[Ag-eq] OT question

[Jody W. Ianuzzi]

Hi Peg,

It is the versatility of the shepherd and their intelligence that is so
wonderful.  That same police dog who can take down a criminal can visit an
elementary school and they can be totally trusted around small children.
The training for a police dog makes a game out of taking down the bad guy.
Think of it as martial arts training for dogs.  Just because a person has a
black belt doesn't mean they are vicious and dangerous to be around.  I sure
hope that black belts aren't perceived that way since I have two of them.
<GRIN>

One of my earliest experiences with shepherds was when I was riding in the
car with my mother down a four lane highway.  Traffic was stopped in all
directions while a shepherd ran frantically in circles barking at the cars
to stop.  The dog was protecting a toddler who had ridden their tricycle in
to the  road.  It didn't stop barking until the toddler's mom had come out
to rescue the toddler.  I had two German Shepherds while my kids were
growing up.  They were like nannies with my kids.  They would play hide and
seek together and I never had to worry about the dogs hurting my kids.   I
remember one day our daughter was about three and she tripped and fell on
our dog so hard she knocked the wind out of him.  I gasped because I didn't
know what he would do.  Well, he just licked her face as if to say he knew
she didn't mean to hurt him.

Shepherds like all large breeds are prone to hip dysplasia but breeders are
x-raying hips and having dogs OFA certified.  The hip joints can be shallow
and cause problems and that is what the test is looking for.  I would never
get a shepherd whose parents weren't OFA certified.  

I think shepherds, pit bulls, Dobermans and Rotweilers get a bad rep because
of the bad ways people train them.  It isn't the breed as much as it is the
people who ruin them just like the cruel person who kept your poodle locked
up in a cage.  

As for horses, this might sound silly but since I was ten years old I have
wanted a Quarter Horse Palominos.  I am going to hold out until I find one.


What would you all say is the biggest difference between a gelding and a
mare's personalities?  I have heard mares can be bitchy.

JODY