Infuriating article in the Times today.

[gritsar]

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Not to start an argument but I have to disagree with you there. Where would my boys, yes they are my furry children, be if not inside with us as part of our family? Our older GSD Jax weighs 85 lbs., his younger brother Kane 105 lbs. They get numerous opportunities for play and training outside, but are otherwise inside with their family where they belong. GSDs want to be with their masters more than anything. Obviously we can't be outside around the clock, so they are indoors when we are and outdoors when we are. I am disabled and we have trained Jax as my assistant. He wouldn't be able to do many of the things he does to help me throughout the day if he wasn't inside with me. Kane? Well he's a couch potato. He's also a long haired GSD. I couldn't imagine him living outside and in fact we restrict the amount of time he spends outside during the hot days of summer.

 

[FourPawz]

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Thanks, Gritty! GSDs need attention. They're very bright and they adore their people. They want to be with humans as much as possible. Ok, so you learn to live with dog hair on the rug. There are worse things in life.

 

[OldGuy43]

Not meaning to be argumentative either but...

We have shared our home with a 110# Old English Sheep dog, a 95# Rottweiler, a 85# German Shepherd and a 70# Australian Shepherd along with a lot of others who were smaller, and that's just the dogs. All have came into the house when they wanted and went into the yard when it suited them. That's one of the reasons we have indoor/outdoor carpet. All were rescues in one way or another. There are three big differences between me and the fellow in this story. I have a fenced 1/2 acre yard. I live on a twenty acre horse ranch in Central Texas. I do not live in New York City. I am retired and have time to spend with all the animals on the ranch. Oh there is one other difference, I didn't buy a pig in a poke and when it didn't work out, effectively abandon it. OldGal and I have found good homes where they were wanted and loved for each and every one or they lived out their lives with us.

I quit.

 

[Matthew3590]

The title of the article is wrong but its all right since he got the dog back.

 

[gritsar]

I'm home all day, every day with the exception of grocery shopping and doctors appointments. The boys have a babysitter if we have to be gone more than 3 hours or so. My life revolves around my animals and I'm happy that it does. All Jax and Kane have to do is tell me they want to go outside and they are allowed to go out - even when I know they are lying to me and really only want to chase squirrels. Our fenced yard is somewhere in the neighborhood of an acre. The farm is 80 acres. The only restriction we place on the boys is not allowing them outside the fenced yard unless we are with them. Jax hates cows and although he's trained to ignore them, we wouldn't want to take any chances with Jax or the cows.

I was only commenting that I don't see a thing wrong with keeping two large working dogs in the house. I probably keep the makers of the Hoover vacumm cleaner in business in the process. They don't call them german shedders for nothing.

 

[Fierlin1182]

Man, that was pretty sad for the dog, but glad she's safe now!
If I didn't want her I would've probably found somewhere else for her to go... especially if the company didn't want to take her back.

 

[frostbite]

Dog, horse, any kind of animal that people can purchase "already trained" aren't machines.
Rookie riders can get on a well trained horse and do nothing but destroy the training the horse has if they have no clue how to communicate with the animal. It's not like getting a new vacuum cleaner and flipping a switch. And people that get a trained guard dog expecting that the animal will operate by push button are just ignorant, lazy, and irresponsible.
The seller was treating the animal like it was an inanimate product too, in his disregard for vetting the home he was sending it to.

No good guys here. But they'll both pay, in time and irritation and lawyers fees, regardless of who ultimately "wins". Poor dog.

 

[FourPawz]

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Any buyer that buys a young dog with a Schutzhund 1 title, who thinks he's buying a "guard dog", needs to realize he's got a few years of training that's going to set him back a few thousand more dollars, assuming the dog he's bought even has the characteristics needed to produce a serious man-stopper. A Sch 1 title is only a low level sport title. Most serious trainers of actual guard dogs do not use the same methods that are practiced by sport trainers, because schutzhund dogs do not have the suspicion and well-developed fighting drive it takes to make a serious attack dog. The majority of Sch dogs focus on the sleeve worn by the decoy, and have no clue what to do when faced by a man who isn't wearing the target they've been trained to bite.

 

[Newwell]

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I totally agree with you. People purchasing high energy, highly trained animals need to be high energy and highly trained themselves.

I fault both the company and the owner. The company should have insisted that the purchaser "visit" with the dog before the purchase to insure that the person was trained in the care and upkeep of such an animal. The purchaser should have insisted (paying that kind of money in the first place) to "visit" with the dog first to check for compatibility and his ability to handle the dog.

It is vital that any animal knows who the master is, and the person owning an animal must know HOW to be the master.

My question is why would someone with a family want a German Shepherd that had been trained that way in the first place? I watched the training videos and it was obvious to me that this is NOT a cuddly, family lap dog.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Ooh, they have some awesome, gorgeous, highly intelligent & enthusiastic dogs! I would be proud to own one of those. Though our GSD Holly looks and acts much like them. I see nothing wrong with Emmi. It is the buyer, he knows nothing about such magnificent dogs!