Posted on 04/26/2009 11:52:33 AM PDT by the OlLine Rebel
labs are often useless for everything but duck retrieving. the ones that arent’ so useless are the ones that will defend their space and their rights and those of their master.
Frankly I couldn’t care less about the “Dog” part. Why do we have to exactly translate what Germans do? “Schaferhund” - so what? In German that is a requirement; not in English. We KNOW it’s a dog and not a human with a distaff. I do not need to add “dog” to any breed name for me to distinguish it. Why don’t we call Great Danes, “Great Dane Dog” or “German Dog” as its German/Danish name is?
(off the soapbox)
Well, they DO do alot of work, including things GS do and used to do (SAR, bomb-sniffing, blind leaders, etc).
You are talking about the cream of the crop. Not your average specimen. The plain fact that labs are so numerous is the reason why they are showing up in places they didn’t used to. I’ve been told that labs are even being used as sled dogs nowdays. My prediction is that the next major dog breed will be something resembling a cross between a lab and a pitbull...based purely on the numbers of dogs in existance.
I love animals, and especially love dogs, but Chihuahuas are unnerving. Like little ankle-biting piranhas, lol. Such a bundle of nerves, and so small, I’m worried about accidentally stepping on them.
The best friend I've ever had in this world was a green-eyed, dark Chocolate Lab. AKC would probably have given him demerits for the green eyes and the slightly hostile attitude with strangers, but he was a beautiful, big boy, all 110 pounds of him. Loved water, loved anyone who I told him was "OK," wanted so badly to have something useful to do, and to please. We were together for 14 1/2 years, and I'll miss him the rest of my days.
I knew a doggie in Dayton, OH named Major and his mother was Princess. Major was a descendant of Rin Tin Tin.
There was an episode of Star Trek TNG in which Commender Data was addressed by someone as “Data” with a short “a”. He proceeded to correct the pronunciation to “Data” with a long “a”.
When asked why it made a difference he replied:
“Because one is my name. The other is not.”
(/snarky reply mode off)
I will always say that a sign of intelligence is “marginally aggressiveness”, and I mean that for both dogs and humans.
LOL!
Faithful and true, that was Woody. Sounds sort of sappy, but that’s what he was. He could be intimidating. Deep bark, wild light eyes set off by dark brown fur, big muscular frame. Didn’t get too many door to door types with him around, lol. Never did any harm to anybody, though. Never had to. Knew people by name, too, loved my folks, would almost yodel with excitement, whenever he heard “Mom & Dad.” They lived out in the country, at the foot of a mountain with a farm pond across the way, mom still does; he lived for going up there. The ride was a blast for him, but the destination was the point. You could hear him coming a mile away, my folks said. He could tell when we were close, whether it was the sight of the mountain, the smells, or what. Head popped out of the sunroof, and that almost-yodel. God, I miss him.
Yes, Labs are extremely numerous, but even in the ‘70s they weren’t - and they were starting already to take over guide-dog jobs.
Something is wrong with the German Shepherd, when even police/MIL jobs are being taken over - this time by a VERY rare breed called Begian Malinois.
But don’t get me going on that whole subject!
Don’t believe it all. The real Rin-Tin-Tin may have some actual descendents, but the truth about 3rd-generation+ (TV, knock-offs, etc) was that they were descended from Rinty’s grandson’s HALF-BROTHER (i.e., NOT through Rinty).
LOL
Regardless, we don’t need “Dog” in the name, and Joe Schmoe never knew it that way, anyway - proof we don’t need it.
It’s called “assertiveness”, not aggression.
My dogs, and my sister’s dogs, too. All German Shepherds. My original being the greatest dog ever, however.
Had a dog when I was a child into my teens, that passed from old age while I was away at college, not a full bred German Shepherd, but looked the part. He was another great dog, that I loved a great deal. I was actually angry at my folks for not telling me he was ill. I’d have come home.
THAT is one beautiful pup!!! How big is he?
> Something is wrong with the German Shepherd, when even police/MIL jobs are being taken over - this time by a VERY rare breed called Begian Malinois.
I have a view on that.
In the US the GSD breeders have been working toward developing a sloping back for their show dogs, as a “breed standard”. It makes the dogs look like they are popping a wheelie, even when they are standing still. Very dramatic, but rather useless as it tends toward hip problems like dysplasia. They have also been working toward a smaller GSD, which is great for agility but not so good if you are trying to catch Bad Guys. They are cute, but miniature.
Here in NZ you can, if you want, find these funny-looking GSDs, or you can get the GSD with the classic working-dog lines: the square back, medium-large size. These are still quite suitable for police work, and indeed our police still use them. They are the only GSDs that I will have.
In my humble opinion there is no finer dog for any general purpose than a pedigreed German Shepherd. They are utterly reliable. So if this particular GSD bit a two year old in the face, I immediately suspect two things: 1) it isn’t a GSD, but rather a mungrel with some GSD blood; and 2) if it is a GSD it doesn’t have a pedigree — meaning that it isn’t in conformance with its breed standard.
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