Hiking with Bello is one of my favorite activities to do with Bello! I could watch him explore and run all day long! He is just a beautiful animal! Sometimes, I have to admit I am a little jealous of the life he leads! All the love and affection he can handle. Always learning new things! Numerous adventures!
No matter where we have gone though Bello always comes when re called and never gets too far ahead of me without turning to look back and make sure I am still there! The unconditional love an animal shares with us is something we as humans could all learn to do a little better!
Bello and I have now been together for 7 weeks and 5 days and I can't imagine not having him in my life! He has finished his obedience class! He did very well. Of course his obedience training is a life long activity and our goal is to make all his obedience commands 2nd nature to him! In order to make him a good canine citizen and an excellent ambassador for his breed his obedience work will never stop!
As we move on with our adventures and training Bello will begin learning service/modern convenience skills and even search and rescue (SAR) work! The more his mind is stimulated and his body is exercised the better German Shepherd ambassador he will be for his breed! With NaNook and NaKoda (my rotties) and Panda (pit bull) people often were amazed at their obedience and gentle personalities as well as their protectiveness towards me. No matter where we traveled someone always commented on them and of course usually followed up with "they are usually such aggressive dogs" - even though this is a false statement that I often had to correct. The compliments on behavior and personality is exactly what I want for Bello! With a lot of hard work and training he will achieve this! By working hard at helping him learn manners, obedience and skills this will help him to have a very happy and rewarding life! Not to mention provide me with an excellent companion!
Many people who do not know or understand German Shepherds have a lot of false beliefs about the breed. This is not new to me as I previously owned Rottweilers, Pit Bulls and Boxers. They all have bad reputations with uneducated and inexperienced people because all they know are the horror stories that have occurred do being owned by bad humans.
There are so many myths when it comes to the German Shepherd.
PUPPIES ARE BETTER THAN ADULT DOGS - Puppies are not always better than getting an adult dog! Puppies have sharp teeth and tend to nip and bite often causing injuries to small children and adults. Puppies are not yet house broken, often do not have manners, do not have any experience with the world around them. While adult dogs who have not been properly trained can have many of the same issues the statement that puppies are better simply is not true.
FEMALES HAVE FEWER DOMINANCE ISSUES THAN MALES - WRONG! Female dogs in heat can be a powerful, destructive force to be reckoned with. Not to mention that their life experience has a large factor in determining their personality and behavior. Females should not be viewed as docile or submissive. Males and females can be just as laid back and easy going as their counterparts all depending on their environment, humans and training.
SPAYING MY DOG IS INHUMANE – I WANT HIM/HER TO HAVE PUPPIES - Another myth. What is inhumane is adding to the already horrible number of dogs in the world in need of good homes and humans. Unless you are breeding towards the betterment of the breed then you are engaging in behaviors that could add to overpopulation, traits and characteristics and genes that should not have been bred, leading to lifelong medical issues or bad behavior that could land your dogs offspring in kill shelters or with humans who do not know how to handle such issues. Also, if you do not properly screen potential owners there are all kinds of situations your puppies could end up in that would not be great such as dog fighting rings as fighters or even bait dogs......to mention one.
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