I know this goes against most BSL garbage, but I have to tell you all about a good experience I had today.
I love GSD's, I've never had one, but friends back in Pennsylvania had them, and I think they're just gorgeous and brilliant dogs. My wife, on the other hand, was attacked by one when she was young, and it took me a few years after we were married before I could have a Rottie because she was afraid of "big" dogs (when we lived in PA, she once sat, locked in her truck, because the person where she boarded her horse, forgot to close their door, so their English Mastiff came to meet her at her truck when she pulled in the driveway. She pretty much froze, and kept trying to call me from her cell phone, I didn't have mine on, and after almost an hour, the owners' 8 year old son came home and called the dog, and all was fine.)
Anyway, she ended up meeting the big bad Mastiff, and figured out he was a big bad baby that wanted a pat on the head. 2 years later, I got my Rottie pup, and she'll take anything he'll dish out, even considering the pup is now 5 years old and as big as her.
Today was a good test, we went fishing in a remote spot out here in Montana, and as soon as she threw her first line, I pointed out a GSD walking toward us. She didn't bat an eye, she kept fishing, the dog walked up to me and I played with it for a bit, then she set her fishing pole down and came up and gave him a good rubdown. (We had driven by this particular fishing spot many, many times, and knew the dog belonged to the people that lived on that portion of the river, and we were fishing on their property, which is how things work out here.)
10 years ago, my list of BSL dogs would have included Min Pins, and any other small dog. Her list would have included Rotties, GSD's, and probably Min Pins, just because of the "pinscher" name.
Funny how experience works, I hated small dogs, she made me get the first Min Pin (after the Rottie,) and nobody could ever take one of them from me. She has her rottie that she never wanted to begin with, but, she has no fear of dogs at all anymore.
As far as her fear of big dogs, one of our best friends out here in Montana has a Pit-Bull that he rescued, and that little girl is my wife's baby.
The best thing of all is that last summer, we were out on a drive on some old logging roads in the Mission mountains, and she made me stop because there was a wolf on the side of the road, drinking from the irrigation ditch. She got out of the truck to take a closer look, never coming closer than 50 feet away from him before he took off, but she was happy as a pig in the stuff they like to roll in, when she got back into the truck.
I love GSD's, I've never had one, but friends back in Pennsylvania had them, and I think they're just gorgeous and brilliant dogs. My wife, on the other hand, was attacked by one when she was young, and it took me a few years after we were married before I could have a Rottie because she was afraid of "big" dogs (when we lived in PA, she once sat, locked in her truck, because the person where she boarded her horse, forgot to close their door, so their English Mastiff came to meet her at her truck when she pulled in the driveway. She pretty much froze, and kept trying to call me from her cell phone, I didn't have mine on, and after almost an hour, the owners' 8 year old son came home and called the dog, and all was fine.)
Anyway, she ended up meeting the big bad Mastiff, and figured out he was a big bad baby that wanted a pat on the head. 2 years later, I got my Rottie pup, and she'll take anything he'll dish out, even considering the pup is now 5 years old and as big as her.
Today was a good test, we went fishing in a remote spot out here in Montana, and as soon as she threw her first line, I pointed out a GSD walking toward us. She didn't bat an eye, she kept fishing, the dog walked up to me and I played with it for a bit, then she set her fishing pole down and came up and gave him a good rubdown. (We had driven by this particular fishing spot many, many times, and knew the dog belonged to the people that lived on that portion of the river, and we were fishing on their property, which is how things work out here.)
10 years ago, my list of BSL dogs would have included Min Pins, and any other small dog. Her list would have included Rotties, GSD's, and probably Min Pins, just because of the "pinscher" name.
Funny how experience works, I hated small dogs, she made me get the first Min Pin (after the Rottie,) and nobody could ever take one of them from me. She has her rottie that she never wanted to begin with, but, she has no fear of dogs at all anymore.
As far as her fear of big dogs, one of our best friends out here in Montana has a Pit-Bull that he rescued, and that little girl is my wife's baby.
The best thing of all is that last summer, we were out on a drive on some old logging roads in the Mission mountains, and she made me stop because there was a wolf on the side of the road, drinking from the irrigation ditch. She got out of the truck to take a closer look, never coming closer than 50 feet away from him before he took off, but she was happy as a pig in the stuff they like to roll in, when she got back into the truck.
