Mia & Bella meet PetSafe—09/25/2006
Freedom and Safety are our utmost concern when it comes to our German Shepherds. We purchased an invisible fence from PetSafe which has allowed our pups the same freedoms of roaming, investigating, playing & guarding their home & property without us having to worry about them getting into trouble in the woods or in the street. We had a horrific electrical storm here which blew the adapter apart—and right off the wall—wiping out the transmitter along with it! Luckily, PetSafe replaced it free of charge. We had planned a motorcycle trip to NY in July in celebration of my grandmother’s 99th birthday and were very thankful that the replacement arrived just days prior to our departure. Besides the exorbitant cost, we felt that our shepherd pups would do better if they were permitted to go about their daily routine of roaming the property instead of being put into a kennel. With friends & neighbors coming daily to refill food & water dishes, play ball and refill our shepherds’ beloved wading pool, we were confident that our dogs would do well.
In our absence, Bella remained her ol’ goofy self—having managed to “escape” to the neighbors by “squeeeezing” through the zone, while clearly getting zapped—(we later found her collar’s battery was low) but still worth a trip to play with the neighbors’ dog and/or in the neighbors trash while friends noticed that Mia had stopped eating & would only venture out to see who was coming down the drive, “Oh. It’s you;” And upon her utter disappointment, ambled back onto the screened porch. Whenever Mia gets mad, she tends to take it out on Bella by pushing, nipping & yapping at her—Joe & I could just “hear” Mia saying, “See there, Bella, it’s all your fault; You messed the carpet one too many times!” and “I TOLD you not to cross the zone to see the neighbors’ dog!—Now you’ve done it; they’ve been gone for years!” During our absence there had been a lot of electrical storms, rain and flooding. After having been gone a full week, the dogs were ecstatic to see us. We were thankful not only for our good friends and neighbors, but other than Mia now sticking to me like peanut butter & having suffered some weight loss, neither are any the worse for wear & happy to have us home!
In August, we continued to have electrical storms like I have never seen prior to now. I can only describe it as being like those balls of electricity we’ve seen in malls & specialty stores—the electricity becomes stronger as the hands are passed over it. Before I could reach the three miles home from the store to unplug the system, the lightening zapped the transmitter & adaptor once again. Through my negligence, busy work schedules & in view of some personal health issues, I failed to return the damaged items to PetSafe as had been requested. One can imagine my reticence in calling about a 2nd replacement. But PetSafe was yet again, very calm & courteous & happy to resend a 2nd one, telling me to send back the two damaged ones together. And, being once burned, twice shy, I decided to purchase a surge kit from them to prevent the system from being damaged in the future. Our shepherds were having quite a heyday. Mia has always kept about 10 feet from the zone, while goofy, hard-headed Bella, continues testing its limits on a daily basis. “Maybe it will be off, today!” she seems to say. We often think she actually enjoys a quick ‘zap!’ as she conveys her air of care-free chuckling, “Yuk, yuk!” and frolics within the zone. Lol Yet, I must mention that both German Shepherds are so intelligent that should I yell out, “FLAGS!” even in a gallop, they will slam on the brakes and sit. Too funny!
The replacement finally arrived—except the adapter which is needed to make everything functional. Well, Bella and Mia had a grrrrrreat time stealing the neighbors’ trash, dog dishes & towels off the line, while heartily chasing the deer & other wild animals, chastising box turtles and romping down the street…they were busy, the naughty girls!
Oh, yeah, it was bad! One day while we were out, we had another horrific lightening storm. In their fright, both dogs went straight through the back screen door. When we returned home, (and being that they haven’t a lick of common sense), they bolted straight for the headlights & STOP—all I can think of is that animated movie, “DON’T GO TO THE LIIIIIIIGHT!” *!smack!*! Does anyone out there know how to prevent our shepherds from doing this before they get hurt? Fortunately their eyes glow green and their tan fur color resembles a deer—they were soaked to the bone and covered in dirt. Grrrrr! We just don’t have enough dog towels!
In the interim, with the two of them now using the broken screen door as a doggy door, I am ecstatic when I see the UPS has left a package at the gate—it’s the ADAPTOR! I decide that I should hook it up before departing for my customer’s app’t; Everything is ready and the collars are on the pups. As usual, Mia & Bella follow me into the house. As I begin to lock up the doors, I hear, “click, click, click!” and I think, “Surely NOT!” when all of a sudden Bella starts, “Yipe! Yipe! Yipe!” as I could clearly HEAR, “Snap, snap, snap!” as she was continuously hit with quick successions of surges of electricity—I could scarcely get the collar off fast enough as she writhed in pain—and I’m still unsure how I didn’t get lit up myself; I can only surmise that there is no metal on her collar, other than the license tag itself. She immediately started licking me all over as if to say, “Whatever it was I did, I’m so sorry!”—while Mia sat about 7 feet away looking as if she was saying, “I don’t know what she did, but I don’t want any part of it!” Poor girls! It’s a wonder it didn’t stop her little heart! I immediately took off their collars & unplugged the adapter & surge kit until we could find out the cause. Since Joe is savvy with electricity, we found that the 2 wires need to be twisted as we did in creating the loop. I have since written to PetSafe to suggest this info be included in the directions to help prevent future mishaps. Until tomorrow’s dig….Pamela

Water World--09/23/06 Have any of you a retriever? You all know how much they simply loooooove the water. Well, let me tell you: Mia and Bella “out-waters” all of ‘em! I can’t even head toward the water spigot without the two of them hollering and prancing & dancing & having a fit! “WOO-HOOO! She’s turnin’ on the water—get in the pool—get in the pooool!!—Hurrrrrry, MaMa—turn on the watttter!!!!!!!!” Mia will charge at the spray from some 30 feet in distance—it’s a wonder she doesn’t drown herself! Lol A friend of ours once put out his oscillating sprinkler for them on a very warm day. Bella was still young and in order not to be trampled, stayed splashing at the large water bowl we’d put out for them while Mia jumped, leaped, danced & did a jig as she scolded & snapped at, and played in the water, eventually brazenly picking up the sprinkler while it continued to oscillate and place it in different localities of her discretion; who says a dog doesn’t have a mind of their own!
The two of them don’t do much traveling with me anymore; mostly because they have gotten too large to accommodate on one seat and the weather has been horrendous for them. But they do love it when I tell them we’re going for a ride in the truck. They lay all over each other as if they were still 5lbs, which is amusing to see in itself.Do I find shedding a problem? Well, I can make a PUPPY from all the hair on the kitchen floor, if that’s any indication. Who needs an Alpaca when we can frighten mothers-in-law from our very home! (I was just joking!) Being that I’m the biggest kid I know, she’d ‘spaz’ if she knew the dogs & I literally play Tag & Hide ‘n Seek around the kitchen table!—Joe thinks I’m rumbling in there or fighting off intruders with all the noise going on. There’s never a dull moment!

Tails of Two Sisters--09/21/06 Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have nor do I play favorites with our German Shepherds; Mia & Bella both clearly have their own personalities and with them, their own needs! Bella loves affection while Mia doesn’t crave affection in the same way. Mia more or less gets “insulted” if Bella is doted on and she doesn’t get her share. After all, Mia was here first. And I do understand this, so I am always sure to love & dote on her in exactly the same manner as Bella. Even though I “hear” Mia saying, “Alright, alright, enough!”—she hates all the smoochy kisses, but at the same time, she laps it up! And, Mia isn’t a nasty dog, by any means—she’s merely the eldest and clearly announces it. But don’t think that Bella is all subdued. She’s a real instigator as she vies for attention with yaps, barks, singing, and then bites & nips Mia’s legs as she tries to walk from place to place. Mia falls all over herself trying not to land on Bella, until she’s had enough & grabs Bella’s collar & pulls her to the ground, at which rate Bella pulls the sympathy routine and starts yelping in order that Mia release her—and sometimes before Bella’s even been touched! It’s a game they play; one which can have us all on pins & needles at times. “Ok, enough is enough! Be sweet to one another!” we tell them. Pfffff! Uh, huh…!
And Bella has taken full control over the food situation. She merely drops her ball in the dish as if to mark her territory & Mia isn’t allowed within 3 feet without Bella dropping her head, lunging, growling and chaos developing. Now who’s the Alpha Dog?! Sometimes Bella has clearly eaten but when it comes time for Mia to eat, Bella scarfs up any & all extra food—then promptly heaves the lot, which is found to be completely whole. Poor Mia; She’s distraught that her sister’s sick, (either that or she’s tattling!) as she brings me there to look giving me that, “When do I get to eat?” look. lol Oftentimes I literally have to allow Mia to eat first or separate them altogether. I’m glad I nursed my children until they were 3 ½ years old! No nipple anxiety, there!

Bella--09/19/2006
We have also found Mia to be very intuitive. We’ve witnessed her sitting calmly & quietly in the vehicle (while we run briefly into a store) and other customers get in their cars, passing directly next to our car window and she’ll simply watch them with great interest & intensity. A child might pass by and she becomes excited & ecstatic with the thought, “Oh, boy! Someone to play with!” While with certain others, even at a good distance, she’ll take quite a disliking to—and about rips the windows out of the vehicle with rage! It reminds me of us—sometimes we see someone, smile, wave or speak to them while with others, we simply get the feeling that we must lock our doors and walk on the other side of the street. Animals are very good judges of character—and I trust Mia’s instincts as well as I do my own!
Having been in contact with Mia’s original breeder, we learned in March of 2006, that there had been a second litter and three, 6-wk old puppies that were in dire need of rescue & adoption. After unsuccessfully trying to locate homes through German Shepherd Rescue, I was able to place 2 pups in private homes and through a telephone call, received the words, “You didn’t get rid of MY PUPPY, did you?!” from, you’ll never guess…my husband, Joe! My only reply was, “YOUR puppy? We HAVE a puppy!” But, I’m such a sucker for animals; one couldn’t have pried that pup away had they wanted to! Bella had been the largest of the litter, and so loaded with worms & bacterial infection, that it was heartbreaking. But we’ve a great vet with great & loving techs and they fixed them up in no time! I never saw two dogs love the vet’s office as much as Mia & Bella do!
Though Mia & Bella are from different litters and 5 ½ months apart in age, they do have the same set of parents, so they are true sisters!
Mia was very protective of Bella—no one could touch her unless Mia gave the OK. She was sister, mother & protector—and a little tight on the apron strings—Poor Bella wasn’t even allowed to retrieve a ball or stick without Mia’s permission (which was rare). As a mother—and youngest sibling myself, I knew this was not good. I soon had to insist that they had to take turns, which meant I had to hold one while the other retrieved; & they know exactly whose turn it is; it’s very comical!
With Mia’s coat short to medium long, she’s grown into a tall, slender, very majestic Shepherd with beautiful markings and a deep bark. She would make a magnificent show dog, as she is also prone to prancing. And has a rather, “Timmy-fell-in-the-well Lassie-smarts” where she will actually pull you to where she wants you to go, whether it be to play ball, Frisbee, “take me outside”—or the house next door is on fire (yes, she did convey this one day)!
Bella is now 8 mos. old and has grown as tall as her 13-month old sister, Mia. But in comparison, Bella has much darker black markings with longer hair like the mother, and like the sire, has black spots on her tongue, found to be inherent in black & tan dogs. Compared to Mia, Bella is broader & stockier with heavier, thicker legs & paws and has a blunter muzzle. Bella is the lover, the licker, the one who wants to be near you at all costs—and MUST be touching you, as she lays her paw on some part of you while laying next to you for security; and the most ticklish dog I’ve ever seen! I never thought I’d say this about a German Shepherd, but there is only one word that describes Bella—“Goofy”! Unless the two dogs are side by side, it is oftentimes difficult to tell them apart—until Bella gives you that “goofy grape” look! Lol You know, “Duh, yuk, yuk! I’m a good girl, yuk, yuk!” LOL
Bella loves to hold a ball in her mouth, and after Mia runs to retrieve the ball, Bella “asks” her—yes, it’s true—Bella gets Mia’s “permission” and takes the ball from Mia’s mouth and brings it back for you to do all over again. If Bella fails to “ask”, she might get snapped at & scolded at the same time, as Mia is very vocal! Oftentimes Mia will tangle with Bella & play tug-o’-war then literally toss the ball from her mouth at Bella’s feet as if to say, “Ok, I’m finished with it; you can take it to her now.” They are little children!—Ok, they’re worse—my children never kept me up all night and my children were very well behaved. Ok, so I lied. After having had the “Angel Child”, my youngest son kept me up the 1st 4 months and we called him, “The Beast of Borneo”. Hmmm…déjà vu!
John, my 1st born, was a clean freak like Mia. Bella, like my youngest son, Richard, can’t find enough dirt to amuse her or find enough trouble to maintain my tears of laughter! If it’s not holes of dripping, clay mud with which Bella’s instigative digging has now covered them both—the two of them look like I’ve dipped them in chocolate—it’s balls of fluff that they’ve pulled out of their stuffed “babies” of teddy bears, cows, socks & squeaky toys and strewn across the carpet; Bella’s been a very bad influence! If it’s not waste baskets they’ve gotten into, it’s paper they’ve found and chewed into bits under the bed, down the hallway, and in their food dish. If it’s not the pebbles they’ve strewn everywhere by dashing on & off the porch during play, it’s the fire pit they’ve gotten into, & are now covered in soot & drug any trash they could find out of it—regardless of its charred embers—hot or cold; I pray they don’t catch the woods on fire! If it’s not these antics, it’s the trench they’ve made around the work building as they play their game of “’round and ‘round, I’ll chase you ‘til you drop”! YA GOTTA LOVE ‘EM! Pamela

Mia--09/14/2006

In October of 2005, my husband, Joe un-expectantly brought home a German Shepherd puppy for my birthday. As new empty nesters, I wasn’t keen on this new arrival—but what can I say…it’s great to be 49!
Mia was 8 wks. old, 5lbs and ALL ears! She was a beautiful pup and very smart! She went everywhere with me, & on good-weather days, sat patiently & quietly with her abundance of toys, food & water, while waiting in our van, to include the sometimes long wait while I tended to our customers. While we were blessed that housebreaking didn’t pose much of a problem (except for MY sleep!) Mia soon became a 75lb “horse” by the age of 7 mos.
With her ears being the first thing that caught your eye, to her pushing and intimidating bark when distressed, no one would believe that she was just a puppy. She learned to sit, shake & lie down within a half hour—one would never know how much a biscuit is worth! LOL —And, “Bang!” Mia will also “play dead” for another yummy biscuit!
I’ve had German Shepherd dogs before, but Mia’s personality is more of a loner than a lover. But when she wants that attention, you’d better be prepared as she’ll literally knock your hand off the mouse with her muzzle and give you that high-pitched “Yipe!” to tell you, “Enough of that computer! It’s time to stop that now & pay attention to me; I want to go out & play!” And she won’t stop until she gets her way, to include running her nose up your sleeve and giving me those “singing” sounds she does so well. It’s just too funny! She is also fond of heading riiiiiight for your crotch with her nose or her paw—and from either direction when bidding you welcome home or good morning—but, Joe is more in tuned with that; one might want to clarify the enjoyment with him (ar! ar!) Pamela