My German Shepherd is a Pommie

[NTSOG]

HI Die Judicii,

I have owned and bred German Shepherds, but find they tend to whine when they want to tell you something. For instance my current dog [a working-lines GSD bred from East German and Czech stock] was whining and wanting to go out the other night, but we told him to lie on his mat. He was very persistent but we wanted him inside as it was about the time a particular fox comes by the house and that would have led to him running around outside barking - I am not allowed to shoot this fox as my wife's horse is a bit precious about centrefires going bang. In the end we found out why he was whining: he barfed on the kitchen floor. He must have picked up some rubbish in a paddock earlier in the day and, being house-trained, wanted to go out to empty his gut. He's a very smart dog.

Jim

[Die Judicii]

HI Die Judicii,

I have owned and bred German Shepherds, but find they tend to whine when they want to tell you something. For instance my current dog [a working-lines GSD bred from East German and Czech stock] was whining and wanting to go out the other night, but we told him to lie on his mat. He was very persistent but we wanted him inside as it was about the time a particular fox comes by the house and that would have led to him running around outside barking - I am not allowed to shoot this fox as my wife's horse is a bit precious about centrefires going bang. In the end we found out why he was whining: he barfed on the kitchen floor. He must have picked up some rubbish in a paddock earlier in the day and, being house-trained, wanted to go out to empty his gut. He's a very smart dog.

Jim

Granted, but this one whines when he's happy, just been fed, is already outside, just been let inside, etc etc etc ad infinitem.

The Rottie on the other hand hardly ever makes a sound unless someone or something is prowling outside.
Apart from that she growls at me when she wants to have a cuddle (sometimes a doz times a day) whereupon I sit on a 3 seater chair and she climbs up and lays across my knee.
If inside and wanting out she comes and pats me with a paw.
If outside and wants to come inside she barks (once only) and waits. If I don't open the door she usually waits for another 20 minutes then barks once more.

She sleeps inside on her own bed in the laundry, and when she wants to go out in the morning if I'm not already up, she walks into the bedroom (ignoring the partner) comes all the way round to my side and nudges me with her nose, then walks out again and waits for me to come let her out.
If I'm away from home she performs this ritual to my partner.

If she finds a piece of Tiger cactus that may have been carried into the yard on my boots or a car tyre, she points at it with her nose (just like a pointer dog) and growls at it until I remove it.

These are but a few examples of some of her antics and achievements.
Also a very smart dog,,,,,,,,,, but NO whining.

The only time I have ever heard her whine was on one occasion when she was coming out of anaesthesia after a major operation.

Give me Rotties any time.

[NTSOG]

"Give me Rotties any time."

They are strikingly powerful dogs - the ''butcher's dog'' if I remember my history about their breeding. Unfortunately my only experience of them is being chased down the road on several occasions as I cycled past as their idiot owners left gates open. Those big jaws would have made a mess of me, but, at least they were not as fast as some breeds which would have caught me!

Jim

[Die Judicii]

"Give me Rotties any time."

They are strikingly powerful dogs - the ''butcher's dog'' if I remember my history about their breeding. Unfortunately my only experience of them is being chased down the road on several occasions as I cycled past as their idiot owners left gates open. Those big jaws would have made a mess of me, but, at least they were not as fast as some breeds which would have caught me!

Jim

As a point of interest, they only became "butchers" dogs (also bakers dogs) because of their size and strength giving them the ability to pull the carts.
The Germans bred them up from the dogs that were left behind by the Romans.
They just happened to abandon most of them in or around the town of Rottweil, hence the name we know of them today.

The Romans had a double use for them,
A) Guard dogs (no surprise)
B) They were also used as cattle dogs for controlling the herd/s of cattle that they had with them as they conquered their way across Europe to feed their soldiers.

A big male Rottie I had years ago showed a distinct back and forth motion behind cattle that I certainly did not train into him.
He showed the typical signs of cattle herding dogs, but really didn't realize it himself or demonstrate that he actually knew what he was doing.