Birthday: March 6th 1996 Likes: Playing with any toys, "fence fighting" the deer at the backyard fence, barking like a maniac at dogs walking with their owners and deer out the front window. Pet-Peeves: Other dogs besides his doggy-family, going to the vet, deer, having his nails clipped Favorite Toy: The hose -- he loves to bite the water! Plus kong toys of all kinds (Water Kong, King Kong, weird shaped Kongs), and tennis balls -- he loves tennis balls but cannot play with them unsupervised because he will destroy them. Favorite Food: Turkey, cheese, steak, chicken -- all meat! Hotdogs or summer sausage that we use as rewards when training (I train using positive reinforcement only). Favorite Walk: Every walk! Walks around our neighborhood, walks in the woods, especially walks to the lake where he can go swimming. Best Tricks: "Sit-up" and his ability to "air scent" me -- he tracks me to wherever I am hiding when we play hide and seek! Arrival Story: I'd always wanted a German Shepherd. I noticed an ad in the paper selling German Shepherd Puppies and called. They said the puppies were 5 weeks old and I could come and look at them, but could not take one until they were 7 - 8 weeks old. I went, not expecting much really, just going to check it out, but when I got there I knew I was going to end up with one of those puppies. The house was huge and well-kept, the bitch and her litter were indoors with access to the garage (the whelping box was indoors), and the breeders were very nice and very responsible people. The parent dogs were wonderful, good temperaments, very well-trained, good hips (OFA cert.) and the breeders showed me the pups' pedigree, which was all in German, as the parents were imports (they had translations, thank God). They said these were "High-drive German Working Dogs"...at the time, I had no idea what that meant! I met the puppies and spent some time with them before choosing sweet little Bob, the small, calm puppy of the litter. A few weeks later, I took him home. By the time he was an adult dog, I knew exactly what "High-drive German Working Dog" meant: an incredibly intense dog! What energy, what drive! He very nearly overwhelmed me, but because of him I discovered a new passion: dog training! He sure needed it, and I learned SO much from him as we worked together (we use positive reinforcement only, no choke or pinch collar for my sweet boy!). It turned out that I chose the best German Shepherd for me. Bio: Bob is the most fun dog you could imagine! He LOVES to play -- he is great at frisbee, will play fetch with you until your arm falls off, is great at games like "hide and seek" and "find the cookie" (he has an incredible nose and he really uses it! He can sniff me out when we play hide and seek by "air-scenting", following my trail exactly to wherever I am hiding, and you cannot hide a cookie or a toy good enough to stump him, he ALWAYS finds it!) and he is really fun to take swimming. He also loves to play with the hose, leaping around to bite the water. He is extremely loving and sweet, and there is nothing cuter than Bob when he puts his head in your lap so you will scratch his ears. He gets really lovey and affectionate when he is tired, and he will just lean on you and give you kisses. A funny thing he has done since he was a puppy is that if you sit on the floor, he will come and sit in your lap! He has taught me so much and I cherish every lesson. He always has a toy with him, most often one of his Kongs. Sometimes he'll be laying there surrounded by his toys, like he collected them all and took them to bed with him. Speaking of toys and beds, I have woken up with a Kong sitting on the bed, so he must feel like playing in the night and brings me a toy! He is just the most wonderful dog and I love him dearly. Forums Motto: Lets Play! The Groups I'm In: "Black-and-tan Dogz of the world", BadDogs, BOB-the best dog name!, German Shepherds... wonder dogs, P*I*F (Paw it Forward) The Last Forum I Posted In: My friends Banshee and Benny Bob's list of loves and wishes: 1. Hamburgers from the In-N-Out drive-thru! 2. Going for a ride in the car 3. Playing Ball!! 4. Walks in the woods on my flexi-leash 5. Barking/screaming/yowling at deer or other dogs walking by our house 6. Mommy to give me her dinner instead of eating it herself (a wish!) 7. Swimming! 8. Catching a deer instead of just barking at them through the fence (another wish!)
The: Early each morning, me and Mommy go on a "Coffee Walk". See, Mommy read in a book about a character who's dream dog was one who could amble alongside her while she went for a stroll, sipping her morning coffee. Mommy thought that was a lovely idea, and who better to join her on a walk while she sipped her morning coffee than her old German Shepherd Dog! Thus was born the morning Coffee Walk. We are up and out of the house by 6:15am, and we stroll through our quiet neighborhood. Mommy sips her coffee from her silver travel mug while I stop to investigate each interesting scent I come upon... we don't continue walking until I am done sniffing. Isn't that lovely? Our Coffee Walk is both mine and Mommy's favorite part of each day.
Happy Birthday my boy. I have thought about you all day, and missed you every minute. I cherish the memories of your past birthdays, and I feel blessed to have shared thirteen and a half years with you. I hope you are happy and running and playing in Heaven today, I hope you got lots of fun toys there for your birthday, and I hope you even got an In-N-Out Double Double like I got you on your last birthday. I love you so, so much, and I miss you always.
Until we see each other again, I love you and you are always in my thoughts and in my heart...
My friend Saphira invited me to play a new summer game of tag!!
Here is how you play: There are five questions for you to answer, and then you tag your pals (as many as you like!), inviting them to answer the questions in their diaries and then tag their friends!
The only new rule is...if a pup pal has been tagged by ANY OTHER PUP they CANNOT be tagged again. (No repeat tagging) So, let's start and have some summer fun. TAG YOU'RE IT!!
HERE WE GO!!!
1. WHERE DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT? Well, I'm in Heaven, so now I sleep with God, Jesus, and the Angels! When I was on Earth with Mommy, I slept in her bed when I was younger, and when I was older I slept on a big cushy pillow on the floor right next to her bed!
2. DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME(S) THAT YOUR PAWRENTS CALL YOU? Yup! I'm "The Bob Dog"!
3. NOW THAT IT'S SUMMER, WILL YOU BE GETTING MORE COLD TREATS LIKE FROSTY PAWS, ICE CUBES OR ICE CREAM, ETC.? In Heaven, I get real ice cream every day! When I was on Earth with Mommy, I didn't eat that sort of thing 'cause I had a lot of tummy problems and I was on a special diet (when I was really young I got some frozen treats, though!)
4. NOW THAT SUMMER IS HERE, DO YOU HAVE A SWIMMING POOL YOU USE WHEN ITS HOT? YES! YES! YES! I swim in God's swimming pool in Heaven! On Earth, I got to swim in Lake Tahoe, in ponds where Mommy lives, and I got to chase and bite the hose water!!
5. WHAT'S ONE THING YOU DO THAT DRIVES YOUR PAWRENTS CRAZY? God says I don't ever drive him crazy :) I was good at driving Mommy crazy in the car because I whined A LOT in the car... and even better, I would EXPLODE in the car if I saw another dog! I passed that job of driving Mommy nuts in the car on to Bella, my doggie little sister. I'm watching from up here in Heaven, and I think she's doing a great job of carrying on my work! Heehee :)
Now I'm going to tag some of my friends!!
1. Talia
2. Gypsy Belle
3. Magic Man
4. Hudson
5. Troy
6. Moxy Maehem
As always, I have been watching over you. I see that you have started taking Sammy on morning Coffee Walks... I know this makes you think of me, and miss me very much. I miss you too, but know I'm right there with you, always. And it makes my tail wag to see Sammy enjoying the tradition that you and I started... the Coffee Walk. Like I was, Sammy is so perfectly suited to strolling along through the early morning, pausing to sniff while you sip the coffee from the same silver travel mug I remember (and oh, how excited I would get each morning when you poured your coffee into that mug, I knew it was time for our walk!). Thank you for giving Sammy this same gift that we shared each morning.
I love you Mommy, and remember, I am always right there with you, and each morning I see you and Sammy head out on the Coffee Walk, and I am so happy.
