Robbin Huls's Posts
Puppy Swap
At least once per quarter, our Guiding Eyes' puppies are required to have overnights without us. This can be with an applicant fulfilling their puppy sitting pre-requisite (as I did with Yoga), or with another raiser. Rather than one raiser having two dogs, what usually happens is a puppy swap. I've done this twice so far, once with Pam (raising Noel) and once with Bonnie (raising Milton), different ages and genders, but both Labs.
The obligatory pictures of Noel and Milton in front of the Kodak Picture Kiosk on their swap days at kodak.
This time was a little different. Raiser Diane was heading to Patterson, NY to attend the graduation of her previous pup, Yorktown, and his new partner. Applicant Joel needed to puppy sit for his pre-requisites. Diane's current dog is a large 14-month-old German Shepherd Dog named Kendrick. In order to meet all our needs we swapped the dogs around, Paxton to Joel's and Kendrick to me. Over the weekend, I was reminded of some similarities and differences between the breeds.
As much as I love Paxton, having grown up with them, my heart belongs to the Shepherd. Kendrick got into my car and the first thing I noticed was a familiar scent. You'd think a dog smells like a dog, and I'd never really paid attention, but Kendrick's scent brought back memories of my GSDs over the years.
1963 - Bridget, the first Shepherd in my life.
1973 - Me with Madee, enjoying a little sunshine and Jack London.
1977 - Mitzi - I was so excited to capture her "midair" with my Kodak 110 that I titled this picture "The Six Million Dollar Pup."
2005 - Still Life "Ero with Bowl" - Ero used to play "hockey" with his bowl. If it got under anything, he'd go through said object to get the bowl. In this case I went out to get the mail and came back in 2 minutes later to find his bed scattered all over the living room.
1996 - Kelsey - We drove up the Maine coast, stopping wherever there was a pond to swim in, good food to eat, or a beautiful picture to take.
We got to work Kendrick settled into my office. While co-workers were sometimes confused for a minute by the yellow dogs at my side for those swaps, a few were obviously more wary of the big Shepherd; one brave soul commented as he patted Kendrick's shoulder "This is the first time I've been this close to a German Shepherd Dog and not been bitten." While any dog can bite, and Shepherds have a higher reported incidence than many breeds, potential guide dogs are well bred and screened for their temperament as a working dog before and while they are in the puppy program and in training. There are many things people can do to avoid dog bites, and one of the biggest is socializing them so they grow up confident and calm. Our GEB puppies are positively exposed to as many different situations, sounds, things and people as our imaginations can muster.
When I got home that night, I quickly realized that I was not the only one who had a heart for GSDs. Washington, my cat (Kelsey "found" him at the pet store), began chattering and chirping when he saw Kendrick walk in. Kendrick quickly got his face washed (it's not how he got his name, but Washington spent many a night cleaning Kelsey's and Ero's faces and ears). He later shared a drink of water with Kendrick and sat by to watch him eat.
Kendrick is more interested in Washington than his dinner.
Washington prefers Paxton's food to Kendrick's - either that or he was content to just sit and watch the leisurely consumption of a Shepherd again!
Speaking of dinner, another difference between the Labs and GSDs I've known is their eating habits - Shepherds eat to live; Labs live to eat! Kendrick took his time and doesn't always finish a meal; sometimes I put toys in Paxton's bowl to slow his intake.
Watching Kendrick move around the yard in the distinctive GSD "flying trot" brought tears to my eyes, remembering my own dogs "patrolling" the yard. While I was weeding, Kendrick spent the time bringing a toy for me to throw. Can someone explain to me why my "Retriever" brings the toy maybe 8-10 times for throwing and then decides he'd rather chew it and the Shepherds I've known would retrieve for HOURS on end? Kelsey loved retrieving her Kool Kong so much that I literally spent her entire last night throwing it in the yard for her to retrieve. I told her as long as she wanted to, I'd throw it. The grass took weeks to return to normal.
I have more pictures of Kelsey with the Kong in her mouth! This was her shortly after we moved into a new house and were testing the backyard size for Kong throwing. For a year after one got caught in a tree at Ellison park, she would look up into that tree for her Kong (yes, I got her a new one but she was apparently sentimental).
At fellowship time after church on Sunday, Evan stood looking at Kendrick and noted, "He's looking for something to do." and then a smile, "Paxton would be looking for something to eat!"
As I watched Kendrick intently study his new experiences, I couldn't help but compare with Paxton's joie de vivre at setting off the chair control at the dentist or the doorbell at Radio Shack.