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Jake, being the first Canaan Dog to come into our home had a lot
to teach us. He wasn't the kind of dog either of us had before.
Not the tail wagging, what can I do for you today kind of dog. A
dog with reasoning power and a definite;idea of how things should be
done. His work was cut out for him but I think he finally has us trained.
He was bored in obedience class, more
enthusiastic in agility but very impatient with dogs who couldn't
figure out the course. He would stand on the sidelines and
talk to them (not bark at them). I think he was saying "gee
guys how hard can this be - jump, jump, tunnel, teeter, table".
His passion seems to be herding sheep. He does not want two
or three sheep - he wants the whole flock. When he was let
off leash, he went after the flock and then went after a stray,
we thought we would never see him again. A few minutes later (it
seemed like hours to us) here he comes, tongue hanging out, a sly smile
on his face and the stray lamb. The owner of the sheep would sometimes put
Jake by the gate or wherever she didn't want the sheep to go because she
said he had such a presence about him. She admitted to us that she
was a Border Collie Snob until she worked with Jake.
What most impressed us with Jake was his ability to draw our
2 year old grand daughter out. She had been very shy and withdrawn.
I was worried about how he would react to a child; he had never been
around any children, but he is the one that was able to reach
her before many adults could, and brought her out of her shell.
She took him for a walk, holding his leash and he stayed right
beside her. No one was getting near her with him on watch.
Jake just became a dad with his lady Hatikva Cherrysh
the Dream, "Libby". Two cream boys and a red girl. He's a
proud daddy! They are beautiful puppies.
Our thanks go out to Cathi & Craig Oskow for introducing
us to Canaan Dogs and to Cheryl Hennings for giving us the right
Canaan Dog. |
