• YvonneGlen

    Member
    April 23, 2016 at 2:17 pm
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    Thank you Mike for that.  Definitely makes a lot of sense.  “Her toys” are not hers, they are all mine.  All the dog toys are kept in a bag for when we go out to play and the ones at home are put away in a box that she cannot get to.  Once I put on her collar and grab the bag she knows where she is going and is fully engaged.

    She is definitely going to her spayed.  I wanted to make sure she went through two heats and she is fully grown.  She has an upcoming visit and that is when we will determine if she is ready or not.  Her paws look too big for her body  still and I think she still has some growing to do but I could be completely wrong.  I will leave that up to the vet.  Her vet is not one of these nazi-vets where they tell their clients you have to get your dog altered/spayed before they turn one years old.  She is a firm believer in letting a dog fully mature before you get them altered/spayed.  Once she feels the dogs are fully grown she then leaves it up to the owner’s discretion.  But I have also been reading some studies with GSD (females) who get spayed actually become more reactive … which now has my wheel spinning..  But there are so many variables with these studies I have no idea what to believe anymore.

    So she is coming into her own.  I figured that was the case (changes that I am seeing) and as you know (because of Bacchus) I am super-sensitive.  I was second-guessing myself about her behavior.  Shame on me.

    Thank you for bringing that back to the forefront of my mind … that her behavior is normal and expected.  I think other people’s perception and them not being aware of what is normal with their dog vs. what is normal GSD behavior, was making me second guess Ziya, which I should not have done.

    Question is … do you still think she be able to play with her GS pal after she is fully matured?

    They have known each other since they were puppies.  She also seems to gravitate to playing with GSD, which is fine by me.. Which sounds silly because I don’t think dogs gravitate to their “own breed” do they? I’m not an animal behaviorist by any means but I don’t think a dogs can distinguish from other breeds right? I would assume dogs put other dogs in the same category, despite the diversity of breeds.  Once the olfactory investigation is completed by both… LOL  O<span style=”line-height: 1.5;”>r am I completely off-base?</span>

    Ziya is only my second female GS.  The last one was years ago. I can’t remember her behavior before and after her getting spayed.  But we always had two GSD together, so they always played with each other.  We only leashed walked them.  Plus “dog parks” were not around back then.  I sometimes think people forget their dogs are NOT human and are in fact DOGS and still ACT like DOGS… LOL .. Some seem to forget this when they go to Playland Beach (which will be closed for dogs tomorrow  … )

    Thank you once again for your expertise.  Have a great weekend..

    We are off to Playland Beach … kids love playing with Ziya in the water..