My idea of the perfect dogs....

[Ray]

17586

Just sayin'.....

Ray

[riptide motorsport]

ha ha ha

[Movieman]

17591
This brought back both good and sad memories.
I've had dogs all my life but I think the "best" and smartest was a black lab/Newfound mix.
Smart as all hell, friendly and strong as your average NFL linebacker.
Jet black and named Whiskey..
He's been gone app 5 years and I miss him every day.
A man never had a better friend.

[ram_g]

Aren't GSDs great! Here's ours...super intelligent, a big baby around us, but no one else would know that...

http://www.ffcars.com/photopost/data/500/IMG_9183.jpg

[Movieman]

A dog story:
Years ago I took my grandmother out for the day and before leaving I'd taken a cryovaced 6lb frozen roast out of the freezer to thaw
Went out for the morning with her and when we came back and opened the door I saw some pieces of plastic.
She was in her early 90's and asked 'What is that?" I said "Your dinner"
Yup, Whiskey had eaten the entire frozen roast and was now hiding under the bed knowing that he'd screwed up.
I would take him for walks each night and he would walk beside me EXCEPT on Sunday nights you had to use a leash.
Rubbish pick up was Monday morning and he would tear off and go through the barrels and eat anything that was even remotely like food.
I remember finding him one monday after one of those Sunday nights laying on the back steps moaning from the garbage he'd eaten just looking at me for sympathy.
One sunday night I'd forgotten the leash and 4 steps out the door saw that he was going to bolt and I got 3 fast steps on him before he ran and grabbed his collar.
For some reason after that he never ran as he though I could out run him.
Now I was in my early 50's then and I will tell you that no way in God's green earth could I outrun that dog..BUT he didn't know that..:D
Must be getting old and soft as I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes thinking about him.

[Austexican]

Everybody has a favorite breed and a favorite dog. Our breed is Bouvier des Flandres and we have owned, trained, shown, and bred them for almost 30 years. We got our first, "Josh" (Josua Fit D Battle O Jerico), when we were expecting our first child, who was born in Mexico City. Josh was trained by a retired US Marine gunny (think Leroy Jethro Gibbs) and he could do anything required of a Marine except salute. He took his orders from my wife, he guarded my son with his life, and he treated me like a second lieutenant who needed a refresher in hand to paw combat. The bouvier was bred to herd cattle. He doesn't do it with snarls or bites or barks or by staring down and creeping up on the recalcitrant subject in the manner adopted by the border collie. The bouvier slams the length of his body against a steer's legs and forces the animal to move in the opposite direction. On a Saturday morning I had been rough-housing with Josh. His tongue was hanging a yard long out of the side of his mouth and I was pretty well lathered myself. I turned my back on him and headed for the house. I never heard him coming. He slammed into the back of my knees with the length of his body and I fell face down in the grass. It was an illegal chop block and I couldn't find an official on the field with whom to register my protest.
Our second bouvier was "Monty" (Monctezumas Revenge) who fancied himself as a water dog and was fond of exploring Little Difficult Run Stream Valley Park which adjoined the backyard border of our property near Reston, VA. Monty loved to pick up the lawn sprinkler in his jaws and trot about the yard. He enjoyed the precipitation and I'll confess he achieved a better distribution of moisture than I usually obtained. Monty also demonstrated the bouvier's sensitivity to changes in his environment and the need to confront animals taller than himself. All of our bouviers barked energetically at the horses that trod the park's path that passed some forty yards beyond and forty feet below the deck that extended from our ground floor. Monty went beserk one Sunday morning when he discovered that the wheelbarrow that customarily resided in a horizontal position next to the foundation of the house had erected itself into a vertical position that might be interpreted as a threat. That was my fault. The forecast predicted rain and I did not want the the wet stuff filling the wheelbarrow. The dog interpreted the erect wheelbarrow as an eminent security threat and barked until relieved. Good dog!1830518306