This handsome fellow is Sabre. He's my search and rescue partner, and he's an amazingly wonderful animal. Claire and I both have working German Shepherd dogs. Her dog Echo has been trained for police work and is a tank - stocky and muscular. Sabre looks like a gazelle by comparison. Sabre is from American bloodlines and Echo's parents are both imported from Germany.
Relations between our two boys have been tense lately as they are once again jockeying for the number two position in the pack below the human alphas. These dogs are both pretty dominant, so it is a constant struggle for these two to maintain their status of who trumps who in their level of the pack.
Now, this is not the first time these boys have fought. These dogs are not fluffy pet material, they are bred and trained for their drives. Usually these two can resolve their social standing peacably after a couple of days of posturing and body language, but sometimes it gets violent.
Yesterday, it got pretty hairy for a moment when Sabre trotted towards a ball that Echo had his eye on. Suddenly, it was dog on dog action as a battle started. We separated the animals and Echo received a correction from Claire as she put him in a down stay. My wrist injury stemmed from breaking up just such a dog tussle, so when Claire grabbed her hand and cussed, I immediately assumed that she was injured. And injured she was, two fingernails were broken.
I'm still snickering when I think about it. She's cute like that.
Metta,
Annie
