Several Questions About a Dog?

Question

Okay, so. This one time I had a companion, named Crow. In my opinion, and everyone I know's, he was the best dog that ever lived. I have several questions about him:

Crow never growled or bit, except when someone who wasn't me tried to hug him, why's that?

Followup question: He once growled at our landlord and tried to attack her when she came into our house without our permission, we never trained him to do anything but not poop or pee in the house (Untuil his Degenerative Neuropathy made him unable to controll it.) So he's not an attack dog at all. Why, is pretty much what i'm asking.

Followup to the followup: Crow, ever since our landlord trespassed, has growled at asian people, no matter who they were, did it traumatize him or something? (Note: Landlord was Asian.)

How did Crow learn how to open lollipops, not eat the paper from them, then not eat the sticks?

How did Crow learn to not beg at the table without any training at all? He'd just sit there during dinner time.

Could Crow understand that his kibble is there if he gets hungry, the Table Scraps were treats, and that the Bones came after going for a walk?

Anyway, those are all the things I can think of that i'm curious about.

Crow was a Black German Shepherd\Border Collie, he lived to be Fifteen, and was born (And Died) near my birthday. I am Fifteen.


Wait, two more things: Why did he have no tolerance for anything that wasn't human, and why was I the only one he wouldn't growl at when I got near him as he was dieng?

Answer 1

Your dog could of had very protective instincts. A sheepdog looks at the family as a herd, his to make sure stays together and his protect.



As for the hugging, could just be something he didn't like, part of his personality. I have a cat that loves cuddling and can never get enough attention, but if you try to kiss her face she'll push you away. She hates it.



And your dog sounds like someone who was just very intelligent. Border Collies are extremely smart, so he basically taught himself.



But, not teaching a dog anything can cause some behaviour issues, so some of the things he did might be because of lack of training.



A dog can be protective and aggressive without it being a special training, were bred to be that way or just a personality trait that wasn't put under control by training.

Answer 2

Many dogs have very high prey drive. This includes both German Shepherds and Border Collies. It's likely why he didn't tolerate cats. As for other dogs, that is due to lack of socialization.



If your dog didn't beg at the table, it's likely because no one fed him from the table off their plate.



As for the lollipops, it was probably trial and error on his part. Both GSD's and BC's are highly intelligent. It takes quite a bit to stump them.



As for your landlord, GSD's are very protective. They are often not very forgiving if they perceive a wrong. I had a GSD for 12 years. He loved everyone, until my neighbour tried to break in one night. He never liked the neighbour after that and would always go off barking at him.



Fortunately, my GSD was very good with other animals no matter what the species. We loved that we could bring in strays and he would often offer them his food by taking a mouthful of his kibble and dropping it in front of them.

Answer 3

Q1: He growled because they were making a dominance gesture. A dominant dog does NOT like having anything wrapped across its neck, but will submit to any treatment by its leader..



Q2: He was a dominant dog and regarded the house as "his pack's" territory.

Q3: You don't say all that happened between him and the landlord, but I doubt that he was traumatised (although the landlord might have been). But dogs appear "prejudiced" because their noses tell them that "this person eats this diet" and "that person eats that diet", and they react to the strangeness of the odours permeating from people who eat a diet different than their family does. as with the Indian shopkeeper who bought a GSD from a Pakeha ("white") friend of mine. Very soon the dog liked only Indians.



Q4: Experience. Herding breeds can learn VERY quickly. PS: He should NOT have been given lollipops.



Q5: Because he was happy with his own food, and because no-one used food to teach him to beg-sit. None of my GSDs begged when I'm at the table - if I bring KFC home they lie where they can watch me, because they know to not be "pushy" while waiting for a bone to be lobbed at particular mouth. But when I'm spreading interesting-to-dogs things on my sandwich in the kitchen, THEN they sit ostentatiously to tell me they WOULD like a bit, please.



Q6: He could - but don't ask us whether he DID. BTW: His kibble should NOT have been "always there" - that 'on demand' system is the WORST way to feed a dog, research having proven that it increases the amount of HD in litters. And I personally disapprove of all kibbles.



"Crow was a Black German Shepherd\Border Collie, he lived to be Fifteen, and was born (And Died) near my birthday. I am Fifteen."

So his training period was completed BEFORE you developed any memories. So you can't KNOW what training your parents gave him.



Q7: Presumably because his breeder had no other species and your household had no other pets. What a pup doesn't experience before it is 13 weeks old is always something to be suspicious of. And Crow was also obviously a dominant, territorial pooch.



Q8: I find that hard to believe. I would expect your whole household to be safe near him.



Q9: A fit is what epileptics have.

You don't say what HIS behaviour was and in which ways your father would mock him. But dogs are EXPERT at reading body-language and voice-tone. I imagine that one or both signalled your father's intentions to Crow. Your father probably also stared at Crow while mocking him - dominant dogs do NOT like being stared at. Staring is normally a challenge, but because your father was almost certain to be your "household pack leader" Crow was emotionally prevented from retaliating.



◙ To ask about GSDs or BCs, join some of the YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with them. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos in your messages.

Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly

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