Well, I have to admit I didn’t know what to make of
Jerry-the-trainer at first. When Mom told me we were going to some training
classes, I thought I would be sitting on the sideline giving little woofs of
approval when she did something good, but nothing turned out quite like I
expected. When we arrived at his house and we had all smelled each other over
good, Jerry took my harness off and made me put a spikey collar on my neck. I
didn’t want to, but Jerry made me put it on anyway. After it was on, though, I
changed my mind because it did make me look like a dog not to be messed
with. Later, I asked Mom about getting some tattoos, but she wouldn’t go for
the idea.
Then, Mom and Jerry blabbed for a while, all about guess
who. She had me show him some of the commands I knew, told him about my bad boy
history and went over some of the different things she had tried. She also told
him she was concerned about my attitude toward other dogs. He went in the house
and came back out with a dog even bigger than me (I know, can you believe it?),
a Dane called RD, so that he could see how I would react. Jerry later told Mom
that he thought I was young and goofy and probably hadn’t been around other
dogs too much, but he didn’t see me as aggressive.Then, he said “Lets go down the street here to work” so he walked and RD paced and I trotted dragging Mom along behind me at a run. We got to this great big parking lot with grass around it and Jerry hooked on a long, long leash and walked me around. It was weird, though, because every time I got the idea to go off on my own, some big bug would bite or pinch my neck. Then, Jerry had Mom walk me around and believe it or not, the same thing happened! She must have had a smaller bug, though, because it was a smaller pinch. Mom stopped and looked upset the first time or two that I yelped when she was walking me, but Jerry just said to go on walking. He said actions have consequences for dogs just like they do for people. He said that German Shepherds were just about the smartest of dog breeds (I knew it!) but that our intelligence could be a two-edged sword and a bunch of other stuff that I didn’t understand. Jerry told Mom to make me move out of the way when she walked toward me, not to go around, but go through me if she had to. We must have walked around for about 10 hours before we stopped, but I did learn two things. First, if I stayed close to whoever was walking me, the bug didn’t pinch my neck and second, it is a far, far better thing to move out of the way than to let your toe accidently get stepped on…YOUCH!
Mom mentioned to Jerry about how I had gotten kicked out of
doggy daycare and that she had hoped one day to be able to take me to a dog
park. Jerry said he wasn’t all that crazy about either idea because of the
dangers of dog fights/ attacks and dogs getting sick from stuff they caught
from other dogs. But he said things generally worked out OK for golden
retrievers, labs and the like, but he didn’t think it was the place for
shepherds like me. He said we were working dogs and that we generally wanted to
be with humans, not so much with other animals. I think Mom was a little
disappointed, but I gave him a high paw for that.
Finally, we went back to Jerry’s yard where he had some of
that agility equipment like they had at obedience class, only his was huge. The
first time he asked me to jump over one of those big fences I wanted to ask him
if he was crazy. But that was actually nothing compared to climbing those
mountains in his yard and walking over skinny boards with holes in them. I
thought for sure I was a dead dog, but guess what? I did it! Jerry said I was a
good boy and rubbed my fur and I decided right then and there that he was my
new best friend.
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