I missed Sable's first doctor visit with LuAnn. I was banking and running errands while she took her for her first check up.
She is getting better at riding in the truck but LuAnn thought Sable was going to lose it just before she got there. She made it with no incident though and Sable huddled close to her side.
The girls there treat dogs like little people and are a friendly bunch. Sable is quite attractive for even a German Shepherd and everyone oodled over her. LuAnn said a lady brought what looked like a 200 lb Shepherd through the door and Sable took one look at that monster and scrunched between LuAnn's legs with her paws over her legs like Save Me!
She said she took her to the examinatiion room right before the big shepherd but their doors were facing each other. The vet in training and her started laughing when Sable kept peaking over to see what the big dog was doing.
Doc walks in and looks right at LuAnn and says don't worry, her ears will stand up! She said that was quite an introduction but he told her that was always the first question from a new German Shepherd owner. He looked her over with no problem since LuAnn, Madison and Brynne had already practiced the routine on Sable.
He said she was well tempered and very smart and would make a great dog. That we had figured out. But she weighed in at 42 lbs! I knew she was heavy the last time I carried her to the truck which she usually runs away from.
Everyone pushed me towards veterinary medicine when I was a kid but I rode with the vets as an assistant in the summer and honestly couldn't stand the blood and guts. That just isn't my thing. My cousin Sue married a veterinary student though and they made a great career from helping animals.
LuAnn and Sable made it home in good shape so I had to ask all about the visit as we drove to the Fish Fry tonight. We are both still tired from a very busy week.
My sister always shouts TGIF and we did too today.
How was your week?
Ed Winkle
Shepherds are so smart and can have so much personality. The more time you spend with them the more that personality develops.
ReplyDeleteHowever, they don't deal with separation very well. They really need to be with their human. My Shepherds would sometimes not eat when I was gone for say a couple weeks.
It is fun to watch them grow and gain their self awareness. I miss having a Shepherd.
I am finding that out. Sable is acting up the more I am not with her and I wasn't with her that much last week. I hope it warms up as predicted this week so we can work outside more. I know she will be much happier.
ReplyDeleteDo Shepherd owners tend to be isolationists more because of these traits?
Maybe I need a dog to be a little more independent...
My experience was that the dogs need to feel a sense of purpose. When you leave them at home or in the truck you tell them "stay."
ReplyDeleteThen they have been left with an order and they have a sense of purpose.
My last shepherd was very mellow and self assured. And huge. He did fine except when I left him with my parents for three weeks. He quit eating and finally lost patience and headed for home.
I think as long as they have a "safe" place that they can go to when something happens outside their understanding they are fine.
For example, I had a kennel and my shepherd's felt safe there. You don't want kids sticking their hands in the doghouse to pet a nervous Shepherd.
No more isolationist than us farmers tend to be anyway...
Perhaps I'm being a bit alarmist. My second Shepherd had been abused and was a bit insane. The third shepherd was worse. Then Buddy showed up at our house and he was very relaxed.
If you raise the dog yourself I doubt you will have extremes in behaviour.
Once they master no, sit, stay, and kennel commands they are much easier to control.
My crazy dogs would at first obey no-one but me. That was a problem...
Good point. I need to leave her alone again today and it would be a great day to train her some more. She is learning by leaps and bounds. We are still in that adjustment phase as she is still a puppy but becoming a very large one!
ReplyDeleteveterinary medicine sounds more interesting and versatile to me than human but it does not pay as much as human medicine
ReplyDelete