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Below is Arnie, my fifth Shepherd who we lost in 2005. A very nervous lad who never really conquered
his nervousness-not even to be walked. If I knew then what I know now, I surely could have helped him...experience is everything...
 
Chaz was a big strong lad who would react to eye contact, and would ultimately challange Arnie for dominance
over our three dog pack as Arnie reached adulthood. So another situation to understand, but more experience as well, teaching
me all about pack dynamics and leadership.
And below is Ziggy, the third of our previous pack including Chaz and Arnie. Ziggy was a thoroughbred Shaddowsqad
Shepherd, who just hated having her photo taken. At the sight of a camera, she would display this submissive, ears down appearence.
We never did establish why, and we never did get a good picture!
Her temperament however was excellent with humans and dogs, but her submissive behaviour backfired on us.
She should have taken a leadership role within the pack as the only bitch, but she quickly relented, which caused the rivalry
between Chaz and Arnie
And then there was Dusty, nicknamed 'Dustbag'. He spent his lifetime with Tanya and she outlived him. We
lost him at 9 years through stomach cancer, which developed due to a non-descended testicle. So my experience of this helps
me to advise our young newcomers to puppy class to always be aware of your young dogs testicular situation, and to always
have non-descended removed. On a lighter note, Dusty was a typical male, a good tempered clown! ..Loved by everyone!
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Yogi Bear is my sixth German Shepherd, and probably the most handsome. He often welcomes the
puppies at class nights, and sometimes works in the top class if we are not too busy.
Having a kitten has taught me so much..
Perhaps the most interesting is how Yogi
and Gizmo communicate purely by
movement and the energy they share.
| cats and dogs together? Most definitely!! |
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On the left you can see my old
lad Chaz, with Arnie as a puppy. Chaz was dominant aggressive towards dogs and humans, and taught me how to handle a dog with
'bad attitude'. I suffered these consequences by taking on a previously owned puppy of just 4 months, and learned to
cope with this situation for his 12 year lifetime. He provided me with first hand experience of owning an aggressive dog,
which, I hope helps me to ‘connect’ with other such owners and help them more.
Directly above is a very young cute Ziggy, with our first ever shepherd Tanya, who was born here in Selsey.
Tanya lived to 13 years, and began my days at B.A.G.S.D training classes in chichester, as a novice trainer with no more
experience than some handlers in my current puppy classes
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