I read this book and complete the questionnaire and did not follow the recommendation: and the prediction is 100% accurate. To elaborate, the book said based on my personality, I should get a Curly coated retriever. I had my heart set on German Shepherd, having grown up with them (when I was small I thought my GSD Tanya was my mother) and I also found one on Petfinder.com that was age 1 and in need of a home. The book rated me with GSD as B+. I wanted to get an animal from a shelter due to pet overpopulation and there really were no Curly Coated retrievers at the shelter for the 4 months I was looking and there was not a rescue for them that I could find either. So after I moved and bought a house I got the GSD that I really wanted.
She is quite a lovely dog and I get a compliments on her ALL the time, but at times are personalities clash EXACTLY as the book predicted. We are quite a B+ couple. Most of the time we get along very well. She was a good challenge to train and is very well leash trained now and has basic obedience. She is bored of the other tricks. But I do not quite keep the schedule that she needs, which makes her a bit neurotic: that's not quite the right way to phrase it, but she is the type of breed that really needs someone to keep the same schedule all the time, it is VERY difficult for her to live with someone who is not like that. It makes her nervous, upset and goes against her grain. For her, it's probably like being a non-smoker and living with a smoker. Poor baby.
(On the other hand, her life is NOT terrible and she had 2 previous failed adoptions, during one she bit a person, and I think they were going to have to put her down if I didn't adopt her, she is quite spoiled now, but her life could be better and sometimes we drive each other nuts).
It's hard to explain and I have very high expectations for her: she doesn't do typical annoying dog things like eat trash, even though she is totally capable to open the cupboard and eat the trash, she doesn't even eat food left out on the counter or on top of her crate. After my one cat died she was sneaking on the furniture which is not allowed (she really is very good, she has run of the house but knows not to sit on the furniture? how does she know that?) and eating cat litter which is not allowed. About 1 y ago I discovered that she can open the gates on the stairs and let herself upstairs (she freaked out and ate the cat litter after my/our beloved cat died and became impacted and opened the gate in distress to come up and beg me to let her out to go #2), so all the time she could open the gate but was just not doing it because she is not supposed to; after that night she went back to "pretending" she can't open the gate anymore.
The anxiety is what downgrades our relationship to a B+ and it is made worse by my lack of structure and her need for it. It's better if I can take her around with me when I run errands, worse when barometric pressure changes, or if my schedule is unpredictable and therefore her schedule unpredictable. She really needs the same stuff all the time: when I first got her I once left a rake out in the yard since I wasn't quite done raking. As dusk fell, she started growling and barking and freaking out. I had to take her outside with me to have her show me what was bothering her: it was the rake. In the springtime, when neighbors get roofwork done, I have to take a walk in the morning before work to whosever house within about a 3 street radius: she pulls me there. she looks at them, then at me. then I have to tell her "it's okay" for them to work on their own roof. Seriously. The roofers think I'm nuts but she cannot tolerate it, people are NOT supposed to be on their roofs, especially people who do not live in the houses, it's just not right. She'll pace and pant and pace and pant and whine all day. Also I have to watch her to go the bathroom or she tries to eat her poop; she can be very sneaky about it and waste a lot of my time in the morning trying to be sneaky about it while I watch her. That is daily and I have tried everything on the market except calling Cesar and she is over 7 years old now and I don't think it will ever change. But it definitely downgrades her from A to A- material. It does help me keep my yard clean though since I have to clean it daily unlike other dog owners I know.
A few other dog people have told me to get another dog but I cannot handle another dog, and this one still has a lot of jealousy (I cannot pet other dogs around her) and fear aggression and I am not that confident of a dog handler. Although I do have cats and she is fine with the cats. But dogs are more work than cats. And if I get another dog, you betcha it's going to be a curly coated retriever even though I have never yet laid eyes on one!
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- Sue SReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2024
Well organised, detailed breed information.
