the candid dog

Jake at Tilden

When you have a German Shepherd, people respond in two ways; either with fond remembrance – “I had a German Shepherd named Max when I was growing up and he was the best dog ever.” Or with fear. “Could you please keep your dog away from mine? He was attacked by a German Shepherd awhile ago and he’s been scared of them ever since.” This type of reaction happens more times than I can count. It’s hard not to take it personally. Jake is gentle and sweet. But if you’re used to small dogs or maybe had a bad experience with a German Shepherd, I guess I can understand.

I had a chance to change someone’s mind about fearing a German Shepherd recently. But I missed the opportunity. Here’s what happened:

I was walking my 3 dogs at Pt. Isabel on a Sunday afternoon. As usual, there were a lot of people around and more kids that there are during the week. A mother was walking toward us with a child on either side, on one side a girl, and a younger child, a boy, on the other side. The boy was already clinging to his mother as they walked toward us. He clearly was not enjoying the experience. They didn’t have a dog and it’s unusual for people to be at this park unless they have one.

As the family got closer, the boy clung even more tightly to his mother. Jake, my Shepherd, who is friendly and likes kids, walked toward him and the boy pulled back, fearful, and said to his mother, “That’s a police dog.” This was code for “that dog is trained to hurt people.” The mother pulled his son in closer and walked by.

I had my chance right then to tell them that not all German Shepherds are trained to attack if given the command. Some are just pets and are friendly, smart, joyful, loyal and loving. I would need to do this by not preaching or trying to persuade the fearful that my dog won’t hurt them. But just smiling and stating, to ask them to consider if this could be true. If a person is genuinely afraid of dogs, you can’t change their minds in one encounter. People or kids don’t seem to ever fear my lab mixes but a German Shepherd, it’s a harder sell sometimes.

Yesterday I watched as a man yelled at his dog to come. The dog was running, playing and didn’t come immediately. The man yelled several more times, each time getting more insistent. Finally, the dog did come, somewhat hesitantly but happy and smiling. As the dog approached the man, the man slapped his dog on either side of his face. I yelled at him, 3 times, “Don’t you hit that dog!” and he said, “Leave me the f*?k alone.”

I watched as he walked away, the dog following him obediently, as they both headed toward a woman who was waiting for them. As he got closer to her, he said to me, “I’m sorry, ma’m.” It didn’t make me feel any better. I’d rather he would have hugged the dog and apologized for being impatient. I really can’t stand people being cruel in any way to an animal and whenever things like this happen, it sticks with me for quite awhile. If I had kept a cooler head, I could have told him that dogs are more likely to come if they know they’ll be treated with kindness than cruelty.

The worse part is that this wasn’t the first time I’ve seen and responded to someone being cruel to their dog and I usually get the same response as I got from this guy. I don’t get it. Dogs ask so little and give us so much. They want nothing more than to please if they “misbehave,” can we be forgiving and teach them? I guess it’s easier for some to strike out.

I look forward to a day when “being treated like an animal” means the opposite of what it means now – animals treated with kindness and dignity not cruelty.

A couple months after I adopted Jake, I was walking the dogs at Albany Bulb, our unofficial local dog park. A woman showed up with several other dogs, including one other German shepherd. Jake was very interested her and as we walked past her, he stayed close to her, looking up, wanting some kind of acknowledgment from her. When I called him, he wanted to stay with her. This is unusual for Jake; not the part about not coming when he’s called but the fact that he’s not that interested in people, just other dogs, particularly poodles and German shorthairs. Clearly, he wanted attention from this woman and I couldn’t figure out why. There seemed like there was some connection though.

I started talking to her and she asked how long I had Jake and where did I adopt him, the usual dog conversations. As we talked, I realized that she was Pam, the woman who had rescued Jake (then Habib) from a shelter near Fresno. She took care of his vet care and made sure that he had a good foster home until he was adopted. I had exchanged emails with her when she posted his adoption picture but had never met her until now. Obviously, Jake hadn’t forgotten her and his gratitude was evident in the way he followed her and wanted to be with her.

We talked about what a great dog he is, especially considering how rough his life must have been growing up. Jake is a gentle, well-socialized dog whose owners may not have had the money to feed him well. I assured her that he had a good life now, she gave him plenty of hugs and attention and then Pam went on her way.

As she walked the other way, Jake kept watching her until she was too far away to be seen. There was something so poignant in his watching her. He remembered her and didn’t forget her kindness. There’s no other explanation. I won’t forget either.

In July, I adopted a new dog named Jake.

I meet a lot of dogs. I see I go to the dog park every day and see the regulars. Like most regulars, I know the dogs’ names but often not the owners. When I’m just walking around, at a minimum, I smile at every dog I see. It’s a natural response. But if there’s time and the situation is right, I try to find out the dog’s name, to pet it, call it “sweetie”, and usually the owner will tell me a story.

“He was a stray and I tried to find a home for him. But I ended up keeping him. Now it’s 9 years later and I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“My neighbor kept this dog tied up all day. I couldn’t bear it. When I asked about it, it turned out that the boyfriend didn’t want a dog around. So I adopted her.”

Just this morning when I was walking my dogs at the dog park, I saw a woman with a dog who looked exactly like Sasha, my dear dog who died in Sept. The dog’s name was Rudy. He was a stray and his owner found him on a freeway in LA.

In my own case, I adopted 2 senior dogs, brothers, from a shelter 2 years ago. Their owner, who had them both for 10 years, surrendered them. Great dogs.

The dog in the picture is Bear. He’s a dog I met in San Rafael, CA. Bear was left homeless after a flood in Ross. His owner gave him daily walked and love ensued. The man (notice that I didn’t catch his name) proclaimed great affection for Bear and couldn’t imagine life without him.

Every dog has a history. Over the years, I’ve heard countless stories of abandonment and abuse, adoption and love.

You may have thought that you were doing your dog a favor by leaving on the radio, “Animal Planet” or music during the day while you were gone. Although I’ve never done it, I could see why people would think that ever-present sound would provide their pet with some company.

But then I heard an interview with Joshua Leeds, co-author of Through a Dog’s Ear. He said imagine what it would be like if you were left alone in a room with the TV on and you couldn’t change the station or the sound level. Add to that the fact that the sounds from the TV or radio may be sounds that your dog doesn’t have a reference to and can’t process and you may find that you’re not doing your dog a favor after all.

However, Leeds says that his research shows that there is music that seems to be universally soothing and (of course) he has a CD to sell with that music on it. There’s plenty of research and sound samples on his web site to try out if you’re skeptical.

More on dogs and sound-If your dog pants loud and long, it could be laughing and this sound has a soothing effect on other dogs. Read more in Sound of Dog’s ‘Laugh’ Soothes Other Pooches. You don’t have to convince me. When one of my dogs pants, I am immediately soothed and calmed.

Last time I was at the San Francisco airport waiting for a delayed flight, all anxious and annoyed, I met this rescue dog. He was being flown along with his trainers to his first mission. Upon seeing this excited pup, petting him and talking to his owners about what a fine dog he was, I was immediately calmed.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were dog petting stations at airports?