my best friends (German Shepherd)

Member Name: Alisondonna

Product:	German Shepherd
Date:	30/07/07 (152 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loyal and protective

Disadvantages: can cost up to £500

I have always loved Alsations but growing up in a large family, 7 girls and one boy, my mother would only allow us medium sized dogs, we had a labrador cross and a collie cross, both good dogs and friendly, mum said that Alsations were nasty and always turn on their owners.

3 years after I got married a relatives girlfriend was moving house and had to part with her 3 year old alsation Cindi, she knew I loved the breed and offered me the dog, I snapped her hand off and instantly feel in love with Cindi, she was a black and tan long haired dog, she had been raised with children and was a good companion.. I had no children at that time and spent all my time with her, she loved a lot of attention and was very loyal.

My mother was scared and refused to sit in a room with her, it was her size and the fact that Alsations had a reputation of being nasty. I remember one evening my husband and I took Cindi for a walk and ended up at my mothers house, as it was raining outside she allowed us to have Cindi in the house, but she insisted that Cindi be on the lead at all times and that we had a tight hold on the lead... Cindi decided to get more comfortable and moved slightly, as soon as she moved my mother shot up and jumped up on to the breakfast counter, she was screaming and looked very silly, I couldnt stop laughing and still have a giggle to this day when I remember that evening...Cindi just raised an eyebrow and fell asleep, nothing phased that dog!

I fell pregnant a year after we got Cindi and was determined to get her ready for the new arrival. Cindi was fantastic, she wasnt jealous at all, we introduced them both slowly just in case but I need not of worried, Cindi was okay with my daughter I reckoned it was because Cindi had already had 3 of her own litters before I got her. Cindi adored my daugther, when my daughter was 3 she would go to the kitchen in the mornings and feed Cindi anything and everything out of the fridge! I came down one time to find my daughter had given Cindi all the raw bacon and she tried to give Cindi the butter but Cindi was having none of it.

Sadly 9 months after my second daughter was born and Cindi was 12 she got run over, the fencing had blow down during a very bad storm, she managed to go walk about, she had never run off before, a neighbour saw Cindi across the road and called her back, at the same time a car speeding up the road hit Cindi sending her flying, he ran over her twice, the second time he ran over her head, Cindi managed to crawl home and died within 15 minutes, there was nothing we could do to save her, I was mortified. The man drove off with out stopping, coward, his car was seen in a local pubs car park, the front of his car was badly damaged, he never got done for it, just lost his no claims bonus.

4 years later my husband brought me a male Alsation puppy for our 11th wedding anniversary I called him Kain , he was a black and sable dog, the first time I saw him, he was in a pen with his sister, all the other pups had been sold, Kain climbed on top of his sister to get to me and that was when I knew he was meant to be mine.

We saw his parents, his dad was a huged black alsation called Duke he scared the living daylights out of me he was a powerful force to reckon with, I fell in love with him straight away. Kains mum was a lot smaller than Kains dad, Kain definately looked like his mother, they were the spitting image of each other.

I trained Kain and we became firm friends, he protected me on a few occasions and wouldnt allow any one to touch me, he wasnt nasty at all but did get jealous on occasions, everytime my husband would give me a cuddle, Kain would barge in between us, separating us, it was very funny, he never turned on me or my children... I trusted him completely. As I said Kain protected me on a few occasion and one of those occasions could of possibly been very dangerous for me. I rarely took Kain for a walk it was my husbands job, Kain was a huge dog, took after his dad for size, he was too powerful for me to walk him on a lead, he would pull so hard I felt I had a 2 hour work out in the boxing ring! I took him to a local spot were everyone took their dogs, near a local cricket ground, once off the road and only when there was no one around I would take Kain off his lead and let him walk by me, he would run off in front but would always make sure he had me in his sights. I had put the chain in my pocket, a man jumped out of the bushes and tackled me to the ground, I knew at that moment I was in big trouble, I shouted for Kain but he was already there pulling the bloke off me, Kain did his job and bit hard, once an alsation bites down he can lock his jaw and will only let go under command. Kain let go after I shouted at him , the man ran off bleeding, Kain and I were okay, a little shaken up but he saved me from a dreadful ordeal...

The second time he protected me was when a man entered my garden and decided to help himself to my property, I was in the kitchen and Kain was sitting outside the open back door, the man didnt know what hit him Kain grabbed hold of him by the leg, the man tried to kick Kain off, which made Kain even angrier, the man was arrested and had quite a few stiches to his leg....On the back gate is a sign which reads 'Warning Dog inside enter at own risk' I reckon the bloke couldnt read...or he was just plain stupid?

sadly about 6 week after this incident Kain fell ill on a saturday evening,he didnt eat for 2 days, which wasnt all that odd for him he wasnt a greedy dog at all, I decided to wait until the Monday before I called the vets, Kain seemed to get better by monday morning, about 2 weeks later Kain died in my arms at home, It was the 20th March 2006, I had got up early as I always did, I had to get my youngest off to school, I went to let kain out and he was stumbling, he collapsed outside the back door, we picked him up and I rang the vets, it was 7.20am, I didnt have a car and the vet wasnt due in the surgery until 8am, I knew that Kain was dying his breathing was laboured and I just knew..... Kain died of a massive heart attack at 7.50am.. He was 7 years of age....

I am proud to have had the chance to have owned and loved Kain and Cindi and would recommend Alsations to any one, they dont always turn against their owners, it depends on how you treat them, its like anything in life, you treat people the way you want to be treated...

I will have another Alsation but not yet... I would like loads of them, they are loyal, protective and will never let you down, a real true friend.

Summary: Never a dull moment with this breed