatest German Shepherd Dog in the history of the breed, who would you say? How about if they asked you who the best looking dog of all time was? Want to make a bet that you would name a male dog for both of those questions?

Admit it, when you were a kid and someone would mention the German Shepherd Dog, I bet you would visualize a male dog. I know that I did. I’ve always loved the noble look of this breed. I visualized them as being a masculine, big boned dog with a great big old head. I thought of them as a powerful breed; strong and courageous and willing to defend you with their life! Not once did I ever think of a German Shepherd bitch when I thought about this breed! For some reason, thinking of a German Shepherd brings up a picture in most peoples mind of the majestic male of this breed. Many times if your parents bought a German Shepherd as a pet, nine times out of ten, it was probably a male. They were probably looking for a guardian for their family, but more importantly a powerful protector of their property and valuables.

There’s just something about the noble German Shepherd Dog that makes you think in terms of the males of this breed. On the other hand, if you’re thinking of a lap dog, many times you might think in terms of a female.

When I first started out in this breed, a male is all I ever thought about owning. I wanted a big masculine dog that would turn people’s heads when I walked down the street with him. “That’s right, we’re cool. I got myself a big “bad boy!” I wanted a dog that commanded people’s respect and in my mind, what better way to do this than with a male German Shepherd? That was my mind set then. German Shepherd Dogs equaled male dogs! That was until I was knocked down a few pegs when one of my very first lessons in this breed is when someone told me: “Your kennel is only as good as the bitches you own!” Really? But I loved the males. That might have been true, but unless he was a star, I would be just about the only one that loved him. He would never be used for public stud and would only remain my beloved pet! Boy, that didn’t seem fair at all! I mean after all he had the same bloodlines as his more desirable litter sister! How come it was OK for me to keep her and not him? Seemed like a reasonable question to me at the time.

I was told that if the bitch didn’t turn out for showing, I could always breed her to a top producing stud dog and perhaps get a show quality puppy or two. On the other hand, if I kept her brother and he didn’t turn out, no one would breed to him, except me and that would mean I would have to go out and buy myself a bitch to breed to him. It looked like if I wanted to have any little bit of success in this breed, I’d better learn to follow the advise of those seasoned pros that proved what they were saying was true by keeping mostly bitches in their kennels. However, the few males if any that they owned were all top winning dogs.

I would soon find out the difference in owning males compared to owning bitches! Both sexes certainly have their own unique personalities. I find it very different owning a bitch compared to a male. The majority of German Shepherds that I’ve owned have been bitches; so therefore, the majority of my favorite dogs throughout the years have been females. That said I still miss the males. I find that they are easier to get along with as long as you don’t have females in season! Most of the time they make great house dogs! Very much like the human male, they can be big babies!!! They like to be pampered and loved on and thrive on attention. Most of the time, they're quieter than the bitches.

The female on the other hand has earned her title (and wears it proudly) of being called a bitch and everything that the word may stand for! She is nobility at its best. She may even be the homeliest little thing that was ever born, or even the runt of the litter but don’t tell her that, because she’d never believe it. She’s too into herself strutting around like she owns the place. And if truth be told, she does (well in her own mind anyway)! She rules her domain by either being a showoff looking for endless adoration or ruling with a quiet dignified look to anyone that might challenge or doubt her. With her dark Hershey brown eyes, ears standing strong and centered resting on a fabulous feminine head well there's just nothing more breathtaking!

The bitches are definitely unique in how they view their world. They can be cunning, inquisitive, and sometimes oh so challenging! Living with bitches means there is never a dull moment. There is nothing funnier than when you see a 90 pound male submitting to the 58 pound “Queen Bee” as she steals his favorite toy only to drop it after she gets it. Then she runs over to put her teeth gently but firmly across his mouth to let him know she really didn’t want it at all but to let him know she can have it anytime she pleases! It’s like she’s saying, “I don’t really want it, but I don’t want you to have it either!” Can we say "Diva" here? Hmm…….sounds like some human bitches that I know of!

As far as watchdogs, both sexes of this breed are excellent, but sometimes the bitches can be just a little be nastier than her male housemate! She has to make up for all his bravado so what she may lack in strength, she makes up for in speed! They’re quick and it’s almost like their maternal instincts kick in when defending their human family and property. They’re very purpose driven; not being satisfied until they accomplish what they’ve set out to do. For sheer strength and power, you couldn’t want a more formidable defender than the male German Shepherd. He is not a dog that an intruder wants to find greeting him. But for sheer quickness and agility all the exercise and jogging in the world won’t save the perpetrator from the sheer cunning of the bitch of this breed! If you trespass on this breeds property, their goal is to get you and they’re going to “get you good!”

Living with the male German Shepherd he has learned how to manipulate his humans to get what he wants by surprising them with his “big baby” ways. Those big old brown “cow eyes” that hold you in his stare makes for some “laugh out loud” moments. Few can resist this big macho dog collapsing at your side for a belly rub. The bitch can be more demanding of your attention by moaning, groaning and whining when she feels her needs are not being met. If she were human, this would probably equate to the not so nice label of being called a “nag!” Oh they do keep us on our toes!

So no matter what sex you decide upon, living with a German Shepherd is always an adventure. You never know what your day is going to be like with these guys, but one thing is for certain, it’s never going to be boring. They make sure it’s not. They’re just too darn smart for that!

IS THE GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG A DESIGNER BREED?

What does the average person in America think a German Shepherd Dog looks like? Now clearly I’m not talking about a breeder or a show person. I’m talking about “John Doe” that lives down the street from you. How would he describe the German Shepherd Dog? What would he say he looks like? What would he say about the disposition of this breed of dog? Are we the breeders representing the German Shepherd Dog the way most people think of them? Or have we designed a dog that most people wouldn’t identify as the “average” German Shepherd?

If “John Doe” came to a dog show or if he looked up kennels on the internet, I dare say he would be faced with many different types of German Shepherd Dogs being represented. Just take a look on Facebook at all the breeders and the pictures of their dogs on there. I have never seen such a variety of German Shepherds in one place.

What does the general public think a German Shepherd Dog looks like? I bet if you asked them, a majority of them would probably describe a black and silver or black and light tan dog to you. They would probably describe an ordinary looking dog with a protective type of personality.

I was disappointed the other night when I was watching “The Dog Whisperer” and a poll was taken asking the general public which dogs were the most aggressive breed. I knew that the Pit Bull would be the first dog people would name. However, the German Shepherd was rated as being the most aggressive right under them and then followed by the Rottweiler! It doesn’t look like our breed has such a great reputation! I’d rather them be listed as a protection breed for their family and loved ones rather than an aggressive breed. It really is two different things, in my opinion.

If a person “Googled” the words German Shepherd in the search window, thousands of breeder’s names and kennels would come up. Now if you went on those web sites, many times you would see a dog that looks different from other people’s dogs on their websites. Oh sure you’d see the same noble looking head with his ears standing up straight on his head that most people would associate with this breed. But many times this is where the similarity would end. You’d see many different colors of the German Shepherd Dog’s coat. You’d see short coats and you’d see long coats. You’d see average sized dogs and monster bone sized dogs. You’d see American style German Shepherds and you’d see German style German Shepherds. You’d see light pigment. You’d see deep, dark Mahoney red pigment. They’d be straight backs and there would be roach back dogs. You’d see short backs and long backs. Some would stand straight and look boxy and others would be slopping with their rears close to the ground. This could all be very confusing to "John Doe" for he wouldn't know what the standard for our breed is. All he would know is that they all looked so different.

When one talks about one of “those” designer breeds, are we too not designers of our breed the German Shepherd Dog? If you were to look at the first picture of a German Shepherd when this breed first became recognized and look at it now, you would think that it is a different breed. So indeed, we as breeders have designed the German Shepherd Dog and how it looks today! We changed the whole look to the dog. In many ways for the better, I believe. But we have designed him to look a certain way and not the original way at all. I wonder what the breed will look like in another twenty years or so. Should we be changing the looks of the breed so much? We have a standard, but I see very few dogs look like what the standard calls for. Because a breeder is a designer of sorts, he will have bred for a certain style of dogs. Many kennels have generations of their lines in their breeding program and one only has to look at their dogs to know that this is from their kennel.

Are we all heading in the same direction with the same goal to breed the best representative of the German Shepherd that we can? Or are we all doing our own thing and designing a dog that doesn’t really fit to the standard at all? Take a look at the dogs on some people’s websites or on Facebook. Have we created a designer dog or do they look like the standard set for our breed? You decide!


My rating: Breeding to the standard: (4)

THROWING IN THE TOWEL

There has been unrest in the German Shepherd Dog community for quite some time now. I suppose it’s not unlike the unrest in the rest of the country. But I feel it deep down in my bones. It’s like there is something in the air that we breathe. A general state of unhappiness perforates that air. You can’t touch it. You can’t smell it. But nevertheless it’s there.

Like most of you I have access to communicating with the rest of the German Shepherd Dog community through e-mail lists, Facebook, and the good old fashioned way of on the telephone or in person. People are not as enthusiastic or excited about a new litter or a show coming up like they once were. Negativity has replaced hopefulness and the anticipation of a “new star” that is born. Some breeders are closing shop or at least cutting way back. The days of the big show dog kennels are becoming a thing of the past. More and more breeders are devoting their time and effort into helping with the rescue efforts. Some people just enjoy their dogs by training them for obedience work and then others still are just enjoying them as their devoted and loving pets.

When Specialty clubs close their doors and it becomes harder and harder to find a major pointed show, many people have become discouraged and don’t want to put in the extra work looking for a major. It’s almost like the German Shepherd community has taken a nap. Will they wake up and prosper and shine again? Or will they find other things to take up their time? Oh their love for the breed will never waver, but perhaps they have discovered that there are other ways to enjoy their dogs that they never did before.

Well known kennels tell me that they don’t want to show anymore and I laugh looking at their success record questioning their decision. But the last laugh is on me. They’re serious. When they tell me that they can’t even sell their top show puppies because there isn’t any show homes, then I realize that they are very much serious. What’s the sense in putting thousands of dollars into a breeding and you don’t have the show homes to sell them to? For some of these people they are now using local stud dogs or the ones that they have in their own kennels. It’s become a thing of economics and it’s forced some breeders to rethink their breeding programs.

Baby Boomers are now hitting their senior years and in some cases it has forced some to look at their priorities a little bit more. Let’s face it, housing and feeding a kennel full of dogs is expensive. And let’s not forget the wear and tear on our aging bodies. Even if we do age well, we’re still not like when we were in our twenties. And if you are not breeding these dogs like you used to, then you are spending lots of money to keep them comfortable for the rest of their lives. Many wisely decide to find loving, forever homes for their dogs rather than have them waste away in a kennel all day long. It has brought some people to their knees making the decision to let some of these wonderful animals go, but economics helps make that decision a little easier for them.

I have a few personal friends that have changed their view on breeding and showing dogs. All have been successful in their own ways……some in very big ways and others in smaller ways, but successful nevertheless. When I hear the words like, “It’s no longer any fun” or “Nothing excites me anymore” I immediately think that this is just a phase that they are going through. They’ll lay low for awhile and come the spring, “show dog fever” will hit them once again. Hey maybe that’s it. It’s the winter time and some people do tend to become a little more melancholy during the long, cold winter days. But I’m assured by them that no it’s not a seasonal blue period in their lives. It’s almost as if they are looking for greener pastures to explore. Some of them are all “showed out!”

The other thing I hear an awful lot of is the lack of support from the established breeders and exhibitors towards the “younger version” of themselves. Without a welcoming community for new people to come into, I’m afraid a hostile environment will only leave them cold and leave them never walking back into a show ring again. The days of noses up in the air, “I’m better than you,” has died a slow death and right along with it the very community of the future of the show dog. It can’t exist without the people needed to support it.

Will my friends and those others that are leaving the breeding and showing of the German Shepherd Dog behind “come to their senses” again or will their common sense prevail? Will they buy that little red sports car and vacation on Paradise Island spending their senior years sipping on Pina Coladas and partaking of tropical delicacies? Probably not. Will we still have things to talk about now that dogs are no longer a major focus of their lives? I hope so.

Our love for the German Shepherd Dog brought us together and a friendship was formed because of our shared interest and love for the breed. Hopefully that friendship will endure because we truly care about one another. They’ll probably still be German Shepherds in our lives even if it’s one of the “oldsters’ lying by our rocking chair, or just the memories that reach out to us from the pages of our photo albums. The dust might collect on the show win pictures hanging on our wall, but it will still be a reminder. We will remember because it was a good time to be in dogs and although the applause has come to a halt, the memories of it still linger in our mind and we remember it was the best time!


From the book "MY SO-CALLED FREELANCE LIFE"...."Since we’re all sh**ing our pants over the current economic situation, this book couldn’t come at a better time. My So-Called Freelance Life saunters its way through the ins and outs of becoming a successful solo professional, whether you’re a newly graduated 20-something trapped in a monotonous cubicle job or a new mom looking for flexible hours. Having accumulated a great deal of experience on the topic, Michelle Goodman (author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide) leaves no paperweight unturned, explaining how to get started, maintain a budget and schedule, gather/weed out clientele, and legally cover your a**. Goodman includes a bevy of relevant links, contacts, organizations, and advice on everything from negotiating your hourly rate to when to quit working for the Man. While her book thoroughly covers every fundamental career intricacy you can imagine, wit and hilarity are also seated firmly within. (She even quotes Peter Gallagher on The OC, thus actualizing the poetry of my heart.) Not only is this book an incredible guide on how to get started, but it’s also inspiring and oddly comforting. “You can’t hitch your entire creative career on one big break—or one fat failure,” Goodman writes, “you have to keep moving forward, reaching for bigger and better.” It’s a book you will feel compelled to keep in your personal library (probably between your college dictionary and your religious tome of choice), or you can be like me and sleep with it in your arms."


My rating: Retiring from dogs: (1 - 4), Developing other interests: (4)

WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU GOT GOOSE BUMPS?

Today I’d like to thank Liza (with a “Z”) Minnelli for today’s topic! You see I’m a big fan of “You Tube” and all the many entertaining videos of song and movies. So I was pulling up some of my all time favorite “Oldies but Goodies” songs of my youth. Anyway when you listen to one song, there are many other entertainers that sing their own version of the song. So this is how I came across some of the videos of this phenomenal entertainer.

Liza and I go back many years. You see when I was first married and I got my first German Shepherd puppy, we lived in a ground level apartment. She was a little coated bitch with the most marvelous temperament and had a zest for life. We had a neighbor that lived upstairs that liked to vacuum her apartment around eleven o’clock every night. None of my requests for her to turn her music down made a hill of beans to her. She also had a teenager son who liked to bang on his drums from morning to night. I was very young at the time and a lot more tolerant of annoying loud noises than I am today. So one day I went out and bought a newly released album (yes that’s what they had then…..no CD’s) of Liza Minnelli’s called “Liza with a Z”…….I must have heard a positive review about it on the television because I was not really familiar with her music. I was too busy listening to rock and roll.

Anyway I bought the album and became an immediate fan of hers because of her powerhouse voice (truly a daughter of her mother Judy Garland)and the way she interprets a song. And truth be told, I needed her “pipes” to drown out the rude people that lived upstairs. So that’s how I became familiar and very much appreciative of Liza’s music. I liked her so much, that I went and seen her in concert twice. Talk about star power. She “owned” the stage. She gave me goose bumps listening to her!

So my first German Shepherd was either enduring the loud drum practice of a teenage “not so good drum player” or the vocal pipes of an electrifying singer. As I said, she had excellent temperament and was very tolerant of anything that came her way. So where is this topic leading me to anyway?

There are times in our lives that literally give us goose bumps. How many of those goose bump moments have been related to the German Shepherd dog? When was the last time that you watched the National Specials class and one of those dogs took your breath away? Was it the Grand Victor or was it another Select dog that you liked a whole lot better but the judge had a different opinion? Or maybe you were crazy about the Grand Victor that had been chosen and watching him crowned gave you goose bumps.

Anyone that was at the 1985 National Specialty show surely can agree with me that that year’s Grand Victrix Ch Lynrik’s Kristal gave all the spectators a “goose bump” moment. She was handled by a very young and talented Leslie Dancosse. Kristal’s leash was dropped when Leslie took a minor misstep and the bitch continued to gait around the ring as if Leslie was still attached to the end of her lead. I’ll never forget it or the roar of the audience at watching this little bitch perform her little heart out. She was indeed what a Grand Victrix should be.

What about when you have a new litter and they start to gait across your backyard. One stands out from the rest. One begs you to “look at me”……”keep me, you’re not going to regret it.” She stops and sets herself up without any training to do so. She takes your breathe away. You run to the phone and call the stud dog owner and tell him, you have a future Grand Victrix in your kennel!

Perhaps you’ve entered one of your dogs in a performance arena and he got a perfect score. All your hard work and training paid off and you were beaming with pride at the athletic abilities of your dog being realized. He looks up into your eyes as if to say, “We did good mom!” And indeed, he has!

Maybe you are one of the hard working, unselfish rescue workers that are called upon time and time again to help the “unfortunates” of our beloved breed. You could write a book about all that you have witnessed. You are not in it for any rewards or blue ribbons. You’re in it for the most simplest of reasons. You just plain old “give a damn!” Your reward is seeing another German Shepherd rescued and placed into his “forever” home. When a dog is down to his last day in the shelter before he’s getting ready to meet his maker and you walk and sometimes literally run into the shelter just in time, well damn if that isn’t a “goose bump” moment, I don’t know what is!

Your child loves dogs and he would love to become more involved with them so he helps groom them, he helps train them and then he asks you, “Mom can I show Duke myself in the ring? Can I please Mom?” Well your chest swells with pride at your child’s request and sure you’ll give him the chance to show his own dog. When he takes his feet into the ring for the very first time and he looks in your direction and sees you clapping for him, his eyes light up and a smile escapes his lips, you just know that you’re watching a “handler in the making!” You bet it’s a goose bump moment!

Having a senior dog that can barely walk because he’s crippled with arthritis respond to a medicine or supplement that puts a new spring in his step, gives you hope for your old guys later years and this too is a "goose bump" moment.

The pride of German Shepherd ownership or any dog for that matter brings along with it some very special ‘goose bump’ moments. From the wet, sloppy kiss planted on the new baby in the house, to the guardianship of that baby, to looking out the window for little “Johnny” getting off the bus……..all “goose bump: moments. It is not after all, just about the show wins, it’s about truly living each day with these exceptional dogs. To miss a moment with them means you may have deprived yourself of one of those “goose bump” moments. All you need to do is pay attention……its coming!

LIFE WITH SKIPPER - GUEST WRITER - KATHY SATER-PARTCH

I feel so very fortunate when people reach out to me and send me pictures to look at or wonderful stories to read. I love receiving them. Many times someone will read what I wrote and it will remind them of something in their own life and then they generously share it with me. I've made myself some new friends this way and I thank you all for reaching out to me. Recently Kathy Sater-Partch contacted me telling me how much she liked one of the stories that I wrote. She sent me this story of her own and I was so impressed that I asked for her permission to share it here with my readers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did and I thank Kathy for sharing it with us.

If any of you would like to share your stories or pictures with me and would like to see them on my blog, please forward them to me for my review and perhaps we can get them here as well. So here is Kathy's beautifully written heartfelt story. Enjoy!

Life with Skipper
1967 – 1975

Kathy Sater-Partch

Hold on to the memories of our animal friends. Let your heart reach out and touch the things that happened to those we loved so dearly. Take a deep breath and make a carbon copy of your feelings. And then ask yourself, “Why are these memories so important?” Think about where these thoughts have taken you. It is often on a journey of pride and laughter, but also one of worry, sighs and tears. The experiences of living with our animal friends can happen in ways that are unexpected, wild and fast. These endeavors, positive and negative have greatly enriched my soul.

Our German Shepherd Dog, Skipper, was a very special nine-month-old puppy my husband Joe had given me October 9, 1967. It was the second day after we married. Skipper was my first German Shepherd Dog. The beautiful shepherd came with many fine qualities. He was exceptionally gorgeous, displaying a rich dark black and tan coat, black eyes, a beautiful masculine chiseled head, and a heart designed to give full devotion. He lived most of his life with us on a small hobby ranch in Welch, Minnesota in the late sixties and early seventies. He was fantastic with our horses, cows, cats, dogs, puppies and children. Skipper was with us for nearly eight years until one day he was taken down in a dog fight on his place. He was attacked by three large dogs. This was deeply heartbreaking, and it brought such a magnitude of sadness. He couldn’t recover from his wounds.

Skipper was buried on his place in the year of 1975. We now believe without question that his spirit still roams that place he so dearly loved and protected.

Let me go back in joyful memory to when Joe first brought Skipper home to me. There had to be no other person in this entire world as happy as I was at that moment. Since I was a very small child, all I could see were dogs and horses. Some years later it was Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Bullet and other famous canine friends I loved so much. Even though both of my parents were raised on farms, neither one of them wanted to continue to have animals after they married. All I cared about as a child was anything that had fur on it. No dolls for me. Dogs and horses were my greatest love. As the years went by with my parents, I did have the privilege of a few cats, a bunny, fish and turtles. Weekly visits to my grandmother and grandfather’s farms brought me much joy with their dogs and other farm animals.

I have to smile. Some years after Joe and I married, my mother and father then got their first German Shepherd Dog, a puppy they named Kelly. I guess it just happened for them. They were at the right place and time, and Kelly picked them for her new family. She was a beautiful black and silver. Mother and father were blessed with this stunning, healthy, good tempered companion. They experienced many fantastic years with Kelly. As she lived her life, she gave much joy to many. I truly believe each and every animal born is a blessing for those who love them.

When Joe left that early morning the second day of our marriage to search for our first German Shepherd Dog, he had no idea how the day would start or end. When I think back, how could he even think he could just go out and get any German Shepherd Dog to bring back home with him? He knew of no German Shepherd Dog breeders in the area, nor any other source to achieve this goal. But for some reason, when he left the house that day he believed that he was coming home with a German Shepherd. We still reminisce about this amazing goal he set out to accomplish. Joe drove right to a rescue place he knew of not far from our home. When he arrived, he got out of his pickup, and just looked around for a while at the kennels that held quite a few different breeds. Then a caretaker approached Joe and asked if he could help. “Yes, I would really like to find a German Shepherd Dog to take home with me today,” Joe replied back. “It can be a female or a male, it doesn’t matter.” The caretaker thought for a moment and said, “Gosh, at the moment, when I think about it, we don’t have any shepherds at this time.”

So Joe looked around some more and came upon a gorgeous Malamute staring back at him with incredibly intense ice-blue eyes.” Joe really was impressed by his handsome face and large masculine size until the dog did a low rumbling growl at him. “I don’t think you need or want this dog because we have found him to have some serious aggression issues,” the caretaker said in a firm voice. Being a bit disappointed, Joe said, “I’m just going to walk around for a while and keep looking.” The caretaker followed behind. Joe was becoming more aware of what he was hearing in the background. It was loud enough for him to take notice, but not until he was there for some time did he realize the barking and whining was coming from a pump-house not far away. Joe asked the caretaker, “Why do you have a dog locked up in there?” “What kind of dog is that?” The caretaker looked a bit sheepish at that point and was having a bit of a problem finding the correct reply. “Oh yes, by the way, hmmm, now that I think about, we do have a shepherd that just came in and we put him in the pump-house for the time being.” Surprised at the caretaker’s suspicious answer, Joe asked immediately to see the dog. When the caretaker brought the beautiful intact German Shepherd Dog puppy out of the pump-house, it was love right from the start. The dog was very exuberant and, of course, immensely pleased he was finally out of his little prison. Oh yes, this was a weird situation, and Joe didn’t want to ask any other questions except for one more, “How much are you asking for him?” “I’m asking thirty-five dollars,” the man said. “Will you take twenty-five dollars?” Joe replied. And the caretaker said, “Yes.” The young shepherd jumped willing into Joe’s pickup, and off they drove. When I first saw my dog, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I really can’t say to this day why we named him Skipper. The name just came up from what I remember; we both agreed, and that was it. By the next day, the puppy was coming to his new name, Skipper. Life was good.

I was delighted this young shepherd was so sociable with my palomino mare, Goldie. It was almost like Skipper had possibly been with horses before. We had many wonderful rides together. Skipper would run along with Goldie and me in beautiful open fields near a lake where we lived. My new puppy seemed very happy, and I was so pleased with him. I never tied Skipper up, and he always stayed near the house or in it. He was always friendly with strangers that would drop by. Maybe at that time I felt he was a bit too friendly for a German Shepherd Dog, but he was young yet. As a matter of fact, he was so friendly at times I worried someone would take him. But one day Skipper proved himself to be worthy of a great watch dog. The oil man came to fill our tank that was down in our basement area of the small house we were renting. As the man parked his truck in the driveway, he rolled down the window and asked if he could get out of his truck. I said, “Sure, Skipper’s okay with everyone.” Skipper followed me up the steps, and we were standing together on its small porch waiting for the oil man to bring his hose to the back door and down the basement steps. When the man took his second step up to the porch Skipper wouldn’t let him come any further. He got between me and the oil man and that was as far as he was going to let him go. Skipper displayed a curled lip and gave a fierce growl to back it up. The man was furious with me and slowly backed away. I apologized for my dog’s reactions. I read Skipper’s message, and immediately brought him into the kitchen area where we waited together while the man finished filling the tank. So, that’s when I learned about those famous last words, “Its okay. My dog loves everyone!”

Some months later, Joe gave me a nine month old registered dark bay quarter horse stallion named the Kid. I raised, trained and showed him in halter and western pleasure. Skipper and the Kid became best friends. Skipper would travel to almost every show with the Kid. It was always a complete joy to share Skipper’s beauty and uniqueness with others. I actually had taken Skipper’s awesome temperament for granted, just thinking that this was the true nature of all German Shepherd Dogs. I was only twenty-one years of age and yes, I had a lot more to learn about my animals and life in general.

We continued to share many awesome times together. Joe and I came home one day when Skipper was about a year old, only to find he had totally torn my whole house apart. He ate an entire pound of butter plus bread to go with it. He shredded all my new towels and pillows. There wasn’t one thing he didn’t miss, right down to a favorite large teddy bear my late grandfather Sater had given me when I was a teenager. That bear was totally unrecognizable. I do have to laugh at this now because I saw the remains of the bear scattered all over the living room floor. But the funniest of all, with thousands of bits and pieces lying about, placed neatly in one corner of our living room were the bear’s two eyes and nose next to each other. They were actually making a face all by themselves on the floor. I’ll never forget that. How in the world did Skipper do that?

In May of 1997, just before we made our big move from Minnesota to Arizona, we wanted to drive by our old hobby ranch one more time. We had fourteen wonderful years of great memories there. Joe and I left on a quiet Sunday morning to visit the old farm. As we were nearing the scene of many memories we had left behind, we drove slowly along the old fence line we worked so hard to put up for our horses back then. We were amazed to see that the fence was still standing, but the rusted wire leaned heavily on its weary wooden posts. We finally stopped by the beginning of the long-winding driveway that led to our custom built house and barn. By now, my heart was beating with excitement and along with that, some sadness fell upon me as many memories raced through my mind. The numerous trees that lined the farms driveway were now unrecognizable. Their growth made our handmade archway at the end of the drive look insignificant. The archway, still standing, now had a slight lean due to its period of enduring years.

Within seconds of our stop by the long driveway, we couldn’t believe what we set eyes upon. There before us stood a mature beautiful black and tan German Shepherd Dog. He stepped slowly out of the thick woods. The shepherd just stood there looking at us with his long full tail wagging slowly back and forth in anticipation. He carried a stunning head with black eyes that seemed to look attentively into our souls. This was the exact thing Skipper would do when we would come home, and stop at the end of the driveway to retrieve our mail. It absolutely took our breath away. I looked at Joe and said, "Can you believe what we’re looking at?" “I know," he said with a big sigh. The shepherd, with his welcoming body language, was a carbon copy of our late Skipper. With all the many breeds, coat colors, and gender, how could this particular dog display himself at precisely this exact moment in time?

Many years after Skipper’s death, Joe and I feel that his spirit manifested itself in a way we’ll never forget. Losing Skipper like we did has left a very deep, dark hole in our hearts, and it seems to have haunted us forever. I couldn't stay one minute longer by the end of that driveway. I asked Joe to drive on as I started to shed tears. The beautiful shepherd watched us drive slowly away. I looked back one more time in disbelief as the dog receded into the thick wooded terrain he came from and disappeared.


Treasures of Skipper

Please soften my last memory of you,
For your departure was all too unkind.
Your photos from the past ache in my heart,
A German Shepherd Dog you were so fine.

Glory in all things you accomplished,
Set free your legend to tell.
For you were revealed in your lineage,
And I gloried in their wonders as well.

A spirit so powerful yet lost in a flash,
Brought back in that one special day,
One day meant to be so long ago,
In this memory you’ll always stay.

You were of grand elegance,
A masculine dog hence defined.
My dog of much gentleness and spirit,
A German Shepherd Dog of infinite design.

© Kathy Sater-Partch

My rating:  Stories about German Shepherd Dogs: (4)

COMMON SENSE WHEN THINGS START HEATING UP

Well the spring shows have been under way now for the last couple of months. Some Futurities are already finished and the owners of the top winning dogs are dreaming of the National Specialty show to enter the futurity finals. Some dogs have finished their championships already and others are on the same quest. Congratulations to the owners of these fabulous animals!

As the days get warmer, traveling to dog shows with food in the car becomes more of a challenge. For extended trips, I always carry a food cooler in my car. If I am staying over night at a hotel, I need to bring my dog’s food with me in something that will keep it cold and prevent it from going bad. Because I always add meat to my dog’s food, I must have a place to store it in my car until I get to the hotel. This is also a place for me to carry my drinks, sandwiches or snacks that I might want to eat on the road.

I like a cooler that is large enough to put small containers of my dog’s meat in. Sometimes you can use large freezer zip lock bags to keep the food fresh and this can save you room in the cooler so you can pack other things in there as well. Unless it’s a very large cooler, you might not be able to keep your dog’s water in it. Sometimes you may have to carry two coolers just for this purpose. You can also carry ice packs in the cooler in case your dog or you over heats.

My dogs as I’ve said before are excellent eaters. So I like to keep some treats for them that I can keep in the refrigerator for a cool snack. I keep hard boiled eggs on the shelves for both the dogs as myself as well. They’re nice and cold and loaded with protein so it’s a cooling and healthful snack for them to enjoy. I also give them cold veggies like baby carrots to satisfy their need for something crunchy and refreshing at the same time.

Speaking of over heating, the up coming hotter weather is the most dangerous time of the year to travel with dogs. It’s common sense, but it still needs to be said, don’t leave your dog in the car with the windows rolled up or even with a little crack in the top of the window while you run in the store to do a quick errand. The temperatures can climb so quickly and soon the car becomes a furnace with your dog burning up inside. Some people like to take their dogs with them everywhere. The hot weather is one of those times that you should just leave your dog at home.

If you are traveling to shows with your dog, pay close attention to your dog. Grooming him and preparing him for the show ring and then showing him can over heat your dog very quickly and can lead to heat stroke. Add to that the excitement the dog feels at a show and it can be a set up for a disaster if one is not careful and watchful of his dog. Keep your dog well hydrated. Many times the show grounds have a hook up for water hoses. One must be very careful, however when hosing a dog down. If you put him back in the hot car in his crate, he can heat up very quickly and the inside of the car can become like a sauna for the dog. This also can be true if you lay a wet towel in his crate. Initially it may be cool for the dog, but within a few minutes it will heat up and instead of cooling him down, it will have the reverse effect on him.

At any dog show, most people will look for the shadiest spot to park their car or van. Unfortunately those are the spots people fight to get and unless you get to the show grounds VERY early, those few spots will have been taken by the time you do get there. Providing adequate shade for your dogs is a must! Some people put their dog’s crate outside of the car under an awning that they have brought with them for this purpose. The main goal is to keep your dog as comfortable as you possibly can in hot temperatures. It’s not unheard of that some dogs have lost their lives in this type of weather. Make sure that your dog gets plenty of water to keep him hydrated.

For those that are lucky enough to own a motor home, keeping the show dog in this air-conditioned “home away from home” is a luxury many of us can’t afford. Don’t be too surprised if your dog doesn’t want to leave the comforts of the motor home to go out in the hot temperatures just to run around in a circle. You might find the time that he does the most pulling at the end of the leash is on his way back to the air-conditioned “giant!”

If you keep your dog outside for most of the day, again make sure he has proper shade and always plenty of clean fresh water. I’d rather leave my dog in a crate with air conditioning during the hottest times of the day than outside. If you work or have to leave the house for longer periods of time during the day, you can set the air conditioner lower just as long as it’s set at a comfortable temperature.

Investing in an inexpensive kid’s plastic pool can be a God send for the outside dog. Most dogs love to lay down in it to cool their hot tummies and feet. Just make sure you change the water and keep it clean and cool for your dogs. Mosquitoes larvae can build up in it if you don’t’ keep it clean. Spraying your dog with the hose can be cooling for him as well. Some dogs love to run through the sprinkler system on your lawn if you let them. Keeping them cool and comfortable should be your main goal.

Dark dogs feel the heat even more than other dogs do. The sun is naturally drawn to the dark dog’s coat. You might find him heating up quicker than some of your other dogs. My “Rajah” (the dark male pictured at the top of this blog) used to love lying out in the plastic pool outside on the back lawn. When I moved, I no longer had a pool for my two dogs. Both he and “Nuance” were my house dogs. When I went to work, they stayed in the house together all day. One day when I was home, I noticed that just Nuance was by my side in the house. Where was Rajah I wondered? So I quietly went around the house to see if I could find out what he was doing. When I didn’t locate him in the main part of the house, I went in to my bedroom. He wasn’t there. So I went in to my master bath, and lo and behold there he was! He didn’t have his beloved swimming pool outside any more so he made due with my bath tub! Yup he was lying in the bath tub. It didn’t have any water in it, but it must have been so cooling for his big 105 lb. body. I grabbed my camera (he wasn’t going anywhere), and I took a picture of him. I have that picture someplace in my storage. I wish I had it to show you with this article. Oh well, another time. But these dogs know what they need to keep themselves comfortable!

If you walk your dog everyday, don’t do it in the middle of the day when it’s the hottest outside. The best time of day to walk him is in the morning or evening when it’s a bit cooler. You’ll both be a lot happier.

If your dog does live outside, it is imperative that besides adequate fresh, cool water that he has shade and shelter from the elements. Provide your dog with a dog house that is insulated to help give him some relief from the extremes of the weather.

Basically all of this stuff is just good old fashioned common sense, but you’d be surprised how some people lack it when it comes to the proper care of their dogs in the hot weather. It’s as though they are suffering from oxygen starvation or heat stroke themselves. We can do for ourselves. The animals can’t. They depend on us. Take care of them first so you can all rest comfortably because believe me dealing with an animal that is under stress from the heat is not a pretty sight. Prevention is crucial to your dog’s safety. Just remember, if you don’t want to be out in the heat for any length of time, neither does your dog. He feels the heat a lot more than you do.


My rating: hot weather and your dog: (1), water readily available: (4), shade and shelter: (4)

DOG SHOW TERMINOLOGY

I wrote some of this a few years ago with a different title. Today I deleted some of it and added some other things to it. This piece is light and doesn't take itself too seriously.

DOG SHOW TERMINOLOGY (total and complete satire)
By
Barbara J. Galasso

BREEDER:
Breeding 1-10 years...... Associates Degree in "Thinks he knows it all!"
Breeding 10-20 years.....Bachelors Degree in "Probably knows it all!"
Breeding 20-30 years.....Masters Degree in "Definitely knows it all!"
Breeding 30-40 years.....Ph.D. Degree in "Wondering if this is all there really is to know?"

EXHIBITOR/OWNER:
One sport/hobby where more time and energy is put in to the dog being better groomed and polished than the owner.

JUDGES:
Wined, dined, bought off, told off…………. Gets no respect. Damned if he does/damned if he doesn’t. If he puts your dog up, he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. If he doesn’t put your dog up, he’s the biggest idiot that ever stepped inside a dog ring!

HANDLERS:
The only “JOB” where the “Employee” gets more respect than the “Employer!”

HANDLER DECIDING WHICH CLIENT TO SHOW FOR AT THE NATIONAL:
Client # 1 offers: trip to Hawaii
Client # 2 offers: Rolex watch
Client # 3 offers: new car
Client # 4 offers: $10,000 bonus
Client # 5 offers: the usual handling fee and expenses and a $100 bonus.

If you think that the handler choose client 1-4, you’re Luke warm. If you think he decided to handle for poor slob Client #5, which planet are you living on? Seems the handler renegotiated his contract. While cruising in his new convertible in sunny Hawaii, he checks his Rolex watch and decides to give his financial adviser a call to discuss where best to invest his $10,000 bonus while somewhere else in the United States, a mediocre but very expensive Grand Victor was recently crowned.

DOUBLE HANDLER:
The only time you can see adults return to their “Inner Child” by running around in circles, squeaking toys, blowing whistles, ringing bells and running in to one another while making a total fool of themselves and no one has them committed.

SHOW PUPPY PROSPECT:
The only time a consumer pays top money for something that’s has a “possibility” of turning out special rather than an expectation of it being so. Imagine buying a new house or a car with this kind of thinking, “I have no expectation of this being anything other than a “possibility” of something special.”

CHAMPION: This is some people’s only real “claim to fame” in life. You would think that they just gave birth to it. Some of them walk around with the dog like he’s some sort of ornament or expensive designer bag hanging off of their arm.

STUD DOG: This is the dog that is getting more “action” than the owner of the house and getting paid for it!

BITCH: At a dog show this is the only place where there are more bitches outside the ring than in it!

DOG SHOWS: Where like minded people gather. Some may be people that haven’t talked to one another for years but all of a sudden they’re like one another’s best friends. They see you. They grin from ear to ear. Kiss, kiss on the cheek. Hug, hug, glad tidings are exchanged……”Here sit down next to me. Oh, what a lovely looking dog you’ve got there.” Laughter can be heard all around the ring. People are enjoying themselves. Then the show is over. People get up to leave. Promises of “I’ll call you” are the last words they hear as they gather their belongings and get in the car waving good-bye to one another. Driving down the road the passenger turns to the driver and says, “Did you get a load of that one? Why I wouldn’t be seen dead with a dog that looked like the one she had.” How soon they forget the well-wishes exchanged only hours ago when they are once again “out of sight, out of mind!”

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP: What’s that? At a dog show? "You got to be kidding me! You expect me to congratulate you when your dog just beat mine? Let's get real. What planet are you from anyway?”

DOG FOOD: Where owners spend more time reading the labels on the side of a bag of dog food than the ingredient label of the potato chips that they’re shoving down their own throats.

DOG SUPPLEMENTS: This is when one breeder is explaining to another breeder the significance of using the $100 supplement she uses on her dogs because it’s better for their health than the one her friend is using while she herself is puffing away and chocking on her second pack of cigarettes for the day.

DOG GROOMING SUPPLIES: The dog is bathed with $30 shampoos and conditioners and looks like a million bucks. His owner on the other hand spends $1.50 for the store’s genetic brand to wash her own lifeless dull looking hair.

GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG CLUB OF AMERICA NATIONAL SPECIALTY:
Where pockets are filled with money upon arriving and nary a penny can be found upon leaving.

AKC - AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB - (stands for):
ACTIVELY KNOWN COLLECTOR of funds.

PARENT CLUB ELECTION TIME:
The only time the “so called big shot” will talk to you is when he’s running for office and looking for your vote. He promises you the moon if you vote for him. He sells it. You buy it. And at the end of his two year term, he’s no closer to keeping his promises than you are to getting to the moon!


From the product: "EARTHBATH ALL NATURAL OATMEAL AND ALOE SHAMPOO"......Oatmeal and aloe are recommended by veterinarians to effectively combat skin irritation, promote healing, and re-moisturize dry skin. Combine these natural wonders with vanilla and almond oils and your pet will smell as good as she feels and looks.

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* Soap-free shampoo
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My rating: Having a good sense of humor when raising and showing dogs: (4)

THIS I KNOW FOR SURE

THIS I KNOW FOR SURE
by
Barbara J. Galasso

No matter how nice a breeding looks on paper, the results may not be what the dogs pedigrees dictates that it should be.

No matter how great the two animals are that you breed together, a champion it does not guarantee.

You can breed a decent male to a decent female, and end up with superstar offspring.

Most litters produce more pet puppies than show puppies, and all puppies regardless of quality belong in the best homes we as breeders can find for them.

Sometimes in this sport of dog shows, it's not always what you know, but who you know.

No matter how long you've been in this breed, some people never have a champion.

No matter how short of a time you've been in this breed, some people have more
champions than those who have been in it longer and never had one.

No matter how many litters you’ve bred and how successful those litters were, most breeders are hoping that the next litter is even better.

When you show under a certain judge one day and he puts your dog up for Winners, he's your hero, when you show under him another time, and you're dead last, he's a bum and a crook.

Long gone are the days that we used to see 20 -25 dogs in the Open class at a regional Specialty, now we're lucky if you see this many in the Open class at the National Specialty level.

Dog folks can be a fickle group of people, nice to your face, and later that same day making AT&T wealthy by tying up the telephone lines with the latest gossip that includes your name.

Dog shows can bring out the best in the worst of people, and can also bring out the worst in the best of people.

Many long standing friendships have been lost, because they have allowed the dogs to come between them.

If you tell a competitive, jealous “friend” about the new exciting puppy that you have high hopes for, you can be guaranteed she’ll tell you about her “better” superstar puppy that she’s waiting to bring out to the shows.

You tell a fellow breeder you’re thinking of breeding to the young well bred dog that lives in the next town. You are read the riot act and told about every possible genetic fault that you can have in your puppies. You breed to him anyway and have no problems. The other breeder breeds to Grand Victor “Joe Blow” and the puppies are a genetic nightmare.

No matter which dog food you feed, which grooming table you use, which coat conditioner you have been successful using, someone is always waiting to tell you they have a better way of doing it.

No matter how long a breeder has been breeding dogs, if someone asks what problems their lines carry, they will tell you their lines don't carry any major faults, just maybe a long coat once in awhile.

Sometimes judges are chosen strictly because of their "name" and popularity, not necessarily because they are the best judge to do the job.

The same people in the breed that were nice twenty years ago are still nice today. The same people that were unfriendly, quarrelsome and not so nice twenty years ago still display their not so nice ways today.

Honesty among breeders about their animal’s good qualities as well as the faults of their bloodlines will insure for years to come the betterment of the health of our beloved breed.

There is more competition going on outside the ring then inside of it!

The German Shepherd Dog is the best breed on the planet. They could surely teach their owners a thing or two about how to get along in this world.

This I know for sure, no matter how long we've been in this magnificent breed and think we know everything there is to know, one day we get a "wake up call", get knocked down a couple of pegs and realize living with the German Shepherd Dog was never really about us teaching them, as it was about them teaching us!


My rating: healthy competition is good: (4)


Presenting the Great, New Third Edition of the Most Respected Book in Print on the German Shepherd in the English Language. From the time Captain Max von Stephanitz undertook the development of the modern German Shepherd just before the turn of the 20th Century to the present, dog enthusiasts have been quick to recognize the versatility, trainability, and desirability of the universally beloved Shepherd and have taken the breed to their collective heart.

Since 1974 The German Shepherd Today has been recognized as the most definitive source of information for all who glory in von Stephanitz's living legacy. Now, in its third magnificent edition, this great masterwork is more meaningful than ever to the unique fellowship that has the German Shepherd as its common bond. Here you can explore the German Shepherd's roots and the work of the visionaries that launched his fortunes. There is vital information all owners, new or old, need to make the most of sharing their lives with these remarkable dogs. For whatever reason you have been drawn to the German Shepherd and for whatever information needs you have regarding the breed and your relationship to it, you will find all you seek-and more-in the new third edition of The German Shepherd Today. And with the text Shepherd fans recommend to each other, is a large gallery of beautiful photos, enlightening diagrams, pedigrees, and statistics you will find as absorbing as the dog you call your own. The best one remains on top.

IN THE BEGINNING

Several years ago I wrote this little spoof. I've just re-tweaked it and added a little more to it and changed the ending. I got a chuckle out of writing it. I hope you enjoy it.

IN THE BEGINNING
By
Barbara J. Galasso

In the beginning, God created woman and he called her Eve and all was well. Or so he thought…..

One day God came to visit our little Ms. Eve in the Garden of Eden to see how she was doing. “So Eve dear, how do you like your garden which I planted for you with yellow buttercups, orange tulips and beautiful blue irises?” “Oh it’s alright I suppose,” Eve answers unthankfully, but I was hoping for a garden of red roses instead. God replaces her garden with weeds.

The next day the Lord returns to see if Eve is in any better spirits. He asks her how she likes the abundant amount of fresh fruits and vegetables he has bestowed upon her. “Well to tell you the truth, I was so hoping for a surf and turf dinner,” the ungrateful Ms. Eve replies. Poof……all the fresh fruit and vegetables are gone except for a lone apple on a tree with a serpent slithering close by.

Now on the third day, the Lord being of a kind and generous spirit decides to give our little resident in the Garden of Eden one last chance to show her gratefulness. “So Eve, how are we doing today?” his patient voice asks. “I’m lonely. That’s how I’m doing today,” an agitated Eve answers. “All I have are these wooly lambs, and fat piglets, and those scaly fish in that pond over there to keep me company.” “Well what would you like instead to keep you company Eve?” the Lord asks. Eve rests her head on her chin and says, “Hmm, I’ve been giving this some thought. I need someone to listen to me when I tell him my problems. You know someone who won’t judge me. I want him to be smart, but not smarter than me. He must be obedient and trustworthy. He must help me keep these gardens and grass clean. He needs to share the work load around here! The Lord rolls his eyes and wonders if bringing woman in to the world first was a good idea after all. Eve’s eyes light up and she says, “I know what I need. I need a partner to share the Garden of Eden with.” Just then the winds begin to kick up as the tree tops sway to and fro. A storm is brewing on the horizon. There’s a rustling in the bushes. Eve turns around to see what’s making all that noise and out trots a German Shepherd Dog with his tail wagging and his tongue sticking out of his mouth making him look goofy. The Lord sees a look of bewilderment come over Eve’s face. “What is that?” Eve asks totally shocked. As the Lord begins to walk away, he says to her, “Well you wanted a companion who was obedient and trustworthy. You wanted someone to share your work load with. He’ll listen to all your problems and he’ll never judge you. With that, the dog lets out a big bark as if in agreement. Startled, Eve jumps back away from the intruding animal. “Sometimes I don’t send you what you ask for Eve, but instead what you need.” Before she can answer him, he disappears in the clouds.

Confident that Eve has nothing more to complain about, the Lord returns to the Garden of Eden the next day looking forward to hearing positive things. “Well my dear, I trust all is well with you today” he says as he strokes the head of the affectionate dog that comes to greet him. “All is not well,” the grumpy Eve says. That horrible beast herded all the sheep to the next pasture and they never came back. Then he ate all the piglets and afterwards went in to the pond with the smelly fish and now he stinks. He’s left his smelly droppings all over my lovely lawn and lifted his leg on my beautiful fragrant flowers. And he lay down next to me all night long breathing in my face with his hot breath never leaving my side. He is definitely not what I wanted when I asked for a companion.” The Lord decides it is time to teach Eve a lesson. With that, the skies open wide with a loud clap of thunder. Something falls from the sky and lands over on the sandy shore by the pond. Eve runs over to investigate the object laying there. All of a sudden it moves. It turns over and scratching his head, looks up at her and says, “Gee, I didn’t know you were going to be so chubby. Oh well woman, your man’s home and what’s for supper and where are my slippers?” The dog upon seeing the man wags his tail enthusiastically and lets out a loud welcoming bark. Just then the snake who was observing all this from that infamous tree moves out on the branch so Eve can see him. Eve raises an eyebrow and gives the dog a dirty look and turns an evil eye to the man. She says to him with all the sarcasm she can muster, “You’re hungry, are you? How about a nice Shepherd’s pie for supper?” she says, once again looking over at the dog. The dog whimpers and puts his ears back lowering himself on the ground next to the man. Eve stands there with her hands on her hips wondering what she ever did to deserve these two. “Well let me see what I can offer you to eat,” Eve says moving closer to the tree that harbors the sleazy little serpent and “that” apple. Because of the dog’s devotion to Adam, he tries to trip the man as the man eagerly runs to the seductive Ms. Eve who’s dangling the ruby red apple from her dainty little hand. And as they say, the rest is history. And so God truly made the German Shepherd to be man’s best friend because he saw that man couldn’t take care of himself as was evident in the Garden of Eden. Try as he may, through the ages the German Shepherd dog has tried to lead the blind men of this world away from the seductive daughters and granddaughters of Eve. And as for little Ms. Eve, well she knew that God created woman to bring to man trouble so the German Shepherd could fulfill his destiny. After all, she didn’t want to interfere in God’s plans for his creations. Women are thoughtful like that! And God was pleased.


NO PART OF THIS STORY MAY BE REPRODUCED OR USED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR!


Taken from the book: "James Herriot's Dog Stories: Warm and Wonderful Stories About the Animals Herriot Love's Best".....Readers of Herriot's four classics and viewers of the PBS series will recognize many of these stories, which will still bring a smile or a tear to the eyes of dog lovers. Each of the 50 stories is preceded by a pen-and-ink sketch. Following each story, there are one or two paragraphs of Herriot's philosophy, outlook on life, and reminiscences about the dogs he has known. In these accounts he illustrates the various reactions of the dogs to the vet who treats them, thus providing the psychological side of animal doctoring. Especially interesting and enlightening are the descriptions of treatments given in the '30s as compared to what research has put into the hands of today's vet. A good choice for dog lovers.


My rating: Be careful what you ask for: (4)

WHEN THE MIGHTY EMPIRE CRUMBLES

That's me in the picture at the top of this article back in the early 90's, and no that isn't a German Shepherd Dog, but I love all dogs and that little guy belonged to my sister in law. I send this blog out to four different German Shepherd Dog e-mail lists. However, I also belong to other e-mail lists as well. One of those lists is for all breeds of dogs whether it’s for show dogs, breeding dogs or pet dogs. It doesn’t matter, just as long as you love dogs and are looking to share information about them. Many times I’ll read some of those e-mails and it’s about topics or questions I may not see on my German Shepherd Dog lists. This morning someone was writing about a “little lost soul” Pit Bull puppy that once lived in her neighborhood. She was saying that this little puppy was being mistreated by her owners. The puppy was tied up all day without any human companionship. She would break loose from her chains and this woman would come to her rescue. She felt very sorry for the puppy and would care for it until the owners returned. This woman even went so far as to have the puppy micro-chipped with her own contact information in case she got lost.


Well one day this is exactly what happened. The puppy did get lost. She got the call when the puppy was found and brought to a shelter. They checked her for micro-chips and that is how she knew the puppy was there. They said she was to be put to sleep the next day if she wasn’t claimed. She must have told them who the real owners were so they could be contacted. It seems that the owners didn’t have enough money to take the dog back home again. The puppy was put to sleep and the caring neighbor is beating herself up for not going to get the puppy. She said she thinks about this puppy every day.


Another person writes about a min/pin tied up in the back yard in the harsh cold of winter. This is a type of breed that doesn’t have an insulated coat to protect him from the unkind elements of the frigid cold. She says she sees this little dog shriving and crying on a daily basis. She’s called the authorities but everything remains the same for this little guy. She wants to steal him, but knows that is out of the question unless she enjoys sitting locked away in a jail for who knows how long. In these instances, these stories are about other breeds of dogs. But it could be just as well written for a German Shepherd puppy or adult that sits on death roll in some shelter anywhere in the United States.


I’ve told this story a long time ago, but never on my blog so I will tell it again in case it may help even just one dog. I lived in the Atlanta Georgia area back in the early 90’s. I lived in a beautiful residential area where children played and many people owned pets. Across the street from us were neighbors that had two children and a beautiful female Cocker Spaniel puppy. She was maybe about 12 -16 weeks old. Both husband and wife worked all day, while the children went to school all day. I wondered why they got a puppy to begin with if there wasn’t anyone there to take care of her. They used to confine her on the front porch with a “makeshift” type of barrier at the top of the steps to keep her barracked in. Well like any puppy that is left for too long of a time, it’s going to look to try to escape. Time after time, she did just that.


Every time this puppy got off the front porch, she’d find her way over to my house. She was adorable as most Cocker Spaniel puppies are. But man oh man, was she ever fresh!!! She had absolutely no training or discipline which was understandable for being by herself all day. She just loved to use my hand as a teething “toy” until I trained her to let her know that it wasn’t. Wow……was she stubborn! She insisted on chewing on my hand. I insisted that she wasn’t going to use it for that purpose. This became a battle of wills, until she realized that I was so much bigger than her and I meant business. After a long fought “war” I won!


When the children came home from school, we brought the puppy back to them. This went on for awhile. Then one day the father came over in a “huff!’ He told me that I had some nerve taking his puppy into my house. A few more unkind words were exchanged and he and his puppy went back home. His wife came out later and apologized to me for her husband’s rudeness. She also thanked me for watching after their puppy. I gave her a few suggestions and tips about taking care of her little rascal.


Time went by, but nothing changed for the poor little puppy. It would break my heart hearing the puppy cry everyday locked away in her “jail” known as the front porch. How I wanted to go over there and take her off the porch and play with her and give her the attention and love she deserved and craved. My hands were tied as to do this would have meant I was trespassing on my neighbors property. Eventually the day came that we were moving back to New York. While packing up our belongings in the moving van, I could hear the familiar cries of the pathetic little “forgotten about” puppy. Do you know how very tempted I was to go over and scoop her up in my arms and take her back to New York with us? Heaven help me, but I was very close to doing just that, but I knew that I couldn’t. She didn’t belong to me and I would have been committing a crime.


Many times we hear about German Shepherds tied up and left outside in the harsh elements of the winter cold or the summer heat. Many times we hear about a dog that is being starved to death. We see them in the shelters, on the news or the internet. When is stepping in to do something to save an abused dog considered a crime? It is if we trespass while doing it.


I would probably be one of those people that you see on the six o’clock news shown in handcuffs being escorted in to a police car protesting all the way. Abuse, neglect, torture and total disregard for our beloved breed or any animal for that matter is something that I couldn’t turn my back on if I seen it in my own neighborhood.


I realize that I am just one person but there is a lot of other “just one person’s” like me out there. And if all of us people got involved with what is going on in our communities, perhaps maybe we would be responsible for saving one of the neglected “no hope” dogs that lives two houses down from our homes. His pitiful whining, moaning, and desperate barking continues with hopes that it reaches our ears. Someone will stand up and will be the voice for this animal and all animals like him. Oh I can hear some saying, “I don’t want to get involved. It’s none of my business.” Oh but it is our business.


When the parents of children make a conscious decision to abuse and neglect their animals, they have now taught their children how to deal with people, with animals, with laws, and anything else that may come their way. It’s alright to abuse. It’s alright to neglect. If you own it (as animals are considered property), do whatever you want to it. It’s yours. The law is on your side! These are the type of children when grown up with be with our children when they grow up! Scary thought!


Fixing an immoral society, happens one generation at a time. How we protect and treat the meek, the broken, or the hopeless is an indication of the moral backbone of a once great society. Once the moral fiber of a country is lost, the once great empire crumbles and we become one of many like us, rather than one that stands above the rest.


From the book:  "Shelter Dogs"....Photographer Traer Scott’s endearing portraits of dogs living in American shelters are irresistible and heart-rending – and make a passionate appeal to dog lovers everywhere. Some of the dogs subsequently found good homes; others were never adopted. The portraits reveal the strikingly intense emotion, dignity and, sometimes, humour and whimsy that Scott saw in each face despite the dog’s circumstances. By documenting the undeniable expressions of emotion in the dogs encountered in her volunteer work, Scott raises awareness of animal rescue causes, and especially the need for more adoptive homes for abandoned dogs. This book of true portraits of fifty beautiful shelter dogs is a poignant and loving tribute to all dogs.



My rating: reaching out and helping (within the law): (4), turning your back and hoping it goes away: (1)

ON THE SPOT - DARBY DAN GERMAN SHEPHERDS

A few years ago, I sent an e-mail over some of the German Shepherd dog lists suggesting it would be nice for the German Shepherd Dog Review to do interviews on breeders, handlers and judges. It wasn’t done at that time. Then I thought I’d like to conduct some interviews myself for an on line magazine I was planning on doing. I decided against doing the magazine and did this blog instead. Now the Review will be doing interviews in the magazine and I’m very happy that that will be done. It should be very informative reading for everyone. I was asked if I would do the first interview that they were planning for the magazine with one of my favorite people in the breed. I had to decline because of my own obligations and restrains. So for all these past few years, my friend Marilyn Smith of Darby Dan kennels has heard me tell her that I wanted to do my first interview with her. So she and I spoke over the telephone yesterday and I finally conducted my interview with her and with her permission, I’m sharing it with you. Periodically, I will interview other people as well. I want to focus on some of the other people in the breed that are not necessarily connected with any big kennel name, but have done some wonderful things in our breed as well, just maybe on a smaller scale.


Darby Dan kennels has been home to 20 champions, 7 American Selects, 1 Grand Victrix, 1 Futurity Victor, and 2 ROM’s.

Darby Dan kennels is nestled in the woods in up state New York in a town called Saugerties. You won’t just happen upon it as you drive down the road. But call up Marilyn and she’ll give the best directions on how to find her little “peace of heaven” hidden away on an old country road. Look quickly or you could miss the drive way over on your left. Follow the long drive way hidden in the woods and in the clearing you’ll pull up to the front of the home of Dan and Marilyn Smith. Look straight ahead and you’ll see the climate controlled kennel building surrounded by lawns and forest trees and horse trails all tucked away on about ten acres or so. This is where the Smiths share their home with their German Shepherd dogs, two cats, two horses and many wild creatures that graze on their property.

This interview was conducted with ½ of Darby Dan’s team and that is Marilyn Smith.


Me: So Marilyn, how long have you and Dan been in the German Shepherd dog breed?

Marilyn: I’ve been in the breed since 1980 and Dan has been in the breed since 1961.

Me: Let me ask you Marilyn, why the German Shepherd Dog?

Marilyn: Well Barbara, I always wanted to own a show dog so I looked in the AKC Purebred dog book. I looked through and found a couple of dogs that I liked and read the information about those different breeds, but they didn’t have the type of temperament that I wanted because I was raising my three children. Someone suggested that I might like the German Shepherd. Like most people I started in obedience and like most people I found it very hard to get a show dog. Because I didn’t know any better, I wanted an 8 week old puppy. And like most 8 week old “show” puppies, none of them turned out. I met and married Billy Rossi (a professional dog handler) and he didn’t want to own a German Shepherd because he thought it was a conflict of interest with his clients’ dogs, but I still wanted a show dog. So I went out and bought myself a black Cocker Spaniel. Billy didn’t care about that because he didn’t show this breed. Long story short, I ended up finishing five Cocker Spaniel champions.

Me: So your goal in German Shepherds was??

Marilyn: To have a show dog that could also be a family dog. I didn’t have that until I married Dan Smith. (Marilyn’s husband Billy Rossi had passed away and then she met and married Dan).

Me: Who were your mentors in this breed?

Marilyn: The first one was Barbara Amidon. She took me under her wing. She would always challenge me after educating me about what a good dog was and the ones that weren’t. Then I watched her judge several Nationals and I could see what it was that she was trying to teach me. Then there was Joe Bihari. He was great to learn from. He would constantly question me to make sure that I knew what I was talking about. He could explain things and the reason for it like no one else. And then there was and is Dan (my husband). One of the most important things that he has taught me is patience. He would tell me when you raise puppies, look at the pups who have the best attributes and wait until they grow up to look for balance and this is exactly with they did with their Select Ch Darby Dan’s Eve ROM.

Me: Compare the dogs then with the dogs now.

Marilyn: Probably the biggest difference I see in the breed today is in the way that they are shown. Back when I first got started, the dogs weren’t shown on 15 foot leads so therefore, they were shown at a slower speed. You didn’t see the dogs racing as much as you do today because of the shorter lead; the dogs were more under control in the ring.

Me: OK Marilyn, you and Dan have gotten many titles on your dogs. Let me ask you this, would you rather own a Grand Victor or a Best in Show Dog?

Marilyn: I would rather own a Best in Show Dog because I’ve never had one of those types of dogs before. My dogs are not that type of dog because they have a high energy level and are used to showing like that and are used to being shown in specialty rings although we have shown in All-breeds as well. The all-breed judges are not as good now as they used to be. There was a time that they used to pull majors at some of the all breed shows.

Me: How important are the futurities?

Marilyn: Not important at all! I don’t think that they proved to be what they were supposed to be. Many of these young dogs don’t turn out the way that you had hoped they would. In the last several years I don’t think it is something that I’m interested in doing anymore. I think that there are too many rules and too many ways to skirt around those rules we already have.

Me: What is the most important thing that you have ever accomplished in the breed?

Marilyn: I never thought anything that I did was that important, but it is my passion and my hobby but it’s not that important and afterwards it won’t be important what I’ve done. I just hope that we have had good dogs and that they didn’t carry too many problems and that they have contributed to the breed.

Me: You and Dan have owned both American and German bred dogs. What’s the difference?

Marilyn: The German dogs are raised differently. They are raised as companion dogs that live in the house with their owners. These dogs are taken everywhere with them. They go to training classes 3 - 4 times a week. They are a part of the human population. The German dogs have a different ability to think. You can almost see their minds working. If we raised our dogs differently they would be like that as well. We just don’t have the availability here to go to a breed club 3 - 4 times a week.

Me: We know that breed type and movement is very important in our breed. If you had two equally good dogs in the ring but one was drop dead gorgeous and the other was the best moving dog you have ever seen, who would be your winner and why?

Marilyn: The mover because we have a standard that puts the most emphasis on movement. The only thing more important is temperament.

Me: You’re married to a well respected top AKC licensed German Shepherd Dog judge (Dan). When watching him judge, do you always agree with his choices?

Marilyn: Not always, but most of the time. The times that I didn’t, I would say to him, “What the heck was that?” But Dan remembers every dog and he’ll tell me exactly why he liked the others better. I have to remember that I don’t get to see what he’s looking at in the ring, like missing teeth, temperament, etc. As the years go by, I find I disagree with his choices less frequently. At the last National that Dan judged I knew he’d pick the open bitch for his Winners. I also knew that he would pick the 9-12 puppy for Reserve Winners bitch. That same puppy is this years Grand Victrix!

Me: Who normally decides on which stud dog to breed your bitches to?

Marilyn: Sometimes I’ll say to Dan that I’d like to breed one of our bitches to “so and so” and I’ll explain why. And Dan will do the same thing with me. I picked Honky Tonk for our Eve before we finished her. At one of the shows, he was winner’s dog and Eve was winners bitch. We did the breeding and it produced us three champions! She was four weeks in whelp when she went Select at the National and he finished his championship at that same National!

Me: Who was the best dog you ever owned and why?

Marilyn: Jim!!! (See the picture at the top of this article). 2 x VA Can Sel Am Ch Jim vom Fiemereck SchH3 TC ROM KkL 1 a OFA and let me say that his daughter, Sel Ch Darby Dan’s Eve ROM (see picture at top of this article)is a close second to her father. What made Jim so special is that he was better than a person only with lots of hair! (laughter). Eve is the best show dog that we have ever produced! (Note: Eve was just awarded Can Select from the Veterans class at the Canadian National this year at the age of 10)!

Me: Marilyn your dogs always look so healthy and have beautiful coats. What do you feed them?

Marilyn: I feed them Pro Plan and add meat to their meals and supplement them with Vibrant Pets Canine Athlete or their Show Dog formulas.

Me: When you no longer can do this anymore, what do you want to be remembered for?

Marilyn: I hope that I’m remembered for being a good wife, a good mother and grandmother and a good friend. I also would like to be remembered as a person who had a couple of good dogs along the way.

Me: It’s getting better all the time or do we still have a long ways to go?

Marilyn: It’s getting better. We have made tremendous strides in temperament, soundness, and health because we have become more conscientious breeders. We used to have to deal with dogs dying younger. The dogs now live longer. My last three dogs died at almost 14 years old! We used to think if dogs lived to be ten that that was great. Now we expect them to live longer.

Me: Anything that people don’t know about you that you’d like to share?

Marilyn: Well I’m a die hard Yankee fan!!! I love to cook. Oh yeah, I have two horses that I adore and having horses is something new for me.

Thanks Marilyn for letting me interview you and to use your pictures!

My rating: Darby Dan dogs: (4)