# Being good ambasadors for their breeds



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

We were on a nice long hike today. Dogs walking ahead of us when I heard this death scream, "Lillyyyyyyyyy, no, come here!" A 4 month old Lab puppy walked up to our dogs and the young couple were besides themselves when they saw their beloved puppy committing suicide-by-GSD. But Deja and Cam were friendly curious, puppy understood everything well and her owners super relieved that Deja was not the killing machine they thought she was. They probably did more damage with that panic attack than they realized. I was so proud of my dogs.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

LOL- suicide by GSD. That's funny!! 

I had a similar with a child once. Parents bout had a heart attack when they noticed their 3 year old wrapped around my big black GSD. 

Your pups did great!! And it so nice to buck a stereotype and be a good ambassador for our breed. Well done!!!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

And people do notice this stuff. Good job with your girls. It seems we shepherd people can use all the help we can to move past the actions that occur when clueless or careless owners are matched to dogs that are likely to react under poor leadership.

Today I took Milla to PetsMart to be groomed in the morning, and Oscar to Petco to be groomed in the afternoon. Two trips. Spent all day on the road. But there was an adoption event at PetsMart, and lots of dogs of all shapes and sizes, but mostly pits. My girl was great with all, allowed people to pet her, and watched quietly, and did not react even when dogs were barking at her. Of course she is 7 1/2 and you would expect her to have some manners and trust me to take care of things.

Oscar is 1 1/2, and when we walked in there was a training class going, and a young pit started barking at him, I said, "Leave it" and walked on with a loose leash. He came right along with me ignoring the other dog. I was very proud of him, because he hasn't had any classes and few experiences away from home. 

After abandoning Oscar with the groomer, where he was doing his best to let me know what a scumbag I was, I made my way back and ran into the trainer of the class clearing up. I kicked up a conversation with him about the dog food that I use as training treats. And after talking for a few minutes, he asked, "you just came through with the shepherd?" "Yeah," (listening to my boy all the way on the other end of the shop in the back of the grooming salon still giving his vocal chords a work out). He said, very nice dog, he didn't react to the pit and he stayed with you on a loose lead. 

So, people notice well-behaved dogs. They notice our dogs when we are out with them, and they are doing all the right things. It is so important for people to see dogs that aren't barking and lunging, hyper idiots out there. 

Then again, the guy has shepherds, so, I mean, if you have a Honda you start noticing all the other Hondas out there. Some of us are drawn to the sheps. I have trouble seeing speed limit signs, and my speedometer now, but I can spot a GSD 200 football fields away buried in a crowd.

ETA: When I came back an hour later, I was relieved that Oscar gave up the yodeling, only to learn from the groomer that he managed to get out of his cage, and broke two leads, she says he is a Houdini. Inwardly, I am thinking, "That's my boy!"


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Hmm must be one of those days?? My neighbor's apparently "poorly" trained herder dog dashed across the street and got in "Rocky's face! 

Rocky was "On The Lawn" so I knew he was not going anywhere and I saw the neighbors step out with the dog and because there were two people there, I "assumed" they would not have a dog with "NO" recall or basic training loose on a front yard on a (for here) busy street??

"Surprise" I was checking fluids on the car, when I notice Rocky's ears pointing at something (kinda cool my floppy eared Boxers could not do that)?? So I look and sure enough up the dog comes and right in "Rocky's" face!!

Fortunately the dog was friendly "Rocky was a bit more excited than I would have liked but I grabbed his harness without issue and moved him back and away from the dog so no problem. The dog then proceed past us and up onto our lawn. 

The owner apologized profusely and grabbed her dog by the collar and drug her away. :crazy:

And so it goes ... lesson learned ...don't "over estimate" the "competence" of "some" dog owners.


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## Strikker (Dec 2, 2015)

They did great, it is nice to hear stories of GSD's rockin the moment!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Excellent!We can all be proud of our dogs and a pat on the back for ourselves for putting in the effort to train manners.Samson is wonderful with other people's badly behaved dogs,even the little yappy ones that jump at his face.He just walks on and might give a curious glance,then gives me a look like"Huh,some people's kids!"
At the last class we attended there were a couple of small dogs that were afraid of large dogs.So we would meet up outside afterwards so the little ones could get up close and personal.The owners said it really helped with their dog's reactivity.That made me happy.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Mine seems to have a sense regarding when she has to be careful. We were at training one night, and I was chatting with a lady who had a young puppy. The puppy looked a little afraid of my dog. Normally, my girl is very friendly, but in response to the puppy's nervousness, she calmly laid down and put her head between her front paws and just waited until the puppy felt comfortable enough to lean forward and sniff. She's done the same thing with kittens and with a pair of tiny dogs at a pet store. I have never trained her to do that. Obviously I'm watching her just in case, but I've never had to teach her how to act with tiny, vulnerable things.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

WateryTart said:


> I have never trained her to do that. Obviously I'm watching her just in case, but I've never had to teach her how to act with tiny, vulnerable things.


Awesome! That's called 'great temperament'. I know how proud that makes you feel to see your GSD so mellow with a puppy.:wub:


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

wolfy dog said:


> Awesome! That's called 'great temperament'. I know how proud that makes you feel to see your GSD so mellow with a puppy.:wub:


I was really surprised! She is an exuberant dog who probably would have preferred to initiate a game. But yes, very proud, and the owner of the puppy looked visibly relieved.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

This is a great thread. You guys should all be proud of your work and your dogs.


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