# My GSD Took Me For a Drag - First Night of Agility Training...



## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

As you read this, please know my husband, Russ, and I were SCREAMING with laughter (I was actually CRYING I was laughing so hard) by the time we were driving HOME from our INTRO to Agility Class.

Sirius Black is my magnificently beautiful, uber intelligent, 2 - 3 year old, long-haired, solid black, 83 pound GSD. We rescued him from the Pound 11 weeks ago.

He'd had zero training other than charging you and planting all four paws on your chest & torso when you said, "Come." Couldn't walk on a leash, acted like he'd never been in a car, and had no socialization; our guess is he was let in someone's backyard and interacted with at meal times.

We took him to the first Beginning Obedience class available, and even though I've had big dogs all my life, I started to doubt my competence as a leader of dogs. FINALLY, on the 3rd week, things snapped into place, and we graduated with flying colors. 

The next class available was INTRO to AGILITY, and first class was last night.

Some highlights: 


There were only six dogs and their handlers in the class…
Sirius was, by far, the biggest dog in the class (and the best looking… although there was a spectacular doberman puppy there…)
We were instructed to use a 1/2” wide, 5+’ leashes. Our cat leashes fit that bill. 
SO…. Another woman comes up behind Sirius and me with her probably 11 month old, very hyper, teen-age acting, yellow lab-mix (Sirius seems to not like labs…) Her dog is straining at the leash in front of her (at maximum leash length). She loudly asks me, “Do we just join in here anywhere?”
Her teenager, whose been puppy aggressive all night, is AGGRESSIVELY yanking on the leash to get to Sirius. 
Sirius and I both turn at the same time to see the teenage dog lunging on his leash. I have the mighty 1/2” cat leash in my left hand, with my right hand through the LOOP (at the end of the leash).
Sirius immediately starts lunging towards the teenage dog, growling, and yanking me around as he goes. As I’m being spun around, I say with firmness, “NO!” 
Sirius is undeterred.
Sirius is now straining for all he’s worth, front legs in the air, as I’m DESPERATELY trying to hang onto the 1/2” leash as it’s being pulled through my left hand an inch at a time…then three inches at a time… accelerating.
I scream “No! NO! NOOO! NNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” in quick succession (vs. "LEAVE IT", or "SIT!"...) as I’m losing the battle with the leash. 
The INSTANT the little flimsy thing is ripped from my left hand, Sirius gains about 1 1/2 EXTRA FEET of leash
The instant his front two legs hit the ground and gain full traction, I am JERKED forward, literally becoming airborne for just a nano- second (NO easy feat), while posed like a superhero with my right arm straight and fully extended, loop of the leash STILL around my right wrist. If the Statue of Liberty had been either home schooled with no socialization OR an eager over achiever… so her torch was held straight up, arm against her cheek… then was toppled over, face down… and dragged by her wrist… same principle.
When I hit the ground, I do a belly flop… an honest to God’s belly flop, well, or maybe more like a right sided belly-flop…and once I’ve hit the ground, I’m dragged. Face down. Through the green, heavily-used-by-dogs grass. 
There’s a hard JOLTING thud, then a loud, wooden BANG, and my right arm and shoulder are still wrenching forward, and my head is now being used to push the thick wooden agility jump I’ve just been dragged into (that was the bang, my head hitting it)… 
There are LEGS all around me… HUMAN legs… and they’re going to fall on me, or Sirius and I are taking them out as well. No clue. I believe they belonged to the trainer and I’ve got NO CLUE who the other set belonged to… I’m imaging being at the bottom of a pile of women… because my dog has used me to take them all out. 
The loop of the red kitty leash is ripping into the base of my thumb, I turn my head to the left so I’ll quit tearing up grass with my face, since I’m STILL being pulled and I’m pushing the Agility Jump as I go. Then, I hear the BEST thing… 
It’s RUSS! RUSS! My WONDERFUL RUSS! And… HE’S YELLING! (NEVER HAPPENS…) 
His voice is BIG and DEMANDING (again, NEVER happens). 
Because I’m now face down behind the moving Agility Jump, I can’t tell you what he looked like as he charged across the large training area, but he BOOMS, “SIRIUS!” (You’d have to know my engineering husband Russ to know JUST how … unbelievable and amazing … that is…)


Let me PAUSE to talk about the one rescue Russ and I couldn’t turn. And I’m telling you this ONLY so you can understand what happened next, tonight. 

Story from the past: Sophie, a Treeing Walker **** Hound, was a spectacular dog. A HEART BREAKING story of abuse. A cigarette put out in the flap of her ear. Starved to where her vertebrae were sticking out of her hyde. It took her 2.5 months of me feeding her EVERY NIGHT before she let me TOUCH her the first time. I found her when I was on a year long assignment in Florida. She wandered around the periphery of my yard. BROKEN. ABUSED. TERRIFIED. STARVED. BROKEN BONES. I gained her trust.

When I moved back home to CA, I finally had her trust me enough that I caught her, left her at the vet for my last three days in FL; she was COVERED with ticks and fleas, had her spayed, had all kinds of tests and treatments (no heart worms… which was unbelievable), got all her vaccinations, health certificates, etc. Flew her to CA. 

She was a broken dog. Broken. But I just KNEW we could love her back to the present. She and our Chow-mix ended up hating each other and when they’d fight, they’d lock onto each other and it was next to impossible to get them apart. When we FINALLY DID, Russ would tackle Sophie and hold her down, I’d grab Matilda and drag her away. Anyway, the only way to make Sophie stop was to tackle her and hold her down until she came back to the present AND submitted. Long story short, she bit Russ three times (while we were breaking up fights), attacked a little neighborhood dog the one and only time she got away from us outside, AND tried to kill our beloved Matilda any time they were in the same airspace. BUT, when she was RABID about little kids… INSANE NUTS about them… to the point if we had company who had children we couldn’t even put her in her kennel at home, we’d have to board her at our vet’s office… and she had TWO documented strikes against her (we finagled around a couple of “events”… ) and CA has a "three strike" rule; bottom line is we had to put her down. 

Our hearts are still broken hearted about it!

Where WERE we!?


OH: Sirius is dragging me, I’m head-butting the big wooden agility jump, and the kitty cat leash’s loop was digging into my skin around my wrist, and starting to slip, there are human legs involved in the fray, when I hear the wonderful sound of my wonderful husband. “SIRIUS!”
I twisted my wrenched wrist and the leash slips off.
Seconds later, I hear VERY concerned voices, “Are YOU ALRIGHT?!” 
I think they’re talking to the woman who bounced up with her exuberant teen-puppy lab, She doesn’t answer. “Oh CRAP. She’s hurt. Oh ****, ****, ****!!”, I think. 
“ARE YOU OKAY?!” the concerned voice asks, again, more loudly, as someone is pushing the wooden Agility Jump thing away from my head and neck. I appreciate this kindness because it lets me lift my head up, turn to the other side, and try to find the woman who is so hurt she can’t answer. 
Wait… I’m the only one on the ground. So where is she standing, limbs torn off, bleeding from some important artery…?!? My GOD, where IS SHE?!?!? 
Hey! WAIT a minute….Everyone is looking at … ME! WHAT?! 
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT??” I hear it, again. I lift my chest a little bit off the ground and try to twist my neck and lift my head up higher so I can see whoever’s talking. As I’m trying to accomplish this, for the fourth annoying time the voice asks, “ARE YOU OKAY?!?!?” 
Then. I see her eyes. She’s bending down and touching me like I’m delicate.… WAIT a minute… surely she’s not talking to….
“Who? ME?!” I ask, incredulously. “YES! ARE YOU OKAY?!” 
“I’m FINE!” I bark, sounding like I think it’s a ridiculous question… which… I did at the time. <Mortified> (Now, GET this visual… I’m still facedown, I have a couple of blades of grass STUCK to my mouth, and my pants are split. And I’m FLOORED she’s talking to ME… )
The other handlers all STAND around me, watching me, as I try to get my larger than life, pants-splitting arse up. The trainer (the voice) actually put her HAND ON MY ARM to help. ROFLMAO bajahahahahahhahahaha. OMFG.
Now… what I did NOT see, but what everyone else saw, was after hearing me (you should hear him describe it) yell, “NO! NOO! NOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”, my 6’2” husband, the kindest, most gentle, most easy-going, most NON-violent, most AMAZING man on the planet, comes charging probably 50 - 150 feet (I’m horrid with distance) across the training field, and after BOOMING “SIRIUS”, TACKLES Sirius, pinning him to the ground!

Later… as we’re driving home and laughing about it, Russ can’t recall if Sirius actually was COMING to him (as in OBEYING him) when he tackled him. O. M. F. G.

Yeah, we had to’ve made quite the impression. Oh. My. God.

“That couple over THERE…?? most people pop the leash, give a correction, and get the dog away from the other dog. Instead… SHE lets the dog take her for a drag and the HUSBAND charges in and TACKLES the dog then pins him DOWN.” 


Unbelievably, my trainer was kind and told me to go walk Sirius along the fence and help “him" calm down…
“May I just go home?” I asked, shocked at how pathetic I sounded when asking it. I was *really* done and class had gone long. 
“NO.” she said, at the same time another class participant said, “NO!!!” She explained why I shouldn’t… bad for Sirius… blah blah.
We went to the fence and calmed down… then she walked over to me and kindly said when I was ready and able, she wanted me to take Sirius and stand in the middle of all the training. Blah blah.
Never ONCE did she make me feel like the idiot I was!


Oy. Oy. Oy.

Adrenaline being what it is, I didn’t realize just how much I jarred my right shoulder until it was increasingly painful to shift my Mini Cooper, driving home. It’s nothing a li’l ice won’t fix. 

Ahhhhh, my darling Sirius. I'll get better, I PROMISE!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

LMAO! I'm laughing with you, not at you! And no worries, we've all been there. That's why it's so funny!


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

I LOVE you for this supportive post, Lillie, and the "We've ALL been there!" comment!

AND, it's OK, you can laugh AT me, too, on this one! I'll think about some other aspect of this tale and BUST out laughing, again! OMG!

It was the first time Sirius ever out muscled me... so, heck, why not make it a full on OCCASION!!?!? 

Bahahahahahahahahaha!

I have to say our trainer was AMAZING!


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Great story!!! And yes. I have been there too. 

Once I was at a dog show and looped my boys leash around the leg of the chair I was sitting in, he saw some kids playing ball in the field and decided to join in, dragged me and the chair upside down trying to get to them. 

Yup, we've all been there!!


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

OMG, that's hilarious, GSDSAR! Were you okay, I hope? No concussions? No by-standers were hurt?!

The crowning blow for me was having to pick the blades of grass off my mouth while everyone was standing there watching me. They weren't coming off without a fight... O.M.G. Bahahahahahahahaha!


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

OMG Sirus's Mom!
I'm crying with laughter right now!
I'm sure that this would have gotten more hits on YouTube than any other dog video out there! :laugh: LOL LOL......Sorry, I really am sorry you got hurt, but the way you tell it is HILARIOUS!!!!! 

Please oh PLEASE tell us what happens next week!!!!! 

Been there too! Had both of mine pull me clean out of a chair and dragged several feet! LOL!!!

Moms


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Sirius Black said:


> OMG, that's hilarious, GSDSAR! Were you okay, I hope? No concussions? No by-standers were hurt?!
> 
> The crowning blow for me was having to pick the blades of grass off my mouth while everyone was standing there watching me. They weren't coming off without a fight... O.M.G. Bahahahahahahahaha!



Nope. No one was hurt. It was also the show where my boy decided to grab his leash and hop backwards around the ring instead of gaiting normally. LOL. Needless to say, our last conformation show!!!

Stay in the dog world long enough and eventually hear everyone's "well he's never done that before" story. Dogs are put on this earth to humble us.


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## Susan_GSD_mom (Jan 7, 2014)

Sirius Black said:


> I LOVE you for this supportive post, Lillie, and the "We've ALL been there!" comment!
> 
> AND, it's OK, you can laugh AT me, too, on this one! I'll think about some other aspect of this tale and BUST out laughing, again! OMG!
> 
> ...



Oh, yeah, we've all been there... I have a scar in the middle of my chest from a huge GSDx I had years ago, who took off with me at the end of the leash, chasing a feral cat. I ended up nearly impaled on the end of an old piece of pipe holding up the side of some raised vegetable beds... My saving grace was that no one saw the whole thing... Cat got away, only because I had a death grip on the leash...

Susan


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

gsdsar said:


> Dogs are put on this earth to humble us.


Over...and over...and over again.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Wow, super funny to read but I am sure aggregating to you when it happened. Well written. A situation like this happened to me, DDog, a 9 month old huge GSD "pup" ripped out the leash from my hands, got loose in an agility class, charged a winning show dog through the tunnel while I lied floored on the grass. It was the reason for trying out the prong collar....Boy, did that work! And I pulled him out of the class, it was just not his level...
Keep us posted on MR. Sirius. He is one lucky dog.


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

gsdsar said:


> It was also the show where my boy decided to grab his leash and hop backwards around the ring instead of gaiting normally."


Now I'm crying, AGAIN, from laughing. Actually, I'm SCREAMING with laughter. Our windows are open... hope I don't get a text from the neighbors asking me to pipe down.

My ABS are going to be sore, too, in addition to my right shoulder/arm!

OMG, hilarious!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

BTW - Russ is my hero.


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

Momto2GSDs said:


> OMG Sirus's Mom!
> ...
> I'm sure that this would have gotten more hits on YouTube than any other dog video out there! :laugh: LOL LOL......Sorry, I really am sorry you got hurt, but the way you tell it is HILARIOUS!!!!!


Hahahaha! Thanks! I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER hearing some of these other stories! Good LORD!



Momto2GSDs said:


> Please oh PLEASE tell us what happens next week!!!!!


You have NO idea how hard it's going to be to go back! I'm going to do it... Sirius needs the socialization and the training... and so do I, frankly (ROFL!!) but OH.... 

Yes, I'll let you know how it goes! roflmao


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Sirius Black said:


> Hahahaha! Thanks! I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER hearing some of these other stories! Good LORD!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We'll all be pullin for ya!
Moms


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

Lilie said:


> BTW - Russ is my hero.


Oh GOODNESS, ISN'T he?! He's just SUCH a wonderful man... and that's me saying it after being together for 23 years. 

EVERY day I'm STUNNED he chose me... SUCH a good guy. 

(Crying again, laughing): Now... as for what the other folks in our INTRO to Agility class think about him, I can't attest. ESPECIALLY if he tackled Sirius while Sirius was in the process of MINDING him! 

If I hadn't heard Russ' voice, thus KNEW I could let go of the leash and let Russ take it from there, Sirius would probably STILL be dragging me (and the Wooden Agility Jump thing) around that blasted training field!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Omg I am laughing so hard!Great stories


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Laughing with you sister! 

Got a few drag stories myself. One after a cat that really scraped me up. Ouch.


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

Kayos and Havoc said:


> Laughing with you sister!
> 
> Got a few drag stories myself. One after a cat that really scraped me up. Ouch.


OUCH!!!

Wow.... now the picture that comes up under YOUR name shows a GSD who KNOWS what to do on an agility course!


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## McWeagle (Apr 23, 2014)

Lol, way to go Russ!! That is hilarious! I'm sure you made quite the impression and the lady with the teenaged lab will give you space next time!   We had a rough time at our first agility class a couple months ago, too.

I haven't quite been hauled off my feet yet (I'm sure it will happen at some point though!), but I'm a big lady. Used to be a national level competitive swimmer, so I have lots of muscles (most of which aren't used anymore) and am what is known as "thick" (ie -solid) plus I have about 30 lbs too many.

All the running and jumping and excitement had Nox really amped, and he was pulling this way and that way and not holding a sit for long. And I was just standing, holding the leash wrapped around my wrist, legs spread to shoulder width, knees slightly bent, arms sorta relaxed, with him jerking all over the place. My legs, hips, glutes, and core were all sore the next day!

Next class will be better!


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

McWeagle said:


> Lol, way to go Russ!! That is hilarious! I'm sure you made quite the impression..."


LOL! I'm SURE we did! <I still feel my cheeks burning! ROFL>



McWeagle said:


> I haven't quite been hauled off my feet yet (I'm sure it will happen at some point though!)


I'm 5'9, was raised on a farm, and that's the first time I've ever been pulled off my feet as an adult by ANY dog! I'm hoping it DOESN'T happen to you, although it DOES make for quite a story!



McWeagle said:


> I used to be a national level competitive swimmer, so I have lots of muscles (most of which aren't used anymore)


First, CONGRATS on the competitive swimming! I'm telling ya, last night I'd've traded my eye teeth for ANY muscles that allowed me to hold my 83 pound DAWG on a 1/2" wide CAT leash! LOL! I'm a woman with an IRON GRIP but STILL I couldn't hold that 1/2 inch leash.

Even if we weren't in Agility class, I'd be grateful for your muscles, regardless of the leash I had Sirius on! 

Sounds like the workout you got was a lot more productive and evenly distributed than mine! AND, I worked myself to death keeping Sirius in a sit... so appreciated hearing how YOU handled that.

Thanks for the encouragement about next class! Seriously!

Kind regards,

Kimberly


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

:rofl: Best story EVER! Beats every time Jax put me on the ground.


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## My2shepherds (Jun 10, 2014)

Thank you sooo much for making me laugh today... Great story, I have battle scars from my dogs' antics too! Hope your soreness eases quickly!!


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## Ruby'sMom (May 25, 2014)

I loved your story! Keep us updated on Sirius' agility class adventures.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Love the way you tell a story!!! Thanks for keeping me entertained had a lot of laughs!!! Great outlook when stuff happens


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Sirius Black said:


> OUCH!!!
> 
> Wow.... now the picture that comes up under YOUR name shows a GSD who KNOWS what to do on an agility course!


That would be Mayhem, my baby. She is 3 and quite the athlete. 

I am almost 58 and no, getting drug by dogs is no longer fun. 

I had 2 GSD (Max, gone now; and kayos, nearly 13 now) out for a walk across the desert when we lived in eastern Oregon. Two feral cats jumped up and ran and I got drug down a rocky hill. I do not know why I did not let go of the leashes but I was afraid of losing my dogs. 

Picture a then 48 year od woman face first on a downhill rocky hill with arms out stretched holding the reins to a runaway freight train known as two determined german shepherds. It is funny now it was not then. I got home finally, bruised, battered, my face bloody and my clothes literally shredded. I was so sore I was not able to walk or go to work for several days.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

And..... stick with agility it is loads of fun!

May and I are running a UKC trial this weekend. Looking for championship points.


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

Kayos and Havoc said:


> I had 2 GSD (Max, gone now; and kayos, nearly 13 now) out for a walk across the desert when we lived in eastern Oregon. Two feral cats jumped up and ran and I got drug down a rocky hill. I do not know why I did not let go of the leashes but I was afraid of losing my dogs.
> 
> Picture a then 48 year old woman face first on a downhill rocky hill with arms out stretched holding the reins to a runaway freight train known as two determined german shepherds. It is funny now it was not then. I got home finally, bruised, battered, my face bloody and my clothes literally shredded. I was so sore I was not able to walk or go to work for several days.


Oh NO! HORRIBLE! You poor thing! STILL, I COMPLETELY understand why you didn't let go of the leashes! 

Like you, I'd be afraid of losing my baby, afraid he'd get hit or hurt, etc. I was more mortified / ashamed because I felt like I made him LOOK BAD and because I felt it made me look like a weak / bad / incompetent dog handler because I wasn't "in control" of my dog at all times!

Jenny720 and My2Shepherds, if I've not responded to you, yet, please just know EVERY SINGLE SHARED STORY was appreciated! I laughed until I CRIED on some of them!!!! Perhaps there really IS "comfort in numbers!"

Meanwhile, Kayos and Havoc, thanks for the encouragement to "stick with agility"... because neither Sirius NOR I excelled at it, other than excelling at split pants! LOL! 

GOOD LUCK this weekend, although with your track record, it looks like you don't NEED IT!!! WOW! IMPRESSIVE!

Kindest regards,

Kimberly

PS I'm 53! *cough*


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

no video????????


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

*No Video????*



huntergreen said:


> no video????????


Oh! I WISH! We'd be winning that $10,000 prize for sure!

The sad thing is, when it happened, my husband was looking down at my phone trying to clear up some memory so he COULD video.... of course, the intent was to video Sirius JUMPING the jump *cough* not DRAGGING the jump along via my HEAD! 

LOL!


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

*How Did May do at the UKC trial?*



Kayos and Havoc said:


> And..... stick with agility it is loads of fun!
> 
> May and I are running a UKC trial this weekend. Looking for championship points.


Kayos & Havoc: I'm so late on asking, but how did May do at the UKC trial?! I'm hoping there were Championship Points ALL AROUND!!!!

<3

Kimberly


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

Sirius is GORGEOUS :wub: 

I totally lost it at:


> When I hit the ground, I do a belly flop… an honest to God’s belly flop, well, or maybe more like a right sided belly-flop…and once I’ve hit the ground, I’m dragged. Face down. Through the green, heavily-used-by-dogs grass.



All these stories have me cracking up 



gsdsar said:


> Nope. No one was hurt. It was also the show where my boy decided to grab his leash and hop backwards around the ring instead of gaiting normally. LOL. Needless to say, our last conformation show!!!


This one has me crying-laughing even harder at my desk. Hope my office mate doesn't randomly show up in the middle of my laughter, though she loves the stories from this board too  


Ruger hasn't gotten me - YET. I don't doubt for a minute that I'm going for a ride someday. :crazy:

Closest we came so far - At the Charleston Pride festival last weekend, he decided that he just DOES NOT like the Chinese Crested (no offense to anyone, but I gotta say I'm not a fan either lol). He was fine around *every* other dog except that one, made a bunch of doggie and people friends. The woman brought her Crested near him the first time, about 10ft away standing at a booth - Ruger went NUTS. Whipped me around in a 180º, on his back legs straining, throat-whining/growling ... it almost looked like he was dancing on the end of the leash. I had planted my feet quickly enough, and he's only ~65lbs right now. I had the leash wrapped around my hand and wrist (20ft training leash we have knotted in places for heel practice - but about 15ft of it was wrapped around my hand/wrist since there were A LOT of distractions there). She gives me a dirty look, the person who wanted to pet Ruger walked off and pet her dog, and we went to explore the other side of the event. We're standing across the park, here she comes again, and stops ~10ft away again, looking at us. Repeat of the first time! Luckily he's not quite strong enough to take me off my feet, but I'm sure when he's fully grown I'll have a handful. He's in training, and normally NEVER acts like that when we're out. He's always gentleman when meeting new dogs, I have NO idea what it was about that one LOL. 

In the mornings he'll yank me out the door so quick to pee that half the time the door gets left open til he's done lol. I think that's going to be when my trip through the grass occurs. I just hope its _before_ Jasmine leaves her potty presents .... (the other 2 go at the edge of the woods).


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

*Ruger Monster - Just WAIT! <3*



Ruger Monster said:


> Sirius is GORGEOUS :wub:
> 
> All these stories have me cracking up  .... crying-laughing even harder at my desk.
> 
> Ruger hasn't gotten me - YET. I don't doubt for a minute that I'm going for a ride someday. :crazy:


LOL! Yeah, thanks to the kindness of full disclosure from the other GSD folks on this board, I realize it's not really a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when". I'd actually become kind of "braggy" (to myself) that my darling, now-eighty-four-pound Sirius, had *NEVER* made it away from me. *cough* I'm no longer smug about such things! ROFL!



Ruger Monster said:


> (Ruger) decided that he just DOES NOT like the Chinese Crested


So... Ruger is a GSD AND he has exquisite taste!? Lucky you!

No, seriously (and same here, no offense to anyone), I'm not a fan, either. When I see them my heart just kind of hurts a little and I'm sorry for the breeding that got them to where they are, poor babies! How can it be good for a dog when it can't keep its tongue in its mouth? 



Ruger Monster said:


> The woman brought her Crested near him the first time, about 10ft away standing at a booth - Ruger went NUTS ... it almost looked like he was dancing on the end of the leash. I had planted my feet quickly enough, and he's only ~65lbs right now. (snip)
> 
> She gives me a dirty look...walked off and pet her dog, and we went to explore the other side of the event. We're standing across the park, here she comes again, and stops ~10ft away again, looking at us.


UGH!!! Persecution complex, perhaps?! (Pop psychology being practiced without a license, warning!!!!) HOW ANNOYING!



Ruger Monster said:


> (When it happened a second time, the results were the same):
> He's always gentleman when meeting new dogs, I have NO idea what it was about that one LOL.


Ruger is CLEARLY a good judge of character! Go Ruger! 

I just looked at the three pictures you've shared of Ruger! What a sweet baby! I love little puppy pictures!!! I see he's ~ 8.5 months old? Next time, in roughly 8 or so years when Sirius is getting a gray muzzle, I'm going to be thrilled to adopt a puppy and start training from the get go. If Sirius is this amazingly intelligent and trainable after 2 - 3 years of NO training, I can't imagine the FUN of training a baby GSD, and I'll have Sirius (God willing) there to do all the manners & subtlety training for me.

Thanks for your kind remarks about Sirius Black. He is a MAGNIFICENT dog and I'm still stunned I walked in and found him at the local pound. He had NO CLUE how beautiful he was when he first joined us... but now he's getting an idea. 

AND, you should SEE my fantastic boy, a boy who had zero training, now. It's just amazing how tuned in he is to me and how quickly he responds to any request. 

We're still working on socialization, but after he apparently spent 2 - 3 years in someone's back yard with no exposure to anything, I can understand that.

Argh! I get emotional every time I think of just how LUCKY we are to spend time and share space with this magnificent boy! I ADORE him! <3

Thanks so much for your posts. I smiled, BIG! <3


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

Here are 2 more pictures of my boy, taken Sunday. You're correct, he is 8½ months old now ... I really need to update his blog too. I did, not that long ago, and somehow the entire 2000 word post got deleted, along with the 10 or so pictures included throughout, and I got frustrated LOL. Then busy. But its been slow at work so I might have to update it again. I also have to make an updated picture thread  I have a ton of pics of him floating around on here, but most were uploaded onto TinyPic so they're not directly attached to me. I'm about to make one in the Braggs! section about his training - he completed his basic & advanced obedience courses on Sunday. The pic of him in the car was taken while we were waiting for our lesson time.

And glad I'm not alone on the Chinese Crested LOL. I don't understand either why people would breed them to that point. I have a friend who's dream dog was one of them. To each their own  If we all liked the same exact things the world would be pretty boring! (She did find one at a shelter about 6 months ago).

Going by your beautiful words about Sirius, you both were so lucky to find one another  Makes my heart smile reading how happy you are to have him in your life. It was meant to be, walking in there and seeing him! I hope you have many wonderful years together (and maybe not anymore "Rides" LOL). Training a puppy is definitely fun also, though sometimes frustrating .... Ruger is in his "I'm a teenager and not going to listen to you anymore MOM *insert slamming door here*" phase.


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## Sirius Black (May 24, 2015)

Ahhh! THANK YOU for the additional pictures of Ruger! LOL! He looks like SPOCK to me in the car!

Thanks also for the kind words, and right back at ya!!!


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