The pugs are gone! The pugs are gone!

The folks kitty corner from my back yard have two pugs who bark at Tristan a lot (he is entirely blameless). When both the pugs and Tristan are out, they talk ferociously at each other and one side has to go in. Well, the moving truck is there today and Tristan and I are very happy to send them off with our good wishes.

Obviously Tristan isn't totally blameless although he and the previous golden retriever occupants quietly cohabited their respective corners. The pugs, however, insist on barking at Tristan and he, of course, is determined to have the last woof so he often gets brought inside. We will enjoy a respite and hope the new owners don't have a huge male mastiff or other big guy (or pugs with attitude) that will set off new rounds of going mano-a-mano.

This Week's Wrap

Cone of Shame

Tristan hasn't actually needed the cone but I couldn't resist the chance for a photo op.



Tristan looks happy but he only tolerated the cone because of his "hold still" command. The minute I uttered "break" he launched into a determined duel to the death with the despised object. Tristan was winning when I intervened. I'm lucky he's leaving the tail splint alone as there's no way the cone would be tolerated.

Tale of a Tail

Tristan's tail is fractured. I don't know how he did it as we're always together these days and nothing has happened. We were walking along and he shook himself and let out a yelp. Then he looked all around (and at me accusingly) to see what caused it. Several hours later he yipped as he settled down on the front seat. I'm always super nervous because of his back surgery so I took him to the vet the same day. He seemed fine all over but finally reacted when his tail was handled. The end of it about five inches up was tender. We opted for a wait and see and Tristan went on a NSAID. When I felt his tail later in the week it was no longer tender but he had a bump there so the vet wanted to x-ray it.

I really, really hate for Tristan to have anesthesia so I was very emphatic that I wanted them to try to get it done without it. I gave the office appropriate commands for him like platz and hold still. I knew he would obey me but I was afraid the techs would try to wrestle him into position (too strong, too resistant) or be too passive when giving the commands. It's a good thing Tristan is not a dog actor since I would be a total stage mother. Tristan was a stellar guy and did fine - or at least I've been kept in the dark about any grand wrestling match.

The vet and radiologist concurred that Tristan's tail probably can be saved if he wears a splint. He'll need to wear it for a month. It will be changed weekly and it's hot pink this week.

I think Tristan is giving a very reproachful look at having a humiliating picture taken.

What is it with me and my dogs' tails? My beloved Rocky broke his tail by standing up under a glass and bronze occasional table. He lifted the very heavy thick glass, turned and caught his tail between it and the metal frame which acted as a vise. It was very bloody and very traumatic and fortunately I was home when it happened. Rocky (half collie and half elkhound) had a lovely fluffy tail that would curl tighter the happier he was. It couldn't be saved and he ended up with a stubby tail. Tristan is lucky to have a very long tail just in case...

Tristan has had the splint on for two days and he's been very good about it. The vet thought he would need a cone but so far Tristan has been a very good patient and left the splint alone. It may be that he's seen the cone of shame and wants no part of it. It's huge and the size of a large lampshade.

Please think good thoughts for Titus, a lab/husky mix. His owner gifted me the cone. Titus has aggressive cancer and is receiving chemotherapy.

In Good Company

Kraftwerk K9, where I got Tristan, is mentioned in an article in today's NY Times and Wayne Curry, the owner, is quoted.

For the Executive With Everything, a $230,000 Dog to Protect It

Yep, that's Tristan and me they're talking about (and our 30,000 square feet house).

Well maybe that's a bit of a stretch. The dog described is a female, the owner has six GSDs!!! and my assistant seems to be missing but they got the "exalted pedigree, child-friendly cuddliness and arm-lacerating ferocity" part right.

It's an interesting article but I hope it doesn't promote an increase of marginally bred and poorly trained German Shepherd Dogs. GSDs are a fabulous breed because they really can do everything, obedience, tracking and protection, while being a great family pet and companion. Other breeds might be able to outperform on a particular skill but it would be hard to find another breed that has it all in one package.

A great GSD has to have both excellent breeding and excellent training. A stable temperament is paramount. Schutzhund training directors won't work with dogs that aren't stable. Poor pit bulls get such a bad rap, however, I have to admit I'm very wary of them. It's because there has been a lot of very poor breeding, terrible training and irresponsible owners. I would hate for GSDs to surge in popularity for all the wrong reasons, be a product of all the wrong methods and suffer a similar fate.

I hope I don't sound holier than thou (I'd like to save that for a future rant). I'm just aware of the care and restraint that should go into breeding dogs and the immense about of training required for high performance dogs.

Here's the article if the above link doesn't work:

New York Times
June 11, 2011
For the Executive With Everything, a $230,000 Dog to Protect It
By JOHN TIERNEY
MINNEAPOLIS

Don’t call her a guard dog.

When she costs $230,000, as Julia did, the preferred title is “executive protection dog.” This 3-year-old German shepherd, who commutes by private jet between a Minnesota estate and a home in Arizona, belongs to a canine caste that combines exalted pedigree, child-friendly cuddliness and arm-lacerating ferocity.

Julia and her ilk have some of the same tracking and fighting skills as the dogs used in elite military units like Navy Seal Team 6, which took a dog on its successful raid of Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.

In fact, Julia was sold by a trainer, Harrison Prather, who used to supply dogs to Seal Team 6 and the British special forces. But then Mr. Prather switched to a more lucrative market.

“Either rich people discovered me or I discovered them — I can’t remember which happened first,” said Mr. Prather, the president of Harrison K-9 Security Services in Aiken, S.C.

He and others in the high-end dog training business say prices have shot up thanks to the growing number of wealthy people around the world who like the security — and status — provided by a dog with the right credentials. Moguls and celebrities now routinely pay $40,000 to $60,000 for a well-bred German shepherd that is certified as an expert in the sport of Schutzhund, which means “protection dog.” The price can go much higher if a dog does well at an international championship, as Julia did.

“She’s a top deal,” Julia’s owner, John Johnson, said as she escorted him around the grounds of his 15-acre estate outside Minneapolis. “She’s won awards. She looks at you, she’s got the most beautiful face.”

But $230,000?

“It’s a lot of money,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s the speed, the smartness, the quickness — and you would not believe the roughness that she has inside. She’s like a little pit bull when she bites. She has that model face, and then opens the gums up and lets you have it.”

Mr. Johnson said he got his first protection dog after receiving personal threats while he was running the Northland Group, a debt-collection company in Minnesota that he founded and eventually sold three years ago. Now he has six protection dogs, all German shepherds, and normally takes a couple in his car whenever he goes out.

“It’s for both security and companionship,” he said as Julia nuzzled his leg, looking like a gentle enough companion. But when an intruder emerged near the tennis court of his estate, all it took was one command, “Packen!” (the bite command from the German word for “seize”), to send Julia racing across the lawn.

She sunk her teeth into the intruder’s arm, which was encased in padding for a demonstration, and hung on even as he lifted her off the ground in a vain attempt to shake free of her. She let go only upon being commanded and then stood guard over her new prisoner, barking and threatening to bite again whenever he made a move to escape, which he wisely did not try.

Julia’s was a controlled ferocity, which trainers distinguish from the anger manifested by ordinary dogs. When two dogs try to intimidate each other, they stiffen, growl, bare their teeth and stare intently. Protection dogs are trained to continue looking around and protecting their owners, not establish their own dominance.

And, when commanded, they are supposed to switch instantly from attack mode to pet mode.

“The dog has to get along with children,” Mr. Prather said. “The client is often a guy on his second family. He travels a lot, leaves his wife alone with the kids in a large house — maybe 30,000 square feet, so big you don’t even know what’s going on at the other side of the house. He wants peace of mind and a dog that his wife can handle. We don’t sell tank-stoppers.”

The price tag for a protection dog has risen because of increasing demand in the United States, Latin America (especially Mexico), the Middle East, Asia and other places, said Mr. Prather and Wayne Curry, the owner of Kraftwerk K9 in Rochester, Wash.

“I’ve turned down offers of more than $200,000 for one of my champion dogs,” said Mr. Curry, who added that he knew of a dog that had sold for more than $400,000 because of its bloodline and breeding potential. (Although Julia’s offspring most likely would have commanded top prices, Mr. Johnson said he had no time to breed her and instead had her spayed shortly after buying her in January.)

To clients who can afford the $50,000 price for a typical well-credentialed dog, there are lots of ways to rationalize the price.

“When you compare the costs of a full-time bodyguard versus a dog, the dog makes a lot of sense,” Mr. Curry said. “And the dog, unlike the bodyguard, can’t be bought off.”

Mr. Prather said one client, a well-known entertainer, came to him after first trying to ward off a stalker by hiring bodyguards.

“The stalker stabbed one of the bodyguards, got out of jail and started showing up again,” Mr. Prather said. “Then they got a canine, and they haven’t seen the stalker since. People just have an innate fear of animals with sharp teeth. We don’t want to be on the menu.”

Mr. Prather’s dogs are trained for three years in Germany before they go to South Carolina, where they receive further training and are put to the test of family living. Before her sale, Julia lived for four months in the home of November Holley, the company’s vice president and head trainer.

“I’ve probably trained a thousand dogs, and she’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Ms. Holley said. “The total package. Did absolutely everything you wanted, no questions asked. Good with kids, good with horses, good with cats. A perfect lady in the home.”

Julia also proved her mettle as a babysitter, Ms. Holley added. “If my daughter Kailee was outside in the woods, I’d say, ‘Julia, where’s Kailee?’, and she’d go out and find her. She was like a person.”

At her new home in Minnesota, Julia has a part-time trainer, Jeremy Norton, who also works as a firefighter in Minneapolis. Mr. Norton agreed that Julia was a special dog, but he smiled a bit uncomfortably when asked to explain the $230,000 price.

“It’s in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “That’s as politic an answer as I can muster. I mean, Julia’s nice, but that’s half my house. There’s no way to wrap your head around that.”