I had a different blog topic I thought I would write about this week, but yesterday was our outdoor Freedom service at church & when service is outside I take my dog Hunter with. Someone asked me if he pointed, I said oh you see the German Short-haired Pointer in him, he said oh yeah. Hunter is 42% German Short-haired Pointer, 22% English Setter & I think 13% Brittany & 9 other breeds with smaller %’s. I have had people see so many different breeds in him (I hear guesses of Doberman, Lab, Vizsla, Weimaraner, he is none of those). His color throws many people off, it’s called liver roan.
My response to Bob about him pointing was, he will point a Robin from time to time, but honestly he is not real bright. I follow-up up with what he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in sweetness, gentleness & cuteness. Hunter is not a huge fan of kids, but he is good with them. The only time I can recall Hunter growling other than at his dog brother for annoying him was when I was camping & 3 boys from a neighboring site were visiting & playing with my dogs. The 2 1/2 yr old boy had little or no dog experience & he cupped his hands around Hunter’s muzzle. Hunter lightly growled & it got my attention right away, I told Joey not to do that & he let go & Hunter moved to the far end of his leash, away from the boys & took a nap.
I think some people believe because an animal is a certain type that it should be able to do certain things. Hunter has more Hunting/sporting breeds in him than any other thing but he is not athletic & actually quite clumsy at times. I wasn’t looking to compete or get him into sports,so it’s not important. Maybe with my next dog I might do some sport again, but it is not a must. I really think it is important to know the activity level of your pet & be sure & help it to use it’s energy level and talents in constructive fun ways.
I have fostered a variety of pets & some were smart & some not so much. I don’t believe in the saying that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Like us we can learn throughout our whole lives, it keeps our brains sharp. Most animals learn by repetition & they repeat what they get rewarded for.
Hunter is the first dog I have ever had that was an obedience training class drop-out. A friend was teaching his class & it was a beginner level & he hated it & would stare at the door we came in & the other pups in class were learning to sit & Hunter wouldn’t focus on me at all. An animal won’t learn under stress, so I talked to Liz & we agreed after a few tries he wasn’t learning & wanted to leave. Nothing bad happened there so it wasn’t the reason, he just wasn’t having it. I decided to try & work on training at home, I have taken other dogs to basic obedience & other classes as well. Hunter only sits on a dog bed or a rug, it took a while to teach lay & ‘stay” is pretty much a 3-5 second thing with him. He is not a runner & sticks close to that helps, he is usually close by, he is on the futon in the room with me now.
All of us including animals have strengths & weaknesses & not all of us are geniuses, I’m not even close. We need to recognize the strengths & celebrate them & to be honest the fact that Hunter isn’t extremely bright is fine with me, he is so sweet & he wants to please. He is good with people & he is good when he travels with me. He usually ignores my birds in the house & doesn’t steal things or chew up things he shouldn’t. He walks well on leash & is not dog reactive, curious if he sees a cat or squirrel on a walk, but can get him focused back on me & we can walk on. So if your pet isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box, know they have good qualities & enjoy those & love them for it.
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If you have a question or an idea for a post feel free to email me a echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com I have 148 posts on this blog & you can find the table of content on the home page under the show tab in the upper left corner. Then you can go back to the home page & scroll down to find the posts you want to read. I write about a variety of pets & subjects so hopefully you will find a variety of posts to read. Thank you, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 