Annette1
Jedi
I saw this new addition and thought I’d post an experience of mine. Also, thank you for this new board. I enjoy our 2-D friends and stories about them, so I thought I'd add one here.
We had a German Shepard, given to us by a single woman who had originally purchased the dog for protection. At the time, I was around 12 years old and my siblings ranged in age down to age six. There were four of us kids. He was a welcomed playmate by us. At the time, on his hind legs he was about 4 ft. 6in. tall, weighed about 80 pounds and the vet measured his jaw grip at 180 pounds.
One afternoon, my parents left the house to grocery shop. Being the oldest, I was left to “baby-sit”. My sister and I got into a heated argument whereupon she socked me, then took off running to the refuge of our shared bedroom with me in hot pursuit, cuz I was intending to sock her back. My sister threw herself on her bed face down and I landed on top of her, fist in the air ready to slug her.
The dog caught my arm in mid air and growled as he firmly held my arm. Was I ever surprised. The dog did not break my skin or hurt me. I was so stunned by the dog’s reaction, I completely forgot about slugging my sister and riveted my attention to the dog. We were eyeball to eyeball. His growl was like an admonishment from him that he was not going to tolerate violence. I relaxed the muscles in my arm and his grip loosened. Just to see what the dog would do, I deliberately tightened the muscles in my arm again and he tightened his grip and growled again. When I relaxed and had calmed down, he let go of my arm. He also stayed nearby and kept a watchful gaze on us. Turns out, he was an excellent baby-sitter.
This same dog would play “musical chairs” with us, though the game was modified to accommodate him. He would go around in a circle with us and just watch us. When we all ran for a chair, he would nip at your thighs and hindquarters until you evacuated the chair and he would then hop up on the chair. Obviously, he always won.
I am always amazed by our 2-D friends, especially when they exhibit some learned behavior that they pick up on their own just from observing and being around their human companions. Most times we seem to give them so little credit. I am also impressed by their ability to sense the mood of their human companions, especially at their attempts to comfort when they sense it is needed. They’re great teachers sometimes as they offer us another perspective when we pay attention.
We had a German Shepard, given to us by a single woman who had originally purchased the dog for protection. At the time, I was around 12 years old and my siblings ranged in age down to age six. There were four of us kids. He was a welcomed playmate by us. At the time, on his hind legs he was about 4 ft. 6in. tall, weighed about 80 pounds and the vet measured his jaw grip at 180 pounds.
One afternoon, my parents left the house to grocery shop. Being the oldest, I was left to “baby-sit”. My sister and I got into a heated argument whereupon she socked me, then took off running to the refuge of our shared bedroom with me in hot pursuit, cuz I was intending to sock her back. My sister threw herself on her bed face down and I landed on top of her, fist in the air ready to slug her.
The dog caught my arm in mid air and growled as he firmly held my arm. Was I ever surprised. The dog did not break my skin or hurt me. I was so stunned by the dog’s reaction, I completely forgot about slugging my sister and riveted my attention to the dog. We were eyeball to eyeball. His growl was like an admonishment from him that he was not going to tolerate violence. I relaxed the muscles in my arm and his grip loosened. Just to see what the dog would do, I deliberately tightened the muscles in my arm again and he tightened his grip and growled again. When I relaxed and had calmed down, he let go of my arm. He also stayed nearby and kept a watchful gaze on us. Turns out, he was an excellent baby-sitter.
This same dog would play “musical chairs” with us, though the game was modified to accommodate him. He would go around in a circle with us and just watch us. When we all ran for a chair, he would nip at your thighs and hindquarters until you evacuated the chair and he would then hop up on the chair. Obviously, he always won.
I am always amazed by our 2-D friends, especially when they exhibit some learned behavior that they pick up on their own just from observing and being around their human companions. Most times we seem to give them so little credit. I am also impressed by their ability to sense the mood of their human companions, especially at their attempts to comfort when they sense it is needed. They’re great teachers sometimes as they offer us another perspective when we pay attention.