When you share your life with large dogs, you (should) accept the fact that there is a certain responsibility that comes with specific breeds.  The German Shepard breed is a breed that has a remarkable devotion and protective instinct for their people.  If you ever want to know true love, get a Shepard and treat it well.  The rewards are huge.  Acknowledging that responsibility, we had the good fortune to train with Denis Brunton, one of the premier Canadian master dog trainers.  Combine that with the fact that herself has spent a lifetime caring for dogs in her professional life and breeding dogs and you end up with a package that is pretty comfortable around our canine companions.  Understanding Canine body language is critical.

....and still we get surprised.  Kes, our 6 year old female is the dominant dog in our home and she will not permit Que, to approach her food dish.  The rules are simple, Que, if you approach my dish you will be missing a part of your flesh.  The rule is never broken and if Que even comes in the room with Kes’s dish has food in it, there will be much snarling and posturing.  This is all part of the pack behaviour. 

Enter little Dax.  She is bold and unafraid.  She wobbled up to 95 pound Que and tried to remove a bone from his mouth.  Big mistake which resulted in much posturing and a scolding from Que.  OK, lesson learned.  Next she wobbled over to Kes’s food bowl.  As I raced across the room to remove her before Kes took any action, Kes stepped between me and her bowl and looked at Dax.  She then placed on front foot on each side of the puppy and encouraged her to eat from her bowl.  Life is full of surprises.