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I've had dogs for about a far back I can remember. It started with a Poodle(!), an animal I'm really not sure if I think belong to the canine family - at least not when thinking about the way my mother treated the one we had when I was a kid.
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I'm really fascinated by everything you find in nature - so, what is it with dogs? What makes them so special to me? It's
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difficult to give a short answer to those questions, but this should give a pretty good idea:
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As soon as I got my own place, I bought my first German Shepherd. She only lived for 10 months, before she she was hit by a car.
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8 months later, I got my first male pup - a real nut case. He was an excellent working dog - unfortunately I wasn't experienced enough to train him to his full potential, so after a couple of years, I sold him to a guy who competed with him with on a high level. He was really my favorite, and even now, 8 dogs later, I think there was something
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special about him.
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From the beginning, he was more wild than tame - good thing was that he learned real quickly, and the more I trained him, the more he wanted to learn. He was the kind of dog you could bring everywhere, and nothing bothered him. He was just one big happy dog. We got real close, and stayed close even after I sold him.
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I went to lots of exhibitions with him, and we won many of them. He was good fun at exhibitions, as he really enjoyed it there. If he was in the lead, and the audience started applauding, he responded by running even faster. The more applaud, the faster he ran, and it seemed like he could run like that forever...
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During the time I had him, I gradually changed attitude towards the breeding of German Shepherds - and the craziness you find there. Most unfortunately, these dogs have become far to popular, it's too much money involved - and we all know that that leads to. I honestly don't don't think these intelligent, hardworking, lovable dogs deserves the critics and suspicion they meet - many of their owners, on the other hand...
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Unico and I spent much time out in the woods - some training, and lots of playing. He's favorite activity was to search for toys that I'd hidden. For some reason, he wasn't all that interested in playing with them - just to locate where they were. For more serious training, this can be frustrating, but we had fun - and that's the point!
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For the first time, I also spent a week on a training camp in the middle of nowhere. I don't think neither Unico nor I have ever been as exhausted as we were after one week with intensive training, new people, new dogs, etc. It's one of my best experiences when it comes to do stuff together with your dog.
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Unico and I only got 18 months together. A friend(???) was supposed to take care of him while I was backpacking, but she actually replaced him behind my back. When I found out I freaked out completely, but it turned out that he lived with a family that loved him just as much as I did. I met them, and quickly decided to let them keep him. I visited him regularly, and looked after him while they were on holiday.
Unico was born with a disease affecting his immunesystem, but lived many years longer than anyone could hope for. This was thanks to his new owner, who spent a fortune on medication... and probably has become the closest you can being a veterinarian, without actually being one. Unico is now fooling around on the eternal hunting grounds - still holding a huge space in my heart.
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He's really clumsy, but when he jumps happy around - which he does a lot - he reminds me more of an Antilope/Gazelle, and I never stop being amazed of what a clumsy, fury, lazy, animal like that actually can do.
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Anders can be unbelievably lazy, and if you ask him to come quickly he acts like he's been told to philosophize a bit over the rise and fall of ancient cultures. He loves to play... for at least 3 minutes at the time. Much has been written about the training of dogs - but what about dog's training their owners? Anders has developed a body language that you just can't neither ignore nor misunderstand.
He loves swimming, and preferably not alone. He's great to go swimming with, as he stays at your side and never tries
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to climb your back. When we returns to the shore, I hold on to his hips, and let him tow me back. Good fun for me, and one of his favorite activities.
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All dogs develop their own distinct personalities, and do funny/ crazy stuff that makes them so special to us. Anders does a thing that I have never seen or heard of before: He is sleeping on his back, with all four feet up against the wall... well, that's not soooo special, but how about this one: He falls asleep while sucking on one of his paws! He has done it since he was a puppy - and still does. Now, that's one of the many things that melts "aunties" heart.
Anders is my official Fur Therapist - a therapy I highly recommend! That, together with lot's of fresh air, good laughs
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and the unconditional love you get from animals must be some of the best "recreational drug" there is!
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