Humor: Dog Stories

I truly love dogs and have had many over my lifetime. I want you to know that until I got married, all the dogs I had were normal; some were good dogs, and others misbehaved, but would obey eventually. I should have paid more attention when I visited my future in-law's home; yes the old adage is true, dogs are like their masters. Alas, love is blind and I was so taken with my fiancé that I did not notice that his parents owned a dog from hell.

I was a dog-trainer for heaven's sake, you would think I would notice that this dog was so messed up it would never recover. They pampered her, gave her treats, took her everywhere and all they got in return was a yappy, sniveling creature that would sneak up behind you and bite your heals (or whatever was close enough to the ground for her to reach). Far be it that anyone would correct her upon being bit because "she was just so darned cute;" and if you did slip-up and cuffed her under her chin, you would get some large cooking utensil thrown at you and many cuss words until you crawled out of the house totally ashamed of your misdeeds.

So we got married and got a dog; several over the years, but I noticed that none of these dogs were normal. Oh, they would bark and pant like a normal dog, but something was missing. I have always loved the German shepherd because they were loyal, smart, protective, and had good temperaments so they could be raised along with children. They were never nervous or yappy like my in-law's (or their dog), but calm and nice to be around. I tried to give them obedience training and they would do OK until my husband came home and then they would be nervous, yappy, and jump around like they had no brains. Ahh, I am assuming that hubby must be their master and they are mimicking him and his family's traits.

OK, so I don't learn my lessons too well, and acquired a new German shepherd puppy (after saying, never again for the 12th time). Black and Silver with a pedigree; surely he will be perfect. He was for the first two years; then just like magic, he went insane. He would go across the field and stand in the middle of the road like he did not know where he was (he didn't) and the cars would have to go around him until he heard us calling and figured out that "home must be in that direction."

When he gets excited, he chases his tail (I know a lot of dogs do that), but while he is chasing his tail he gets so involved that he does not see he is close to the house or a parked car, his head hits it and he falls - completely stunned, then gets up and starts over again. He is really lucky that we do not live next to a cliff because he would chase his tail and end up in the ravine. Mind you he has fallen of the deck a few times, but it is only about three feet high, so as long as he goes head-first, he won't get hurt.

You might have guessed it, my husband is much like his parents and I know he dearly loves his dog, he just doesn't see that the dog has severe problems. He is older now (the dog) and like most shepherds has bad hips. You would never know it because he is constantly chasing his tail and yapping until he hits his head on something. He has a harder time getting up, but he has got the spunk to keep on trying.