Dogs

Drew and I went to visit my friend Mindi from back home in Parsippany on Sunday, and we had the pleasure of meeting her new German Shepherd, Major. I should start by mentioning that she already has another, older German Shepherd named Emma who’s a real sweetheart and very well trained. Major is only a year old, and hasn’t been well trained in his previous homes. He’s very sweet, but high strung and loves to jump on people and furniture. With such a large dog, this can be a dangerous situation. The majority of the time people were at the house (5 of us in all), Major was barking and jumping and generally demanding attention. It didn’t help that there was one person slightly afraid of him, which if you know anything about dogs you know makes it worse.

It wasn’t until after a couple of people left that Drew and I got to see some dog training in action. Once there were less people around, he calmed down a bit, and I think he was happy to get more attention. It’s amazing, Major will obey pretty much any command given as long as you are holding his ball. But if you’re trying to command him empty handed, forget it. He acts like he’s never heard the words “sit,” or “down” in his life. We figured out that he’s a pretty smart dog, and he likes to be the one in control, which of course is a big no-no. We also figured out that we like dogs and wish we could get one. With both of us working full time, though, that’s just not possible. We would never be able to put in the training and effort that a dog needs and the attention he/she deserves. It sucks, because I’ve always loved German Shepherds, and this just reaffirmed my desire to raise one. When we decide to have kids, I’ll probably be home, but then of course I’ll have kids to worry about and probably still no time for a dog. Anyone else have the experience of raising and training a puppy, or any ideas on how to make time for one?

Posted by: Fuzzy Bunny | 02-21-2006 | 03:02 PM
Posted in: General | Personal