[nagdu] German shepherds and cats

Mon Jul 15 18:35:55 UTC 2013

Like so many dog breeds, unscrupulous and/or uneducated back yard breeders 
have adversely affected many breeds looking for specific characteristics 
with no attention paid to possible less desirable traits.

Specifically with shepherds, American back yard breeders have contributed to 
temperament issues, skin problems, and hit problems.  I know many police 
forces and some guide dog schools have had to start with strains from other 
countries.

My first dog was a donated shepherd who had the above problems in abundance, 
though that dog could walk me through the eye of a needle without touching 
the sides, maybe cause he was trained by Garry Matoon?  He was also 
extremely excitable and it took serious leash work to chill him out, and 
after two years, the Seeing Eye recommended he be retired.  They accepted 
responsibility for their selection and my replacement cost me nothing. 
Garry actually visited Winnipeg twice and was astounded at how over-excited 
Brut got when I visited high schools in my job as career counsellor with our 
federal government.  The required high collar corrections to chill out my 
dog didn't look good!

Indeed, with the improved breeding stock at TSE, if I go for dog number six, 
my preference would in fact be a shepherd, in part due to their natural 
deterrent appearance.  I've had four subsequent excellent workers, two 
yeller labs, a retriever, and a black lab.  They were all good workers but 
far too cute, chick magnets not withstanding.

Doug: Menu for tonight: shepherd's pie!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "L Gwizdak" <leg1950 at cox.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 12:45 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] German shepherds and cats

:I have a friend who had two Fidelco shepherds and they both were fine with
: her cats.  Yes, they like to chase and play but the dogs have to be taught
: that the cats aren't for eating!
:
: I, too, have heard about the high prey drive of many Fidelco dogs.  Back 
in
: the 1970s, I saw a TSE shepherd who had killed a cat.  In the kennels, 
there
: are cats but the dogs have no real access to them.  I know that in some of
: my TSE classes, we had an evening lecture and someone broought a mellow 
cat
: to the class and the dogs had to ignore the cat in the room and any
: agression or over interest earned the dog a stong correction.  Since those
: cats retired, don't know if they have new cats to use.
:
: I think part of the problem is that the dogs don't appear to have been
: socialized with cats as puppies with their raiser.  I had a Lab that was
: really fixated on cats.  I spent two weeks with a friend and that dog was
: fixated on her cats.  After two weeks of being able to interact with that
: very dog savvy cat, my dog got it oout of her system and wasn't fixated on
: cats anymore.  My friend had two shepherds.  My dog actually played 
"soccer"
: with my Mom's cat!  That Lab never was agressive, just very curious.  When 
I
: baby sat that cat when my Mom was out of town, the two would sleep 
together
: on my dog's bed!
:
: Lyn and Landon
: "Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is like
: asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
: ----- Original Message ----- 
: From: "Kathy" <pigwidgin07 at gmail.com>
: To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
: Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 8:21 PM
: Subject: Re: [nagdu] German shepherds and cats
:
:
: > Thanks for the replies Rhonda, Melissa, and CIndy.  It's great to hear a
: > success story with cats and a shepherd.  I definitely intend to tell the
: > school about our kitties.  At this point, I'm just curious to find some
: > folks who have had good experiences with their cats with shepherds.  I 
may
: > in the end be completely happy with a lab, golden, or lab/golden mix, 
but
: > I
: > surely do love shepherds.
: >
: > Kathy
: >
: >
: > On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 7:59 PM, Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com> wrote:
: >
: >> You probably will have to let them gradually get to know each other. 
Cats
: >> are likely to hide o ut anyway for a while.
: >>
: >> CL
: >>
: >> On Jul 12, 2013, at 9:45 PM, Kathy <pigwidgin07 at gmail.com> wrote:
: >>
: >> > Hello everyone.  This is Kathy in Seattle and I am in the middle of
: >> > applying for a guide dog.  I'm waiting for the home visits at this
: >> > point.
: >> > I agree that one should get the best dog (and breed) for your own
: >> > unique
: >> > situation but I admit to being quite partial to german shepherds,
: >> > mostly
: >> > because I grew up with and also owned collies and german shepherd
: >> > mixes.
: >> > For those of you who have or have had german shepherd guides, have 
any
: >> > of
: >> > you had cats in your household?  How did that work out?  With the 
prey
: >> > drive that some shepherds are known for, I'm concerned about our
: >> > kitties
: >> > becoming a midnight snack. :)  They are large Ragdolls and incredibly
: >> > sweet, and the last thing I'd want to do is to cause them loads of
: >> stress.
: >> > I think in the long haul, they will love having a dog around because
: >> > they
: >> > sort of act like dogs themselves.  But only if it doesn't eye them 
with
: >> > a
: >> > culinary interest.
: >> >
: >> > Thanks for the advice!
: >> >
: >> > Kathy
: >> > _______________________________________________
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: >>
: >>
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