Happy Anniversary Dawson!

[K9 Owned]

A year ago today, after much tooing and froing with the rescue group we brought Dawson home. He wasn't house trained or any sort of trained really. The exception was that the rescue group had trained him to 'kennel' by feeding him there. To this day that is his best skill. A mere whispering of the word has him hustling to his crate.

Potty training took 2 days. It became apparent that he liked to chew my stuff. That has now stopped or at least reduced to collecting and just lying on my things - boots, slippers and gloves are his favorite things of mine. Oh, and the odd bra.
He walks nicely on a leash (with me) - has a great recall - again with me. He will sit and down, wait and out. He knows off and leave it. He knows 'that's not yours!', take it and fetch. It just occurred to me that I have never taught him 'stay'. I guess that will be next on the agenda although we find 'wait' almost as useful.

The absolute best progress has been the HUGE reduction in his anxiety driven circling and spinning. It's a rare event now and usually brought on by the excitement of guests or the frustration of being unable to get to either of us. Like when Don is shoveling snow and Dawson is on the wrong side of the fence. He can easily be distracted from it though. A stranger would think he was 'normal'.

As he has clearly settled in nicely it is time to make the training more demanding. I expect to have a lot of fun teaching him new things both obedience and tricks.

I am so glad we got him

[Olive*]

He certainly is a handsome boy, k-9!!

[Krislady]

He is such a handsome boy! And I've been meaning to ask about him - thank you for the update.

And happy GOTCHA day!

[anne in apex]

What a sweet boy! He looks really intelligent. And large.

[K9 Owned]

anne in apex wrote:
What a sweet boy! He looks really intelligent. And large.

I'm guesstimating his current weight at between 90 - 95 lbs. His chest hasn't dropped yet so I think he will level out around 100 lbs. Large but not too large to manage.

As to intelligence... well I think his looks might be decieving. Nah, he is quite bright but not amazingly so. On the up side, he has the best disposition of any German Shepherd I have had or known. Loves everyone and all other dogs. A total suck.

[Connie Lea]

He is so handsome. Can't believe it has been a year since you got him. He has come such a long way. I wasn't sure he would ever quit spinning, but sounds like he is perfectly content and feels safe with you. Give him a big hug from me. I'm so glad you took a chance on him. If you hadn't adopted him, I'm sure he would have been adopted and returned many times as a lot of people wouldn't have had the patience or know how to bring out the best in him.

[Connie Lea]

He is so handsome. Can't believe it has been a year since you got him. He has come such a long way. I wasn't sure he would ever quit spinning, but sounds like he is perfectly content and feels safe with you. Give him a big hug from me. I'm so glad you took a chance on him. If you hadn't adopted him, I'm sure he would have been adopted and returned many times as a lot of people wouldn't have had the patience or know how to bring out the best in him.

[K9 Owned]

Thanks guys! The big goof has us laughing every single day with his antics. He is so different from Chase and Emily that it's very easy just to love him for who HE is without built in expectations.

And Connie - a year goes by soooooo fast it's scary.

[Studentchef]

He lookes like a goodboy, but he also looks very happy!

[Saralaya]

Happy "Gotcha Day" Anniversary for Dawson! Such a handsome boy and you guys have made SUCH amazing progress.... hard work but look at the outcome! You were a godsend for him and he is finally feeling safe and at home. You saved his life and he will repay you with tons of love and by laying on your stuff.... Job well done all of you!

[Pot Scrubber]

K9 Owned wrote:

anne in apex wrote:
What a sweet boy! He looks really intelligent. And large.

I'm guesstimating his current weight at between 90 - 95 lbs. His chest hasn't dropped yet so I think he will level out around 100 lbs. Large but not too large to manage.

As to intelligence... well I think his looks might be decieving. Nah, he is quite bright but not amazingly so. On the up side, he has the best disposition of any German Shepherd I have had or known. Loves everyone and all other dogs. A total suck.

He's a very good looking boy and lucky to have been adopted by a family that loves and understands him. You've come a long way with his spinning and behavior problems. Kudos to you and Don.

My dog Farrah isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, either; but a sweeter beast you will never meet. She loves everyone and bills no one for kisses. She is happy to give them away for free.

[K9 Owned]

My 'Fat A$$ as I affectionately call him was at the vet today. Three year rabies vaccine and a scratching problem which is allergies.

Anyway - this Fat A$$ is afraid of the scales so hasn't been weighed in 8 months. He was an underweight 79 lbs a year ago. We got him to 85 in a reasonable time and now the sucker is 98.8 lbs. Mt vet says he is in perfect condition. I wish his front end would develop so his butt didn't look so big.

[Becky in Wisconsin]

K9 - Dawson is GORGEOUS!!! I love his name, too. Have you always owned Shepards? They are a beautiful dog.

[K9 Owned]

Thanks Becky! Dawson is my 4th Shepherd. Actually 3 1/2 as Madison is a Shepherd cross

We spent days trying to agree on a name. Folks here had some really good suggestions but Don and I couldn't reach accord. I was taking him to my vet for a check up a couple of days after we got him and didn't want his file to read 'New Dog' so the push was on. We narrowed it down to 3 names in 5 minutes and then I tossed the name Dawson in to the mix. Bingo!