Honest to goodness, it wasn't me!
Posted on 10/21/2011 3:06:09 AM PDT by KantianBurke
On Oct. 4, Jason Dubin drove to La Guardia Airport to pick up the newest member of his household. Six days after that first happy meeting, Mr. Dubin returned to La Guardia with that same member, a German shepherd named Emmi, and sent her on a Continental Airlines flight to Seattle with a one-way ticket.
“I just couldn’t control her anymore; it was just time to part ways,” said Mr. Dubin, who made the drive from his Port Jefferson home on Long Island as Emmi, who is 5, fidgeted and barked in the back seat.
Mr. Dubin had bought the 80-pound dog over the Internet for $7,500 from Kraftwerk K9, a company in Rochester, Wash., that breeds, trains and sells German shepherds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I don’t think you can blame naïve dog owners, because they don’t know what it means to get a working dog.
The fault lies with the breeder, because should know that only certain people know how to adequately handle such dogs.
Frankly I don’t trust myself to do it even after a good class. My choice is Brittanies and they are easy to break.
No; like all living individuals, it’s a crap shoot.
The best way to avoid problems is to start out right - looking at how the dog behaves as is and being serious about it rather than feeling sorry, or thinking it’s cute.
If you don’t count the cruddy mutts my parents tried from the pound whom I don’t remember (except Wagner, also didn’t last long), my 1st dog was a German Shepherd as a 9yo. “BYB” - farm puppy - a good dog, albeit with a “long” story.
(BTW - I think I wanted a GS because I was awed by the police demo given for our elementary school. I thought “wow what dogs!” - and it’s worked out fine. Not that you can’t be wise about what you do.)
I agree.
A dog is not human and cannot be treated as human, for its sake.
Well, I personally hate the thought of sending my dog away for someone else to train (and treat how I might disagree with) and since I’m not competing for high stakes money and just out for the pleasure of seeing my dogs do what they were bred for I would take the chance of having a dog that doesn’t retrieve to hand. But George agreed that with my male GSP that he didn’t think I’d need to do a force retrieve with him since he’s a natural retriever. My two other girls, not so much, but I can live with that. :)
I do think you’d be pleased with what you’d learn from George though. Good luck!
More than likely that’s the case...
I’m sure he’s a fine trainer. It’s a combination of me and the dog that worries me. A Brittany is a “combination” breed and tends to be very “biddable” (trainable) but sensitive and high strung. It doesn’t range as far as a GSD or retrieve as naturally as a Labrador. Instead it does well at both and needs training to do all of it right. If they are trained incorrectly, it hurts the dog as they become unsure of themselves as they can tell from the owner “that they aren’t doing it quite right”. They are so attentive to training that they react to small mistakes and keep that reaction for a while.
“Forced Retrieve” is hardcore training, especially for a dog that is sensitive. http://www.gundogsonline.com/Article/the-forced-retrieve-gun-dog-Page1.htm Again, I’d rather have someone more experienced do it.
GSP not GSD
Did you send me the link because that’s the trainer I’m talking about or did you not realize?
That’s why I love my Shorthairs. Their temperaments are so stable it’s really hard to screw them up, even when I’m the one doing the training. :)
You bet there are.
I adopt only from shelters and I adopt only very senior dogs. Bear in mind that senior dogs are old because they've been good dogs.
My latest adoption, Honey, is 12 years old. I fully realize that our time together will be short but I intend to make her life much, much better than it has been. That's enough satisfaction for me.
And even if you don't consider that an adequate warning, after Marley they got the SAME kind of puppy again, and had the SAME problems all over again.
The only thing you can do with a dog like that is put him in hard training. A few 200 yard marks and a 90 yard blind early every morning will turn him into a good little citizen.
Before I run my little black dog in a hunt test, I take her to a high school football field or out in an open field somewhere and run her on a couple of 100 yard blinds just to settle her down.
Marley's owners weren't willing to do what the dog needed. I feel sick that the poor dog suffered so much with his high-octane temperament and energy and nothing to use it on.
I sent you that link because I thought that an opinion from someone you respected might change your mind. Your trainer is very clear about this kind of training. I get the sense reading your posts (”but I can live with that”) that you don’t work your dogs but enjoy them as companions. There’s nothing wrong with that. I do think you should make allowances that there are dogs that are worked and it is best if they are properly trained. “Close enough” isn’t good enough for a working dog’s happiness.
The shelters are full of good dogs...>
There are 80 great German shepherds available at the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (CA). Some of them have had a lot of training and lost their homes due to the Obama recession. I have fostered seven in the past year.
http://www.gsroc.org/adoption.asp
I do work my dogs and they are companions, but as I said, I’m not in high stakes competition with them and at this point don’t feel the need to use pain, which George says is necessary w/ the force fetch. I went to him to learn how to teach the dog to hold point and for backing. I’m disappointed I’ll be missing the field fun this season, but am due in February and pretty much gave up on training in the heat of the Florida summer during my first trimester of feeling overheated even when I was in the A/C. :)
I’m not sure what you’re trying to change my mind of; I didn’t think I was disagreeing with you. I don’t have any problem with someone using that method to train their dog and one of my girls, if I decide I want to do senior or master hunter or retrieve competitions with her, will probably require it. If I stick with just Junior competitions I won’t need it. I was just saying that I’d rather possibly screw things up myself than send my dog off to someone where you never really know what they’re doing to your dog when you’re not there.
If you have a trainer that you trust to send your guy off to I think that’s great and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the dog that is returned to you.
My trainer has dogs that have been named all-breed national shoot to retrieve champion. I trust him to do a better job than I could and I want to do right for my dogs.
Bless you for what you do for Senior dogs. Shelters and rescues...the way to go. 99.9% (if not 100%) are there through no fault of their own. My family never had to “seek” out our pets, because they always came to us in various ways, but this would be my choice and that of my husband’s if we ever get a choice, lol!!
Thank you again for not allowing the age of the animal to dissuade you from adoption. Older dogs make wonderful pets, as do those with “special needs”.
What a jerk.
The dog needed more time than that to adjust.
Thank you for your kind words. Makes me feel better.
Indeed, shelters and rescues are the way to go. With the exception of our beagle Bradley (1989-2006), who found us one wintry day in 1990, all our dogs have been adoptees, and of those only one was young.
It’s just a fact of life that the old dogs we adopt are with us for such a painfully short time but we enjoy every moment of their company.
As you note, most of the dogs in the shelters and under the care of rescue organizations are there through no fault of their own. I was told by the vet this morning during an office visit that there are increasing numbers of abandoned dogs and cats as a result of the economic situation (thank you, Obama, you worthless POS).
Honey came from a group that had rescued her. Her owner, a druggie, among other things, had given up his house and just left, leaving poor Honey there. A neighbor found her and turned her over to a rescue group.
Dogs of all ages are in danger of losing their homes due to bad economic times.
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